First Grade will be kicking off at 3pm while Grade 20?s at 1pm and Grade 18?s at 11am.
Solemn United Take Points At Rockdale
It was a testing match for the Reds who fought back to notch two goals and had keeper Vedran Janjetovic the hero as he saved a penalty in stoppage time to gift the Edensor Park boys the points.
Rockdale came into the game with a new man in charge in former Socceroo and ex-United player Wally Savor who replaced Lee Sterrey at the helm late last week.
The Sydney cause wasn?t helped when defender Milan Bosnar was forced to leave the field in only the 6th minute to be replaced by Tomislav Mijic as the United side had to re-adjust its plans which could well have played into the hands of the Suns.
Soon after James Monie went close with a right-footed semi bicycle-kick but the effort was blocked while a couple of minutes later Shay Spitz fired a stinging shot goal-ward that warmed the hands of Janjetovic.
Rockdale had claims for a penalty ten minutes later when Joshua Lawson, having a solid match at left back and containing the impressive Steve Hayes, sent over a cross for Shay Spitz with his effort leaving Suns players in the box calling for handball that referee Jason Blackwood, rightly, waved away.
United?s first real chance of the game came in the 39th minute when Askin Oygur gave the ball away which Luka Glavas pounced on and surged forward. Instead of squaring to a better placed team-mate, Glavas opted for an attempted chip over the advancing Ben McNamara but as the ball bobbled just before contact, it simply scooped upward for an easy take by the Suns custodian.
Spitz, Dominic Hudap and Monie were again involved with blocked shots and headers before United finally cleared their lines but they knew they had been distinctly second best during the first forty-five minutes. United though almost went behind on the stroke of half-time when Hudap went alone with the better option being a pass out to the left for Monie in a better position, yet it remained all square and goal less at the break.
Two minutes after the break and United made another substitution with Elsid Barkhousir brought on to replace Ante Tomic, a move that paid dividends later on.
Rockdale still made the better showing after the resumption and with Monie looping a header toward the net, Janjetovic was able to gather with some ease due to a lack of purchase on the ball. Monie – a minute later, played a through ball for Sash Tirovski to place a right-footed shot across the body of Janjetovic to give the home side a deserved lead in the 55th minute.
United then hit back as Barkhousir levelled the tally in the 71st minute as the pint sized striker proved his worth after coming on as a substitute early in the first half.
The Reds then hit the lead via the always elusive Glavas who looped an effort over McNamara in the 82nd minute which notched up his tenth goal of the year ? and ultimately became the competition?s top goalscorer.
Drama then unfolded in stoppage time as the Suns were awarded a penalty but Jason Naidovski had his spot-kick saved by Janjetovic who secured the points for the Reds in a game they never truly deserved to win.
Suns new Coach Wally Savor was disappointed to have not gotten anything from the match in his first game in charge.
?It was a sucker-punch at the end, we talked about it, be careful of Glavas, the flick on from Vidaic and when they got the equaliser we started to lose our shape and it was a little disappointing after going ahead but they came here and raided the points tonight.
?We can take a lot of positives from the match, the boys performed well and I changed the system to be more attacking and I cannot speak highly enough of the effort because for those watching the game, you would have thought we were the team near the top of the table instead of being the other way around. So from that point of view, we have a lot to take from it because the guys responded very positively to training this week.
?I am annoyed an older head didn?t step up for the penalty and it was left to a younger lad to take it instead of our usual penalty taker but the best players miss throughout the world and although it would have been nice to at least take a point from the game we?ll learn from this and move on, however in saying that we conceded two goals so a penalty miss didn?t lose us the game.?
Jean-Paul De Marigny was in agreement with Savor?s comments when adding.
?I thought the boys did very well as we attended a funeral this morning for Peter Markovic?s father and emotionally that hit us a lot and to be fair I expected that. We came back strongly, I was very impressed and of course Vedran needs to win us nine points a year as that is what a good goalkeeper does and tonight he got us the two extra points.
?We needed to adapt to the conditions and our movement tonight wasn?t as sharp as it usually is or has been in the past and that always makes it difficult to find that final ball but we?ll continue to work on that and find the consistency required . You have to also give credit to the Suns who were tenacious in their defending and of course the new coach always makes a difference too as everyone finds that bit of extra energy and is out to impress.
?I am very happy and relieved with the result, sometimes you win these games and others you don?t so I?m happy with the three points here, it wasn?t easy.?
Footnote: A one minute silence was held prior to the kick-off for the father of Sydney United player Peter Markovic and our condolences and sincere best wishes go to the Markovic family and friends at this sad time.
Rockdale City Suns U/20 Grade side romped home to a four-nil win against their Sydney United counterparts.
Match Stats
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Tirovski 55)
Sydney United 2 (Barkhousir 71, Glavas 81)
Saturday, 25th June, 2011
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Referee: Jason Blackwood
Assistant Referees: Thomas Lee & Cameron Bruce
Fourth Official: Matthew Cropper
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara, 2.Paul Dee, 3.Shay Spitz, 6.Joshua Lawson, 8.Dominic Hudap, 11.Adem Kir 19.Marino Musumeci 85?), 12.James Monie, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 17.Sash Tirovski (9.Jason Naidovski 66?), 21.Mirko Jurilj, 23.Askin Oygur
Substitutes Not Used: 14.Itsuki Hasegawa, 22.Dion Shaw, 4.Sean Thomas
Yellow Cards: Tirovski 63,
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic, 3.Mitchell Speer, 4.Michael Cindric, 6.Milan Bosnar (38.Tomislav Mijic 8?), 8.Shane Lyons, 10.Steven Hayes, 11.Luka Glavas, 13.Ben Vidaic, 15.Ufuk Talay (18.Daniel Rezo 60?), 23.Ivo Bosnar, 29.Ante Tomic (9.Elsid Barkhousir 47?)
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Ryan Norval, 22.Samuel Chapple
Yellow Cards: Lyons 74
Red Cards: Nil
-By Micky Brock
Rockdale City Suns appoint new coach
Wally Savor along with the Suns assistant coach Alex Kotevich will take over the reins from Lee Sterrey for the remainder of the season.
Wally has done a great job with the Rockdale Suns under 20?s side this year and is familiar with the First Grade squad which should make the transition a lot smoother.
Having played at elite level and being voted one of the greatest Socceroos of all time, Wally has a great knowledge of the game.
Further, with Alex Kotevich doing a fantastic job with the first grade squad, we are confident the team will continue improving.
The Club would like to thank Lee Sterrey for his efforts to date and wish him all the best.
-Rockdale City Suns Press Release
Bonnyrigg show grit and determination to win
In the end a deciding goal by Alex Canak, who was even helped by a deflection, separated the two teams.
However, it was exactly what Bonnyrigg deserved because as a team they are well coached and play with determination and grit.
Every ball is contested and fought for; in short, if any team other than Bonnyrigg that wins the NSW Premier League title, will have to overcome one of the more disciplined and focussed teams in the competition in recent years.
To their credit too, A.P.I.A. Leichhardt played very well, especially in the first-half, but seemed to run out of energy in the second stanza of play.
After the game Brian Brown was rightly proud of his team?s approach and for achieving the three points over a rather difficult Tigers outfit.
?I think this is probably as good a three points that we will get this season,? he said.
?Coming here you have to scrap and battle and our team did that very well.
?The team has a reasonably good bench, so that keeps the pressure on everyone to perform.
?I am ecstatic to get the win because I have come here so many times over years and I know that this is one place where you to battle and scrap for everything.
?I think we deserved to win because we wanted it more than A.P.I.A. did in the end.?
In the 12? minute Bonnyrigg White Eagles could have taken the lead when Alex Canak pounced on a loose ball from Jose Bello-Amigo, but unfortunately for the visitors he couldn?t steer the ball in from close range.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt?s best chance of the half presented itself in the 23? minute when a Chris James corner reached Anthony Hartshorn, who flicked on a delightful header that ended up just wide for a corner thanks to a slight deflection from the Bonnyrigg White Eagles defence.
Late in the first-half Bello-Amigo was called on to work miraculously between the posts to deny both Canak and then Blake Powell from close range after a delightful cross from the left by Nathan Elasi who split the Tigers defence.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles, who by that stage were really pressing forward, must have felt terribly disappointed not to have found the back of the net.
Shortly afterwards Sam Messam dangerously charged into the penalty box, but upon reaching the byline he fired in a cross that was met nicely by Andrew Bazi down low.
The very competitive first-half, where both sides fought for every ball, ended scoreless as expected for such a tight contest.
In the 51? minute Messam was back at it again for the Tigers when, from reasonably close range, he fired his diagonal shot over the crossbar.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles took the lead in the 56? minute when a Chris Tadrosse corner reached Canak who seemed to out-jump all and sundry to head home thanks partly to a deflection from Messam.
It was all Bonnyrigg needed to claim all three points in the end.
In the 63? minute the mercurial Franco Parisi delightfully played a ball across from right to left for Nick Rizzo, but unfortunately the former Crystal Palace player couldn?t blast his shot through the legs of the alert Bazi.
A few minutes later Bonnyrigg?s reply was fairly dangerous because Elasi?s shot required an alert Bello-Amigo to make a nice save down low.
In the 78? minute Chris James should have been more clinical with his finishing when presented with a glorious chance, but somehow from close range he scuffed his shot and Bazi made a good save.
Late in the game the industrious Rizzo fired in another shot, but this time a deflection denied the Tigers.
After the game A.P.I.A. Leichhardt?s football manager Tony Raciti was left disappointed that his team couldn?t at least achieve a point.
?I think in the worst case scenario it should have been a draw, but at the end of the day the name of the game is to score,? he said.
?I thought that the team as a whole was very, very committed to win but, unfortunately, Bonnyrigg?s goal came from a set piece and we missed two one-on-ones.
?I thought that A.P.I.A. had slightly more chances than Bonnyrigg to win, but this loss will mean that it is a long-shot for the club to reach the semis now.
?We will focus all of our energy into Wednesday night?s game [against Blacktown Spartans in the Waratah Cup], but it will be a hard game against any opposition including Blacktown Spartans.?
Meanwhile, in the Grade-20s A.P.I.A. Leichhardt and Bonnyrigg White Eagles played out a 2-2 draw.
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers 0
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Canak 56?)
Sunday 19th June, 2011
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant referees: Mike Robertson and Owen Ferguson
Fourth Official: Matthew Cropper
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Jose Bello-Amigo; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.John Kelso, 5.Michael West, 6.Marton Vass (20.Tomislav Herceg 85?), 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Anthony Hartshorn (12.Andrew Vitucci 83?), 11.Nicola Rizzo, 23.Chris James, 14.Sam Messam, 10.Franco Parisi (17.Wandi Jajaw 74?).
Substitutes Not Used: 22.Terry Dal Broi, 16.Damir Prodanovic,
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Andrew Bazi; 14.Blake Powell (23.Tynan Diaz 86?), 3.Nikola Zonjic, 5.Chris Tadrosse, 7.Nathan Elasi (4.Wade Oostendorp 90?+1?), 8.Alex Canak, 9.Brad Boardman, 12.Takuya Murayama, 16.David Vrankovic, 17.Michael Robinson, 19.Jamie McMaster.
Substitutes Not Used: 15.Wely Al-Rikaby, 2.Nikola Stanojevic, 20.Tom Hamilton
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
-By Joe Russo
Red-hot Bonnyrigg shoot down league leaders Olympic
After stunning the Sutherland Sharks 4-2 last week, the White Eagles continued their purple patch of form with a convincing 3-0 win in greasy conditions, albeit against 10-men in the last 10? minutes after Robert Mileski was given an early mark.
The White Eagles went some way to rectifying their 3-2 loss to Sydney Olympic in the third round of the Waratah Cup a fortnight ago, climbing back up towards the cusp of the top five with a three-goal victory in round 11 of the NSW Premier League.
While Bonnyrigg came home strong, it was Phil Makrys and Mileski who ensured Olympic began proceedings as the dominant team, creating several half chances in the first 20? minutes.
But it was Bonnyrigg?s Nathan Elasi who had the first real opportunity of the match after 19? minutes, but the former Melbourne Victory striker failed to make the most of his chance.
Elasi was given plenty of time to line up his shot from the edge of the box but Olympic keeper Paul Henderson was equal to the task, getting a glove to the ball to tap it away from danger.
From the ensuing Jared Lum corner, Olympic paid the price for letting Jamie McMaster run free, with the Bonnyrigg no.19 heading home to open the account.
The goal triggered a White Eagles attacking frenzy, shifting the tide of the game which favoured the visitors in the opening periods.
Lum was in the thick of the action and almost set up the White Eagles? second with a precision free-kick, but striker Brad Boardman was unable to get his header on target from the far post.
A minute later McMaster broke away and looked likely to set up Bonnyrigg?s second, but his square ball was intercepted by Olympic.
Olympic?s Peter Triantis tried his best to get his team back in the match, weaving his way through the Bonnyrigg defence to fire a shot towards goal, but Bonnyrigg goalkeeper Andrew Bazi was able to sit back and watch as it trickled wide of the post.
On the stroke of half-time David Vrankovic could have extended Bonnyrigg?s lead when he got a free header from a corner, but his effort left a lot to be desired.
To Olympic?s credit they kept coming at their opponents and almost equalised when Alex Smith cut his ball back into the goal mouth towards an oncoming Mileski.
But Bonnyrigg?s Bazi managed to intercept just in time to ensure his team would hold on to their one goal advantage at the break.
Bonnyrigg were unlucky not to be given a penalty early in the second-half when McMaster was chopped down by Brett Studman on the edge of the box.
But referee Gerard Parsons remained unfazed by the vocal protest from the White Eagles.
At the other end Makrys tried his hand at a long range effort, but his curling shot lacked the accuracy to trouble Bazi.
Alex Smith looked destined to equalise when he fired a shot in towards goal on the volley, but teammate Emmanuel Giannaros couldn?t get out of the way in time and deflected it away from goal.
The White Eagles continued to push forward and a runaway Boardman almost supplied the home side with their second, but Henderson was able to intercept his cross and deny Elasi.
Then, in the 80? minute, the game was turned on its head when Mileski was red carded for a tussle with David Vrankovic.
The White Eagles immediately capitalised on the extra man, with Takuya Murayama firing a well-timed right foot drive across the face of Henderson into the back of the net to give Bonnyrigg a 2-0 lead after 83? minutes.
Tadrosse then capped off a memorable night for the home team when he found himself unmarked down the left flank, cutting back inside of Giannaros to thump his shot under Henderson for a 3-0 victory.
Bonnyrigg coach Brian Brown said he was proud of his troops? performance against the form team of the competition and believes his team has finally turned the corner:
?We had to fight our way back from the situation we were in earlier in the year and we?ve done that in the last two weeks,? Brown said.
?The players have worked really hard and the beauty is that I have a squad to pick from now instead of the team picking itself.
?Players are desperate to keep positions and because of it we?ve beaten the second and first placed teams in consecutive weeks.
?It?s a big step forward in our season.?
Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis conceded his team were way off their best on Saturday but said there was no cause for concern following the 3-0 thumping:
?I thought we were pretty ordinary,? Tsekenis said.
?To Bonnyrigg?s credit I thought they were very hungry.
?But you?re going to have games where you are going to be down and when you are four-point league leaders, everyone starts paying attention.
?Teams really aim up and try to knock you off and I think Bonnyrigg came in with that attitude.?
Olympic will get its first taste at playing at home (all its remaining NSW Premier League games will be played at home) at Belmore Sports Ground this Wednesday evening when they battle Blacktown City FC in round 4 of the Waratah Cup.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3 (Jamie McMaster 20?, Takuya Murayama 83?, Chris Tadrosse 88?)
Sydney Olympic 0
Saturday 4th June, 2011
Bonnyrigg Sports Centre, Bonnyrigg Heights
Referee: Gerard Parsons
Assistant Referees: Alex Long and Steven Nguyen
Fourth Official: Roland Hunt
Crowd: 600 Approx.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1.Andrew Bazi; 16.David Vrankovic (4.Wade Oostendorp, 89?), 5.Chris Tadrosse, 17.Michael Robinson, 22.Jared Lum, 14.Blake Powell (23.Tynan Diaz 56?), 12.Takuya Murayama, 8.Alexander Canak (3.Nikola Zonjic 50?), 7.Nathan Elasi, 19.Jamie McMaster, 9.Brad Boardman
Substitutes Not Used: 20.Tom Hamilton, 2.Nikola Stanojevic
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 6.Alex Smith, 5.Richard Luksic, 7.Phil Makrys, 11.Robert Mileski, 19.David Gullo (23.Tocoyumi Omi 64?), 18.Jerry Kalouris, 14.William Angel, 16.Peter Triantis, 3.Brett Studman
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Nenad Vekic, 30.Mitchell Stamatellis, 15.Tod Bamber, 4.Ibrahim Haydar
Yellow Cards: Peter Triantis 77?
Red Cards: Robert Mileski 80?
Player Ratings:
3 ? Jamie McMaster (BWE)
2 ? Takuya Murayama (BWE)
1 ? William Angel (SO)
-By Michael Chammas