Sydney United 58 deliver the goods at Edensor
Sydney United 58 cruised to their third straight win with a 2-0 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s victory against Wollongong Wolves at Sydney United Sports Centre on Easter Monday.
A first half finish from former Sydney FC defender Riley Woodcock and a thunderous shot from Panny Nikas secured the win for the Reds as the side continues its incredible form revival.
It was another frustrating result for Wollongong who were unable to build on the momentum from last week’s win against APIA Leichhardt Tigers.
Sydney United 58 made a fast start to the match and had a pair of chances in the opening two minutes.
Nikas was unable to make a clean connection with a shot before an effort from Yutaro Shin was saved by Wolves keeper Justin Pasfield.
That pattern continued for the majority of the first half with Sydney United 58 dominating the possession and chances.
Matthew Sim produced a weak effort in the eighth minute as the home side continued to test Pasfield.
Wollongong Wolves created their first meaningful chance almost 15 minutes into the contest when a Hayden Morton knock down was volleyed wide by Joshua McDonald.
United 58 underlined their dominance with some fluid passing which had the visiting defence on the back foot.
The home side would find the opener just before the break. Another fluid passing move found Woodcock free in the box and he didn’t miss his chance, giving United 58 a 1-0 lead with a clinical finish.
Both teams started the second half full of energy and they traded shots. McDonald went the closest for the visitors while Nikas continued to threaten for Sydney United 58.
Nicholas Olsen had the best chance of the second half on 68 minutes. He produced a sumptuous flick to set himself up before he crashed his shot against the crossbar.
Despite their endeavour, the Wolves couldn’t find the net.
With six minutes left on the clock, It was Sydney United 58 that found the back of the net. Nikas latched onto an Olsen through ball and thundered it past the arms of Pasfield to make it 2-0 and wrap up all three competition points as well as adding his sixth goal for the 2017 season.
A jubilant Sydney United 58 assistant coach Jerry Bilokapic praised his teams dramatic turn around in form.
"It was a good three points. One of our more dominant performances,” he said.
“We’ll take the three points and use it to build ahead of our clash with Sydney FC next week.
“We have to keep working hard up front and the goals will come.”
Wollongong Wolves coach Jacob Timpano lamented a lethargic Wolves side.
"It is a disappointing loss. We could’ve made it harder for them if we put away some chances," he said.
‘We showed last week that we can compete with the top of the table and now we move onto next week now.”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Woodcock ’38 and Nikas ’84)
Wollongong Wolves 0
Monday 17th April 2017
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Michael Wiener
Assistant Referees: Kearney Robinson, & Scott Edeling
4th Official: Hugh Carwardine
Sydney United 58 FC: 3. Riley WOODCOCK (VLISMAS ’89), 5. Anthony TOMELIC, 6. Tomislav USKOK, 7. Yutaro SHIN (VRANIC ’80), 8. Matthew SIM(PARIC ’76), 17. Matthew BILIC, 18. Glen TRIFIRO, 20. Peter MARKOVIC, 21. Thomas MANOS, 23. Panagiotis NIKAS, 32. Nicholas OLSEN
Substitutes not used: 1. Andre SCHROEDER 30. Luke BABIC
Yellow cards: Bilic, Uskok
Red cards:
Wollongong Wolves FC: 1. Justin PASFIELD, 4. Hayden MORTON, 5. James BALDACCHINO, 7. Christopher PRICE, 14. Joshua McDONALD (SIMONOSKI ’64), 16. Patrick ANTELMI, 17. Michael ROBINSON, 18. Nicholas BERNAL, 20. Benjamin TOSI, 23. Stephen HAYES (WILSON ’77), 30. Yuzo TASHIRO
Substitutes not used: 8. Brendan GRIFFIN, 10. David STOJIC, 12.Luke KAIRIES
Yellow cards: Bernal
Red cards: nil
Player Ratings
3 – Nicholas Olsen (SU58)
2 – Panni Nikas (SU58)
1 – Joshua McDonald (WW)
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Justin Davies
