Gritty ten-man Wolves bag point at Bonnyrigg

South Coast local boy Joshua Macdonald was the hero for Wollongong Wolves as Jacob Timpano’s side came from behind and a man down to salvage a 1-1 draw with Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Bonnyrigg Sports Club in a riveting PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s affair.
Wollongong Wolves were reduced to ten men following David Stojic’s first half red card and fell behind instantly via Yuta Kokado’s deflected strike but restored parity midway through the second half when club new recruit Macdonald sliced through the area to poke home his first goal in hometown colours – his first since making the move from the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Macdonald’s equalizer provoked a frantic reaction from Bonnyrigg who created chance after chance in a one-way second half but were somehow unable to force the ball over the line with goalkeeper Justin Pasfield and the Wollongong outfit atoning for their languid first-half boilover to secure a heroic point on the road.
Midweek exploits in the Westfield FFA Cup may have worn thin on both sides who stuttered through a meagre first half, with Bonnyrigg’s patient approach failing to bear immediate fruit – although talisman Robbie Younis was close to latching onto several aerial deliveries.
Wollongong’s latest recruit Macdonald looked to provide the visitors the attacking spark the affair sorely craved with several darts infield, and the former Western Sydney Wanderer set up David Stojic with a sweet reverse pass midway through the first half for the Wolves midfielder to sting the palms of James Chronopoulos.
The turning point of the match occurred only minutes after Stojic had enjoyed ostensibly the encounter’s sole shot on goal, when the midfielder was handed a straight red card for a dangerous lunge on White Eagles craftsman Bo Hyun Chun.
Emotions threatened to spill over following the dismissal of Stojic and the visitor’s frustration was compounded when Bonnyrigg opened the scoring through a heavily deflected effort from Yuta Kokado.
It took an excellent save from Chronopoulous to deny Timpano’s men a vital equalizer on the stroke of half-time, with the Bonnyrigg custodian producing a fine diving save to keep out Ben Zucco’s daisy-cutter from outside the area – and undoubtedly refuting the ten-men a significant boost in morale heading into the sheds at the break.
But the visitors summoned a herculean second-half showing to remain at the heels of their hosts and Wolves custodian Pasfield was at his best on the hour mark to thwart the White Eagles with a succession of reflex stops in what was a pivotal spell in the encounter.
Having narrowly rode out several waves of Bonnyrigg pressure with Robert Younis uncharacteristically wayward in front of goal, Wollongong astonishingly restored parity through Macdonald, who provided an ice-cool finish inside the box after a well-crafted counterattacking raid.
The forward’s first goal in Wollongong colours sparked euphoric celebrations from the travelling faithful, who faced an almighty onslaught from the home side in the game’s final stages but held resolute to secure a point that felt like three.
“It was probably the best second-half performance I’ve ever seen from the boys and something to be very proud of,” Jacob Timpano said
“We had to really dig deep and it was the perfect reaction to last week’s showing”.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Kokado 35’)
Wollongong Wolves 1 (Macdonald 69’)
Saturday 21st May 2016
Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1. CHRONOPOULOS James, 21. CHUN Bo-hyun, 16. GALLAWAY Samuel, 17. GIL Mun-Soo, 10. KOKADO, Yuta, 15. MILLER Raymond, 19. PETERSEN Aaron, 4. ROBINSON Michael, 3. VRANKOVIC David, 9. YOUNIS Robert (13. MCKENZIE James 80’), 7. KONDEK, Greg (11. JOVOVIC Aleksander 56’)
Substitutes not used: 36. KADRIC Asmir, 2. MANSUETO Alexander, 20. SAVICIC, Stevan
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
Wollongong Wolves: 1. PASFIELD Justin, 5. BALDACCHINO James, 2. KAWASE Kota, 18. BERNAL Nicolas, 19. MACDONALD Josh, 6. MACKENZIE Zachary, 3. MADDEN Darcy, 23. MATTHEWS Samuel, 7. PRICE Christopher, 10. STOJIC David, 16. ZUCCO Ben
Substitutes not used: 12. COLLISON Daniel, 8. GRIFFIN Brendan, 15. LAZAREVSKI Danny, 17. ZUCCO Ricky, 4. LOMBO Jack,
Yellow Cards: 23. MATTHEWS Samuel 25’, 6. MACKENZIE Zachary 30’, 3. MADDEN Darcy 35’, 16. ZUCCO Ben 62’, 19. MACDONALD Josh 83’
Red Cards: 10. STOJIC David 34’
Player Ratings
3 – Justin Pasfield (WOL)
2 – Zachary Mackenzie (WOL)
1 – Josh Macdonald (WOL)
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Jacob Windon