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Suns finals series hopes slump as Sky Blues triumph

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Sydney FC have dealt a crushing blow to Rockdale City Suns FC finals hopes with a Marco Tilio brace led 3-1 success tonight at a wet Lambert Park.

The victory was the Sky Blues first since Round 12 when they downed Hakoah Sydney City East.

The Young Sky Blues were made to work for it, coming back from a goal down with a pair of highlight reel strikes from Marco Tilio. Substitute Benjamin Koop added a late chip to confirm the result as they move to 17 points for the season.

Tonight was a tough result for Rockdale City Suns FC. The Suns had the lead through a first half injury time strike from Aleksandar Canak but some errors in the second half have them on the edge of elimination.

Much of the best work for Sydney FC in the first half came through talented midfielder Marco Tilio. Sydney FC’s number ten had their first shot from a rapid counter that was always rising.

Rockdale City Suns FC found joy through the set piece. On several occasions, the hard work of Alec Urosevski and Aleksandar Canak earned cut through the Sydney FC defense but unable to find the final pass.

After a tense opening passage, the game opened up as the chances flowed. Harry Van Der Saag and Tilio both tested Rockdale City Suns keeper David Bradasevic before an audacious chip from Jordan Swibel almost caught the custodian out.

Chasing the top five, Rockdale City Suns started to find their rhythm. Urosevski had a pair of chances blocked then Sasa Macura unleashed a rocket that flew wide of the right post as the game searched for the opener.

Sydney FC opened up Rockdale’s defense but Joel King thrashed his effort wide. The young side showed they weren’t going to be bullied by their more experienced opponents.

Tilio was again the talisman and he stabbed an effort straight as the Sky Blues searched for their first victory since their Round 12 success against Hakoah Sydney City East.

It was Rockdale who struck deep into injury time. The visitors refused to let Sydney FC clear their lines which allowed Urosevski to cut the ball back to a free Canak. He slammed the ball home making it 1-nil at the break.

Coming out to make amends right away, enter Marco Tilio. The Sky-Blue star won the ball clearly in midfield then in the wet conditions, glided like a duck through the Rockdale defense before a calm finish into the roof the net for 1-1.

Not content with the first act, Tilio produced an encore. Sydney FC swept up field again, the ball onto the foot of King before he cut it back for Tilio to nestle it into the corner first time, 2-1 Sydney FC.

Rockdale knowing a loss would deliver a hammer blow to their finals hopes, pushed forward in numbers. They threw on Jordan Figon for some extra thrust but the set piece remained the option.

The delivery from Sasa Macura was perfect on the right as he lifted it onto the head of Leigh Egger but the defender wasn’t able to crane his neck enough, as it flew over.

Nikola Taneski had the chance to snatch a point for Rockdale City Suns. The attacker turned smartly close to the box, unleashed a low shot that Sydney FC custodian, Thomas Heward-Belle flew to the left to deny him.

Sydney FC confirmed their first three points in five weeks when through substitute Benjamin Koop. After clearing a dangerous Rockdale raid, the ball was lofted for Koop to chase against Trent McClenahan. The youngster got in front of his man then chipped home for 3-1 as the Sky Blues saw out the contest.

A delighted Jimmy Van Weeren enjoyed the effort from his young Sky Blues which he believes is a due reward for their persistence.

“The boys were first class tonight. We were disappointed to be 1-nil after gifting them a goal. We showed some mental toughness to get the points.” said Van Weeren.

“There were some real special moments from Marco tonight. He has shown that he can be a match winner. Now, we look to finish off the season with as many wins as possible.”

For Rockdale City Suns coach Nick Porreca it was another night his side paid the ultimate price for a few moments of madness.

“I thought we battled hard in the first half. The boys are battling hard with some injuries but a few defensive breakdowns cost us tonight.” He said.

Match Stats

Sydney FC 3 (Tilio ‘50, ‘52, Koop ‘90)

Rockdale City Suns FC 1 (Canak ‘45+2)

Saturday,6 July 2019

Lambert Park, Leichhardt

Referee: T. Danaskos

Assistant Referees: B. Wright & H. Fenton-White

Fourth Official: C. Wright

Sydney FC: 1. HEWARD-BELLE Thomas, 5. SCIBILIO Patrick, 6. VAN DER SAAG Harry, 8. KING Joel, 10. TILIO Marco (24. HOLLMAN ‘90+2), 11. IVANOVIC Luke (18. KOOP ‘68), 13. SWIBEL Jordan, 15. TEAGUE Ryan (34. NIEUWENHOF ‘76), 16. BONANNI Paolo, 17. TALBOT Callum, 54. MILINARIC Anton

Substitutes not used: 14. FAY Thomas, 40. KAYE Levi

Yellow cards: Scibilio

Red cards: nil

Rockdale City Suns FC: 1. BRADASEVIC David, 3. NEIL Michael, 7. UROSEVSKI Alec, 8. CANAK Aleksandar, 10. TANESKI Nikola, 11. EGGER Leigh, 12. EL HAFIANE Idriss, 15. PETRILLO Nic (9. GROZDANOVSKI ‘83), 17. LECCE Matthew, 18. MACURA Sasa (45. FIGON ‘70), 19. SAVOR Patrick (4. MCCLENAHAN ‘74)

Substitutes not used: 16. MALFARA Alex, 22. ROWSTON Max

Yellow cards: Macura, Taneski

Red cards: nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

Olympic defeat Suns in tight encounter

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An 11th minute Jason Madonis penalty was all it took as Sydney Olympic clung on for a hard fought win against rivals Rockdale City Suns in a physical clash at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday.

The win was Olympic’s first win against Rockdale since 2015 and catapults the reigning premiers into the top five for the first time since the opening weeks of the season

Madonis was clinical from the penalty spot early in the contest to give the home team a lead they would be forced to defend for more than 80 minutes in what was a torrid and chippy encounter.

For Rockdale the loss is another heartbreaking result and is sure to heap more pressure on interim boss Nick Porecca.

There was plenty of action between the two sides from the get-go, with the first goal coming just 11 minutes into the match.  

Rockdale’s Nic Petrillo brought down Olympic’s Peter Kekeris in the box, leaving Referee Ben Abraham with no choice but to award a penalty.

Madonis stepped up to the spot and sent his shot out of reach of Rockdale custodian David Bradasevic to take the lead for the home side early in the game.

The visitors certainly didn’t let the goal against them get them down, fighting hard in their efforts to find an equaliser, but Olympic stayed robust in defence to keep Rockdale at bay and hit the sheds with a one-goal advantage.

Both teams came back from the break firing on all cylinders, with an already physical game turning into an all-in scuffle after a late tackle from Matthew Lecce saw Nikola Kuleski curled on the ground in pain.

The game held its fire right up to the final whistle, with a nail-biting final quarter of football for fans in the stands, as the game travelled from end to end with both sides creating an abundance of threatening chances.

Rockdale looked poised for an equaliser in the final minutes as they continued to mount pressure on their opposition, but Olympic rallied to maintain their advantage and take all three points from the match.

Olympic coach Abbas Saad was pleased with his team’s effort to secure the win.

“We wanted to make a statement and not concede,” he said.

“We knew it was going to be a battle…it’s a derby.

“Credit to them, they came at us in the second half.

“Defensively we were fantastic…probably the best we’ve played all season.”

Rockdale coach Nick Porreca was disappointed his team wasn’t able to salvage a point out of the tough match.

“I think a draw would have been a fair result,” he explained.

“I think we both battled hard.”

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic FC 1 (Jason Madonis 11’)

Rockdale City Suns 0

Sunday 30th June, 2019

Belmore Sportsground

Referee: Ben Abraham

Assistant Referees: L. Greenshields, N. Bavko

Fourth Official: S. Andrews

Sydney Olympic FC: 1. Paul Henderson, 2. Thomas Whiteside, 3. Riley Woodcock, 4. Mitchell Stamatellis, 6. Nikola Kuleski, 8. Jason Madonis (22. Michael Gaitatzis 81’), 10. Harris Gaitatzis (33. Niko Tsattalios 74’), 11. Jinya An, 12. Zachary Mackenzie, 14. Alex Sanchez, 44. Peter Kekeris (17. Jack Stewart 59’)

Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 25. Dimi Petratos,

Yellow Cards: Thomas Whiteside 42’, Peter Kekeris 46’, Paul Henderson 50’, Zachary Mackenzie 61’, Alex Sanchez 90 + 3’

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns FC: 1. David Bradasevic, 2. Daniel Petkovski, 5. Jake Trajkovski, 7. Alec Urosevski, 10. Nikola Taneski, 11. Leigh Egger (19. Patrick Savor 63’), 12. Idriss El Hafiane, 15. Nic Petrillo, 17. Matthew Lecce (8. Aleksander Canak 74’), 18. Sasa Macura, 45. Jordan Figon

Substitutes Not Used: 9. Jonathan Grozdanovski, , 20. Howard Fondyke, 22. Max Rowston

Yellow Cards: Alec Urosevski 17’, Jordan Figon 18’, Matthew Lecce 51’, Jake Trajkovski 90+1’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Madeline Reilly (@madelineriley23)

 

Parisi magic eclipses hapless Suns

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A Franco Parisi masterclass has led APIA Leichhardt Tigers to a comprehensive 5-1 demolition of Rockdale City Suns at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.

The wily APIA veteran showed that class is permanent as he scored a brace in a dominant display from the centre of the park as the Tigers embarrassed Rockdale yet again. 

The Suns had the better start to the match with star winger Alec Urosevski netting 32 minutes in, but it would prove to be the only time the home fans would have reason to smile.

Sean Symons struck back for APIA on the cusp of half time to even the ledger before Parisi and striker Chris Payne took over the second stanza with a pair of goal scoring doubles to secure another big win for the Leichhardt side.  

The match started in dramatic style with Payne firing on goal only five seconds in but it deflected off a Rockdale defender for a corner.

After the early scare the match settled into a battle for midfield supremacy with little in the way of goalmouth action and neither keeper troubled.

That changed on the half-hour when Sean Symons broke down the right and centred for Payne who glanced goal ward only for David Bradasevic to palm away.

However, it was the Suns who turned defence into attack with Urosevski cutting in from the right to thunder past Ivan Necevski in the 32nd minute to open the scoring for the home side with a sweetly struck shot.

It was a comedy of errors that led to the equaliser with Sam McIllhatton and Corey Biczo having shots blocked before Sean Symons pounced on the loose ball to fire home. The Suns had chances to clear but fluffed their lines.

In stark contrast to the opening half hour, the final 15 minutes were frenetic, fast paced and furious. Bradasevic was called upon in the dying moments when McIllhatton forced the ‘keeper into a last ditch save.

Jordan Figon was unlucky when scuffing a shot straight at Necevski with a half chance opening for the home side after 52 minutes, but it was Parisi, the wily old campaigner, at the other end who found the net four minutes later to give the visitors the lead for the first time in the match.

McIllhatton, after good work to wriggle free in the box, played it to Payne who fired wide as APIA upped the ante and pressed for high.

A desperate tackle in the box by Josh Symons needed to be perfectly timed to deny Urosevski and was with no result from the following corner. Once more the Suns’ striker was able to steal a yard down the right and gallop into space.

Payne, a player difficult to keep quiet, scored APIA’s third after 66 minutes when out muscling his defender and finding himself alone in the box to place the ball beyond Bradasevic. Rockdale, in pushing forward, had been caught at the back and left with a mountain to climb.

Parisi added the icing on the cake when strolling through unopposed in the 79th minute and with elegant poise picked his spot with ease to slot home with his last action of the game.

Payne put on the cherry in the 86th minute with a thunderous shot to make it 5-1.

Taneski and Urosevski tried for a consolation but with the Tigers proving fierce in defence they couldn’t breach the back line again.

It was a bitter pill for Rockdale to swallow and with much soul searching after the whistle no comments were made available after the four-goal onslaught of the second-half.

APIA boss John Calleja was delighted after the game and revealed Sean Symons goal on the cusp of the interval was a major turning point.

“It was a different team talk at the break after our equaliser and the boys were very positive in the change rooms,” he said.

“We went on with the job in the second-half, which was pleasing, and we felt if we got one there would be more to follow.

“We got better position in wider areas and were able to use the ball with greater efficiency and were able to expose them and it paved the way for the win.

“Obviously we’re delighted for the boys tonight and the win, it was a tougher match than the score suggest.”

Match Stats

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Urosevski 32’)

APIA Leichhardt Tigers 5 (S.Symons 42’, Parisi 56’,77’, Payne 66’, 86’)

Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale

Sunday, 23rd June, 2019

Referee: Jack Morgan (VIC)

Asst. Refs: Nathan Wotton & Ellie Hayes (NNSW)

Fourth Official: Paddy Reynolds

Rockdale City Suns: 1.David Bradasevic, 2.Daniel Petkovski, 7.Alec Urosevski, 8. Alex Canak, 11.Leigh Egger, 12.Idris El Hafiane (20.Howard Fondyke 84’), 15.Nick Petrillo, 17.Matthew Lecce, 18.Sasa Macura, 19.Patrick Savor, 45.Jordan Figon (10.Nikola Taneski 63’)

Subtitutes not used: 5.Jake Trajkovski, 9.Jonatahn Grozdanovski, 22.Max Rowston

Yellow Cards: Petkovski 35’, Canak 67’, Egger 76’

Red Cards:

APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 1.Ivan Necevski, 3.Paul Galimi, 4.Josh Symons, 6.Chris Payne, 7.Tynan Diaz (17.Sam Gulisano 84’), 8.Corey Biczo (19.Dom Nasrabadi, 46’), 10.Franco Parisi (5.Nick Stavroulakis, 80’), 12.Sam McIllhatton, 16.Sean Symons, 18.Adrian Ucchino, 21.Michael Kouta,

Subtitutes not used: 14.Lachlan Hughes, 22.Luke Turnbull

Yellow Cards: Nasrabadi 77’

Red Cards:

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Micky Brock

 

 

Suns stunned by hungry Rangers

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Mt Druitt Town Rangers have continued its stunning second half of the NPL NSW Men’s season after stunning Rockdale City Suns with a 2-0  victory at Popondetta Park on Saturday evening.

The result was the Rangers second win in as many games with their performance sure to put a smile on coach Aidan Desmond’s face.

Two goals in the first half sealed the deal for the home side.

Strikes from the mercurial Fabricio Fernandez and John Roberts were enough to seal all three points as Mt Druitt secured their first back-to-back wins of the season.

For Rockdale it was another stiff reality check as Nick Porecca’s side stumble their way through the second half of the campaign.

Mt Druitt had a fast start to the contest when Fernandez fired narrowly over the cross bar from outside the penalty area only four minutes into the contest

While the Uruguayan’s targeting may have been off at first, he certainly made a better go of it with his second chance on goal.

Toufic Alameddine did all the nice work on the right and squared the ball for Fernandez who cleverly found the back of the net to give the home side a 1-0 lead 12 minutes in and added to his goalscoring tally of seven for the 2019 season.

Only a few minutes later Mt Druitt could have made it two. A cross from Jake Mammone found Fernandez who blasted the ball onto the crossbar but from the rebound John Roberts couldn’t find the back of the net.

Rockdale’s best early chance fell to Alec Urosevski in the 22nd minute when he tried his luck from distance only to be denied by Carlos Saliadarre.

It was the same player a minute later who won the ball for the visitors and charged towards goal to find himself one-on-one with Saliadarre, but the Mt Druitt goalkeeper was able to come out and beautifully block off his line.

In the 34th minute a dangerous cross from the left by Mick Neill deserved to have someone on the end of it, but there was no one home for Rockdale and the chance went begging.

Late in the first half a shot from Jacob Esposito only just missed the intended target as Mt Druitt Town Rangers looked to double their lead prior to the interval. And that lead did indeed arrive late in the first stanza of play.

Mirijan Pavlovic, the former Marconi Stallions player, created doubt in the minds of the defenders but had his shot blocked, but then the ball fell to Roberts who on the turn managed to find the bottom corner of the net.

In the second half the first salvo arrived shortly after kick-off when Alameddine couldn’t connect properly with his shot and David Bradesevic didn’t have much trouble making the save.

Joshua Gould almost conceded an own goal when he volleyed a Rockdale City cross in the 53rd minute onto his own goalpost for what would have been a classic own goal.

Mt Druitt pressed forward again through the right channel midway through the second half when Roberts threaded the needle for Alameddine but his powerful, diagonal attempt sailed over the crossbar.

A third goal there and then would have definitely closed the door on Rockdale getting back into the encounter.

A corner from Fernandez in the 73rd minute went straight onto the crossbar and then a delightful counter-attack shortly afterwards saw Esposito charge from inside his own half and deliver a great ball to Fernandez who eventually hit the side netting.

Alex Boyadijan entered the fray late but he immediately tested Bradasevic with a nice shot from an acute angle. It was to be the last real opportunity of the game

Afterwards Aidan Desmond, a very pleased coach of Mt Druitt Town Rangers, said that his side certainly now has a lot of belief in themselves after some positive results.

“We put in a good shift tonight and it could have been more, and we also kept a clean sheet which was great,” he said.

“The boys have taken a lot confidence from their midweek FFA Cup game in Wollongong where we kept them scoreless and we were the first team to do so.

“There is a lot of belief amongst the boys in the change room at the moment and we face Manly in the Waratah Cup this Wednesday for our fourth game in ten days.

“Its’ a really happy change room and the boys know that they are good enough and deserve to be in this league.”

Whereas in the Rockdale City Suns dressing room assistant coach Matthew Ribarovski summed up their performance which was where they would have liked it to be.

“Overall it was a bit of a flat performance tonight from us and unfortunately were behind the eight-ball after their early goal,” he said.

“We created two one-on-one chances in the first half and some really good chances in the second half, but to be honest that’s the way things go sometimes.

“It’s tough away game against Mt Druitt on a cold night and on a fairly bumpy pitch which doesn’t suit our style of play, but at the end of the day we can’t make excuses for our flat performance.”

Match Stats

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 2 (Fernandez 12’, Roberts 44’)

Rockdale City Suns: 0  

Saturday, 15 June 2019

Popondetta Park, Emerton

Referee: Daniel Stack
Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho, Ray Osborne

Fourth Official: M. Howarth

Mt DRUITT TOWN RANGERS: 1. Carlos Saliadarre, 3. Jacob Esposito (15. Cooper Coskerie 87’), 4. Solomon Monahan-Vaika, 5. Jake Mammone, 6. Blake Thompson, 10. Fabricio Fernandez, 11. Toufic Alameddine (12. Nicholas Trimble 87’), 13.Lord Dakoh, 14.Mirjian Pavlovic (9.Alex Boyadjan 82’), 16.Joshua Gould, 19.John Roberts.

Substitutes not used: 17. Jordan Gomez

Yellow Cards: Dakoh 89’

Red Card: Nil

ROCKDALE CITY SUNS: 1. David Bradasevic, 2.Daniel Petkovski, 3.Mick Neill, 7.Alec Urosevski, 8. Aleksandar Canak (9. Jonathan Grozdanovski 58’) 11.Leigh Egger, 12.Idris El Hafiane, 14.Brayden Sorge (19.Patrick Savor 61’), 18.Sasa Macura, 20.Howard Fondyke (17.Matthew Lecce 86’), 45.Jordan Figon.

Substitutes not used: 5.Jake Trajkovski, 22.Max Rowston.

Yellow Cards: Macura 94’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo

 

 

Suns easily dispose hapless Hakoah

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Rockdale City Suns re-entered the National Premier Leagues NSW ‘stop five and heaped more misery on rock-bottom Hakoah Sydney City East with a 4-0 win at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday.

Nick Porreca’s side had dropped out of the finals positions following their five-goal collapse against Marconi Stallions a week ago but returned at the expense of Manly United after strolling past the luckless Hakoah at Hensley Athletic Field.

Jordan Figon and Leigh Egger fired in scrappy first-half goals before Suns striker Figon sealed his double and put the visitors in the clear five minutes after the interval.

Alec Urosevski added a fourth late on, consigning Hakoah – who lost ex-A-League star Predrag Bojic and his replacement James Combes to injury inside the space of 34 first half minutes – to their eleventh defeat of the campaign.

It leaves Gavin Rae’s side seven points adrift of eleventh-placed Mt. Druitt Town Rangers at the foot of the ladder.

Rockdale made the breakthrough when Figon controlled and buried a rebound after Hakoah custodian Ryan Norval parried Aleksandar Canak’s shot into his path.

Norval produced a good near post save to deny Alec Urosevski but was beaten again on the cusp of the interval. Hakoah failed to clear Urosevski’s delivery, and Egger reacted quickest to bundle the ball over the line from close range.

Figon punished the hosts for a second time by stroking a third past Norval on the counter early in the second, while Urosevski crowned a dominant evening late on with a tidy finish – the Rockdale top-scorer’s sixth goal of the campaign.

“We’re trying to get into their heads that we need to be stronger mentally for these games,” said Suns boss Porreca.

“These are the sort of games you need to lift and make sure you get the points.”

Porreca – who replaced former coach Paul Reid in the Rockdale hot-seat in April – also remarked that star duo Figon and Urosevski could turn the club into a real finals threat based on their excellent display in Round 14’s curtain raiser.

“We’ve got a good team here. Both of those two guys can fire us there [to the finals].

“It’s about managing them for the finals. Hopefully we can work our way there.”

Match Stats

Hakoah Sydney City East 0

Rockdale City Suns 4 (Figon 26’, 50’, Egger 45’, Urosevski 82’)

Sunday 9th of June,

Hensley Athletic Field, Eastgardens

Hakoah Sydney City East: 15. Predrag Bojic (3. James Combes 29’, 5. Steven Katsionis 34’), 13. Robert Ezekiel, 24. Amauri Gauthier, 8. Oliver Green, 17. Harry Jones, 14. Jordan Koton, 1. Ryan Norval, 2. Connor Shaddock, 12. Joshua Swadling, 4. Bradley Walker (9. Shohel Okuno 60’), 23. Adrian Vranic

Substitutes Not Used: 6. Dominic Cox, 25. Max Ephraim

Yellow Cards: Green 63’

Red Cards: N/A

Rockdale City Suns: 1. David Bradasevic, 8. Aleksandar Canak, 11. Leigh Egger, 12. Idriss El Hafiane (19. Patrick Savor 68’), 45. Jordan Figon, 20. Howard Fondyke, 18. Sasa Macura (17. Matthew Lecce 72’), 3. Michael Neill, 2. Daniel Petkovski (15. Nic Petrillo 75’), 14. Braydon Sorge, 7. Alec Urosevski

Substitutes Not Used: 9. Jonathan Grozdanovski, 22. Max Rowston

Yellow Cards: 
Red Cards: N/A

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing. 

By National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Jacob Windon