Sydney United 58 back in the top five
Sydney United 58 have re-entered the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s top five after easily accounting for 10-man Parramatta 5-0 in their round 19 clash at Melita Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Edensor Park side struck twice in an eventful opening fifteen minutes with the Reds racing to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Panny Nikas and Matt Sim.
Parramatta were reduced to ten men after 13 minutes following a red card to Victor Anyimba who was dismissed for lashing out at Peter Markovic on the halfway line – a decision the Parramatta FC would end up regretting more as the game continued leaving his troops one man down.
The striker’s removal cut any hopes of an unlikely Parramatta comeback short, and although Marshall Soper’s side battled diligently for the remainder of the contest, the visitors added three second half goals through Sim as well as substitutes Adrian Vranic and Yutaro Shin to leapfrog Sydney Olympic into fifth position.
With the two rivals set to face each other next Sunday in what looks to be a decisive fixture in the race for finals football, the visiting Reds were eager to continue their end of season momentum at Melita Stadium and broke the deadlock inside five minutes when Nikas curled an unstoppable free kick past Stefan Giglio.
Nikas then turned provider ten minutes later after threading a superb ball through to Sim who doubled the advantage for the visitors with a smart far-post finish.
Anyimba’s dismissal provided a period of respite for the Eagles who defended stoutly for the remainder of the half, although Giglio was forced into two excellent saves to deny Sim from point blank range and Nicholas Olsen in first half stoppage time.
United 58 dropped several levels of intensity after the interval but enjoyed a slew of chances to add a third, most notably through substitute Glen Trifiro who was unable to turn home a Nikas corner at the back post.
The visitors eventually broke through again with twenty minutes remaining when Vranic arrived off the bench to steer a Matthew Bilic cross into the top left corner.
Parramatta offered a few promising moments going forward despite the weight of United 58 pressure with Marcus Donatiello in particular going close after a mazy run but seeing his effort blocked by Markovic.
Sim claimed his brace and Sydney United’s fourth with a spectacular overhead kick from underneath the crossbar after Trifiro and Shin combined in the box.
And the Japanese attacker got his name on the scoresheet in stoppage time when he fired into an empty net following a delightful exchange on the edge of the area between Nikas and Trifiro.
The defeat is Parramatta’s thirteenth consecutive loss but the Eagles will likely take some heart from a brave showing against a more seasoned and canny outfit.
Parramatta will be aiming to avoid a fourteenth loss in a row when they travel to Hensley Athletic Field next Saturday night to play Hakoah Sydney City East.
Match Stats
Parramatta 0
Sydney United 58 5 (Nikas 5’, Sim 15’, Vranic 70’, Sim 87’, Shin 90’)
Sunday 23rd of July 2017
Melita Stadium, Sefton
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Ray Osbourne & James Gwynne
Fourth Official: Cameron Wright
Parramatta FC: 17. Victor Anyimba, 7. Ryan Blakeley, 12. Marcus Donatiello, 20. Hamish Galbraith, 1. Stefan Giglio, 8. Ahmad Hasanzadah (9. George Panayi 71’), 10. Jonny Kontos, 6. Joshua Littlefield (18. Adrian Cocaro 65’), 4. Marcus Plataniotis, 5. Yuya Samba, 3. Nathan Tsioulos
Substitutes Not Used:
Yellow Cards: Yuya Samba 41’
Red Cards: Victor Anyimba 12’
Sydney United 58: 17. Matthew Bilic, 21. Thomas Manos, 20. Peter Markovic, 3. Michael Neill, 23. Panagiotis Nikas, 32. Nicholas Olsen (7. Yutaro Shin 45’), 66. Christopher Payne (9. Adrian Vranic 65’), 11. Yianni Perkatis (18. Glen Trifiro 45’), 8. Matthew Sim, 14. Nicholas Stavroulakis, 5. Anthony Tomelic
Substitutes Not Used: 16. Stjepan Paric, 30. Lucas Pervan
Yellow Cards: Michael Neill 48’
Red Cards: N/A
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Jacob Windon
