Last ditch Boutobia goal saves Sydney Olympic
A last minute goal from Jacob Boutoubia has helped Sydney Olympic snatch a 1-1 draw in its PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s match against Manly United at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday.
Boutoubia’s goal in the 91st minute equalised for Olympic as Sipan Berti’s 84th minute goal for Manly seemed more and more like a match winner.
Manly and Olympic traded opportunities during the opening exchanges with Sydney keeper Paul Henderson and United shot stopper Dylan Mitchell called into action.
In the 27th minute Manly United should really have taken the lead when Dejan Pandurevic broke free and charged towards the Olympic goal only to be stopped by a diving Henderson.
Moments later the visitors came close again when an acute angled drive from Adam Parkhouse was saved.
Just prior to the break Harris Gaitatzis unleashed a drive that seemed certain to hit the back of the net for Sydney Olympic.
A slight deflection off a Manly defender ensured that the ball finished wide for a corner as the half ended with the teams deadlocked at 0-0.
Sydney Olympic found themselves a man down only 10 minutes into the second half when Chris Triantis was sent off for receiving a second yellow card after a reckless challenge.
Despite their one man advantage, it took until the 84th minute for Manly united to score.
A Givernin free kick was headed onto the post by a Sydney Olympic defender but the rebound was straight to Berti who, from close range, managed to bundle the ball in the back of the net.
However, the game was to take another twist.
Sydney Olympic equalised in the 91st minute when Harris Gaitatzis played the ball across to Boutoubia who, with a powerful drive from outside the box, smashed the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
Sydney Olympic’s coach Grant Lee was happy with his side’s resilience but rued his side’s defensive lapses.
“We conceded late from a set-play which was disappointing,” he said.
“You don’t mind conceding from open play but not from set plays.
“During the course of the game they didn’t really give us too many dangers and I don’t think the conditions played a part.”
In the Manly United dressing room coach Paul Dee was upbeat but clearly disappointed to have drawn after conceding in stoppage time.
“It was definitely a case of two points lost for us today,” he said.
“Compared to last week we executed things so much better in many areas. I am still disappointed that we didn’t get the full points.
“We should have taken more advantage when they went down to ten players and we needed to work harder. We had ample opportunities to really kill the game off but most of them went begging and that’s the killer instinct that we need.”
Match Facts
Sydney Olympic: 1 (Boutobia 91’)
Manly United: 1 (Berti 84’)
Sunday, March 20
Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore
Referee: A. King
Assistant Referees: L. Greenshields, D. Horstead
Fourth Official: P. Liaros
Sydney Olympic: Henderson; Angel (Cindric 71’), Egger, Fondyke, H.Gaitatzis, Madonis, Sorge (Montford 71’), Stamatellis, Tomelic, Triantis, Tsattalios (Boutoubia 67’).
Substitutes not used: Crickmore, M.Gaitatzis
Yellow Cards: Angel 15’, Triantis 40’, Madonis 45’, Triantis 51’, Boutoubia 86’
Red Cards: Triantis 52’
Manly United: Mitchell; Paull, Lobb, Oughtred, Pandurevic, Gallagher, Cooper Saric 64’), Cholakian, Parkhouse (Berti 80’), Giverin, Bragg (Ferguson 46’).
Substitutes not used: Separovic
Yellow Cards: Bragg 17’, Gallagher 21’, Lobb 68’, Berti 84
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Dejan Pandurevic (MU)
2 – Paul Henderson (SO)
1 – Kieran Paull (MU)
-by Joe Russo, PlayStation®National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Reporter, at Belmore Sports Ground
