Manly United pounce on White Eagles errors
Manly United improved their chances of playing finals football with an excellent 3-0 victory over Bonnyrigg White Eagles in an entertaining PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s round thirteen clash at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday evening.
Brendan Cholakian’s first-half free kick paved the way for a comfortable win for the visitors.
Manly benefitted from a Bonnyrigg implosion at the beginning of the second stanza that saw goalkeeper James Chronopoulos spill Dejan Pandurevic’s corner into his own net, while the same player added his second and a match-sealing third minutes later after fine work from Sam Wilson.
The visitors dominated proceedings throughout the match and capitalized on a series of poor turnovers by a toothless Bonnyrigg outfit who may have found themselves further behind on the scoreboard were Manly more clinical with the chances received.
The opening forty-five minutes was decorated by a superb Cholakian free kick after the ten minute mark. The United skipper had won a foul on the edge of the box after a darting run from halfway and promptly dispatched an unstoppable curling effort past Chronopoulos to put Warren Grieve’s men ahead.
Cholakian enjoyed further opportunities to add to his tally throughout the half and could’ve made it a quick-fire double immediately after breaking the deadlock. However, the midfielder flashed a cutback from Wilson wide, before later seeing an effort from inside the box blocked by a cluster of Bonnyrigg defenders.
Brian Brown’s side struggled to get numbers forward in the opening half but forced an excellent save from Manly goalkeeper Dylan Mitchell, who had to be at his most agile to palm away a fiercely-struck free kick from former United player Shervin Adeli. The Manly defence scrambled desperately to block Gregory Kondek’s effort in the resulting goalmouth scramble.
The second half started in disaster for the hosts when Pandurevic’s corner was parried into his own net by Chronopoulos. It proved a fatal blow for Bonnyrigg who conceded a third two minutes later after neat hold up play from new arrival and former Parramatta FC star striker Marco Sama and a great cross from the left from Wilson was turned home by Pandurevic for his second of the game.
Bonnyrigg attempted to rally late but Mitchell remained unconcerned in the Manly goal aside from a good save to push a David Vrankovic over the bar.
Manly boss Warren Grieve praised his side for keeping their first clean sheet of the season in what was labelled a crucial victory.
“It was important to come away and play like we did tonight, particularly in keeping them scoreless," he said.
“It puts us in a good position to push into the top five, but our goal for the season hasn’t changed and we’re beginning to play in a way that will make us a tough ask for the biggest teams in the league.”
Brian Brown accepted the defeat all but finishes off Bonnyrigg’s slim finals hopes.
“In football you have to defend well and our defending all season has been criminal.”
“The goal now is to concentrate on the next match and see if we can get this club back to way it needs to be performing.”
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
Manly United 3 (Cholakian 12’, Pandurevic 56′, 58’)
Sunday 3rd of June 2017
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 37. Shervin Adeli, 1. James Chronopoulos, 16. Samuel Gallaway, 12. Mun-Soo Gil, 21. Hassan Jalloh, 7. Gregory Kondek (27. Luke Ivanovic 66’), 6. Zachary Mackenzie, 14. Taylor McDonald, 15. Raymond Miller, 3. David Vrankovic, 36. Nikola Zonjic
Substitutes Not Used: 8. Troy Danaskos, 13. James Mckenzie, 20. Stevan Savicic, 11. Benjamin Spruce
Yellow Cards: 15. Raymond Miller 33’, 16. Samuel Gallaway 86’
Red Cards: N/A
Manly United: 13. Scott Balderson (5. Rhys Williams 73’, 11. Nikola Taneski 77’), 10. Brendan Cholakian, 12. Leigh Egger, 3. Jamie Lobb, 8. Sasa Macura (28. Mitchell Rooke 74’), 1. Dylan Mitchell, 4. Travis Oughtred, 16. Dejan Pandurevic, 2. Kieren Paull, 15. Marco Sama, 17. Sam Wilson
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Shaun Catlin, 9. Dylan Macallister
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
*Player Ratings hidden with points going towards the Team of the Year to be released at the conclusion of the 2017 PS4 NPL NSW Men’s season
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Jacob WIndon
