ROCKDALE City Suns moved above their opponents the South Coast Wolves with a 1-0 win in round nine of the PS4 National Premier League NSW Men’s 1 at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Sunday afternoon.
A lone goal from striker Marko Jesic was enough for the visitors to come away with the victory.
The home side were the first team with a real chance when they hit the crossbar in the 5th minute.
Two minutes later, the Suns had a half chance when Alec Urosevski got on the other side of his defender but the goalkeeper, Thomas Manos, got there first to clear the ball.
The early part of the game was all the visitors including back-to-back corners in the 13th minute that did not come to anything.
In the 16th minute, the first yellow card of the game was given out. A late challenge from Paul Reid saw him go into the book.
From the resulting free kick, David Stojic bent the ball around the ball but a top shelf save from goalkeeper Tomislav Arcaba denied him the opening goal.
South Coast Wolves were starting to play themselves into the game and had another chance in the 22nd minute. The shot from inside the box from Jordan Murray was cleared off the line.
An early substitution for the Wolves in the 29th minute saw Bradley Welch come off and young winger Jacob Lombo get his chance to impress.
The change didn’t have an immediate effect as the Rockdale side went onto the attack and nearly broke the deadlock through Jesic.
With the half-time whistle just minutes away, the visitors broke the game open. An astute pass from veteran midfielder Reid found, Jesic who held his nerve and put the ball past the keeper from a difficult angle for a 1-0 lead at the break.
After the break, winger Toufic Alameddine had two chances but sprayed his shot on both occasions.
In the 56th minute, Rockdale went so close to extending their lead when Hristijan Tanoski hit the crossbar before the home side cleared the ball.
Some nice build-up play went unfinished minutes later when goalkeeper Manos got down low to save Urosevski’s shot.
Urosevski was the most dangerous player in the second half and should have been rewarded in the 63rd minute. After using his pace to round the goalkeeper, he could not finish it off when he hit the side netting.
The last 15 minutes saw some fiery challenges from the travelling side which saw four players given yellow cards.
Following the match South Coast Wolves head coach Nahuel Arrate wasn’t making excuses but was well aware the amount of youth in the side.
“We had seven players under the age of 20 but at the end of the day we weren’t good enough,” he said.
“Any young player that gets an opportunity in first grade is a great experience but at the end of the day they know what the expectations are and they know what it takes to be there.”
For player/coach of the Rockdale City Suns, Paul Reid, the performance was good but felt they could have had more.
“Really there was only one team in it I thought and we should have put the game to bed in the second half when we had a couple of good chances,” he said.
“There was a few times in the first half when I got forward and created some chances.”
“We’ve definitely improved defensively; we’re a lot more compact and we’re not conceding as many goals which is a good thing.”
Both teams return to action next weekend with the Wolves facing Manly United FC next Saturday, while the Suns come up against Parramatta FC on Sunday.
Match Stats
South Coast Wolves 0
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Jesic 42’)
Sunday May 10 2015
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Referee: Daniel Withel
Assistant Referees: Mitchell Clark and Nathan Wotton
Fourth-Official: Matthew McOrist
South Coast Wolves: Manos; Madden, Griffin (Solveski 89’), Baldacchino , Price (C), Stojic, Simonoski, Zucco (Fielding 61’), O’Rourke, Welch (Lombo 28’), Murray
Substitutions not used: Hamilton, Lazarevski
Rockdale City Suns: Arcaba; Hesketh (Iwamoto 90+3’), Tanoski (Taneski 77’), Reid, Murayama, Urosevski, Jesic, El Hafiane, Alameddine, P Savor, Oygur (C)
Substitutions not used: Bradasevic, Pandolfo, I Savor
Yellow Cards: Reid 16’, Taneski 79’, El Hafiane 82’, P. Savor 84’, Urosevski 87’
Player Ratings:
3- Reid (RCS)
2- Jesic (RCS)
1- Urosevski (RCS)
– By Jake Bull, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Reporter, at WIN Stadium
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