Sydney United 58 FC came away with an important 2-1 victory against neighbours Bonnyrigg White Eagles in the PlayStation 4 NSW NPL at a hazy Sydney United Sports Centre on Mother’s Day.
Two first half goals from Chris Payne and new recruit Jacob Tratt were enough to get United 58 FC over the line despite the White Eagles coming back strong in the second half.
The home side had the first opportunity inside the first minute as Panni Nikas stepped up to take a free kick 30 metres out.
James Chronopoulos moved early and saved well from Nikas’ testing shot.
In the seventh minute, Nick Stavroulakis had an attempt from distance but it failed to trouble the Bonnyrigg shot stopper.
The match saw its first goal and major highlight as the home side took the lead in the 15th minute.
Nikas went down after a clumsy collision with Gallaway in the box as Kris Griffiths-Jones blew for the spot kick.
Payne stepped up and sent Chronopoulos the wrong way much to the elation of the home faithful.
In the 20th minute, Nikas should’ve doubled the home teams lead.
Robert Mileski sent in a teasing ball from the left as Nikas ran onto it, only for Chronopoulos to charge out.
The Bonnyrigg keeper spilled the ball and Nikas’ follow up crashed against the post and went out.
Five minutes before the break United 58 FC almost made it two.
Matthew Bilic cut the ball back for Payne who attempted a cheeky outside the foot shot from outside the area but Chronopoulos somehow managed to tip it over.
In the 44th minute United did make it two.
Nikas rode one challenge down the right and cut a beautiful ball back for Tratt at the edge of the area that gave Chronopoulos no chance, smashing the ball into the back of the net.
Robbie Younis’ second half introduction saw his team lift and David Vrankovic could’ve cut the deficit in the 48th minute, after connecting with a Gallaway free kick, only for Manos to save from point blank range.
United almost made it three after fantastic build up play saw Mileski break into the box who then squared it to Yutaro Shin who somehow missed the whole goal.
In a crazy couple minutes, Bonnyrigg hit back through Younis.
Stavroulakis and Peter Triantis brought down Ray Miller inside the box giving Griffiths-Jones no other alternative but to point to the spot.
Younis sent his spot kick straight down the middle and it was game on.
In the 77th minute Vrankovic had a great chance after Aaron Peterson’s cut back, only for his shot to sail over.
Only two minutes later and possibly the goal line save of the season.
Payne played through Nikas who had an open goal to aim at, or so he thought, blasting a ball toward the back of the net, only for Michael Robinson to save off the line that kept the White Eagles in the match.
Younis put his deadly left foot to use again, this time from a free kick just outside the area with five minutes to go.
The ball clipped the wall and went inches wide of the far post and out for a corner.
The White Eagles couldn’t create a final chance in what was an enthralling fixture as Sydney United 58 FC came away with all three points keeping them top of the competition ladder after round 9.
Sydney United 58 FC defender Tomislav Uskok was delighted with the Reds picking up a valuable victory against the White Eagles.
“It was a great victory, a fiery match, I didn’t know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
“The boys dug deep and as a collective got the result we needed today.
“Moving forward, we know that we are taking each game as it comes so our focus now is on Manly United.”
A dejected Younis lamented that the loss was tough to take.
“I think we gave United 58 FC too much respect in the first half.
“But a change in formation at half time and some high pressing changed the complexion of the match however it wasn’t enough.”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 2 (Payne 15’, Tratt 44’)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Younis 51’)
Sunday 8th May, 2016
Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields & Scott Edeling
Fourth Official: Matthew McOrist
Sydney United 58: 21. Manos, 20. Uskok, 24. Tratt, 17. Kofinas, 19. Bilic, 14. Stavroulakis, 8. Triantis (3. Mochizuki), 23. Nikas, 7. Shin, 10. Mileski, 6. Payne (11. Taneski).
Substitutes: 1. Depta, 2. Vlismas, 4. Vrlic.
Yellow Cards: Nikas 17’, Stavroulakis 51’, Kofinas 78’, Triantis 85’, Manos 90+4’
Red Cards: N/A
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1. Chronopoulos, 4. Robinson, 6. Zonjic (2. Mansueto 71’), 16. Gallaway, 3. Vrankovic, 15. Miller, 21. Chun, 17. Gil, 10. Kokado (Tucker 58’), 19. Peterson36. Kadric (9. Younis 46’).
Substitutes: 20. Savicic, 13. Mckenzie.
Yellow Cards: Vrankovic 37’, Peterson 57’, Mansueto 72’
Red Cards: N/A
Player Ratings
3 – Jacob Tratt (SU58)
2 – Panni Nikas (SU58)
1 – Michael Robinson (BWE)
Archives for May 2016
Suns too clinical for Sharks
A Dylan Macallister hat-trick has helped Rockdale City Suns to a comprehensive 4-2 victory against Sutherland Sharks in its PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Seymour Shaw on Saturday.
Macallister’s three goals and a strike from Toufic Allameddine were enough for the Suns to secure all three points away from home.
It was a frenetic start to the match but it didn’t affect the Sharks who thought they had stolen the lead through Joshua Da Silva in the 7th minute.
Unfortunately Da Silva’s powerfully struck shot was wiped out when the ball went out of bounds before curling back in.
The Sharks high octane attack was in full flight early on and asked questions of the Rockdale defence.
Nick Petrillo replied for the Suns when his looping header sailed over the bar from a free-kick while Sutherland’s Jordan Figon lashed his shot from outside the box wide.
Rockdale skipper Daniel Petkovski chanced his arm when letting fly from 30-yards out which forced a save from Sharks keeper Nathan Denham.
Rockdale’s pressure was building and it took until the 38th minute for a breakthrough when Macallister hit the back of the net for his first of the night.
Straight away the Sharks looked to bounce back and Figon skipped his way through the Suns defence but he failed to score with his audacious chipped effort on goal.
It had been a tight and tough encounter in the opening half and there was little suggestion the second would be any different.
It was the visitors who started the stronger and had the ball in the net again through Alameddine inside the opening 60-seconds.
The Sharks found its way back onto the scoreboard in the 48th minute through James Andrew’s headed effort.
Macallister made it 3-1 for the visitors’ only moments later with a deft chip over the head of Denham.
Alec Urosevski replaced Peter Makrillos in the 68th minute and made his presence felt immediately.
Urosevski delivered an exquisite cross into the box with the outside of the foot for Macallister to finish off his hat-trick
Bradasevic didn’t know much about the save when Da Silva powered into the box in the 81st minute with the ball rebounded off his upper body to safety, the Sharks unable to turn a trick in front of goal.
With the match all but decided, Tomohiro Kajiyama’s sizzling run and goal did cut into the deficit but it was mere consolation for Sutherland.
Carlos Villazon said it was a far improved performance from his side.
“I think the situation is a little hard at the moment,” he said.
“When you have lost so many games the confidence of the players drops and it gets harder as the season goes on to lift the spirits.
“We continue to try our best. We are confident; we will lift ourselves and look to improve.”
Rockdale’s Matthew Ribarovski said his team started slowly.
“It took us a bit of time to adjust but we had a few stern words at half-time and the boys came out firing after the break.
“It was a great battle in the middle of the park and a good workout.
“We’re obviously happy with the three points although 4-1 would have been better.”
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 2 (Andrew 48’, Kajiyama 90’)
Rockdale City Suns 4 (Macallister 38’, 54’, 69’ Alameddine 46 )
Saturday 7th May, 2016, 2016
Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Andrej Giev & Joon Park
Fourth Official: Peter Liaros
Sutherland Sharks: 1. DENHAM Nathan ©, 3. MURAYAMA Takuya, 4. KAYES Stephen, 5. LITTLER Nick, 9. FIGON Jordan, 10. DA SILVA Joshua, 12. STERGIOU Lukas (16. CASTRO-GOMEZ Laureano 75’), 15. MOUSTAKAS Perry, 17. ANDREW James (8. McSTAY Chris 70’), 19. FITZPATRICK Callum, 35. KAJIYAMA Tomohiro
Substitutes Not Used: 7. PRESS Jack, 13. COX Jeremy, 21. LOE Nikolas
Yellow Cards: Kayes 27’, Moustakas 78’
Red Cards:
Rockdale City Suns: 1. BRADASEVIC David, 2. PETKOVSKI Daniel ©, 4. MCCLENAHAN Trent, 5. REID Paul (11. TANOSKI Hristiian 75’), 6. RICCIUTO Blake, 8. CANAK Alex, 9. MACALLISTER Dylan (3. HESKETH Steven, 83’), 10. MAKRILLOS Peter (7. UROSEVSKI Alex 68’), 15. PETRILLO Nick, 16. SAVOR Isaac, 17. ALAMEDDINE Toufic
Substitutes Not Used: 14. SAVOR Patrick, 22. BAZI Andrew
Yellow Cards:
Red Cards:
Player Ratings:
3 – Dylan Macallister RCS
2 – Josh Da Silva SS
1 – Jordan Figon SS
-By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Micky Brock
Second half blitz spurs Hakoah victory
Hakoah Sydney City East has put four goals past Parramatta FC to secure a 4-2 win in its Round 9 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Melita Stadium on Saturday.
The home side dominated play in the first half but Hakoah Sydney City East came out firing in the second half.
They took control of the game and, with three goals in a short space of time, put the game out of Parramatta FC’s reach before a beautiful late goal added some respectability to the score line for the home side.
Hakoah Sydney City East opened the scoring in the seventh minute when a great shot from some distance by Andre De Jong ended up in the back of the net.
It was a nice way to begin the night for the visitors.
In the 11th minute Marco Sama for the home side ended up with the ball across the face of goal and, from just outside the box, his shot finished a fraction wide.
Parramatta FC pushed dangerously forward in the 20th minute when Tom Mallett dribbled his way beautifully from the right to the centre of the field, before lining up his shot which finished just over the crossbar.
In the 25th minute a free-kick from Ante Tomic sailed over the wall and just over the crossbar as the home side piled on the pressure in an attempt to equalise.
In the 34th minute the equaliser duly arrived. A beautiful cross from the right by Tomic reached Gosue Sama who headed home superbly for the home side and, in reality, it was no more than they deserved.
In the second half not much happened until the 59th minute when a rather scrappy goal gave Hakoah the lead.
In the end it was Tomislav Mijic who accidentally knocked the ball into his own net off a Neil Jablonski shot, but the Hakoah player deserved credit for the strike.
A minute later, the ball was fired into the back of net by Paul Orgad for Hakoah’s third goal and so the game had turned in favour of the visitors.
In the 66th minute a great cross from the right by Dylan Blumberg reached Hussein Akil who had just came onto the field a minute earlier, but his clinical header was stupendously saved by Luke Turnbull.
Hakoah’s Kevin Lopes received a lucky deviated ball in the 73rd minute and he knocked it straight onto the crossbar but it could easily have been the fourth for the visitors.
However, the away side didn’t have wait too long to get that elusive fourth goal. A defensive blunder basically gifted the ball to Akil who skilfully rounded the ‘keeper in the 76th minute and, with an acute angled finish, he neatly slotted home for the visitors.
In the 83rd minute a diagonal shot from close to the by-line by Tomic forced the visitors’ goalkeeper Anthony Costa into a one handed diving save.
Parramatta FC scored an absolutely superb goal in the 87th minute when a long ball, in typical route-one fashion, from goalkeeper Turnbull reached Luke Grima who then, with an audacious lob, sent the ball into the back of the net to add some respectability to the score line.
Hakoah coach Mark Robertson was a very proud and pleased man after the match and stated that this was the victory that his team needed.
“The boys always try their hardest,” he said. “In the second half I changed a few things and had a word to them at the break about how good a team we really are, and from that we came out with a little more belief in ourselves,” he said.
“Parramatta is hard place to come to. I played here myself; it’s a great venue and a great setting but I knew that when teams come here, it’s always a hard place to win at.”
Over in the less-jubilant Parramatta FC dressing room, a frustrated Franco Cosentino spoke about the difficulty of losing such an encounter.
“Hakoah were on top of us in the first ten minutes but I think we dominated after that,” he said.
“In the second half they scored two goals in quick succession and that got us. We switched off twice and we didn’t recover after that.
“We didn’t take our chances but in the end it’s just not good enough and there is no excuse really. It’s very disappointing because we could have gone back-to-back wins.
“It would have made it that little bit easier to get into the top five. We have a mix of experienced and inexperienced players but we just need to develop a bit of consistency and be patient.”
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 2 (G. Sama 33’, Grima 87’)
Hakoah Sydney City East 4 (Orgad 7’, De Jong 59’, Jablonski 60’, Akil 76’)
Saturday 7th May 2016
Melita Stadium, South Granville
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Thomas Lee, Ray Osborne
Fourth Official: Cameron Lee
Parramatta FC: 1. TURNBULL Luke, 5. MIJIC Tomislav, 6. GULLO Daniel, 9. SAMA Gosue, 10. SAMA Marco, 11. TOMIC Ante, 17. GERSBACH Joshua (13. VAIS Andreas 68’), 18. MALLETT Tom, 19. BROWN Blair (14. GRIMA Luke 76’), 20. HAYDAR Ibrahim, 23. TAYEBI- DERAZKALA Aram.
Substitutes not used: 4. SYMONS Joshua, 8. REZO Daniel, 33. DIACONO Jayden
Yellow Cards: Mijic 52’, Grima 87’
Red Cards: Nil
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1. COSTA Anthony, 3. BLUMBERG Dylan (14. JONES Lee 68’), 4. WALKER Bradley, 5. BOWDEN-HAASE Nathan, 8. ORGAD Paul, 9. JABLONSKI Neil (7. AKIL Hussein 65’), 10. GILMARTIN Deklan, 16. ANDRICOPOULOS Costa, 17. MUNDELL Jordan, 23. DE JONG Andre, 31. LOPES Kevin.
Substitutes not used: 18. D’MELLO Aaron, 20. McKENZIE Matthew
Yellow Cards: Bowden-Haase 24’, Costa 74’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Paul Orgad (HSC)
2 – Andre De Jong (HSC)
1 – Marco Sama (PFC)
-by Joe Russo, PlayStation® National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Reporter, at Melita Stadium, South Granville.
Blacktown City smash Spartans for six
It was six of the best for a rampant Blacktown City as Mark Crittenden’s side defeated a sorry Blacktown Spartans outfit 6-0 in its PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Lilys Football Stadium.
The visiting Spartans had lost seven of their last eight league matches against their fierce local rivals prior to kickoff and the wait for victory will go on after the visitors were outclassed by their premiership-chasing neighbours.
An onslaught was on the cards as early as the second minute when Joey Gibbs slammed home from close range.
While the former Western Sydney Wanderers forward saw his penalty saved by Spartans keeper and former teammate Carlos Saliadarre, goals from Robert Speranza and Mitchell Mallia gave City an unassailable 3-0 lead at half-time.
The frenetically paced first half affair took several shifts downward in the second stanza but there was no halting the utterly dominant hosts with a goal to Danny Choi and two goals from Patrick Antelmi piling on the misery for the struggling visitors.
The alarm bells sounded for the Spartans no sooner than moments after kick off as Blacktown City asserted their superiority early on.
The visitors were unable to grab a foothold in the contest and were continually caught out by the searing pace of City wingers Mitchell Mallia and Danny Choi.
It was a wicked delivery from Mallia which allowed Joey Gibbs to convert from close range inside two minutes.
Danny Choi on the other flank offered a timely reminder of his freakish athleticism when he surged past Spartans fullback Thomas Whiteside to earn a penalty.
Saliadarre denied Gibbs with a firm pair of hands after a long delay but the penalty save would only provide a brief reprieve from the home side’s onslaught
Robert Speranza doubled the advantage minutes later after the Spartans had failed to clear a corner.
Mallia added a deserved third on the cusp of half-time when he latched onto an errant back pass from Luka Dukic before lobbing a stranded Saliadarre.
Ben De Haan’s outfit had offered very little in terms of resistance in a morbid first half display and it went from bad to worse for the visitors.
Danny Choi added a fourth after substitute Riku Sasaki had caught the Spartans rearguard napping again.
Patrick Antelmi had enjoyed a backseat role in his side’s riot but the former Wigan and Leeds striker etched his name on the scoresheet after outmuscling Hyams Tomihiro in the box before applying an unstoppable curling finish past Saliadarre.
Antelmi completed his quick-fire brace moments after when he burst through a brittle Spartans rearguard and steered past Saliadarre for City’s sitx.
Mark Crittenden praised his side’s first half display
“Our first half was really good and we probably should’ve put a couple more away, but we showed again tonight that on our day we’re pretty lethal,” he said.
“I said at half-time that under no circumstances are we to concede.
“I’d have been sick had we conceded one at the end”.
Match Stats
Blacktown City 6 (Gibbs 2’, Sperenza 27’, Mallia 45’, Choi 61’, Antelmi 80’, 84’)
Blacktown Spartans 0
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Lilys Football Stadium, Seven Hills
Blacktown City FC: 1. VEKIC, Nenad, 16. ANTELMI Patrick, 19. CAIRNCROSS, Zach (17. BEUMIE, Lewis 72’), 11. CHOI, Danny (7. MAJOR, Travis 69’), 10. EVANS Connor (21. SASAKI, Riku 58’), 9. GIBBS Joey, 6. LEWIS Matt, 8. MACURA Sasa, 14. MALLIA Mitchell, 3. SPERANZA Giorgio, 4. SPERANZA Roberto
Substitutes not used: 12. GROZDANOVSKI, Jonathan, 20. NISKI, Dylan
Yellow Cards: 8. MACURA Sasa 54’, 11. CHOI, Danny 55’, 19. CAIRNCROSS, Zach 65’
Red Cards: Nil
Blacktown Spartans: 1. SALIADARRE, Carlos, 5. DUKIC, Luka, 7. SASAKI, Shu, 8. OTT, Jacob (4. MUTCH, William 45’), 9. PROIA, Anthony, 10. NAKAMURA, Futa, 25. GAUTHIER, Amaury (11. CRIGHTON, Jordan 58’) 15. WHITESIDE, Thomas, (6. Yianni PERKATIS), 17. TOMIHIRO, Hyams, 20. TOSI, Benjamin, 14. MORTON, Hayden
Substitutes not used: 41. NASCIMBEN, Dominic, 3. TANNER, Joshua,
Yellow Cards: 20. TOSI, Benjamin 13’, 15. WHITESIDE, Thomas 21’, 5. DUKIC, Luka 65’, 14. MORTON, Hayden 65’, 9. PROIA, Anthony 83’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Mitchell Mallia (Blacktown City)
2 – Patrick Antelmi (Blacktown City)
1 – Danny Choi (Blacktown City)
–By PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Jacob Windon
Sekulic appointed Sydney United 58 Technical/Academy Director
Sydney United 58 FC is proud to announce Tony Sekulic as our new Technical Director / Academy Director starting effective immediately.
Tony is one of the elite class of Australian footballers that developed his trade at Sydney United 58 FC from the age of 5 until the age of 18 with the likes of current Socceroos assistant coach Ante Milicic, Western Sydney Wanderers Head Coach Tony Popovic and Goalkeeper Coach Zeljko Kalac, as well as Sydney United 58 Head Coach Mark Rudan and many more.
After a two year stint in the National Soccer League (NSL) with Gippsland Falcons Tony made his way into the German Bundesliga in 1998 at the age of 23, plying his trade for 5 years studying under the German philosophy with clubs 1.FSV Mainz 05 playing alongside current Liverpool FC Head Coach Jurgen Klopp, SV Darmstadt 98, Vfr Mannheim before returning to Australian in the NSL in 2002.
Currently holding an FFA/AFC B-License and currrently attending the FFA/AFC A-License, Tony has spent the last 9 years coaching all age groups at Sydney United, from the youngest age group 5 years old to the senior teams. Some of the highlights include, grand final appearances with the U/20 and the U/18 teams.
The appointment of Tony Sekulic as technical / academy director is a step in the right direction as he is a very highly regarded coach whose knowledge, passion and understanding of the game, compiled through his experiences in Australia and Germany, has led to a style of play that combines the disciplined structure of German football in defence and creativity in attack.
“As a product of the Sydney United youth set-up, I am extremely privileged to be given the opportunity to take charge of football development where I have grown up as a person, a player and a coach.”
“Having the responsibility to shape the next batch of talented players and instilling Sydney United’s core values and principles which has grafted football in this country today is a major honour.”
Sydney United 58 FC President Mark Ivancic has nothing but praise for the dedication Tony has shown.
“We are extremely proud to have Tony on board, as his passion and drive for the game is second to none. He has a wide range of experience that will allow him to perform this role to a very high level and provided all members of our community to develop to their full potential, regardless of background.”
Sydney United 58 FC is excited to Welcome Tony Sekulic and is looking forward to the challenge and hopes the knowledge and experience he has gained over the last 30 years as a player and coach will help take Sydney United 58 FC to the next level.
-Sydney United 58 FC Press Release