Hakoah fight back for stunning draw with White Eagles
Bonnyrigg White Eagles were forced to succumb to a 3-3 draw with Hakoah Sydney City East after conceding three second half goals during their PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Hensley Athletic Field.
An Andre De Jong double, including a 94th minute equaliser, led the Hakoah fightback while an own goal to David Vrankovic wrapped up the incredible result.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Brian Brown’s side who took a 3-0 lead at the break thanks to gaols from Greg Kondek and Hassan Jalloh while Gideon Sweet scored an own goal on the cusp of half time.
The draw was Bonnyrigg’s first points of the season but the frustration of what could’ve been is sure to linger.
The first real action of the game arrived in the 10th minute when the ball was played wide on the left for Hassan Jalloh who made a nice run inwards before firing at goal only to be denied by Anthony Bouzanis down low.
Hakoah’s reply was in the 16th minute. After receiving the spoils of a corner, Oliver Green played it to his brother Jack Green who fired just wide of the post.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles opened the scoring for the afternoon in the 22nd minute when a shot by Adam Jenner was fired at goalkeeper Bouzanis. Unfortunately for Hakoh’s fans their ‘keeper didn’t quite hold on and Jalloh opportunistically picked up the pieces, danced around him and then fired it into the back of the net.
In the 28th minute Bonnyrigg White Eagles made it two. Gregory Kondek was given far too much space in the middle and, with an absolutely delightful finish from distance, he fired the ball straight into goal.
In the 37th minute Bonnyrigg could have had their third when a lovely run and pass by Raymond Miller was fed through to Jalloh who unleashed it first time, only to be met by the feet of Bouzanis.
However, they didn’t have to wait too long because a cross from the right in the 39th minute was met by Zachary MacKenzie who stabbed the ball into the corner of the net and away from Bouzanis’s reach to give the visitors a three-goal buffer. There may have been the slightest of deflection from Gideon Sweet.
In the 44th minute a Troy Danaskos free kick from the right was met by a Taylor McDonald’s header which bounced off the cross bar and was dangerously close to being Bonnyrigg’s fourth goal.
It was a real reprieve for Hakoah Sydney City East to hear the sound of the referee’s whistle for halftime.
However, in the second half the game did change. Hakoah made two substitutions at the break and walked out from the dressing sheds with a new outlook and they were duly rewarded in the 50th minute.
A diving header from De Jong capitalised on a poor clearance from Savicic to put Hakoah on the scoresheet.
In the 54th minute Hakoah scored their second. A long ball from halfway from Brad Walker reached Jack Green and his diagonal shot ended up in the back of the net thanks to small deflection from David Vrankovic.
In the 58th minute a header by De Jong was saved off the line by Savicic, but there was an almighty scramble close to the line before the ball ended up wide.
Hakoah players pleaded with the assistant referee claiming that the ball had crossed the line, only to be waved away.
In the 77th minute only some desperate defending by Bonnyrigg prevented Hakoah from equalising when Anthony Frangie probably took one touch too many as he tried to go around the goalkeeper.
In the 80th minute a good run by Miller ended with him firing over the crossbar when perhaps a more accurate finish would have sealed the game for the White Eagles.
The opportunity for the equaliser arrived in the 94th minute when a through ball by Alek Lekoski reached De Jong who, with a great finish low down, made it 3-3.
After the game both coaches recognised that it was the classic game of two halves. While satisfied with a point, both recognised that a further two points had escaped their respective teams.
“We made changes at halftime because we needed to something after the first half but I commend the boys for the second half,” Hakoah player coach Gavin Rae said.
“We gave away poor goals and you can’t get away with that. It was a really tough first half but the second half for us was really good. The boys kept going and we had our fair share of chances: one off the line and some good goalkeeping too kept them in it.”
Brian Brown, the experienced mentor of Bonnyrigg White Eagles was very fair in his assessment of the clash.
“Poor defending cost us after being 3-0 up,” he said. “We have some injuries bur our handling of long ball through the middle in the second half wasn’t good enough.
“They pushed two up in the second half and hit long balls and we struggled to handle it. We gave away some silly goals, but it’s our first point this year so that’s at least the positive to come out of today.”
Match Stats
Hakoah Sydney City East 3
(De Jong 50’, 94’, J. Green 54’)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3
(Jalloh 22’, Kondek 28’, MacKenzie 39’)
Friday 14th April 2017
Hensley Athletic Field, Pagewood
Referee: Katie Patterson
Assistant Referees: Nicholas Backo, Jack Bell
Fourth Official: Chris Hughes
HAKOAH CITY SUNS: 1. Anthony Bouzanis, 2. Remi Wolanski (18. Harry Jones 77’), 4. Brad Walker, 7. Alek Lekoski, 10. Andre De Jong, 12. Jack Green, 14. Anthony Frangie, 15. Dean Bereveskos (11. Jordan Mundell 46’), 16. Oliver Green, 17. Gideon Sweet, 19. Gavin Rae (3. Robert Ezekiel 46’).
Substitutes not used: 6. Cameron Draper, 45. Michael Figueira
Yellow Cards: Mundell 85’
Red Cards: Nil
BONNYRIGG WHITE EAGLES: 20. Steven Savicic, 3. David Vrankovic, 5. Adam Jenner, 6. Zachary Mackenzie, 7. Gregory Kondek, 8. Troy Danaskos, 12. Mun-Soo Gil, 14. Taylor McDonald, 15. Raymond Miller, 16. Samuel Gallaway, 21. Hassan Jalloh (27. Luke Ivanovic 92’).
Substitutes not used: 10. Martin Lo, 13. James McKenzie, 19. Thomas Shaw, 77. Max Rowston
Yellow Cards: Vrankovic 69’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Andre De Jong (HSC)
2 – Gregory Kondek (BWE)
1 – Jack Green (HSC)
-by Joe Russo, PlayStation®National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Reporter, at Hensley Athletic Field, Pagewood
*Photo by Dan Ullman
