Premiers too strong for Hakoah Sydney City East
A disciplined Sydney United 58 defeated Hakoah Sydney City East 3-1 in a compelling PlayStation4 NPL NSW Men’s clash at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday.
For United, the dynamic duo of Chris Payne and Panni Nikas grabbed first half goals, while substitute Nikola Taneski added a third in the 73rd minute. Hakoah’s Nathan Bowden-Haase scrambled home a messy goal for the home side.
The scoreline could’ve been quite different, with both sides squandering numerous goal-scoring opportunities. Many in attendance would say United could’ve won by more, but Hakoah too had their moments. But in the end, the inability to capitalise proved to be purely academic and irrelevant to the final score.
The newly-crowned premier’s dominated the first quarter, showing the crowd just why they’re the best side in NSW and raging hot favourites to emerge victorious on grand final day.
Payne opened the scoring in the seventh minute, giving his side a 1-0 lead. The classy number six should have grabbed his second a few minutes later but he couldn’t find the target with a header from point blank range.
Nikas almost got in on the act when in the 14th minute. He unleashed a superb long range volley, only to see his effort flash wide.
But Hakoah pushed back, with Lee Jones making some leeway down the right flank with his footwork and pace, while the team’s direct style occasionally caused some alarm.
On two such occasions, acrobatic United goalkeeper Thomas Manos showed his class, perfectly cutting out a Hakoah cross before diving low in the 18th minute to pull off a fine save. Apart from Manos, United defenders Tomislav Uskok and Jacob Tratt were a tower of strength at the back, their height and physicality, combined with Manos’s class, keeping the Hakoah marauders at bay. Meanwhile midfield war-horse, Nick Stavroulakis also caught the eye with his perpetual work rate and ability to organise.
But that didn’t count for anything when in the 35th minute and completely against the run of play, Hakoah equalised through Bowden-Haase from a messy goalmouth scramble. A bemused Manos watched on as the ball trickled past him, barely touching the back of the net. The home side’s joy was short-lived however, when, with text book precision, Payne broke down the right and sent in a perfect low cross for Nikas to tuck home. Simple, yet clinically effective.
Despite both teams’ efforts, the match meandered a bit for the remainder of the half and when the players went to the sheds, the visitor’s held a slender 2-1 lead.
Playing with the advantage of a southerly wind in the second half, United showed their intentions immediately after the restart, launching a raid down the right, only to be denied by Hakoah keeper Anthony Costa, who rose high to collect the cross.
Moments later, United attempted the unusual from a Nikas free kick, but as well-intentioned as the set play was, the execution bore no fruit.
In the 53rd minute Payne was at it again, surging dangerously into the goalmouth. The goalscoring ace seemed to get the better of his marker, only to tumble heavily to the deck. As his teammates cried for a penalty, referee Bitas instead booked Payne for simulation, a decision that didn’t go down well among the United faithful.
A few minutes later, Costa was again brought into action, tipping over the crossbar a long range effort from United left back Masato Mochizuki. Such was the distance and acute angle of the Japanese’s position on the field, only Masato himself would know whether he was attempting a cross, a pass or even an ambitious shot on goal. It was one of those plays.
Then, just short of the hour, it was United goalkeeper Manos’s turn to be brought into action, plucking out of the air a missile of a free kick fired by Hakoah’s Lee Jones.
In the 70th minute, the home side were unlucky not to equalise when Deklan Gilmartin latched onto a Neil Jablonski cross, only to see his header cannon wide. That miss proved to be costly, as, three minutes later, United substitute Nikola Taneski made the most of a brilliant through ball by Glen Trifiro to stroke the ball past Costa, extending United’s lead to 3-1.
The visitor’s almost struck gold again when from an 82nd minute corner, Jacob Tratt leapt highest, only to glance his header inches past the post. So close, yet so far.
Just short of fulltime, 16-year-old Liam Ivancic almost sealed a dream debut for United, the substitute heading straight at Costa from point blank range.
In the end, United did what was required to win and were probably unlucky not to score more than three goals. They also took the opportunity to exorcise the demons of recent setbacks to Blacktown City (FFA Cup) and Manly United, who last week’s spoilt United’s premiership celebrations with a ballsy 4-2 win.
Looking ahead to the upcoming finals, Sydney United 58 coach Mark Rudan was impressed with his side’s performance.
“It was a disciplined performance, a very professional performance,” he said. “The result for me didn’t matter because we’d already wrapped the premiership but we had to get back to doing what made us successful. We did that today. This was good preparation for finals football and more importantly, I think we’ve got our processes back in place and our mindset right.”
Meanwhile, Hakoah Sydney City East coach Mark Robertson was also pleased with his side’s effort, but conceded that the quality of the opposition, plus his team’s inability to capitalise in the final third, proved to be difficult to overcome.
“Overall, I thought we played some good football in patches,” he said. “The boys held themselves accountable for the mistakes they made and for conceding goals. You have to have a winning mentality and that, plus the final pass in the final third probably let us down. We could’ve scored a couple more goals but we lacked the quality of the final ball and the ability to put the ball in the back of the net. That was the difference.”
Robertson added that despite his side’s dip in form during the season, his club’s PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s debut season was an enjoyable one.
“I loved it but I would’ve liked it to have been more consistent,” he said. “I was disappointed with our dip in form during the season but we learnt that at this level, mistakes are punished. It has been a great experience and I’m looking forward to next year.”
Hakoah club president Jon Pillemer added a few words of his own, stating that he was very proud of the club’s effort in their return to the top grade after a 29 year absence.
“This was our first foray into the higher leagues after (an absence of) 29 years and while the first graders didn’t achieve the heights of getting into the top five, I still believe we have the best coach in the league, someone who has taken us from the fourth division all the way through to NPL 1,” he said.
“We had a team of players that fought very hard for the coach and the club and we believe now with some adjustments to the team, we will be ready for next season.”
Match Stats
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1 (Nathan Bowden-Haase)
Sydney United 58: 3 (Chris Payne, Panni Nikas, Nikola Taneski)
Sunday 14th August, 2016
Hensley Athletic Field, Eastgardens
Referee: J Bitas
Assistant Referees: S Edeling, R Osborne
Fourth official: J Mcfarlane
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1. Anthony Costa (GK), 4. Bradley Walker, 5. Nathan Bowden-Haase (40. Dylan Blumberg 74’), 8. Paul Orgad (18. Aaron D’Mello 73’), 9. Neil Jablonski, 10. Deklan Gilmartin, 14. Lee Jones, 17. Jordan Mundell, 21. Ilan Kessler, 23. Andre De Jong, 33. Adrian Vranic (21. Kevin Lopes 60’).
Substitutes not used: 6. Nathan Muskitta, 20. Matthew McKenzie.
Yellow Cards: Ilan Kessler 76’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58: 21. Thomas Manos (GK), 2. Kris Vlismas, 3. Masato Mochizuki, 6. Chris Payne (11. Nikola Taneski 55’), 7. Yutaro Shin, 14. Nick Stavroulakis, 18. Glen Trifiro, 19. Matthew Bilic (9. Liam Ivancic 85’), 20. Tomislav Uskok, 23. Panagiotis Nikas (16. Anthony Vrlic 86’), 24. Jacob Tratt.
Substitutes not used: 1. Lukas Pervan, 5. Nathan Bertolissio.
Yellow Cards: 6. Chris Payne 54’, 24. Jacob Tratt 71’
Red Cards: Nil
– By Derek Royal, PlayStation4 NPL NSW Men’s reporter
