Points shared at Popondetta
Mount Druitt Town Rangers and Sydney United 58 played out a 0-0 draw in an intriguing contest on Saturday night at a brisk Popondetta Park.
For the hosts it has shown their growth in the competition where the home side were disappointed to not take all three points.
Stewart Montgomery’s men controlled much of the contest and had chances through Jack Stewart and Tarek Elrich to snatch the winner.
Sydney United 58 put in a gritty performance to rebound from their shock FFA Cup exit on Wednesday evening. It is back-to-back draws for the former iconic NSL club but coach Tomi Vidovic remained adamant that his side will come good once more.
Vidovic started the match minus two stars, the suspended Chris Payne and injured Patrick Antelmi which proved to be two key absentees for the club.
Buoyed by back-to-back victories, Mount Druitt Town Rangers started the contest on the front foot.
One of the league’s most in-form strikers in Jack Stewart had the first chance, quickly followed by John Roberts stinging the palms of Sydney United 58’s shot stopper Danijel Nizic.
Stewart was in the thick of the action once more. He was a threat cutting inside on several occasions in the first half and tried to get past Nizic.
Sydney United 58 started to find their rhythm on a crisp evening in Emerton. Glen Trifiro nodded wide from a cushioned Yianni Fragogiannis cross.
Young gun Jackson Khoury also weaved through but was denied by Mount Druitt custodian and skipper Carlos Saliadarre.
Saliadarre has been a brick wall between the sticks for Mount Druitt Town Rangers and showed why with a pair of fantastic saves in the first half. He denied Matthew Sim first then Jordan Roberts at close range as the sides went into the break level.
In a cagey second half, chances were at a premium.
Sydney United 58 had a few chances from long range to Khoury and Sim.
The game started to fray at the edges as both sides aimed to take all three points.
The home side tried to unlock the stubborn Sydney United 58 defence through their strike weapon Stewart and Jason Perez.
It was crying for an opener and Elrich almost provided it. He won the ball back with a fantastic slide tackle then popped up at the end to curl one into the top corner but for a superb stop from Nizic.
Both sides pushed forward in the dying stages of the contest.
For Mount Druitt Town Rangers, the chance fell to their main man, Stewart.
He was almost celebrating the winner but again was denied by Nizic between the sticks.
There was a sore point in the visitors match however in the 90th minute when Anthony Tomelic crashed hard to the surface what looked like a suspected broken arm – Football NSW wishes Anthony a speedy recovery.
There was one final chance for the home side in extra time.
Some superb play from the left created the chance and Perez tried to flick his effort on goal but went agonizingly wide.
The teams had to share the points in a pulsating contest which will help them in their top five aspirations but also annoyed both to not take all three.
Speaking afterwards, Mount Druitt Town Rangers coach Stuart Montgomery was happy with the effort from his side in controlling the contest but considered that it was two points his side dropped.
“I thought we were good, controlled possession and got between their lines. If we had taken our chances in the first half, we could’ve taken the lead.
“We knew they would push in the second half but we sat in, and still looked the more likely to score.” said Montgomery.
“I would consider it two points dropped for us.
“We set high standards for the side and want to achieve them each week.
“It is another clean sheet and we still remain undefeated at home.” finished Montgomery.
For Sydney United 58 coach Tomi Vidovic, he was pleased with the effort and preached that the goals would come for them in the future.
“I thought it was a good performance.
“This is a difficult place to come and win.
“We played some good football and I’m proud of the boys.
“The performances have generally been good, and we know if that continues, we will score.
“There is enough quality to do so.” said Vidovic.
Match Stats
Saturday 17th April 2021
Popondetta Park, Emerton
Referee: M. Bailey
Assistant Referees: J. Park & M. Staples
Fourth Official: L. Webb
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 0
Sydney United 58 0
Mount Druitt Town Rangers: 1. SALIADARRE Carlos, 3. OUGHTRED Travis, 6. THOMPSON Blake, 7. STEWART Jack, 8. PEREZ Jason, 9. ROBERTS John, 10. TSUJIMURA Takumu (2. MONAHAN-VAIIKA ‘64), 14. KAMADA Fumoto, 17. COSKERIE Cooper, 21. ELRICH Tarek, 33. WARREN Marc (18. MACEROLA ‘80)
Unused subs: 5. TUSON-FIRTH George, 12. NICHOLAS Peter, 13. FANELLA Robert, 31. DENG Ngor
Yellow cards: Kamada, Elrich
Red cards: nil
Sydney United 58: 1. NIZIC Danijel, 2. GONZALEZ Cristian, 3. ROBERTS Jordan, 4. VLASTELICA Adrian, 5. TOMELIC Anthony (20. KAMARA ‘90), 7. KHOURY Jackson, 8. SIM Matthew (10. CLUT ‘67) 14. AGAMEMNONOS Andrea, 16. POSCOLIERO Jacob, 18. TRIFIRO Glen (15. MAIA ‘80), 22. FRAGOGIANNIS Yianni
Unused subs: 23. VLASTELICA Luke, 33. MARCIC Michael
Yellow cards: Agamemnonos
Red cards: nil
Player Ratings
3 – Tarek Elrich (MDTR)
2 – Danijel Nizic (SU58)
1 – Blake Thompson (MDTR)
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
