Wolves and Sydney United 58 play out scrappy draw
Wollongong Wolves shared the points with Sydney United 58 in a 0-0 stalemate at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.
There were very few chances in the match in a close encounter where a goal either way would have likely won it.
It was an even start to the match with both sides feeling their way into the contest.
In the 10th minute, Wollongong’s Alex Masciovecchio saw his effort from inside the box batted away.
United then had a chance nine minutes later, when former Wolves player Leroy Jennings found room for a shot from close range that was blocked.
Wollongong had a positive spell around half an hour in and were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box.
Takumi Ofuka stepped up with his shot deflecting off the wall and dipping just over the crossbar.
The visitors had the best chance of the game 35 minutes in.
Some sharp footwork from Taisei Kaneko inside the left of the box allowed the forward to strike at goal – the ball rolling onto the right post.
The Wolves had another chance two minutes later as Ofuka took on another strike, this time cutting in from the left, but the ball flying narrowly over the bar.
Despite chances for both teams to score, they went into halftime with the deadlock still to be broken.
Wollongong had a shot just seven minutes after the break.
A stray United 58 pass found Scott who slipped the ball to Masciovecchio on the right edge of the box, but the attacker shot over the bar.
After this early opportunity, the game hit a stale patch with a lack of chances either way as it looked like the first goal would be the winner.
As the match dragged into the final 20 minutes, it became stretched with plenty of action on the counter attack, however, the final ball seemed to be lacking.
The hosts went forward in the 81st minute with Lachlan Scott stealing the ball on the halfway and driving towards goal before his consequent shot rolled past the left post.
Neither team was able to nick the points in the end with the score finishing out as it started 0-0.
Wollongong Wolves coach David Carney was proud of the performance from his side that ended a two-game losing run for the team.
“I thought we dominated a lot we just needed to be a bit more clinical,” he said.
“I think their subs came into it a little bit and they threatened us at the end.
“The clean sheet was great as we were defensively solid, we just need to score goals and I think we’ve definitely got the players to do that.”
Sydney United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica was contrastingly disappointed with what his side showed against the Wolves believing the team didn’t play to their level.
“The conditions weren’t the best for either team, but we dropped our standards,” he explained.
“We dropped to a level that they were playing at which I didn’t like, and we couldn’t keep the ball.
“They weren’t interested in playing and we should’ve capitalised on that, and we didn’t.”
Match Stats
Wollongong Wolves FC 0
Sydney United 58 0
Sunday 16 April 2023
Albert Butler Memorial Park, Primbee
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Ethan Zvargulis and Cameron Wright
Fourth Official: Hayden Michlmayr
Wollongong Wolves FC: 13. Tomas Butkovic, 3. Harrison Buensel, 5. Banri Kanaizumi, 8. Samuel Riak, 9. Takumi Ofuka (99. Joshua Macdonald 84’), 14. Jake Trew (10. Mirza Muratovic 84’), 15. Ethan Beaven, 23. Walter Scott, 24. Lachlan Scott, 25. Alex Masciovecchio (7. Marcus Beattie 77’), 88. Christopher McStay
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nenad Vekic, 6. Senna Stevenson, 11. Nav Darjani
Yellow Cards: Walter Scott 25’, David Carney 74’
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United 58 FC: 1. Danijel Nizic, 3. Bailey Rule, 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 7. Taisei Kaneko (10. Devante Clut 61’), 8. Jason Madonis, 9. Patrick Antelmi (12. Hiyori Kawaguchi 74’), 15. Tariq Maia (18. Glen Trifiro 61’), 16. Ante Bakmaz (11. Yianni Perkatis 46’), 17. Matthew Bilic, 22. Leroy Jennings (6. Christopher Payne 57’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Luke Cukar
Yellow Cards: Tariq Maia 28’, Jason Madonis 72’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Harrison Buensel (WW)
2 – Walter Scott (WW)
1 – Adrian Vlastelica (SU58)
Report by National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
