The White Eagles took on Bankstown in the Semi-Finals on Saturday 5th March and defeated their rivals 4-2 on penalty shoot-outs while Sutherland recorded a narrow victory over Sydney Olympic with a 1-0 win.
The Grand Final stage was set as the Bonnyrigg White Eagles took on the Sutherland Sharks in front of a healthy crowd and from all reports the match was played at a feverish pace.
It was the White Eagles who were left smiling in the end however as they defeated a 10-men Sharks outfit 2-1 which sent the players and fans into raptures.
The White Eagles went throughout the whole tournament undefeated and only conceded two goals in seven matches which was a massive achievement towards Greg Carluccio?s squad.
Bonnyrigg?s Club Secretary George Mandic was delighted with the club?s progress and was proud of his coaching staff and players.
Carluccio was equally delighted with his squad?s achievement at Seymour Shaw on the weekend.
?We have no superstars, just a group of hard working boys that play as a team and with their heart.
?We were the underdogs but we showed everyone what football is all about.?
The club now travel to Melbourne on the 2nd of April to contest in the Australian Titles with the winner playing travelling to Manchester for the 2011 Manchester Cup.
Four new faces at Bonnyrigg for 2011
Former Sutherland Sharks defenders Benjamin Spruce and Michael Robinson have both been snapped up by the White Eagles while ex-Marconi Stallions attacker Alex Canak and former South Coast Wolves star Tynan Diaz will all don the colours of Bonnyrigg for 2011.
Both Spruce and Robinson were integral players in the Sharks? past few seasons while Canak and Diaz both starred for their respective clubs.
The club has yet to finalise its playing roster for the new season with one or two new faces coming to the fray but coach Brian ?Bomber? Brown has managed to assemble the majority of his 2010 squad for the new year as expectations have been set that the White Eagles will be the team to beat for the new year.
On the outgoing front, promising young defender Milan Zoric has signed up with a Serbian Second Division side, Vuko Tomasevic has moved to England to further his career, Goalkeeper Nenad Vekic has been snapped up by Sydney Olympic while Milorad Simonovic has agreed to terms with Blacktown City FC.
-By Mark Stavroulakis
Bonnyrigg White Eagles seal NSW Premier League Grand Final berth
Played at a fast pace throughout, the White Eagles managed to overturn a one-goal deficit, and some Sydney United dominance early in the opening half, to secure a second shot at Blacktown City next weekend.
Following an even exchange in the opening minutes, where both sides had set-piece attempts on goal to no avail, Luka Glavas sprung the off-side trap to go one-on-one with Phillip Zabaks. With complete composure, the former A-League striker drove his effort into the back of the net to send the Reds ? today in their alternate strip of black ? a goal ahead.
Bonnyrigg?s instant replies arrived via the long-ball from deep, and on 15? minutes, Paul Cotte?s searching ball for Brad Boardman nearly reaped reward, though the burly striker was adjudged to be offside.
On 18? minutes, Daniel Severino and Boardman combined via a set-piece. The latter?s header, with his momentum moving away from goal, failed to hit the target.
The White Eagles found their equaliser on 22? minutes as Boardman blasted home from close-range a Nathan Elasi knockdown. The striker?s initial header back across goal found Elasi, and the young midfielder cleverly played the ball back to Boardman who hit his left-foot volley first time into the back of Ryan Norval?s net.
The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the visiting Sydney United as Bonnyrigg kept the foot on the accelerator to score the go-ahead goal 2? minutes later. Jamie McMaster?s trickery down the right-flank allowed the midfielder the time to turn and play a neat square ball into the path of Severino who drove his effort into the back of the net with his trusty left-peg.
Sydney United did manage an immediate reply as Ivo Bosnar sent Steve Hayes through on goal with an exquisite short pass behind the Bonnyrigg defence, though Zabaks was alert to the danger and made a fine save at his near post.
Boardman was in the thick of things again for Bonnyrigg moments later as he combined well with Milorad Simonovic on the edge of the penalty-area before providing the latter with a look-in on goal. Simonovic took a first touch to line-up his effort on goal, though his low-driven final attempt was easy pickings for Norval.
Sydney United?s best chance to draw level in the first-half arrived in the 42? minute via the feet of Elsid Barkhousir. The Sydney United striker latched onto a pin-point through ball from Hayes, though with the goal at his mercy, Barkhousir could only side-foot his effort into the side-netting.
Following the break, Bonnyrigg picked up the intensity in-search of the killer blow, though the Sydney United defence held firm. Paul Cotte took the initiative – against the call of teammate McMaster on the right-flank – to try his luck from distance, though the final effort finished well-wide of the intended target.
Despite the visitors best efforts to get back into the match, David Zdrilic?s men were forced to defend deep and look to hit on the counter-attack. Luka Glavas very nearly beat the offside trap on the hour as he chased down Todd Brodie?s cross from the right, though Zabaks was quick off his line to thwart any danger.
Sydney United substitute Petar Markovic made an immediate impact after replacing Peter Zorbas. The midfielder picked up Shane Lyons? cross from the left-flank, at the back post, and had his first effort blocked by the retreating defence, before blasting his follow-up effort over the crossbar.
Daniel Severino received a rather nice, yet fortuitous, square ball on the edge of the penalty-area in the 65? minute on his favoured left foot, though the midfielder failed to connect cleanly, and scuffed the chance wide of goal.
Markovic nearly caught the Bonnyrigg defence out with a tremendous counter-attacking move on 72? minutes. The Sydney United midfielder picked up the ball on the halfway line and used his speed and skill to get into the penalty-area. From the right-side of the goal, Markovic cut back onto his left foot and sent a curling effort into the top left-hand corner, denied by a tremendous Zabaks save at full stretch.
At the other end, Sydney United dealt with a Severino set-piece, though the rebound fell to McMaster who blasted an effort in on goal ? goalkeeper Ryan Norval did exceptionally well to get down and parry to his left.
Brodie and Glavas combined in the 80? minute with the former delivering a cross from the right. The delivery was hit with pace and Glavas? glancing headed attempt failed to trouble the Bonnyrigg defence.
Sydney United?s difficult task of finding an equaliser was made all the more difficult 6? minutes from time as David Zdrilic was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident involving White Eagles captain Paul Cotte.
The Reds persisted to find an equaliser, and were nearly rewarded when Joe Vrkic ventured forward to get on the end of a cross from the right. The defender?s volley on the turn had goal written all over it, though Zabaks was at his absolute best to save acrobatically down to his right.
Daniel Severino ended any hopes of a Sydney United late surge with an exceptional free-kick in injury-time. The set-piece maestro drove in a curving effort from outside the penalty-area, over the out-stretched arms of Ryan Norval, for another gem delivery to add to his remarkable collection.
Following the match, White Eagles captain Paul Cotte expressed his delight with the victory:
?The boys are all very pleased with the way things went today, we played with a lot of character and we really worked hard to get the result.
?It wasn?t easy playing earlier, and also coming off a heavy defeat like last week, though there is a lot of confidence in this group, and all the boys really put in a big effort, and I think we thoroughly deserved the win.?
Quizzed about the grand-final, Cotte is looking forward to another shot at Blacktown City FC:
?Of course we were disappointed losing against them last weekend, it wasn?t the way we wanted it to go. Perhaps the weekend off prior to that match hurt us, though we are coming off a big victory today, and we will be looking to make up for the recent loss against them (Blacktown City FC) with success in the grand-final,? ended Cotte.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3 (Brad Boardman 22?, Daniel Severino 24?, 90?+2?)
Sydney United 1 (Luka Glavas 7?)
Saturday, 21st August, 2010
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Referee: James Lewis
Assistant Referees: Daniel Dewhurst and Sarah Ho
Fourth Official: Andrew Best
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 99.Phillip Zabaks; 2.Paul Cotte (C), 3.Graham Forbes, 20.Wayne Ostendoorp, 12.Chris Tadrosse, 19.Jamie McMaster (17.David Gullo 90?+4?), 8.Milorad Simonovic, 11.Shane Webb (16.Damien Laiman 90?+3?), 10.Daniel Severino (14.Kenga Takushima 90?+3?), 15.Nathan Elasi, 9.Brad Boardman,
Substitutes Not Used: 4.Willie Al-Rikaby, 1.Ali Akabl
Yellow Cards: Jamie McMaster 34?
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney United: 1.Ryan Norval; 4.Michael Cindric, 5.Damon Collina (C), 7.Todd Brodie, 8.Shane Lyons, 10.Steve Hayes (6.Joe Vrkic 60?), 23.Ivo Bosnar, 22.Peter Zorbas (14.Petar Markovic 55?),19.Mitchell Thompson, 16.Elsid Barkhousir (9.David Zdrilic 75?), 11.Luka Glavas
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Sean Mitchell 30.Cem Akilli
Yellow Cards: Mitchell Thompson 70?, Todd Brodie 90?+4?
Red Cards: David Zdrilic 84?
Player Ratings:
3 ? Daniel Severino (BWE)
2 ? Jamie McMaster (BWE)
1 ? Nathan Elasi (BWE)
– Joseph Carlucci
Sharks ensure Rockdale fall short of finals
With Rockdale City still an outside chance to break into the top five before kick-off, Sutherland dented their aspirations in the first-half with goals to Jim Bakis and Neil Jablonski. Sam Awad pulled a goal back late in the match only for Ben Vidaic to seal the contest for the Sharks minutes later.
After a slow start to the match, the Sharks were first to build any attacking momentum and were rewarded with a penalty after 12? minutes when Pece Cvetanovski clipped the ankle of Ben Spruce as he burst into the box from the left wing.
Bakis stepped up to take the ensuing spot-kick, sending Ben McNamara the wrong way and firing the ball inside the left post to open the scoring.
The home-side could have doubled their advantage within a minute as Spruce?s inch-perfect cross was met by Jablonski, who sent his glancing header harmlessly wide.
Soon after, a short corner by the Sharks caused havoc in the Rockdale box, leading to shots from Ben Vidaic, Spruce, and Chris Price, with the latter flagged for offside after missing the target.
The Suns? first real chance came after 19? minutes when Almir Dedzic flicked on Joshua Lawson?s long throw. The ball fell to Marino Musumeci, whose volley was spectacularly saved by Nathan Denham before being pulled back by the assistant referee for offside.
Musumeci let another chance slip on the half hour, with his turn-and-shoot effort easily gathered by Denham.
Spruce split the Suns defence open with a penetrating through ball shortly after, finding Paul Kohler who turned past Akin Oygur and showed great composure to tenderly clip the ball into the top corner. The goal was however ruled out for offside despite intense celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
Sutherland did however grab their second goal just before half-time when poor defending from Rockdale allowed the unmarked Neil Jablonski to run onto a long ball and tuck the ball inside the near post.
The Suns fought their way back into the match early in the second-half; however their efforts were limited to hopeful long-range shots, with only Dominic Hudap?s low 30-yard drive troubling Denham in the Sutherland goal.
Vidaic should have scored Sutherland?s third goal on 57? minutes when Jablonski?s pass found him unmarked in the box, however his finish lacked conviction and was saved by McNamara.
Sam Awad went within inches of pulling a goal back for Rockdale shortly after when he squeezed through the Sutherland defence and beat Denham with a shot that struck the inside of the post and bounced clear.
Rockdale were awarded a penalty of their own on the hour mark when Adem Kir?s cross struck the arm of George Souris. Denham stood tall in the Sharks? goal, sharply diving to his left to save Kir?s spot-kick much to the delight of the home fans.
Denham was almost embarrassed shortly after when Awad beat him to a cross and forced his header goalwards, however Souris saved the day by clearing off the line.
Awad finally bagged his goal and set the tone for an interesting end to the match when he again beat Denham to the ball to head home Kir?s cross on 81? minutes.
Any hopes of a comeback were dismissed shortly after when Vidaic beat McNamara in the air outside the 18-yard box to head the ball into the back of the net and seal all 3 points for the Sharks.
Sharks coach Robert Stanton was happy with both the win and the overall performance of his squad, despite missing out on the finals by one spot:
?I just wanted to finish on a good note with a win at home for our last game and we did that,? said Stanton.
?We set ourselves high standards and expect to play in the finals.
?We missed out by one spot but in terms of the players? effort and commitment it?s been sensational.
?I thought that when we were at our lowest point we responded and got ourselves back into contention for the playoffs, and in the end we?ve just missed out but I think it was a reasonable season,? Stanton added.
Rockdale?s goal scorer Sam Awad was also happy with the performance of his team-mates, finishing seventh after starting the season as newcomers:
?We had to give more than 100% to get to where we are today,? said Awad.
?The boys have got better capability and who knows if we can go one step better next year,? Awad concluded.
Match Stats
Sutherland Sharks 3 (Jim Bakis 13? (pen), Neil Jablonski 45?, Ben Vidaic 83?)
Rockdale City Suns 1 (Sam Awad 81?)
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Seymour Shaw, Miranda
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Matthew Sampson and Mike Robinson
Fourth Official: Nicholas Tragoustis
Crowd: 500 Approx.
Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham; 2.George Souris (C), 4.Michael Robinson, 6.Chris Price, 7.Jim Bakis (16.James Lawrence 84?), 9.Ben Vidaic (33.Brendan McLean 84?), 11.Ben Spruce, 12.Neil Jablonski, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 20.Paul Kohler, 22.Yianni Fregogiannis
Substitutes Not Used: 30.Misha Hardwick, 31.Hussein Tasci, 24.Jack Duncan
Yellow Cards: Jim Bakis 73?, Yianni Fregogiannis 82?
Red Cards: Nil
Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 2.Paul Dee (C), 3.Almir Dizdaric (18.Robert Di Meglio 64?), 6.Josh Lawson, 8.Dominic Hudap, 11.Adem Kir, 13.Baturay Akin (21.Sam Awad 36?), 16.Steven Bozinovski (10.Stefan Donevski 75?), 17.Pece Cvetanovski, 19.Marino Musumeci, 23.Akin Oygur
Substitutes Not Used: 5.Jeffrey Issa, 40.James Cain
Yellow Cards: Baturay Akin 15?, Stefan Donevski 92?
Red Cards: Nil
-By Michael Shoolman
Bonnyrigg half way to grand prize after Premiership victory
But on Sunday that dream became a reality.
The club celebrated its first premiership in 10 years with an inspiring 5-1 win against West Sydney in front of a vocal crowd at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
When Brian Brown was appointed as coach mid way through 2009, the club demanded one thing ? results.
?There were three things we had in mind when we got here,? Brown said.
?One was to get players who were hungry and the second part was to get them fit.
?The third part was to go and win something, and we?re half way there.?
A huge off-season in the player market saw the likes of Shane Webb, Daniel Severino, Brad Boardman and Jamie McMaster join a club that wasn?t prepared to settle for anything short of a championship.
The star-studded team failed to live up to expectation in the preseason and as a result the knockers and doubters came out in force.
?There was a little bit of panic going on around the club in the preseason because we didn?t win games,? Brown said.
?But I could see things were developing.?
And develop they did, as the White Eagles went on to win 13 of their next 22 games to claim the premiership by five points ahead of Blacktown City.
The club lost the likes of Vuko Tomasevic along the way, but they developed young superstars like David Gullo and welcomed A-League players Nathan Elasi and Chris Tadrosse to the club.
Like those who joined the White Eagles in the off-season, they too took very little time to settle into Brown?s plans.
?The type of players we got gelled together pretty quickly,? Brown said.
?I think we brought in the right players at the right time.?
Captain Paul Cotte was instrumental at the back and was one of the reasons why Bonnyrigg ended the regular season as the best defensive team in the competition, conceding just 20 goals.
At the other end, Brad Boardman and Severino did their part to ensure the White Eagles would be crowned the best attacking team, playing a large role in the side?s 45 goals.
Despite leading the Premier League for the most part of the season, it took until round 18 for Brown to realise his team was the real deal.
?We played Marconi, Blacktown, Sydney United and Sutherland in the space of five weeks,? he said.
?To come through that and win every game, I knew we were going to be hard to stop.?
The White Eagles lost just three games during the season and will come up against some quality opposition in the coming weeks, but Brown believes the biggest obstacle is a mental battle.
?I really think our biggest threat is ourselves,? he said
?If we turn up on the day I think we?re a big chance.
?But it?s about turning up with the right mindset.?
– By Michael Chammas