THE round ten encounter between Marconi Stallions and South Coast Wolves FC ended in a 1-1 draw and, truth be told, it was probably the fairest result.
Even though Marconi dominated possession, they didn’t really capitalise on their superior ball retention even though the Wolves certainly had some close chances after Marconi equalised.
The visitors took the lead late in the first half and the home side equalised in the second stanza of play of what was a tight and nicely contested game of football.
In the fourth minute Christopher Price for the visitors charged through the Marconi defence only to find his shot well saved by a diving James Chronopoulos.
In the 26’ minute a dangerous corner from Wolves created some confusion in the Marconi box before a very brave Chronopoulos smothered the ball at the feet of Darcy Madden.
In the 33’ minute Milorad Simonovic tried his luck from distance for the Stallions but his very decent attempt sailed a little wide of the posts. It was the home side’s first real chance of the game.
The South Coast Wolves opened the scoring in the 40’ minute when Ricky Zucco received the ball from the halfway line and then charged uncontested towards goal – Marconi’s players perhaps believing that he was offside – only to beat a brave Chronopoulos coming off his line.
Zucco, the former Wellington Phoenix player, then proceeded to celebrate with his benched teammates who were warming up on the sidelines.
The goal was the highlight of a rather dull first half where both sides did a good job of not conceding too much to their opponents which was probably as expected given that Nahuel Arrarte, the Wolves coach, plied his trade for many seasons as a Stallions player.
In the second half in the 50’ minute the ball reached Christopher Nunes in the box but he just couldn’t connect properly with it and the chance went begging for the Stallions.
Marconi did equalise though in the 57’ minute when Zakeriya El-Rich created space down the left hand flank before squaring the ball to Milorad Simonovic who majestically hit the ball first time from outside the box and beat goalkeeper Daniel Collison. It was a very convincing strike by a quality player.
A minute later the Wolves replied through a stunning free-kick from Zucco that was tremendously blocked by Chronopoulos before eventually the ball trickled out over the by-line after some Wolves players failed to properly connect with it when loose.
However, Zucco wasn’t finished there because another almost identical free-kick was once again brilliantly parried by Chronopoulos in the 60’ minute and he even turned the follow up around the post for a corner at the feet of Price. It was goalkeeping of the highest order from one of the competition’s most consistent performers.
From the resulting corner kick Samuel Matthews outjumped all and headed the ball straight onto the post. It was indeed a series of wonderful replies by the Wolves to Marconi’s equalising goal.
A case of beware the wounded wolf.
In the 71’ minute El-Rich for the Stallions with a powerful diagonal shot tested goalkeeper Collison who just managed to get a hand on the ball and turn it away for a corner thanks to a diving save.
In the end there were to be no more chances in the game for either side.
After the game Darren Iocca, coach of the Marconi Stallions, expressed dissatisfaction with the result given that his side dominated possession.
“I am not happy at all to be honest,” he said. “They are well structured, sat back and tried to catch us on the counterattack but we knew that they were going to do that.
“It worked for them but we had plenty of opportunities and we never deserved to draw that game.
“Possession wise it was 80% to us but they came here with a plan to sit back and it worked for them. It was two points lost definitely but I am still very happy with our boys.”
Iocca’s counterpart, Nahuel Arrarte of the South Coast Wolves who was returning to his former club for the first time as an opposing coach, said that he was satisfied to pick up the point.
“It’s obviously a very different experience to be back here as an opposing coach at the club where I spent so many years,” he stated.
“A 1-1 draw is a good result against Marconi because they are quality side with good players, but I think defensively our boys did very well.
“As coach it’s a great learning experience every day, every moment and every minute. I am constantly learning and getting to know the boys a lot more. I couldn’t ask for more because we have a great bunch of guys and at the moment things are going fairly well for us.”
Match Stats
Marconi Stallions 1 (Milorad Simonovic 57’)
South Coast Wolves 1 (Ricky Zucco 40’)
South Coast Wolves 1 (Ricky Zucco 40’)
Saturday 17th May, 2014
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Nick Backo, Thomas Lee
Fourth Official: Gareth Williams
Assistant Referees: Nick Backo, Thomas Lee
Fourth Official: Gareth Williams
Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos (C), 2.Mitchell Thompson, 3.Ali Haydar, 7.Sean O’Connell, 10.Milorad Simonovic, 14.Matt Thompson, 15.Tomislav Mijic, 16.Bright Appiah (20.Shu Sasaki 53’), 19.Damian Travis, 21.Zakeriya El-Rich (9.Marco Sama 80’), 23.Christopher Nunes (18.Jake McGing 53’).
Substitutes not used: 1.Alex Frost, 24.Steven Drewery
Yellow Cards: Damian Travis 34’, Tomislav Mijic 59’
Red Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
South Coast Wolves FC: 1.Daniel Collison, 2.Jack Keating, 4.Michael Robinson, 5.James Baldacchino, 6.Zachary Mackenzie, 7.Christopher Price (11.Matthew Del Turco 77’), 8.Matthew Bailey (C), 9.Peter Simonoski (21.Ben Zucco 70’), 10.Ricky Zucco (25.Jordan Murray 80’), 15.Darcy Madden, 22.Samuel Matthews.
Substitutes not used: 23.Hiroaki Kawasaki, 30.Thomas Hamilton
Yellow Cards: Zachary Mackenzie 43’, Samuel Matthews 90’+1, Darcy Madden 90’+2
Red Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Player ratings:
3- Ricky Zucco (South Coast)
2- James Chronopoulos (Marconi)
1- Milorad Simonovic (Marconi)
– By Joe Russo, National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 Reporter, at Marconi Stadium
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