A GLORIOUS Sunday afternoon in Wollongong was the scene for an entertaining match between the Rockdale Suns and South Coast Wolves, in which the home side prevailed by three goals to one.
The game started with energy, with Wolves on the front foot and able to score a goal, just reward for their endeavour.
A corner by Matthew Bailey was accurate and met by the right foot of James Baldacchino to put the home team ahead after only two minutes.
After a slow start in the first ten, the Rockdale Suns began to challenge the Wolves creating a few opportunities, primarily by Nick Taneski.
The Suns were able to dominate play for a few minutes, forcing the South Coast Wolves to defend inside their half; which they did so effectively. A slip up from Taneski saw a counter attacking opportunity and allowed Joey Lavelle a shot at goal, only narrowly missing the target.
In the 23′ minute, Wolves created a brilliant play instigated by Samuel Matthews who feinted the ball to Lachlan Reus. His cross was perfectly timed and picked out Jordan Murray who scored to extend the lead to 2-0. It was creative with a touch of finesse.
A misunderstanding gave Sean Symons the momentum to break play and sprint up the left side and into the box, but poor execution prevented the visiting side from scoring. Rockdale’s frustration was apparent in the first half, but they managed to create a few chances, most memorably in the 43′ minute when Paul Reid shot at goal.
Rockdale stepped up their passing accuracy and delivery at the start of the second half as they began to chase the game. Taneski was attempting to carry the attack, swooping past the Wovles’ defence with ease but after several opportunities, was unable to seek out any teammates for assistance.
Finally, in the 59” minute, the Rockdale Suns were able to deliver a goal courtesy of Steven Hesketh. With a boost in confidence, the Suns looked more threatening to the Wolves who appeared to be a little rattled from the goal.
As the second half continued, both sides seemed to be lacking the energy of the first stanza, although Rockdale appeared to have more desire to score, as they pushed on to try and steal a point.
Alas, in the 80” minute, Wolves’ Reus demonstrated his talent with a low range goal into the corner of the net give his side an unassailable 3-1 lead. Rockdale continued to push on, trying to find the two goals that they now needed.
It left them open on the counter and Ricky Zucco, on as a substitute, spurned a few chances, while Toufic Alameddine hit the post in stoppage time for Rockdale, who are the latest team to find that Wolves are a far more difficult task than the table would suggest.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 3 (James Baldachino 2′, Jordan Murray 40′, Lachlan Reus 80′)
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Steven Hesketh 59′)
Sunday June 22nd, 2014
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Andre Giev and James Tesoriero
Fourth Official: Daniel Stack
South Coast Wolves FC: 1.Thomas Hamilton; 2.Jack Keating, 3.Christopher Nathaniel, 4. Michael Robinson, 5.James Baldacchino, 6.Zachary Mackenzie, 8.Matthew Bailey, 16.Lachlan Reus, 20.Joey Lavelle (10.Ricky Zucco 71’), 22.Samuel Matthews (11.Ben Zucco 75’), 25.Jordan Murray (7.Christopher Price 88’)
Substitutes not used: 23. Hiro Kawasaki
Yellow Cards: Samuel Matthews 72’, Lachlan Reus 90+1’, Ricky Zucco 90+2’
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns FC: 1.Tomislav Arcaba; 3.Steven Hesketh, 4.Sean Symons (45.Tadgh Purcell 65’), 5.Paul Reid, 6.Takuya Murayama (14.Patrick Savor 78’), 8.Paul Kohler, 10.Tahj Minniecon (7.Toufic Alameddine 71’), 11.Nikola Taneski, 12.Idriss El Hafiane, 18.Marko Jesic, 23.Askin Oygur
Substitutes not used: 22.David Bradasevic, 39.Nicholas Petrillo
Yellow Cards: Askin Oygur 29’
Red Cards: Nil
– By Georgia Swinton, National Premier Leagues NSW Mens 1 Reporter at WIN Stadium
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