Wolves hammer Rockdale on South Coast
Sean Robertson opened the scoring in his debut appearance for the home side minutes before quick goals to John Martinovski and Andres Gomez put Wolves firmly in the driver?s seat before half time.
Shay Spitz pulled one back for the visitors in the second period before Sasho Petrovski put the icing on the cake for Wolves with a late goal to wrap up an impressive team performance.
The first opportunity of the match fell to Sash Tirovski in the opening minutes as Spitz?s corner eluded everyone to find him unmarked in the box; however Brody Crane was on hand to block the shot off the line with his right foot.
Dion Shaw was called into action at the other end soon after, racing off his line to steal the ball from Robertson?s feet as the debutant was put through on goal by the in form Gomez.
Petrovski went within inches of opening the scoring as he turned his marker after receiving a fantastic ball from Nick Littler; his shot left Shaw well beaten only to ricochet off the post and bounce clear.
The rebound collected by Gomez, who broke wide and picked out Petrovksi in the box once again, but was denied by a fine challenge from Josh Lawson.
The visitors went close on a couple of occasions as Adem Kir and Spitz dragged shots wide from the edge of the Wolves box while Robertson saw his effort saved at the other end before Gomez volleyed over from close range.
Spitz went close once again on the half hour mark, belting the ball into the side netting from a tight angle before Dave Abel fired high and wide from Martinovski?s free kick.
Wolves began to control the tempo of the match throughout the remainder of the half, with Spitz?s block needed to deny Petrovski?s indirect free-kick in the box before Mark Picciolini?s header from the ensuing corner lacked the conviction to find a way through.
The home side were duly rewarded for their spell of dominance on 38? minutes as Robertson beat Shaw to Martinovski?s cross to divert the ball into the back of the net and introduce himself to the home fans with a goal.
The following minutes produced extraordinary scenes as the hosts ran away with the match with two more goals in quick succession.
An unmarked Martinovski received ball at the far post from Gomez?s unselfish cross, and although the Rockdale defence did exceptionally well to block the initial shot on the line the rebound fell back to Martinovski to apply the finish and double Wolves lead.
The home fans barely had time to retake their seats as Wolves quickly reclaimed possession from kick off and picked out Gomez on the edge of the box. The enigmatic winger?s shot took a wild deflection off a Rockdale defender, wrong-footing Shaw en route to the back of the net as Wolves looked to have wrapped the match up before the break.
Wally Savor responded to the goal glut by injecting Sash Trajcevski and Pece Apolevski into his side during the interval, and the move almost paid immediate dividends as the latter picked out James Monie in the box only for the attacker to sky his effort high over the crossbar.
Rockdale pushed forward in hope of salvaging the match and were first denied by Dave Abel?s block on Jason Naidovski?s effort before the Spitz?s shot from a narrow angle clipped the far post.
Mark Picciolini fired over the crossbar at the other end before Trajcevski made a smart block to deny Robertson a second goal on debut.
Rockdale?s persistence eventually paid off on 64? minutes as Spitz found space to turn 25 yards from goal, launching a powerful drive beyond Crane?s reach and inside the far post.
Trevor Morgan reacted without delay; boosting his tiring midfield with Tayfun Buyokkopru, Cam Littler, and Stjepan Paric in an attempt to return momentum in their favour.
The visitors had their chances to pull back to within a goal of their opponents, but were let down by wayward finishing and Monie and Naidovski each spurned chances.
Wolves ensured their victory with a fourth goal in the dying minutes as Picciolini bamboozled his markers on the right wing before picking out Buyokkopru on the edge of the box, who played Petrovski through on goal with a spectacular volleyed through ball.
The experienced Wolves striker made no mistake, blasting the ball past Shaw to cap off a fine afternoon for the home side look to surge up the NSW Premier League table.
South Coast Wolves coach Trevor Morgan was delighted with the result and the effort his squad put in throughout the match:
?That?s what it?s all about ? sometimes they only concentrate in training for 4? minutes,? joked Morgan.
?Early on Sash (Petrovski) hit the post, and within 30?? seconds they?ve hit it for a goal kick, so I knew they (Rockdale) were a very good counterattacking side; they?re a very good technical side.
?So it was a fight for a while, then I wrote in my notes around 35? minutes that we?re starting to make something happen, and then bang bang bang ? clinical finishing, so happy days.
?Full credit to the boys, they were really hungry to make things happen, they were positive about what they did, and they took their chances with no hesitation.?
With today?s match the first of three in a busy week for his side, Morgan emphasised the importance of beginning with a positive result before facing Parramatta FC and Bonnyrigg White Eagles on Wednesday and Saturday respectively:
?All in all it?s a very important result for us,? said Morgan.
?It?s a week that we know is a very big and difficult week for us and we needed to start it with a win.
?So it?s a very important win and we now need to recover as best as possible.
?We need to train with quality on Tuesday before going to Parramatta on Wednesday night.?
Rockdale City Suns coach Wally Savor was obviously disappointed with the result, especially after conceding three goals in quick succession late in the first-half:
?For about 5-10 minutes I think we just lost our heads for a while,? said Savor.
?There?s no excuse for that, Wolves took their chances and scored, and good luck to them.
?We showed some good character, I thought we created enough chances in the second half, but Wolves scored another one while we were pushing forward looking for an equaliser.
?We had a go in the second half and I guess if we played that well in the first half it could have been a different story,? Savor concluded.
The afternoon?s early fixture saw Rockdale City Suns secure a 3-1 win over South Coast Wolves in Grade-20 Division.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 4 (Sean Robertson 38?, John Martinovski 41?, Andres Gomez 42?, Sasho Petrovski 84?)
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Shay Spitz 64?)
Sunday July 31st, 2011
John Crehan Park, Cringila
Referee: Khodr Yaghi
Assistant Referees: Thomas Lee, Nathan Wotton
Fourth Official: Matthew Cropper
South Coast Wolves: 1.Brody Crane; 2.Alex Mansueto, 3.Dave Abel, 4.Jacob Timpano, 5.Nick Littler, 22.Zac Freeburn (15.Tayfun Buyokkopru 68?), 8.Andres Gomez (14.Cam Littler 68?), 9.Mark Picciolini, 10.Sasho Petrovski, 18.Sean Robertson, 19.John Martinovski (13.Stephen Paric 68?)
Substitutes Not Used: 6.Jake Duczynski, 20.Sam Nastic
Yellow Cards: Nick Littler 36?, Alex Mansueto 58?, Sasho Petrovski 72?, Tayfun Buyokkopru 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 22.Dion Shaw; 23.Askin Oygur, 6.Josh Lawson, 13.Giorgio Speranza (19.Marino Musumeci 78?), 2.Paul Dee (10.Sash Trajcevski 46?), 11.Adem Kir (7.Pece Apolevski 46?), 8.Dominic Hudap, 17.Sash Tirovski, 3.Shay Spitz, 9.Jason Naidovski, 12.James Monie
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Jeff Issa, 24.Aaron Liddell
Yellow Cards: Adem Kir 43?, Josh Lawson 62?, Askin Oygur 76?, Dominic Hudap 88?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Shoolman
