United 58 Bounce Back with important victory at Blacktown
Sydney United 58 came out on top in an intense fight against Blacktown City at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon, with a 2-1 victory over the home side.
United 58’s Kyle Cimenti opened the scoring in the 9th minute to give the visitors an early lead but it was swiftly answered by Blacktown City’s Daniel Collins in the 15th minute.
Substitute Patrick Antelmi sealed the deal for United 58 in the 83rd minute to take all three points from the hard-fought battle.
The victory was crucial in United 58 regaining momentum after their loss to Northbridge Bulls in Round 4, while the loss is City’s second loss in a row.
The two Premiership contenders battled for the entire 90 minutes as both sides created a multitude of chances to make their mark on the match.
The action started early as both sides came out firing looking to make their mark in the matchup.
Dakota Askew had a chance for the home side in the 5th minute but his effort came off the crossbar.
Cimenti opened the scoring in just the 9th minute as some combination play paid off for the visitors.
Andreas Agamemnonos played the ball through to Tariq Maia who cut into Cimenti in front of the goal.
Cimenti cleanly finished, tapping the ball in to score the first of the match.
It wasn’t long until Blacktown City got themselves back in the game, with defender Collins securing the equaliser in the 15th minute.
Dakota Askew sent a corner kick into the area and Collins got on the end of it at the far post to poke it over the line and into the netting.
Cimenti came for another in the 20th minute as Chris Payne flicked the ball onto him in a dangerous position but Robinson was in position to deny a second.
Askew took a free kick from outside the 18-yard box in the 33rd minute and sent a strike blistering towards goal but Danijel Nizic jumped to collect.
A ball from Glen Trifiro gave Cimenti another chance in the 35th minute but Robinson was in a good position to deny.
The visitors had another opportunity in the 37th minute as Payne made a strong run forward and received a ball from over the top from Trifiro but Robinson deflected and Cimenti picked it up. He took his shot but it was cleared by Daniel Collins from in front of the goalmouth.
Both sides hit the sheds at the half-time break with a goal apiece and came back with plenty of fight to try to take the lead and get more than one point from the game.
Payne made a huge run in the 51st minute, getting in behind the Blacktown defensive line to get on the end of an overhead ball, but he sent his shot blazing towards goal and it ricocheted off the post.
Nizic was again called into action in the 53rd minute to collect a header from Campbell off a Blacktown City corner.
The hosts had a big chance in the 74th minute as Charles Mendy took a shot that deflected off United 58 captain Adrian Vlastelica.
Campbell picked up the deflection to shoot but his effort came off the post and Matthew Bilic cleared to muffle out the opportunity for Blacktown.
Mendy was back at it in the 80th minute but his effort was directed straight to Nizic who collected with ease.
Substitute Antlemi countered almost immediately but his shot went wide of the sticks.
The visitors took back the lead in the 83rd minute through Antelmi.
Payne made a forward run and sent the ball to a waiting Antelmi, who ran forward and tumbled over Robinson, pushing the ball over the line with his body from the ground.
Askew nearly equalised for Blacktown City in the 89th minute as he sent a cracking ball towards goal but it was again well-saved by Nizic as he knocked it out of contention.
Chris Payne sent a cross into the area in the 91st minute which was headed out by Campbell and landed at the feet of Trifiro inside the 18-yard box who hit a volley that rattled the crossbar.
Blacktown City substitute Hiroaki Aoyama had the last chance of the match in the final moments as he headed the ball down towards goal, but it bounced high and over the crossbar, leaving the visitors to finish the match with a 2-1 victory and a valuable three points.
Sydney United 58’s Glen Trifiro explained after the match that the win over a competitive side like Blacktown was huge for his side.
“It’s tough to come to Blacktown and they’re obviously a very energetic and good quality side so for us to control majority of the game was a real plus for us – that’s when we’re at our best when we’re in control,” he explained.
“It’s never going to be easy, full credit to them [Blacktown] for really pushing us and I’m just glad in the end with the opportunities we created that we managed to score two and win the game today.
“To bounce back against someone who is always there or there abouts at the end of the season is a real positive for our squad.
“It’s positive moving forward and we look forward to next week.”
Match Stats
Blacktown City FC 1 (Daniel Collins 15’)
Sydney United 58 FC 2 (Kyle Cimenti 9’, Patrick Antelmi 83’)
Sunday, 3rd April, 2022
Blacktown City Sports Centre, Seven Hills
Referee: Hassan Jomaa
Assistant Referees: Joon Park and Nick Vermaat
Fourth Official: Nicholas Kour
Blacktown City FC: 3. Daniel Collins, 4. Lachlan Campbell, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Matthew Lewis (9. Jake Trew 87’), 8. Jak O’Brien, 10. Mario Shabow (32. Hiroaki Aoyama 59’), 11. Mitchell Mallia (7. Jordan Smylie 66’), 17. Dakota Askew, 19. Adam Berry, 21. Charles Mendy, 30. Alex Robinson
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Tynen Burnie, 18. Nicholas O’Brien, 20. Cayden Henderson
Yellow Cards: Lewis 83’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne (13. Jordan Ivancic), 8. Kyle Cimenti (9. Patrick Antelmi 62’), 10. Devante Clut (21. Mihael Marcic 87’), 11.Yianni Perkatis, 14. Andreas Agamemnonos, 15. Tariq Maia (3. Jordan Roberts 62’), 17. Matthew Billic, 18. Glen Trifiro
Substitutes Not Used: 16. Adrian Knez, 55. Goran Palecek
Yellow Cards: Tomelic 31’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Danijel Nizic (SU58)
2 – Dakota Askew (BC)
1 – Glen Trifiro (SU58)
-By Madeline Riley
