Like the wounded beast, Blacktown City FC struck back with a vengeance at Lilys Football Centre on Sunday afternoon to progress to the Grand Final next week.
It was APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC on the back of a City special serve during the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Preliminary Final, as Blacktown secured a stunning 6-1 win.
Patrick Antelmi stood out once again, grabbing a brace, as did substitute Mitch Mallia, with the other two goals coming through Matt Lewis and Sasa Macura.
Mark Crittenden’s men showed little ill-effects of last week’s shock loss to Bonnyrigg White Eagles in the Major Semi Final after leading 2-0.
Complacency was not going to be an issue this time.
PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE GRAND FINAL
Within just four minutes, City was 1-0 up, scoring through the brilliant Antelmi, who put the finishing touches on a brilliant move courtesy of a lovely cross from Danny Choi who inspired down the left hand flank all day.
The potent front four of Antelmi, Joey Gibbs, Choi and Travis Major caused headaches for the APIA defence all day but their industry up front was matched in midfield by Connor Evans whose hard-tackling and smart distribution from the midfield kept APIA pinned down in their defensive half.
It didn’t take long for the second goal to come, either.
Another brilliant pass from Antelmi out to the left wing found Choi, who raced at Brad Bartels and drew a foul inside the box.
Matt Lewis made the long trip up from the centre of defence to the penalty spot and showed no sign of nerves as he coolly dispatched his spot-kick into the bottom corner.
The APIA response was a strong one, as Corey Biczo and Nathan Elasi stepped up their efforts in the final third.
The latter almost forced an own goal out of Blacktown captain Zach Cairncross, just after a fine display of tricky feet almost allowed him to pull back the two-goal deficit instantly.
Elasi who singlehandedly looked to get his team back in the game tested soon after Blacktown keeper Nenad Vekic, but his shot was well saved by the City keeper.
The quality rearguard action was rewarded at the other end as Macura showed twinkle toes of his own after some lovely play with Antelmi to make his way through a crowded penalty area and hammer home a close-range shot.
It was a near flawless opening 35 minutes, which was only ruined by the sight of young Evans, tireless in midfield, down with a knee injury.
The problem would force him off at half-time, but not before Elasi scored a deserved goal as the Blacktown City defence was caught napping in the 43rd minute.
After seeing a two-goal lead slip last week, you might have forgiven City for heading into the break with a bit of trepidation, as the Tigers looked to build on the momentum in the second half.
But City was having none of it, and almost made it 4-1 barely a minute into the second half, only to see Major’s header ruled marginally offside.
Still, Franco Parisi was putting in an impressive shift in the middle for APIA as he tried to keep his team’s momentum going after a strong finish to the first stanza, but any hope of that vanished in the 57th minute.
Stephen Kayes, a first-half substitute for Bartels, earned a red card for his second bookable offence, a callous chop on Blacktown wing master Choi.
Now fighting a two-goal deficite and a man down, the APIA floodgates soon opened.
Had Gibbs had his shooting boots on, he might have scored three goals himself before Antlemi scored his second in the 66th minute, tucking away a superb cross from Yianni Fragogiannis from the left-hand side.
Vekic was called into action again to deny Nicholas Olsen, who continued to battle up front, as Choi was replaced by Mallia who would use his cameo to full-effect, putting his hand up for a starting berth in the Grand Final with two goals.
Mallia got his first after 78 minutes when he picked his spot beautifully from just outside the box to curl the ball around Tonu Liiband, before scoring again in the 82nd with a cool one-on-one finish.
City coach Crittenden was delighted with the level of play his side managed, especially after a flat week on the track.
“We were disappointed last week, but not in the way we played and it was an interesting week. On Thursday and Friday we looked a bit flat still,” Crittenden said.
“We stuck to the plan today. They’re very excited in the rooms.
“The boys were good today, training was a bit off, but they got here, they knew what they were here for and you could see the buzz around.
“It’s a long year. We’re up to about our 38th game, ocne you include the cups, so it’s a long, tough season … but just one to go now.”
That one game just happens to be a PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Grand Final, and Crittenden will hope his side can find away to beat the one team that has consistently defied them in 2015 – Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
“We have to be better defensively than we were last week, but if the game itself is anything like it was last week, it will be a great one for the fans.”
PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE GRAND FINAL
Sunday September 6, 2015
Lilys Football Centre, Seven Hills
Blacktown City FC 6 (Antelmi 4’, 66’, Lewis 14’, Macura 31’, Mallia 78’, 82’)
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 1 (Elasi 43’)
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assistant Referees: Lance Greenshields & Joon Park
Fourth Official: Khodr Yaghi
Blacktown City FC: Vekic, Antelmi, Cairncross, Choi (Mallia 66’), Evans (Araujo 45’), Fragogiannis, Gibbs, Lewis, Macura (Timotheou 77’), Major, Speranza
Substitutes not used: Prendergast, Tomaras
Yellow Cards:
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC: Liiband, Bartels (Kayes 19’), Biczo, D’Apuzzo, Elasi, Millgate, Olsen, Parisi, Symons, Ucchino (Scott 66’), West
Substitutes not used: Kayes, Moore, Rhodes, Scott, Griffiths
Yellow Cards: Bartels 13’, Kayes 43’, 57’, West 52’
Red Cards: Kayes 57’
-By Matthew Galea, National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Editor, at Lilys Football Centre
Preliminary Final Preview – Blacktown City vs APIA Leichhardt Tigers
Two weeks ago Blacktown City FC probably did not picture itself in a PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Preliminary Final battling for a spot in the Grand Final.
In fact, even 63 minutes into last weekend’s Major Semi Final against Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, Mark Crittenden and his side would not have expected to be playing this weekend.
But that’s exactly where the City boys are after seeing their 2-0 lead slip in a matter of minutes last week.
The night went from bad to worse and ended in a 4-2 defeat at extra-time, setting up Sunday’s do-or-die clash against APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC.
The Tigers rode their luck on occasion against Sydney Olympic FC in last week’s Minor Semi Final at Lambert Park but had some absolutely outstanding defending from Adam D’Apuzzo to thank for grinding out the 1-0 result.
Nicholas Olsen was the hero at the other end, with his deflected volley looping over Paul Henderson in the Olympic goal towards the end of the first-half, proving enough to see the Tigers progress.
It will not be any easier against Blacktown on Sunday, but momentum can count for a lot in finals football, and it would be fair to say the atmosphere was flat in the City dressing rooms after the final whistle last week.
Despite the result, Crittenden has plenty to be positive about.
Speaking after last Sunday’s game, Crittenden said that if his team re-focussed and got back to playing the sort of football that won it the Premiership, a favourable result would come.
“I think when we get the ball down and play, we’re as good as any other team in this competition,” Crittenden said.
“For 15 or 20 minutes (against Bonnyrigg) we went away from that and started trying these long balls and when we do that, it’s not our game.
“We’ll get the boys back up for the APIA game knowing that they are going to be just as tough. At the end of the day it comes down to the 90 minutes, maybe a bit more, and performing better on the day.”
With a brilliant spine of players featuring the likes of Zach Cairncross and Matt Lewis in defence, Sasa Macura and Patrick Antelmi in midfield and Joey Gibbs, Danny Choi and Travis Major – who is in doubt after only lasting 45 minutes last week following a series of knocks – there can be no doubting City’s potential.
But APIA – while undoubtedly less consistent than City this season – has proven time and time again its quality.
The Tigers will undoubtedly need to have a lot more polish in the final third than they did last week, having seen the likes of Franco Parisi and Corey Bizco miss very good opportunities in the win against Olympic, but if D’Apuzzo can continue to inspire at the back they’ll give City a run for its money.
In two previous meetings this season, Blacktown has not lost to the Tigers, winning 3-1 in round five at Lilys before drawing the away fixture 1-1.
TALE OF THE TAPE:
Round Five: Blacktown City 3 defeated APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1
Round 16: APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1 drew with Blacktown City 1
– By Matthew Galea, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Editor
Grade 20s – Blacktown through to Grand Final
Blacktown City FC swept aside Marconi Stallions in their Major Semi Final at Lilys Football Centre on Sunday afternoon to book their place in the Grand Final this week. Meanwhile Sydney Olympic continued their dream run with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of Sutherland Sharks at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Blacktown City FC 3-1 Marconi Stallions FC, Sunday 1.15pm at Lilys Football Centre
Goals from Juan Zapata and Eoin Montford gave the Premiers a 2-0 lead at halftime, before Zapata struck again in a closely-fought second half to secure a relatively comfortable victory for the Premiers.
Marconi won two early corners but both were cleared downfield as Blacktown looked to find their feet after enjoying an extra week off before their first match of the finals series.
Any fears of rustiness were quashed inside the first four minutes, when Juan Zapata and John Grozdanovski combined just inside the penalty area to give the home side an early lead. Zapata played in Grozadanovski with a neat diagonal ball that the striker the held up well before dishing a pass off to Zapata, who continued his run towards the penalty spot and slotted a simple shot under Kristian Sekutkoski in the Marconi goal.
The Stallions responded with shots from range from Ryan Peterson Noah Chianese, neither threatening Blacktown keeper Tristan Prendergast. Marconi appeared somewhat lethargic in attack, particularly in contrast to their efforts last weekend, when they beat Sutherland 3-2 in the preliminary semi final.
Twenty minutes after their first goal, Blacktown struck again: Zapata won a freekick under pressure from Claudio Fabiano, and Sam Perre stepped up to hit a low, driven shot outside the wall and towards Sekutkoski’s exposed far post. The goalkeeper got down well to save the initial shot but could do little about the follow up after spilling the ball at Eoin Montford’s feet; the Blacktown player cleaning up with a tap-in to double his side’s lead.
Unbeaten in their last fourteen matches and eager to stretch the run to fifteen, Blacktown sought to strike a balance between defense and attack as Marconi looked to mount a comeback. Sebastian Malfara cut a path from the right wing across to the top left corner of the box before laying the ball back for Peterson to shoot, but he sliced his foot across his shot and the ball slid high and wide.
Keen to put a lacklustre first half behind them, Marconi started on the front foot again; enjoying early possession but struggling to string together passes in the final third to create a clear-cut opportunity for the forwards.
Marconi tired fairly quickly in the second half – as they had in the first – and did well to hold their shape as Blacktown stormed forward in numbers in search of a third goal to kill the game off. Grozdanovski took the ball in his stride at the top of the box and hurdled a sliding defender as he took a touch towards Sekutkoski, but he wrapped his foot too far around his shot and dragged the ball across the face of the goal.
Grozdanovski had another chances when he chased down a similar ball running towards goal just moments later, but found himself fighting with his own teammate, Juan Zapata, for possession; the two eventually sorting themselves out to send a ball through a crowded box to Sam Perre, who grazed the crossbar with a shot from range.
Marconi continued to struggle against the tide and conceded again as the match passed the hour mark: Grozdanovski again held up play with his back to goal before turning and squeezing the ball across for Zapata, who ran onto the pass and poked home his second goal of the afternoon.
It might’ve been four just minutes later when Sam Perre had a free kick on the right side of the box, but he whipped the set piece over the wall and again hit the crossbar, leaving Marconi still trailing 3-0.
The visitors scored what amounted to little more than a consolation goal eight minutes from time: Jack Press carried the ball clear of the Blacktown defence and shot back across Prendergast, burying his shot through the keeper’s legs. Sensing that they might still have been in the game, the Stallions stacked their forward line and pushed for a second to put some pressure on Blacktown, but they left it too late: Blacktown were able to weather the late storm, and progressed to the grand final in two weeks’ time with a 3-1 win.
Blacktown City’s John Carnevale was pleased with a job well done, and will look forward to a second week’s rest after booking a place in the grand final.
“We had the week off, and it’s always a bit of an unknown how you’ll bounce back after a week off, but we came out strong and got a couple of early goals.
“We eased off a little in the second half – we knew that they were going to come onto us and push forward so perhaps we were concentrated a little more on defence, but we still created five or six chances that we might’ve put away on a different day. The boys have been in great form, we’re on a good run, and we’re looking forward to taking on Marconi or Olympic in a few weeks.”
Marconi coach Nick Dimovski will have been disappointed that his side could not harness the same energy that they showed in their 3-2 win over Sutherland Sharks in the preliminary semi final last Sunday, but will look forward to a second crack at a place in the grand final when Marconi take on Sydney Olympic next week.
Match Stats
Blacktown City FC 3 (Zapata 4′, 64′, Montford 24′)
Marconi Stallions FC 1 (Press 82′)
Sunday August 30, 2015
Lilys Football Centre
Blacktown City FC: Beumie, Flottmann, Grozdanovski, Hadjisocratous, Montford, S. Perre, R. Perre, Prendergast, Timotheou, Zapata
Subs: Dimitriadis, Figueira, Shabow, Tengbeh, Gonzales
Marconi Stallions FC: Appiah, Chianese, Donatiello, Fabiano, Fitzpatrick, Malfara, Peterson, Press, Schmidt, Sekutkoski, Sfiligoi
Subs: Stewart, Vella, Roebuck, DeMarigny, Andricopolous
Sutherland Sharks 1-5 Sydney Olympic, 6.45pm at Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney Olympic continued their dream run towards the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Grade 20s grand final with a comprehensive 5-1 defeat of Sutherland Sharks at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Just a week after scoring three goals in Olympic’s epic 5-4 win over Sydney United 58 in their elimination semi final at Lambert Park, Adrian Vranic notched another hattrick as Olympic set about a first half demolition of the Sharks, heading into the break 4-1 up.
Michael Trajkovski and Jack Green rounded out the scoring for Olympic while Bai Antoniou scored the only goal for the Sharks in their fifth straight loss, a disappointing end to a season that began with five straight victories.
Next weekend, Olympic head to Lilys Football Centre to take on Marconi Stallions for a place in the grand final in two weeks’ time, where the winner will face Premiers Blacktown City FC.
– by Max Grieve, PS4 National Premier Leagues Grade 20s Reporter
Blacktown City solid in defence
The old saying goes that if strikers win you games, it is defenders that win you Premierships.
That is a statement that rings true for Blacktown City FC coach Mark Crittenden, who will watch his Premiership-winning side compete for a place in the Grand Final this weekend at their home ground; Lilys Football Centre.
City conceded just 23 goals in 22 games over the course of the season – the best defensive record in the league – and while the likes of Joey Gibbs, Travis Major and Danny Choi have deservedly been recognised for their goal scoring talents at the other end of the park, the central defensive pairing of Zachary Cairncross and Matt Lewis was every bit as important.
“We actually set a target of conceding no more than 22 goals across the 22 games,” Cairncross said.
“So losing that on the last game with a late goal (from Sutherland Sharks FC’s Peter O’Shea) was a bit disappointing … but obviously winning the Premiership helps to make up for that.”
The milestone Premiership win was a particularly special one for the two Blacktown City juniors who have returned to the club following their own A-League stints.
Cairncross spent two years at Sydney FC, before a short stint at Central Coast Mariners last year, while Lewis plied his trade as a left-back at the Mariners from 2009-11.
“I’ve been here the last four years and it’s something we’ve waited a long time to achieve,” Cairncross said.
“I obviously played elsewhere after my junior days here with Sydney FC and Marconi before that, but I played all my juniors here so it’s special to come back and do this.”
Lewis, one year younger than Cairncross, shares a similar story.
“I’ve been here since I was in under-11s outside of my time at the Mariners,” Lewis said.
“I was younger than Zach, but I usually played as a left-back anyway. I’m not usually a centre-back, but that’s where I’ve played this year.
“It’s been great to play next Zach because I’ve learned a lot from him. I couldn’t have played as well as we have this year without him, so it’s been a great year.”
The guidance and management offered by Crittenden has also proven a key asset for Blacktown City this year, and both had nothing but praise for their Premiership winning coach.
“We’ve got a young team and a good dressing room. We all jel together really well and we’re all mates off the field as well,” Lewis said.
“But Mark is the first to tell us to pull our heads in when someone’s getting a big head or is getting out of line,” Cairncross added.
“I’ve played under him for a couple of years ago now and I couldn’t play for anyone else.”
Lewis’ relationship with Crittenden extends to his working life as well.
“He’s actually my boss away from football, too, so I think I’ve had enough of him,” Lewis joked.
“But seriously, he’s been a great coach and we’re proud to have helped him achieve what we have this year.”
It is a year that still isn’t over with finals calling, and for arguably the finest defensive duo in the league there is still hopefully some more success to be had.
“We’re just glad to have the Premiership in the bag and now a week off,” Cairncross said following last week’s win.
“Obviously we’ll still be training and that will remain a priority, but it will be good to have a week off and be fresh for the finals, regardless of who we have to play.”
– By Matthew Galea, National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Editor, at Lambert Park
Blacktown City secure Premiership for 2015
Blacktown City FC brought home the Premiership in style at Lilys Football Stadium on a lovely Sunday afternoon.
City flexed its considerable muscle as it showed its Premiership credentials in stunning fashion to dominate the Sutherland Sharks in a one-sided contest that finished 4-1.
The damage was well and truly done in the first half as Travis Major and Danny Choi both notched braces to put the contest – and the Premiership race – to bed.
Truth be told, it would have taken an absolute disaster for Blacktown to fall behind APIA Leichhardt and the pressure was quickly with Major and Choi both netting their first goals before the game was even 20 minutes old.
The brilliant midfield axis of Patrick Antelmi and Daniel Araujo controlled the game for City and it was the latter who carved open the Sharks defence with a lovely bit of play to open the door for Major’s opener.
A lovely one-two combination released the Spaniard into the box and allowed him to shoot low and hard only to be denied by Sharks captain Nathan Denham.
Denham could only parry the ball into the path of the onrushing Major who tucked home easily to kick off the Premiership celebrations after just six minutes.
Major turned supplier just 12 minutes later when he lead a superb counter-attack, picking up a cleared corner in his defensive half and leading the charge at an undermanned Sutherland defence.
Choi redirected his run from Major’s right to run behind Major, losing his man in the process and opening up an opportunity just inside the left of the box which Major recognized with a nice little ball into Choi’s path, who did not disappoint with a beautiful finish.
While the Blacktown offence shredded the Sharks defence to ribbons, at the other end the battle between City defence and Sutherland offence was equally one-sided.
Nenad Vekic was largely untroubled as Matthew Lewis and captain Zachary Cairncross comprehensively covered the threat of Charles Lockolingoy and Steve Hayes.
When they were caught out, Lockolingoy was not ruthless enough to take his opportunity.
His golden moment arrived in the 29th minute when he was found completely unmarked at the top of the six-yard box, but could only muster a tame effort straight at Vekic.
City would not be so accommodating at the other end.
Major had the ball in the back of the net after 31 minutes, but was ruled offside having moved a touch to early as a free-kick was sent into the box.
The officials would not deny him four minutes later when Antelmi produced the pass of the game from just inside his own half to split the Sutherland midfield and defence with one ball to find Mitch Mallia on the left.
Mallia composed himself and centered the ball to Major, who finished easily from close range.
It was 4-0 just minutes later when Araujo did his best to outdo his partner in crime Antelmi when he produced a lovely ball of his own to find Choi speeding into the right side of the box, before beating Denham with a lovely first-time finish.
With the damage well and truly done, the second half was not played with the same intensity, but it remained a relatively one-way affair.
Mallia, Joey Gibbs and Robert Speranza all tried their luck for City to little avail, while at the other end Vekic was tested once before a terrific strike from Peter O’Shea provided something of a consolation for the Sharks as the curtain closed on their season.
Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden – in his trademark club polo and cap – was beaming with pride after the game as he watched his men celebrate sweet premiership triumph.
“I’m ecstatic. Absolutely ecstatic. It’s such a long and hard season that starts way back in November and we’ve had a few changes to personnel, but we were confident that what we bought in would be able to do the job,” Crittenden said.
“The boys have been outstanding. They deserve everything today. The whole club does, it’s great.”
Crittenden said that while he expected a strong finals campaign to come from his boys with hopefully more success to celebrate, he felt winning the league was a huge achievement in its own right.
“Australia loves a grand final and we see it across all the sports, but after 22 rounds, you’ve played everyone twice and you come out on top, I think that’s the benchmark.
“To win this one and come out on top is special. Defensively we’ve been good an to win a league you have to have the best defensive record in the league, which we did, and we had great power going forward, too.”
A somber Steve O’Connor – who was coaching his last game at the Sharks – said it was a poor note to finish the season on, but said the club had to respond next season.
“The season as a whole was a bit disappointing. We lost some important players early on including a captain, our top scorer and second top scorer from last season and never really replaced that quality,” O’Connor said.
“We bought in some young players and new ones and worked from there and I think we had our moments. Today was our biggest loss of the year I think, so it was the only time we were completely outplayed.
“Maybe it was a game to many for us, the season had ended for us so getting the boys up for it.
“I’ve enjoyed my year at the club. It’s a reasonable club but I think they need to move forward and bring some more players in.
“That’s what I wanted to do to build the club up and challenge for top four next year, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Match Stats
Blacktown City 4 (Major 6’, 35’, Choi 18’, 39’)
Sutherland Sharks 1 (O’Shea 89’)
Sunday August 16, 2015
Lily’s Football Centre
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: Scott Edeling and Joon Park
Fourth Official: Tristan Harris
Blacktown City FC: Vekic, Antelmi, Araujo, Cairncross, Choi (Perre 76’), Evans (Tomaras 64’), Fragogiannis, Lewis, Mallia, Speranza, Major (Gibbs 64’)
Substitutes not used: Prendergast, Beumie
Yellow Cards:
Sutherland Sharks FC: Denham, McKenzie, Hayes (Cox 67’), Stergiou, Jovovic, Kakavelis, Caton (Combes 67’), Tratt, O’Connell, Lockolingoy, Park (O’Shea 75’)
Substitutes not used: Curtis, Depta
Yellow Cards:
-By Matthew Galea, National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Editor, at Lilys Football Stadium