Parramatta FC hang on to clinch point
Parramatta FC has clung on to snatch a 0-0 draw with Sydney Olympic FC during their PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Melita Stadium on Sunday.
The home side had three days to recover after they’re rescheduled round 2 fixture against Sydney FC saw them lose out heavily, 5-2, after leading 2-0 at the break.
It was a gritty performance from the home side who held on despite the visitors having the most of the possession and the best of the chances.
While it was a frustrating result for Olympic, the Belmore Sports Ground based side remain undefeated after four rounds.
It was a meandering start to the match with the windy conditions playing havoc with the passing of both Olympic and Parramatta.
The visitors were the first to adapt to the conditions and quickly took control of the match pinning Parramatta deep in their own half.
However, it wasn’t until the 14th minute for the match to have its first shot on goal when Radovan Pavicevic blasted his shot wide from 15 yards out.
Pavicevic wasted another great chance for the visitors in the 26th minute when his headed over the bar from 10 yards out.
Olympic had a vice like grip on the match with no less than 80 per cent of possession. The visitors were more than happy to pass the ball around and starve their opponents of time on the ball.
Parramatta were forced to dig deep to withstand wave after wave of Olympic attack.
Fortunately for the home side, for all of Olympic’s possession they were unable to find the final ball to create any legitimate scoring chances.
For their limited time in possession, Parramatta failed to make the most of it. The home side were lucky to string more than two passes together at any one time.
The half-time whistle couldn’t come quick enough for Parramatta, lucky to still be on level pegging after being comprehensively outplayed for 45 minutes.
The second half started in similar fashion with Olympic’s Nik Tsattalios unable to finish a dangerous ball over the top, his volley sailing high and wide of the mark.
With the wind at their backs, Parramatta began to find their way back into to the match.
Pacy winger Jordan Crighton provided the home side’s best attacking outlet.
Crighton’s speed was gave Olympic’s Jason Madonis nightmares as he was beaten time and time again by Parramatta’s number 15.
Daniel Rezo had a half chance on goal in the 58th minute but his headed effort was cleared off the line by Spyriakis.
Crighton wasted a great scoring opportunity for Parramatta in the 60th minute when he shot high and wide of the goal when a cross into an unmarked Marco Sama would’ve been the better option.
Olympic continued to dominate possession but were forced to pass backwards or sideways more often than not. The frustration was getting the better of the visitors.
Tsattalios had another great chance for Olympic in the 85th minute. the right sided attack broke free of his marker on the byline and unleashed a shot which was easily saved by Norval.
Will Angel hit the side netting for the visitors only moments later as Olympic made one final push in the dying stages.
Norval was back in the thick of the action on the 90 minute mark when he saved a curling free kick from Max Burgess.
It would prove to be the final attacking chance of the game with the referee’s final whistle music to the ears of Parramatta’s fans.
Parramatta coach Franco Consentino praised the defensive resilience of his players.
“We knew Olympic would want to pass the ball around so it was great to see their attack chances stifled time and time again,” he said.
“The return of Ryan Norval in goal helped give the team more direction at the back and it was evident today.
“We dug deep and managed to take a point from what was a difficult match.”
For Olympic defender Yianni Spyriakis the result felt like an opportunity lost.
“It was just one of those days where we couldn’t find the breakthrough we deserved,” he said.
“We moved the ball around extremely well but just couldn’t create the opportunities against a stubborn defence. That’s what you have to expect when you come up against Parramatta and we were unable to get the job done today.
“We are still undefeated and 10 points from a possible 12 after four rounds is an incredible way to start the campaign.”
Match Stats
Parramatta FC: 0
Sydney Olympic: 0
Sunday, April 2 2017
Melita Stadium, Sefton
Referee: M. Wiener
Assistant Referees: L Greenshields & M. Riedy
Fourth Official: H. Carwardine
PARRAMATTA FC: 1. Ryan Norval, 3. Christopher Carboni 4. Howard Fondyke, 5. Tomislav Mijic, 8. Daniel Rezo, 10 Marco Sama, 11. Ryan Johnstone 15. Jordan Crighton, 16. Jacob Ott (9. Gosue Sama), 17. Joshua Gersbach, 20. Ibrahim Haydar
Substitutes not used:, 12. Marcus Donatiello, 13. Nicolo Sama 18. Tom Mallet, 21. Corey Finch
Yellow Cards: Carboni 65’ Johnstone 80’ Gersbach 90’
Red Cards:
SYDNEY OLYMPIC FC: 1. Paul Henderson, 5. Yianni Spyrakis, 6. Mitchell Stamatellis, 7. William Angel, 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Radovan Pavicevic (12. Yu Kuboki 54’) 11. Jinya An, 14. Max Burgess, 19. Darcy Burgess, 24. Christopher Gligor, 33. Nikolas Tsattalios
Substitutes not used: 4. Thomas WHiteside 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 23. T. Mourdoukoutas 25 Mark Rodic, 99 Paul Katsetis
Yellow Cards: Tsattalios 48’
Red cards:
Player Ratings
3- Max Burgess (SO)
2 – Tomislav Mijic (PFC)
1 – Yianni Spyriakis (SO)
