Rockdale Ilinden continued its good run of form making it three successive wins defeating rivals the Sutherland Sharks 2-0 thanks to a brace from that man again, club captain Alec Urosevski at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
Urosevski’s double against the Sharks was his 96th and 97th career goals with his beloved club as Rockdale also put one hand on the Leader Cup, taking out the first leg as well as the derby spoils.
Bai Antoniou had the first effort of the match but scuffed his shot straight at ‘keeper Marko Bulic from a Urosevski flick in the second minute as the home side pressed early.
Antoniou returned the favour with a deft cross from the left for Urosevski to clip goalward, but Bulic was equal to the task as the hosts continued to pepper the visitors who failed to register a chance.
It wasn’t until the 20th minute that Sutherland skipper Jordan Roberts fired one over the bar from distance before Bulic had to be brave at the other end to deny Casella inside the area.
The mid-half drinks break arrived in what had proven to be an unusually tame affair to date in the stifling heat of an early Autumn afternoon.
Casella had the ball in the net on the resumption in the 27th minute when rounding Bulic but the attacker was adjudged to have come from an offside position and Fumoto Kamada curled one around the upright in reply but the game remained goal-less.
The combination of the visitors defence stepping up and, frustratingly, delaying the final through ball caught Rockdale offside on numerous occasions, a perilous tactic but proving effective.
Lachie Griffiths flashed a header wide on the cusp of half-time in what was an intriguing half of football if not as keenly contested as usual.
Conner Rose flicked on a header that Takahide Umebachi was inches away from connecting with to open the scoring in a rare Sharks’ attack on the resumption in what was proving to be a tense tussle between both teams.
Brendan Cholakian fired in a curling free-kick for a foul on Urosevski on the hour that slipped agonising over the angle of bar and post and moments later had an effort deflected over the top for a corner gathered by Bulic.
But it was talisman Urosevski, beating the offside trap, who finally broke the deadlock in the 65’ minute with a blistering left-footed shot leaving Bulic no chance.
Casella was adjudged to have been fouled in the box as Rockdale were awarded a penalty after Sutherland were caught on the break with Urosevski afforded the opportunity to double both his and Ilinden’s tally for the day, a gift he was never going to pass up, his 97th career goal for the club – it was also his seventh goal of the NPL NSW Men’s campaign.
Ilinden keeper David Bradasevic denied substitute Hamish Lamberton at the other end as the visitors were forced to throw caution to the wind in the final minutes of the match.
Rockdale came close when substitute Nikola Kuleski fired another free-kick that flew off the woodwork in the dying stages of the match but it remained a hard fought win by the home side leaving coach Paul Dee to comment.
“The guys were eager to get forward in the first-half and didn’t time their runs well enough leading to the offside count but they settled down and started to play some terrific controlled football,” he said.
“That said, we created a lot of chances and probably should have had a couple of goals, albeit not clear-cut opportunities, after composing themselves and that changes the game.
“Both sides like to play possession football so it was a tactical battle and make no mistake, Sutherland are a good side, but we kept our heads, knuckled down and to see the desperation to not only win the game but to keep a clean sheet is what every coach wants so to pick up the three-points is very pleasing and it was a fantastic team effort today.”
Sharks’ coach, Damir Prodanovic felt his side did have chances to rattle the hosts.
“I felt that we had opportunities,” he said.
“But we were up against some very good individuals and two transitional moments caught us out and we went two goals down.
“In saying that, we need to be better, better in a lot of areas, move the ball quicker, be more aggressive and we’ll improve.
“It’s a 30-week season and the boys are playing some good stuff and there are some promising signs and we will improve but there’s no easy games in this league.”
Match Stats
Rockdale Ilinden 2 (Alec Urosevski 65’, 70’ (pen))
Sutherland Sharks 0
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Sunday 5th March 2023
Referee: Ivica Covic
Assistants: Alessandro Llana and Matthew Harris
Fourth Official: Aaron Block
Rockdale Ilinden: 1. David Bradasevic, 3. Lachie Griffiths, 4. Nikola Ujdur, 7. Alec Urosevski, 8. Isaac Danzo, 9. Bai Antoniou (17. Loic Puyo 60’), 10. Brendan Cholakian (5. Will Mutch 85’), 13. Mathieu Cordier, 14. Brayden Sorge, 21. Lochie Constable (6. Nikola Kuleski 75’), 23. Jaden Casella (11. Peter Kekeris 75’)
Subs not used: 15. Jamie Percevski, 20. Ricardo Rizzo
Yellow Cards: Mathieu Cordeir 37’
Red Cards:
Sutherland Sharks: 1. Marko Bulic, 2 Takahide Umebachi (10. Luke Sauer 76’), 3. Jordan Roberts, 4. Mitch Stamatellis, 6. Brodie Clarkson, 7. Connor Rose (9. Hamish Lamberton 60’), 8. Alexander Brown, 11. Fumoto Kamada, 14. Chris Lindsay, 15. Nathan Grimaldi, 33. Louis Khoury (5. Jesse Photi 76’)
Subs not used: 22. Jacob Cremen-Cowan, 25. Oliver Randazzo, 91. Jonty Busch
Yellow Cards: Jordan Roberts 38’
Red Cards:
Player Ratings
3 – Alec Urosevski (RI)
2 – Lochie Constable (RI)
1 – Mitch Stamatellis (SS)
-By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
