Blacktown City rediscover that winning feeling
Blacktown City have captured an exciting 2-0 win over Sydney United 58 at the Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon to continue their fight for a top two spot.
Travis Major’s 26th minute tap-in, plus Mario Shabow’s 61st minute strike did enough to secure maximum points for Blacktown. The visitors also impressively held on for what was their first clean sheet from their last four matches.
Despite a wobbly kick-off that landed immediately out from Nicholas O’Brien, it was Blacktown City who had the majority of chances early on against Sydney United 58.
The visitors weathered the storm of an incredibly potent Sydney United 58 opportunity four-minutes in where a dashing Matthew Hatch pass went to waste after club new recruit Mason Wells fell over in the box and failed to get any connection to the ball.
Following that highlight somewhat similarly down the other end of the field, Martin Fernandez fed a delicious pass inside to Jak O’Brien who couldn’t quite reach the ball in time despite his outstretched boot.
Jak O’Brien continued to push and curled his attempt during the 16th minute despite being positioned some way away from the opposition’s goals which ultimately landed right into the waiting arms of Oliver Kalac.
Blacktown didn’t have to wait very long to open the scoring as ten-minutes on after some unassailable passes O’Brien sourced the ball close to the box and generated a simple tap-in for Travis Major.
Yet in spite of all of Blacktown’s dominance it should have been 1-1 in the 32nd minute as Wells fired a shot off that rattled the crossbar.
The second half opened with Blacktown testing the hosts resolve again as following a corner kick, multiple City players were threatening to score only for Kalac to once again show his class smothering the effort.
That was just a warning sign from Blacktown as in the 59th minute Jak O’Brien should have made it two to the good only for him to unfurl his shot straight at Kalac who managed to push the ball away to safety.
Two-minutes later Blacktown scored with ease as captain Mario Shabow displayed his calmness and composure under pressure as he slotted the ball into the bottom corner past a diving Kalac.
Substitute Luiz Lobo tried his best shortly afterwards to peg the scoreline back, but he dragged his shot wide of the posts. Lobo again tried his luck in the 76th minute, only for the former NWS Spirit FC player to see his free kick blocked by Blacktown City’s wall.
In the closing stages, Danny Choi provided electric sparks after he was substituted on as his shot from close range was thwarted by Adrian Vlastelica.
Blacktown City captain Mario Shabow was a relieved figure after his side returned to the winner’s circle following a host of recent losses.
“We found the right spaces today especially between the lines, we executed well, and we held onto the ball, which was all extremely important.
“The win was very important if we want to climb the ladder and be fair dinkum about competing in the finals, so every game is a must win for us.
“We want to finish first and failing that we want to win the Grand Final.”
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 0
Blacktown City 2 (Travis Major 26’, Mario Shabow 61’)
Sunday 07 July 2024
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Emma Kocbek and Aaron Bloch
Fourth Official: Liam Smith
Sydney United 58: 1.Oliver Kalac, 2.Christian Gonzalez, 4.Adrian Vlastelica, 5.Anthony Tomelic, 8.Shunta Nakamura, 9.Patrick Antelmi, 11.Matthew Hatch, (12.Marco Arambasic 68’), (13.Alessandro Lacalandra 56’), 14.Liam Mcging, 15.Tariq Maia, (19.Aidan Milicevic 56’), (21.Luiz Lobo 56’), 22.Stephan De Robillard, (29.Joshua Attard 79’), 32.Mason Wells
Unused subs: 17.Matthew Nikolovski,
Yellow cards: (Christian Gonzalez 19’, Anthony Tomelic 48’)
Red cards: Nil
Blacktown City: 1.Tristan Prendergast, 5.Grant Lynch, 7.Travis Major, 8.Jak O’Brien, 10.Mario Shabow, (11.Danny Choi 79’), 12.Tyren Burnie, 14.Mitchell Mallia, 16.Ben Berry, 17.Martin Fernandez, 18.Nicholas O’Brien, (22.Jacob Maniti 45’), (23.Joey Gibbs 63’) 24.Jackson Bandiera
Unused subs: 19.Julian Rodriguez, 20.Cayden Henderson
Yellow cards: (Jackson Bandiera 10’, Jak O’Brien 77’)
Red cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3: Jak O’Brien (BC)
2: Mario Shabow (BC)
1: Oliver Kalac (SU58)
-By Tobias Canning
