Defensive heroics force United 58 and Bulls to share points
Sydney United 58 and Bulls FC Academy were both agonisingly forced to share the points in a tense goalless draw at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon.
After an eventful start in attack for United 58, both sides conserved their energy in attack, leaving the defences a chance to catch their breath for what would be a hard-fought second half.
The second half saw a handful of golden chances squandered by either side, with the Bulls finding success in the final third in short stints whilst the hosts slowly gather momentum in the backend of the game.
After 90 frustrating minutes for both set of attackers, the referee called an end to the game with neither side registering a goal.
It was a very promising opening couple of minutes of the Bulls coming close to opening the scoring when Jesper Webber cut in a ball for Eddie Caspers, only for Ante Bakmaz to divert his shot away from goal.
After the first chance, it was a difficult 15 minutes for the Bulls who were forced to sit back and absorb pressure as the hosts let the floodgates open in attack.
A heroic interception from Adrian Vlastelica saw United 58 get their best chance of the game, with the ball finding Glen Trifiro who chipped it through to Chris Payne in close range, only for him to be ruled offside.
Despite another couple of attacking plays from the Bulls, the majority of good chances continued to fall the way of the hosts, who themselves were unable to convert any chances into goals.
Alex Robinson denied United 58 of the opening goal when Matthew Bilic played a perfect ball to an open Trifiro in the box, leaving him with a clear path at the target which was strongly denied by the Bulls’ goalkeeper.
With just five minutes remaining in the first half, the Bulls had their best chance of the game with Webber going from box to box and with a piercing effort from outside the box, Luke Cukar came to United 58’s rescue with a world-class save.
With both sides having a fair share of chances in front of the target, the defences came out on top in a goalless first half.
United 58 quickly resumed a strong attacking intensity upon the resumption of play and found two chances in quick succession for the opener with Yianni Fragogiannis picking out Anthony Tomelic, and Chris Payne from the byline.
Both players found themselves with space close to goal but were unable to control the height of their efforts and were forced to watch their chances narrowly miss the target.
Tomelic continued to find himself involved in the game on both ends of the field and came within inches of a sensational opener when his long-range effort fizzled past the back stick.
United found plenty of success going down the line through Bilic as the United 58 winger’s crosses continued to cause the Bulls’ defence a lot of concern.
Bilic’s effort down the left continued to be an x-factor for the hosts with his crosses picking out both Taisei Kaneko and Payne in dangerous areas but unable to find the back of the net.
After a long period without a genuine opportunity, the Bulls had a chance to steal three crucial points when Ariath Piol had room for a powerful header but misplaced the effort well away from the target.
The Bulls continued a late surge for the win and once again forced a courageous stop from Vlastelica in the box to deny Stephan De Robillard from finding the back of the net.
With just two minutes of regulation remaining the hosts squandered two golden chances to snatch the win with Kaneko’s close-range going just wide whilst Tomelic didn’t get the desired first touch on his chance and collided with an oncoming Robinson.
As the full-time whistle blew both teams were left pondering what could have been in what was a frustrating evening for both teams in front of goals.
After an improving effort from his side, Bulls coach Zeljko Kalac remained optimistic about his side’s chances going forward.
“The performance again was good, I can’t complain with the attitude and the desire to win the match, just that final ball is hurting us, we just need that little bit of lucky maybe to get that win on the board,” he said.
“I can’t knock the performance, you come to Edensor and not many teams come away with anything, we take that as a positive and we move on… we just keep going, while there’s games still there.”
United 58 coach Miro Vlastelica saw the positives in his side’s defensive efforts and heaped praise on Luke Cukar for his showing between the sticks.
“Tough day in front of goal, especially in the second half for us in the end it was a game of a lot of missed opportunities, we had chances we should have taken them and we walk away with a draw,” he said.
“We knew what we were up against with the Bulls, they’re full of energy, we knew the were going to come at us, we were very solid, our keeper did very well, he’s basically been thrown in the deep end, there’s a lot of good words and praise for Cukar in goals.
“All around the back was solid and the team was solid as a unit.”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 FC 0
Bulls FC Academy 0
Sunday 25th June 2023
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: John Garcia and James Makris
Fourth Official: Richard Baker
Sydney United 58 FC: 20. Luke Cukar, 3. Bailey Rule (7. Taisei Kaneko 64’), 4. Adrian Vlastelica, 5. Anthony Tomelic, 6. Christopher Payne, 10. Devante Clut (11. Yianni Perkatis 60’), 12. Hiyori Kawaguchi, 16. Ante Bakmaz, 17. Matthew Bilic, 18. Glen Trifiro (14. Andreas Agamemnonos 77’), 21. Yianni Fragogiannis
Substitutes not used: 50. Ryan Warner, 2. Cristian Gonzalez, 19. Ante Vojvodic
Yellow cards: Bakmaz 72’, Perkatis 90+3’
Red cards: nil
Bulls FC Academy: 30. Alexander Robinson, 2. Luca Pecora 8. Mason Wells, 11. Stephan De Robillard, 13. Jordan Ivancic (5. Ariath Piol 57’), 14. Peter Grozos (10. Ayman Gulasi 57’), 19. Jesper Webber (18. Federico Gagliano 71’), 22. Edward Caspers (6. Frans Deli 45’), 29. Michael Marcevski, 52. Rhys Youlley, 53. Joel Bertolissio
Unused subs: 40. Griffin Barry
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Player Ratings
3: Adrian Vlastelica (SU58)
2: Ante Bakmaz (SU58)
1: Alex Robinson (BAFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti
