Blacktown City show no mercy with 5-star performance over Wolves
A Travis Major brace has helped Blacktown City to a 5-0 demolition of a ten-man Wollongong Wolves at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday.
It was a dominant performance on the road from City who eased to a two-goal lead in the first half courtesy of Charles Mendy and Lachlan Campbell before they put the opposition to the sword in the second stanza courtesy of Major’s brace and a Wolves own goal.
It was a tough day at the office for Wollongong, who struggled to contain Blacktown’s early attacks before being reduced to ten men after the send-off of Marcus Beattie in the final seconds of the first half.
The result moves Blacktown back to fourth on the ladder, four points behind competition leaders Rockdale.
Blacktown City had a fast start to the match, with Major spurning a brilliant chance to open the scoring only two minutes into the contest after a cross from Mendy was flicked on by Mario Shabow.
Van Elia replied for the Wolves, but his free-kick sailed over the woodwork.
Blacktown had the best of the early chances and should’ve made it 1-0 when Campbell headed wide from a Jackson Bandiera corner kick.
Wollongong received a major blow 18 minutes into the contest when experienced defender Nikola Djordjevic was taken from the field after colliding with the upright while clearing a Blacktown effort off the goal line.
City was on top and finally found a breakthrough when Mendy fired home to give Blacktown City the lead in the 24th minute.
Campbell doubled the visitor’s advantage with a low header to make it 2-0 only moments later.
It was one-way traffic, and Wollongong had few answers for the wave after wave of Blacktown attacks.
Wollongong had a rare opportunity in the closing stages of the half as Lachlan Scott headed wide.
However, it would be a shocking end to the half for the home side as they were reduced to ten, with Beattie sent off for taking down Shabow on his way to goal.
Behind by two goals and with a player sent off, Wollongong had an uphill battle going into the second stanza.
And it didn’t take long for City to make the most of the man advantage as Major extended the lead to 3-0 with a clinical headed finish at the back post.
The veteran striker was at it again ten minutes later as he made it 4-0 for Blacktown with another headed goal.
An own-goal from Darcy Madden in the 76th minute added insult to injury for Wollongong after what had been a frustrating and difficult afternoon for the home side.
The final whistle couldn’t come quickly enough for Wollongong as coach Luke Wilkshire admitted that his side was not up to the pace.
“We simply weren’t good enough,” he said.
”We were as poor as some of the other things happening today.”
“We’ll take another look at the Red Card before deciding whether or not to appeal the decision.”
It was a very different story in the Blacktown locker room after the game, with coach Mark Crittenden in a jubilant mood after such a one-sided victory.
Crittenden said his side executed well and praised the way they identified and capitalised on a weak spot in the opposition backline.
“We could have scored before their centreback was carried off when Travis (Major) slid in but couldn’t connect,” he said.
“We left both him and Charles (Mendy) up high and hit them on the flanks, and we exposed them.
“This is what we want from the side; we’ve kept a clean sheet and worked hard for each other, which, as you know, is a Blacktown trait and is something we’ve been threatening to do in games this season.
“We were on top before the sending off, but obviously, it affected Wolves. We should really have had a few more goals today.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves 0
Blacktown City 5 (Mendy 24’, Campbell 28’, Major 60’, 72’, OG 76’)
Albert Butler Memorial Park, Primbee
Sunday, 18th April 2021
Referee: Christian Verdicchio
Ast. Refs: Patrick Teleki & Liam Webb
4th Official: Matthew Staples
Wollongong Wolves: 23.Hayden DUROSE, 2.Taylor McDONALD, 4.Nicola DJORDJEVIC (3.Darcy MADDEN 18’), 6.Ethan KAMBISIOS, 7.Marcus BEATTIE, 10.Van ELIA (11.Leroy JENNINGS 46), 14.Brendan LOW (13.Stefan DIMOSKI 46), 15.Daniel LOE (16.Fletcher McFARLANE 72’), 18.Hamish LAMBERTON, 20.Liam WILLE (8.Nav DARJANI 70’), 24.Lachlan SCOTT
Substitutes not used:
Yellow Cards: Elia 45’, McDonald 45+1’, Jennings 88’
Red Cards: Beattie 45+3’
Blacktown City: 20.Tristan PRENDERGAST, 3.Daniel COLLINS, 4.Lachlan CAMPBELL, 5.Grant LYNCH, 6.Matthew LEWIS , 7.Travis MAJOR (11.Rhett DESILVA 76) 10.Mario SHABOW (22.Carlos DE OLIVEIRA 79’), 17.Dakota ASKEW, 19.Adam BERRY, 21.Charles MENDY (18.Suleyman BANGURA 46), 24..Jackson BANDIERA (8.Jak O’BRIEN 46’)
Substitutes not used: 20.Dylan NISKI
Yellow Cards: Berry 50’, Shabow 67’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Travis Major (BC)
2 – Mario Shabow (BC)
1 –Dakota Askew (BC)
By National Premier Leagues NSW reporter Micky Brock
