Points shared at Rockdale in catch-up fixture
Rockdale City Suns and Hakoah Sydney City East have shared the spoils in their rescheduled Round 13 PlayStation®4 NPL NSW Men’s clash at Ilinden Sports Centre on Tuesday.
The home side dominated proceedings for most of the match but were forced to come from behind after Hakoah striker Adrian Vranic scored against the run of play, his fourth goal since signing from Sydney Olympic, in the 14th minute.
A committed defensive performance from the visitors made it difficult for Rockdale to break through but a late penalty kick scored by Toufic Alameddine ensured both sides went home with a point.
It was not the result Paul Reid’s side would’ve hoped for as they battle for third spot on the ladder with Waratah Cup finalists Manly United.
It was a patchy start to the match for Rockdale who set out to attack but were let down by poor touches.
A cheeky quick free kick from sailed over the bar but it was a warning shot to Hakoah not to drop their guard.
The home side’s poor discipline with the ball allowed Hakoah to fight its way into the contest and after 14 minutes the visitors shocked the home support when Adrian Vranic scored the first goal of the game.
Hakoah winger Akil Hussein cut inside from the western side of the ground and blasted a shot at David Bradasevic in between the Rockdale posts. However, The Suns keeper could only parry the shot into the path of Vranic who tucked the ball into the back of the net.
It was a demoralising goal for the home side who struggled to get into gear against a stout and unforgiving Sydney City East defence.
Peter Makrillos wasted an incredible scoring chance for the home side in the 28th minute when he broke through the defence and found himself one-on-one with Hakoah keeper Anthony Costa.
The former Stoke player looked to cut inside the advancing shot stopper but Costa was wise to the attacking midfielders attempts and smothered his shot before the ball was cleared by the defence.
Hristijan Tanoski had two chances to score from free-kicks in the 37th and 40th minutes but both times the midfielder missed the target.
The compact shape of the Hakoah defence was difficult to break down and allowed the visitors to take their 1-0 lead into half-time.
It was a cagey start to the second half with Hakoah happy to sit back and absorb pressure while Rockdale’s attack was not up to its usual standard.
The home side was rewarded for its persistence in the 62nd minute when Tanoski was taken down in the box.
Toufic Alameddine stepped up to convert from the penalty spot and level the scores at 1-1.
Rockdale lifted the intensity after the goal
Paul Reid’s side sent wave after wave of attack as they desperately searched for a match winner.
Dylan Macalister missed a gilt-edged chance in the 73rd minute when he volleyed over the bar with only the keeper to beat.
Toufic Alameddine missed another golden opportunity moments later when the Rockdale winger failed to connect with a pinpoint cross from Tanoski.
Hakoah continued to sit back and cling on but cracks were beginning to show.
The referee’s watch was quickly becoming Rockdale’s biggest enemy as the minutes edged closer to full time.
A final push from Reid’s side was unsuccessful with the final whistle ensuring both sides went home with a point.
Paul Reid said his team failed to fire on all cylinders.
“We expect to win when we play Hakoah and tonight we failed to collect all three points,” he said.
I wasn’t unhappy with how we played. It was one way traffic for most of the match but to concede an early goal against the run of play forced us to chase the game.
“It’s disappointing not have been able to find a winner but that’s football and we will regroup and look for a win on Sunday against Manly,”
Match Stats
Rockdale City Suns: 1 (Alameddine 63’)
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1 (Vranic 15’)
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Referee: Ben Abraham
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields & Andrej Giev
Fourth official: Tristan Harris
Rockdale City Suns: 1. BRADASEVIC David, 2. PETKOVSKI Daniel, 4. MCCLENAHAN Trent, 5. REID Paul, 9. MACALLISTER Dylan, 10. Peter MAKRILLOS 11. TANOSKI Hristijan, 12. Idriss EL HAFIANE, 15. PETRILLO Nicholas, 17. ALAMEDDINE Toufic (8.Aleks CANAK), 19. Patrick SAVOR,
Substitutes not used: 22. Andrew BAZI, 20. Stefan DUBOCANIN, 14. Aleks LEKOSKI, 16. Isaac SAVOR.
Yellow Cards: 15. Nicholas PETRILLO 60’
Red Cards:
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1. Anthony COSTA, 3. Connor SHADDOCK, 4. Bradley WALKER, 7. Akil HUSSEIN (18. Aaron DMELLO), 8. Paul ORGAD, 11. Gavin RAE, 13. Michael RANDALL (10. Deklan GILMARTIN), 14. Lee JONES (9. Neil JABLONSKI), 17. Jordan MUNDRELL, 31. Kevin LOPES 33. Adrian VRANIC
Substitutes not used: 19. Dominic CUTRI, 20. Matthew MCKENZIE,
Yellow cards: 14. Lee JONES 21, 10. Deklan GILMARTIN 61’, 3. Connor SHADDOCK 90’, 33. Adrian VRANIC 45’, 4. Bradley WALKER 42’
Red Cards:
