Sharks in the groove after knocking off Rangers
The Sutherland Sharks made it three wins on the bounce with a 2-1 victory over Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Popondetta Park on Saturday night.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were stung by a pair of goals in the first half which they’d ultimately pay the price as the Sharks asserted their control of the match with possession.
Alexander Brown curled home a goal in the ninth minute before Chris Lindsay’s penalty doubled the advantage in the 26th minute and had them on course for a third straight win.
The Rangers did pull a goal back from a volley from substitute Will Harvey in the 71st minute which set up a grandstand finish but Damir Prodanovic’s men held on for a good win.
After a well observed ANZAC Day service, both Mt Druitt Town Rangers and Sutherland Sharks FC knew picking up three points from this clash would go a long way towards movement on the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s ladder.
Following their good form in recent weeks, Sutherland Sharks started on the front foot and Hamish Lamberton was played in and forced Mt Druitt stopper Dylan Niski into a fine save.
The Sharks were on fire early and took the lead through Brown. The attacker curled a fabulous effort into the top corner in the ninth minute to make it 1-0.
The hosts worked their way into the game with Rhett Desilva and Kotaro Katsuta both having shots which were dealt with by the Sharks defence.
Fumoto Kamada on his return to Popondetta Park, set up the second Sharks goal. The ball from Takehide Umebachi saw the attacker fouled in the area.
Chris Lindsay stepped up and slotted the spot kick for his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 for the Sharks in the 26th minute.
The hosts needed to find a goal before the break. Katsuta flashed an effort wide of the mark then he curled in a free kick which Nikola Djordjevic craned over.
Coming out of the break, Sutherland Sharks looked just fine.
Substitute Connor Rose sped past his man with ease and created a chance as Kamada’s cutback was saved.
Knowing the Rangers needed a goal quickly to get back into the contest, Katsuta delivered for Mt Druitt. His free kick was volleyed home by Harvey at the far post in the 71st mintue to make it 2-1.
The hosts then pushed forward looking for the equaliser.
The Rangers had a few chances from set pieces to do so but the Sharks defence held firm.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers were flying forward for the second goal. Substitute Cooper Coskerie had a tame effort then Katsuta fired straight at Sharks custodian Marko Bulic.
The full-time whistle blew as the Sharks celebrated a big win which sent them further up the ladder.
Sutherland Sharks coach Damir Prodanovic was in buoyant mood following his side’s tough win picking up their fifth victory of the NPL NSW Men’s season.
“Look, I thought we controlled the game,” Prodanovic stated.
“They barely had the ball and created very little chances.
“We had a few one-on-ones in the second half which we didn’t convert.
“It ended up being a scrappy game after their goal, but it was good to get the win.
“We need to work on our model after some success, but we are nowhere near where we want to be.”
While Mt Druitt Town Rangers coach Stewart Montgomery was frank in his assessment of the game following his side’s eighth defeat of the season.
“It was a slow start yet again.
“We tried to work on limiting Sutherland’s strengths, but they were able to create a pair of chances for their goals.
“Second half we kept them to no shots but come away with a loss but have to convert our chances.
“We have to work on concentrating defensively which is the first step to accumulating more points.”
Match Stats
Saturday 22 April 2022
Popondetta Park, Emerton
Referee: Ivica Covic
Assistant Referees: Amber Morris & Lindsay Edmonds
Fourth Official: Daniel Drewitt
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Harvey ‘71)
Sutherland Sharks FC 2 (Brown ‘9, Lindsay ‘26)
Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 2. Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika (8. Will Harvey ‘55), 3. Nikola Djordjevic (4. Cooper Coskerie ‘45), 7. Nikola Skataric, 10. Kotaro Katsuta, 11. Jackson Bandiera, 15. Anthony Gallo, 20. Dylan Niski, 21. Tarek Elrich, 22. Rhett Desilva (6. Jared Macerola ‘45), 27. Stefan Nikolic, 43. Abdelelah Faisal (44. Anthony Frangie ‘66)
Unused subs: 1. Robert Fanella, 41. Ivan Sunjic
Yellow cards: Desilva ‘38
Red cards: nil
Sutherland Sharks FC: 1. Marko Bulic, 2. Takahide Umebachi, 4. Mitchell Stamatellis, 6. Brodie Clarkson, 8. Alexander Brown, 9. Hamish Lamberton (7. Connor Rose ‘23 (5. Jesse Photi ‘75)), 11. Fumoto Kamada, 14. Chris Lindsay, 21. Luke Sauer, 33. Louis Khoury (3. Jordan Roberts ‘86), 91. Jonty Busch
Unused subs: 19. Evan Ball, 22. Jacob Cremen-Cowan
Yellow cards: Clarkson ‘46, Brown ‘69, Lindsay ‘79
Red cards: nil
Player Ratings:
3: Fumoto Kamada (SS)
2: Alexander Brown (SS)
1: Mitchell Stamatellis (SS)
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)