The Bulls FC Academy have stunned former National Premier League NSW men’s table toppers Rockdale Ilinden taking out their rescheduled Round 10 clash 2-1 at Valentine Sports Park on Wednesday evening securing their second win of the 2023 season.
In a very back-and-forth opening period of the game, it was Rockdale who looked the most likely to score but were left stunned as the Bulls’ lethal counterattacking gave Mason Wells the perfect opportunity to open the scoring on the brink of halftime.
After being denied on several occasions earlier, the NPL NSW Men’s current top goalscorer Alec Urosevski got himself on the scoresheet to put his tally to 13 on the season and importantly level the score for his side.
The Bulls held strong through a flurry of Rockdale attacks in the second half and managed to fire back in the lead through Ali Auglah.
Urosevski started off the game giving the Bulls plenty of headaches in defence, coming close to opening the scoring in the first minute after his shot just went wide of the back stick.
Ilinden’s club captain continued to make his presence felt on both sides of the attack setting up Brendon Cholakian at the edge of the box only for his powerful shot to narrowly miss the roof of the net.
It was a very even game in terms of possession, but Rockdale continued to pose a threat when given the chance, forcing Alex Robinson into a handful of tough saves
The Bulls keeper racked up the saves in the first half and managed to keep Rockdale quiet despite a massive momentum shifter in the favour of the visitors.
After pulling off a phenomenal save to deny Urosevski, Robinson was outdone on the other end by David Bradasevic who was caught off his line but desperately clawed away a stellar volley from Ali Auglah.
The Bulls found themselves with the best chance of the game seemingly out of nothing as Rhys Youlley turned defence into attack, sending Jesper Webber one-on-one with Bradasevic.
Webber’s attempt sailed past the keeper but agonisingly bounced back off the bar and denied the Bulls of a sensational opening goal.
The Bulls only had to wait eight more minutes for the opening goal as Wells followed up on his deflected shot and poked his chance home in the 41st minute.
After finding themselves on the back foot for the majority of the first half, the Bulls turned the game on its head and managed to hold a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
Rockdale started off the second half on the front foot and regained control of the flow of possession and attacking chances.
The visitors found the back of the net just five minutes after the restart after Urosevski got his body on the end of an attempted shot from Lochlan Constanble but saw the goal ruled out due to an offside.
Rockdale continued to dominate the opening stages of the first half and put the Bulls’ defence under a mountain of pressure as the game progressed.
After being denied on several occasions, Urosevski couldn’t be denied much longer and made no mistakes when given a one-on-one with Robinson to level the score.
The Bulls get back into the game with two chances of their own with Auglah forcing a good save from Bradasevic before Youlley’s attempt narrowly went over the bar on the follow-up.
In a game of constant twists and turns, it was the Bulls who pulled a second goal out of the bag against the run of play.
The freshly substituted Mabior Garang broke away down the right flank and used all his speed and strength to get past his man helping him pick out an open Auglah in front of a nearly empty net for an easy finish to put the Bulls back in the lead.
The Bulls had to remain cautious of the ever-present Rockdale attack and were almost caught out as Loic Puyo found himself with an open header from close range, only for his chance to swing past the post.
As the minutes ticked away and a Bulls win became more likely, tempers began to flare between both sides.
Substitute Bai Antoniou was shown a straight red card for his interaction with the referee just moments after a shirt pull saw all members of both sides in a heated confrontation. The attacker was only on the pitch 13 minutes before seeing red.
After missing a couple of golden chances in the dying stages of the game it was the Bulls who secured their second straight win in dramatic circumstances.
Bulls Zeljko Kalac didn’t hide his elation after the game admitting his side truly deserved to win the game, whilst giving praise to his keeper.
“Fantastic performance, we showed a lot of courage and belief, they fought for every ball. They played the match plan out to perfection,” he said.
“We defended and attacked like a team, we played a very good team, they stood up to the challenge and I thought we really deserved the win.
“He’s (Alex Robinson) been excellent, Robbo’s a very talented young keeper who has a big future ahead of him.”
Rockdale coach Paul Dee noted his frustration with his side’s ability to finish off chances but credited a resilient Bulls’ defence.
“Today was disappointing on a number of levels, we had a chance to go top, there was a bit of lack of composure in our execution,” he said.
“He had a really good game, so credit to him, they’re a good young team, we definitely had our chance but with our clinical execution of our chances it didn’t really matter, we have to do better.”
Match Stats
Bulls FC Academy 2 (Wells 41’, Auglah 79’)
Rockdale Ilinden FC 1 (Urosevski 68’)
Wednesday 19th April 2023
Valentine Sports Centre, Glenwood
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Aaron Bloch and Alessandro Llana
Fourth Official: Jackson Mackie
Bulls FC Academy: 30. Alexander Robinson, 2. Anthony Krillic, 5. Jonathan Maras, 7. Ali Auglah 14. Sunday Yona 90’), 8. Mason Wells (20. Adrian Knez 72’), 19. Jesper Webber (15. Mabior Garang 66’), 21. Lachlan McDonald, 22. Edward Caspers, 32. Isaac Hover, 52. Rhys Youlley, 53. Joel Bertolissio
Unused subs: 40. Griffin Barry, 3. Theph Theph, 13. Jordan Ivanovic
Yellow cards: Caspers 59’, Garang 84’, Knez 90+3’
Red cards: nil
Rockdale Ilinden: 1. David Bradasevic, 4. Nikola Ujdur, 5. Will Mutch (3. Lachlan Griffiths 51’), 7. Alec Urosevski, 8. Isaac Danzo, 10. Brendon Cholakian (9. Bai Antoniou 80’), 11. Lachlan Constable, 15. Jamie Percevski, (6. Nikola Kuleski 51’), 17. Loic Puyo, 66. Mathieu Cordier, 77. Peter Kekris (23. Jaden Casella 62’)
Unused subs: 20. Ricardo Rizzo
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: Anoniou 90+3’
Player Ratings:
3: Alex Robinson (BAFC)
2: Mason Wells (BAFC)
1: Eddie Caspers (BAFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti