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Blacktown City take out Stallions grudge match

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Mani Gonzalez proved the difference at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday afternoon as Blacktown City overcame Marconi Stallions 1-0 in Round 10.  

Gonzalez scored midway through the first half, hitting a clever shot past Nenad Vekic after finding space on the right.

Marconi’s cause was hardly helped by Yianni Nicolaou, who earned himself a red card just minutes after the halftime break to leave the Stallions a man down as they chased the game.

The Stallions rallied well in the second half, but Blacktown were able to see out the pressure to edge their first win since Round 6.

With as many as five starters in the Stallions line-up who wore the Blacktown City colours recently, it was also a first up win for the hosts with this match labelled a ‘grudge’ match between the two.

Marconi took immediate control of the game, spreading play well across the park as they slowly probed the Blacktown backline.

Despite enjoying the bulk of possession early on, the Stallions were unable to create anything to threaten Tristan Prendergast in the Blacktown goal.

Indeed, Blacktown came closest to opening the scoring the first few minutes. Matt Lewis found space on the left flank to whip a quick ball across the box for Adam Berry, but there was too much pace on the cross and it dropped out of play at the back post.

Blacktown continued to roll forward and broke the deadlock against the run of play on the twenty-minute mark: Leroy Jennings pushed across from the left and fed the ball to Joey Gibbs, who laid a pass off for Mani Gonzalez on his right.

Running onto the ball from deep, Gonzalez had an age to set himself for the first-time shot, which flew past Nenad Vekic and into the Marconi goal.

Blacktown might’ve doubled their lead soon after when Gonzalez sprinted down the right before hitting a low ball to the near post with Jennings arriving, but Vekic came across and was able to put the forward off where he might otherwise have found the back of the net.

Halftime came and went, with no apparent end to the constant fouling which interrupted the flow of the first half.

Jennings took the ball down the left side, slowing to cut a cross into the box, but was hacked down from behind by Yianni Nicolaou before he could get the ball away. A second yellow card was quickly followed by a red; Nicolaou leaving his side to finish the match with only ten men.

Blacktown looked to capitalise on their advantage immediately. Gonzalez played a low cross into the box for Berry who knocked the ball up and volleyed towards the top corner, but Vekic scrambled well to tip the shot over the crossbar.

Marconi seemed somewhat energised by their situation, and poured forward in search of an equaliser as the half wore on. Mirijan Pavlovic flicked a ball onto Mitch Mallia at the top of the box as pressure mounted on the hosts, but he could only swipe his volley across goal and out of play.

Blacktown weathered the storm and ended the match in relative comfort: Mason Versi might’ve finished Marconi off with a minute of injury time remaining when he danced through the Stallions backline before cutting a shot back across the goalkeeper, but the ball ricocheted off the post and was cleared out of danger.

Mark Crittenden was full of praise for his players after taking the game to Marconi and coming out on top.

“It was a tough game, we know Marconi’s style, we know they like to go long and get balls up around the 18 yard box.

“We knew it was going to be a bit of a scrap and we scrapped well, we created chances and held on.

“They had a boy sent off, and full credit to them for going for it, but we fought hard, the intensity was great, and it’s a great three points.”

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 1 (Gonzalez 21’)

Marconi Stallions FC 0

Sunday, May 12 2019

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: T. Plasto

Assistants: R. Osborne, D. Horst

Fourth official: P. Reynolds

Blacktown City FC: 1. PRENDERGAST Tristan, 3. COLLINS Daniel, 5. LYNCH Grant, 6. LEWIS Matt, 8. ARAUJO Daniel, 9. GIBBS Joey, 11. GONZALEZ Mani (15. VERSI Mason), 12. CAMPBELL Lachlan, 17. ASKEW Dakota, 19. BERRY Adam, 22. JENNINGS Leroy (23. BRAGG Daniel)

Yellow cards: Lynch 28’, Jennings 37’

Red Cards: 

Marconi Stallions FC: 1. VEKIC Nenad, 2. MILLGATE Nathan, 3. SPERANZA Giorgio, 4. SPERANZA Roberto, 7. O’CONNELL Sean, 9. FRANGIE Anthony (12. ANDREW James), 10. JESIC Marko. 11. MALLIA Mitch, 21. PAVLOVIC Mirjan, 23. VELLA Brandon (28. FERNANDEZ Martin), 13. NICOLAOU Yianni

Yellow cards: Nicolaou 25’, 47’, R. Speranza 82’, Pavlovic 86’

Red card: Nicolaou 47’

Player Ratings

3: Joey Gibbs (BC)

2: Mani Gonzalez  (BC)

1: Daniel Araujo (BC)

Wolves breeze past Blacktown to keep ahead of pack

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Wollongong Wolves turned on the style to fire past Blacktown City and keep a four-point lead at the top of the 2019 National Premier League NSW Men’s ladder with a 4-0 win at WIN Stadium on Sunday.

A brace from leading scorer Thomas James and goals to Taylor McDonald and Nicholas Litter helped the Wolves to their first win over Blacktown City since June 2010.

Despite causing a significant amount of early pressure, Wollongong was unable to get onto the scoresheet until the 30th minute, when Thomas James picked up a pass from James Stojcevski on the left flank and buried a powerful effort into the bottom-right corner.

James picked up his second of the match in the 62nd minute, making a good run along the edge of the Blacktown City box before firing a pinpoint shot into the bottom-left corner.

Wollongong then added their third goal of the afternoon three minutes later, with Taylor McDonald showing great control to turn away from the Blacktown City defence in the box and fire into the top of the net.

Nicholas Litter completed the rout for the Wolves in the 72nd minute, tapping a James Stojcevski free-kick past Blacktown City custodian Tristan Prendergast to secure all three points for the home side.

Blacktown City were unable to make inroads against the stubborn Wollongong defence, only managing a handful of chances in the final moments, with sub Emmanuel Gonzalez having the best chance of the match for the visitors, tapping a cross from William Mutch just wide of the post in stoppage time.

Wollongong Wolves coach Luke Wilkshire was pleased with the side being able to secure the win in front of their home fans, but noted the side still has some growing to do.

“We hit the bar a few times, but I’m delighted for the boys’ response,” he said.

“We were disappointed with the draw last week and to come back [to WIN], we want to make it a fortress here and it was a great performance.

“Winning is a habit and that’s what we want to do. We are all motivated to win, perform and entertain. We try not to get ahead of ourselves and look at other things and [we] go week by week, day by day and take it as it comes.”

Meanwhile Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden was disappointed with the travelling side’s performance, noting that all the side can do going forward is quickly put the result behind them.

“Nothing but credit to Wollongong. We didn’t turn up, but they didn’t allow us to either. They were very good and full credit to them,” he said.

“[There was] probably a little bit of a lack of desperation by us at times and you can’t afford that when playing against a good side.

“There wasn’t any part of this afternoon that was what we’d expect at Blacktown and obviously we’ve got to move on and regroup and look forward to Marconi next weekend.”

The Wolves will seek to extend their unbeaten streak in the league to ten matches when they host Rockdale City Suns next Saturday at WIN Stadium, while Blacktown City will hope to return to winning ways when they host Blacktown Spartans in the FFA Cup on Wednesday at Lily Homes Stadium in a local derby.

Match Stats

Wollongong Wolves 4 (Thomas James 30’, 62’, Taylor McDonald 65’, Nicholas Litter 72’)

Blacktown City FC 0 

Sunday 5th May, 2019

WIN Stadium, Wollongong

Referee: B. Abraham

Assistant Referees: M. McOrist and N. Wotton

Fourth Official: N. Ryan

Wollongong Wolves: 1. Justin Pasfield, 2. Taylor McDonald, 4. Nikola Djordjevic, 6. Benjamin Tosi, 9. Thomas James, 14. Harry Callahan, 15. Nick Littler, 16. Guy Knight (19. Brendan Low 85’), 17. James Stojcevski, 23. Jordan Nikolovski (20. Liam Wille 65’), 25. Bul Juach (13. Stefan Dimoski 81’)

Substitutes Not Used: 8. James Markovic, 12. Luke Kairies (GK)

Yellow Cards: Thomas James 37’, James Stojcevski 52’

Red Cards: Nil

Blacktown City FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast, 3. Daniel Collins, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Matthew Lewis, 8. Daniel Araujo (7. Devante Clut 77’), 9. Joey Gibbs, 12. Lachlan Campbell (22. Leroy Jennings 45’), 15. Mason Versi, 19. Adam Berry, 21. William Mutch, 23. Daniel Bragg (11. Emmanuel Gonzalez 68’)

Substitutes Not Used: 17. Dakota Askew, 20. Dylan Niski

Yellow Cards: Grant Lynch 34’, Mason Versi 46’, Daniel Bragg 54’, Daniel Collins 71’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Thomas James (Wollongong Wolves)

2 – James Stojcevski (Wollongong Wolves)

1 – Harry Callahan (Wollongong Wolves)

By NPL NSW Reporter Cal Behrendt (@CalBehrendt)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suns continue to soar up the ladder

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A stunning solo strike from Alec Urosevski has lifted Rockdale City Suns to their third win on the trot as they defeated Blacktown City 1-0 at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday.

Urosevski came off the bench to break the deadlock in the 62nd minute and maintain interim coach Nick Porecca’s perfect record since taking over the Rockdale hot seat.

It was a frustrating clash for Blacktown as they were unable to make the most of their multitude of chances with wasteful finishing and lapses in concentration proving costly.

The result catapults Rockdale into the top five while Blacktown drop further away from the finals race.

Blacktown raced out of the blocks from the opening whistle with Rockdale’s defence tested by the City’s aggressive approach.

The home side went inches away from opening the scoring only a few minutes into the match when Leroy Jennings crashed a powerful volley into the crossbar.

Blacktown was on the ascendency but were unable to take complete control of the contest despite all their possession.

A defensive lapse gifted Rockdale a perfect chance to take the lead when Jordan Figon won his side a penalty after being taken down in the area by City keeper Tristan Prendergast.

However, Prendergast made up for his error making an incredible diving save to his right to deny Patrick Savour’s spot kick.

The matched opened up after the spot kick with play racing from end to end but neither side had the final cutting pass to truly break open the opposition.

Suns keeper David Bradasevic was up to the challenge as Jennings tested him with a stinging shot from the left as Blacktown fought gallantly to break the deadlock.

Will Mutch had another great chance for Blacktown soon after but he too was unable to find the back of the net.

Both side’s went into the break deadlocked at 0-0 with poor finishing a big part to play.

The second stanza opened with more of the same need to end play which was a feature before the interval but again finishing and sloppy ball play proved costly for both Rockdale and Blacktown.

The introduction of Urosevski proved game changing for the visitors with the star winger opening the scoring in the 62nd minute only moments after coming off the bench.

Urosevski picked the ball up out wide 35 yards from goal before slaloming through the Blacktown defence and firing across the keeper and into the net to give Rockdale a 1-0 lead.

Two back to back saves from Prendergast kept Blacktown in the clash as he first got down low to deny Matthew Lecce before saving Figon’s follow up effort.

Blacktown were desperate for an equaliser and threw everything forward in the dying stages.

Waves after wave of attack had Rockdale on the backfoot but for all City’s balls into the box they were unable to create any real opportunities on goal.

Rockdale remained calm among the relentless attacks clinging on for a hard earned result.

Suns assistant coach Matthew Ribarovski said a change in attitude has proven to be a massive game changer for his side on and off the pitch.

“A few weeks ago we sat down with the boys and had a chat to them about where the team was and what we need for the rest of the season and it has seen the players take a bit more responsibility which i think has been very evident in our matches,” he said.

“Today we were under the pump in the first half and did well to not concede. Then after the break we really stood up and took control of the match.

“Alec was great once again when he came on and while we it would be great to have him play 90 minutes every week, our decision to ease him back from injury will make sure he can finish the season in the best possible shape.”

A frustrated Mark Crittenden rued what he called “a game of two halves”

“We had a lot of possession and had good ball movement but we struggled in the final third and that really cost us the match,” he said.

“We probably deserved to go into the break in the lead but we were unable to make the most of our chances and then we concede a goal and struggled to get back from there.

“I’m not disappointed with how we are playing or the effort but at the moment we aren’t finding the back of the net and it’s really hurting us.”

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC: 0

Rockdale City Suns FC: 1 (Urosevski 63’)

Sunday, April 28 2019

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Ben Abraham

Assistant Referees: Joon Park & Hugh Fenton-White

Fourth Official: Joel Crawford

Blacktown City: 1. Tristan Prendergast, 3. Daniel Collins , 4. Yianni Spyriakis 7. (Devante Clut 45’), 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Matthew Lewis, 8. Daniel Araujo, 9. Joey Gibbs, 11. Emmanuel Gonzalez (15. Mason Versi 72), 19. Adam Berry, 21. William Mutch (17. Dakota Askew 60’), 22. Leroy Jennings

Substitutes not used: 20. Dylan Niski, 23. Daniel Bragg

Yellow Cards: Mutch

Red Cards:

Rockdale City Suns: 1. David Bradasevic, 2. Daniel Petkovski, 3. Michael Neill, 6. Khang Hoon Cho ( 7. Alec Urosevski 57’), 8. Aleks Canak (20. Howard Fondyke 87’), 11. Leigh Egger, 12. Idris El Hafiane, 17. Matthew Lecce (9. Jonathan Grozdanovski 73’), 18. Sasa Macura, 19. Patrick Savour, 45. Jordan FIgon.

Substitutes not used: 10. Joshua Da Silva, 22. Max Rowston,

Yellow Cards: Petkovski’, El Hafiane, Macura

Red Cards:

Player Ratings

3 – Urosevski (RCS)

2 – Petkovski (RCS)

1 – Predergast (BCFC)

Score draw at Lambert Park

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A late Corey Biczo goal has helped APIA Leichhardt Tigers snatch a point as they were held to a 1-1 draw in their National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash against Blacktown City at Lambert Park on Good Friday

Biczo’s goal helped APIA take home a point from a tentative display from both sides with the match only coming alive in the final stages of the clash.

Blacktown’s James Demetriou would’ve have thought he’d won it for his side when he scored off the bench with his first touch of the game at Lambert Park for the second week in a row, but Biczo was on hand a few minutes later to save the day for the hosts.

It was the second low scoring draw in as many weeks for the Tigers who once again missed the chance to take top spot.

APIA settled on the ball early but were slow to move it around, and they struggled to convert possession into anything threatening.

Indeed, Mani Gonzalez was first to register a shot on goal, swivelling to hook a volley from the edge of the area which was easily taken by the goalkeeper.

Blacktown quickly took the initiative and turned possession over, setting a pattern for much of the game of unfulfilled attack after unfulfilled attack.

Gonzalez was fed a ball at the top of the box and took it into his stride to turn and shoot, but Themba Muata-Marlow was alive to the danger and flung himself in front to block.

Both sides seemed content enough with the deadlock at halftime, with no late flurry of action before the break.

Thankfully, the second half began with a little more urgency. An APIA clearance to the edge of the box was lofted back in, with the ball dropping for Mani Gonzalez to hit first time. His fizzing volley towards the top corner seemed certain to break the deadlock, but Ivan Necevski stretched out a hand at the last second to palm the ball away for a corner.

The game began to open up as a clever one-two between Adrian Ucchino and Chris Payne saw Payne slipped through on goal at the top of the box a few minutes later, only for his shot to go sailing over the crossbar.

Leroy Jennings broke forward quickly to create a two-on-two with Mani Gonzalez, but his overhit pass played Gonzalez out too wide to threaten Necevski.

Shortly after, another Blacktown break down the left was given far greater reward. A quick free kick over the top played Versi down the line; the winger beating his man to square a pass across the face of the goal. Arriving right on time was James Demetriou, who scored as a substitute at Lambert Park for the second week running.

A tight match threw up few opportunities for either side, and Demetriou’s goal might have seemed to be a winner.

However, APIA regained their sense of composure and poured forward in search of an equaliser. They got it just four minutes after going behind, with Sean Symons chipping a cross to the back post for Biczo to slam home.

APIA Leichhardt coach John Calleja said his side’s performance wasn’t at the expected level.

“I’m happy in the end with the draw,” he said.

“But I’m also a little bit frustrated.”

“I thought it was a tough game that neither side really wanted to lose. It must’ve been frustrating to watch as a spectator in the first half, both sides just nullified each other.

“They got the goal, and it looked like we weren’t going to get anything out of the game, but our urgency lifted, we created and scored, and we probably had the better of the last five minutes.”

It was a similar sentiment for the visitors.

“We’re disappointed,” said Blacktown’s Mark Crittenden. “To go one up with ten to go, I hoped we could hang on and get the win but full credit to them, they’re a good side too.

“They’re always really good games of football here between these two clubs, and it was nothing different today.

“We came here with a plan, and the boys executed it really well. With ten minutes to go, it was working perfectly – but that’s football. The game’s never over when you’re playing against APIA.”

Match Stats

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1 (Biczo 84’)

Blacktown City FC 1 (Demetriou 80’)

19th April, 2019

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

Referee: A. Arndt

Assistants: P. Teleki, J. Adabjou

Fourth official: H. Jomaa

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC:  1. NECEVSKI Ivan, 8. BICZO Corey, 3. GALIMI Paul, 21. KOUTA Michael, 12. MCILLHATTON Sam, 15. MUATA-MARLOW Themba, 10. PARISI Franco (11. DE JONG Andre), 6. PAYNE Christopher, 4. SYMONS Joshua, 16. SYMONS Sean, 18. UCCHINO Adrian

Substitutes not used: 7. DIAZ Tynan, 14. GULISANO Samuel, 22. TUXFORD Blake, 14. HUGHES Lachlan

Yellow cards: Ucchino 47’, J. Symons 48’

Blacktown City FC: 1. PRENDERGAST Tristian, 21. MUTCH William (15. VERSI Mason), 4. SPYRAKIS Yianni, 5. LYNCH Grant, 6. LEWIS Matt, 3. COLLINS Daniel, 19. BERRY Adam, 22. JENNINGS Leroy, 9. GIBBS Joey, 11. GONZALEZ Mani (10. DEMETRIOU James), 8. ARAUJO Daniel (23. BRAGG Daniel)

Substitutes not used: 7. CLUT Devante, 20. NISKI Dylan

Yellow cards: Berry 72’

Red Cards:

Player Ratings

3 – Ivan Necevski (ALT)

2 – Mani Gonzalez (BC)

1 – Sean Symons (ALT)

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Max Grieve

Late Demetriou strike thwarts Sydney FC

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James Demetriou scored a late goal to give Blacktown City a 1-0 win against Sydney FC in a tense encounter at Lambert Park on Saturday.

Neither side appeared capable of creating a chance in the final third for much of the game, and Demetriou’s goal did little to improve this match as a spectacle.

Still, Blacktown City won’t be particularly concerned by the entertainment on display, as they take three well-earned points back to Lily Homes Stadium at the end of Round 6.

A slow start foreshadowed the game to come, and it was a while before the first proper chances began to fall for either side.

A ball into the area dropped for Jordi Swibel as he charged up from the midfield, but a fierce shot fizzed narrowly wide.

Joey Gibbs was next to go close, snapping a volley over the crossbar after taking the ball down on the penalty spot.

Swibel might well have put Sydney FC in front when a cross found him in space at the back post, but his swerving volley was tipped over by Tristian Prendergast in the Blacktown goal.

The Sky Blues continued to pressure their opponents but could only waste their chances: Marco Tilio reached the byline and hit a shot at goal along the ground, but the ball was blocked on the line by Matt Lewis.

The halftime break seemed to barely affect the rhythm of the match, and both sides settled back into a pattern of keeping the ball in the midfield before committing a foul.

Giuseppe Tilio had a decent opportunity to break the deadlock when he was fed the ball at the back post, but he took a heavy touch and was stretching to reach his shot. Prendergast made another fantastic save, holding up a strong hand to punch the ball over the crossbar.

Blacktown City provided a reminder of their threat when William Mutch drove down the right side before clipping a cross in to the near post, very nearly catching out the goalkeeper as the ball bounced off the upright.

The match appeared to be grinding to a scoreless draw, but came alive late on as Prendergast collected Mutch in a sickening collision at the top of the box.

A few minutes later, substitute Demetriou picked up the ball on the edge of the Sydney FC area and, after cutting inside his defender, curled an inch-perfect shot past the goalkeeper and inside the far post.

Sydney FC could offer up little in response to going behind, leaving Jim van Weeren lamenting a poor result after another strong performance from his players.

“It’s a good learning experience for us as a group. You can be on top, you can dominate the half, you can have the chances, but we want to take our game to the next level and convert some of those chances.

“The boys are down, they felt they were on top. It’s about trying to find the positives, and we need to learn from the negatives and be better next week.”

Blacktown City striker Joey Gibbs said he was pleased to have come away with three points after a tough match at Lambert Park.

“It was a pretty even game, it’s great to get the win but we’re still improving. We’ve got a very new squad and we’ll keep getting more clinical.

“I always thought a goal was coming, we had a lot of the ball. Jimmy came on and made a great impact and finished perfectly.”

Match Stats

Sydney FC 0

Blacktown City FC 1 (Demetriou 79’)

13th April, 2019

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

Referee: A. Mansour

Assistants: A. Giev, J. Adabjou

Fourth official: L. Cole

Sydney FC: 1. HEWARD-BELLE Thomas, 6. VAN DER SAAG Harry, 4. MCGING Liam, 3. VAN MEURS Ben, 5. SCIBILIO Patrick (17. TALBOT Callum), 12. TILIO Giuseppe (24. HOLLMAN Jake), 10. TILIO Marco, 13. SWIBEL Jordi, 9. LAMBERTON Hamish (23. MCCARTHY Harry), 8. KING Joel, 7. SKOTADIS Jerry

Yellow Cards: Van Meurs (88′), King (89′)

Blacktown City FC: 1. PRENDERGAST Tristian, 21. MUTCH William (15. VERSI Mason), 4. SPYRAKIS Yianni, 5. LYNCH Grant, 6. LEWIS Matt, 3. COLLINS Daniel, 19. BERRY Adam, 22. JENNINGS Leroy, 9. GIBBS Joey, 11. GONZALEZ Mani (10. DEMETRIOU James), 7. CLUT Devante (8. ARAUJO Daniel)

Yellow Cards: Lynch (25′)

Player Ratings

3 – Tristian Prendergast (BC)

2 – Liam McGing (SFC)

1 – Daniel Collins (BC)

-By Max Grieve