NSWPL Round 21 fixture played 21 August 2011- Belmore Sports Ground- report courtesy of FNSW.

Sydney Olympic’s recent woes continued on Sunday where they were held to a 1-1 draw against a determined Rockdale City Suns outfit at Belmore Sports Ground.

The Suns opened the scoring in the 26’ minute via Shay Spitz before Phil Makrys saw his free-kick sail into the net to make it 1-1. 

After last weekend’s humiliating loss to Marconi Stallions, Sydney Olympic made their intentions clear from the opening whistle with a flurry of attacks unsettling the Rockdale defence.

Jerry Kalouris played a lovely through ball to Will Angel in the 3’ minute for the latter to cross into the box, only for the Rockdale defence to clear.

2’ minutes later Sydney Olympic had their first sight on goal as Brett Studman’s header from a corner was cleared off the line, keeping the scores level.

Rockdale slowly got back into the game and in the 8’ minute a lovely cross by Pece Apolevski found a free Jason Naidovski who could not control the ball with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The Suns almost took the lead in the 14’ minute when Apolevski latched onto a corner only to see his half-volley hit the crossbar.

The visitors kept the pressure on 3’ minutes later as a long throw saw James Monie head the ball goal bound only to be expertly tapped out for a corner by Olympic goalkeeper Paul Henderson.

Rockdale took a deserved lead in the 26’ minute when Apolevski played a square ball to Sash Trajcevski for the midfielder to chip over the Olympic defence with Shay Spitz creeping in behind to slam home.

The League leaders tried to get back into the game as moments later Robbie Mileski took on the Rockdale defence though his impending shot went wide of the mark.

Despite being outplayed for the majority of the half it would be Sydney Olympic who would next find the back of the net. Phil Makrys’s free-kick sailed over the head of Dion Shaw and into the back of the net to make the score 1-1.

Rockdale were unlucky not to re-take the lead on the stroke of half-time as James Monie was played a lovely through ball only to strike his shot wide of the mark.

Sydney Olympic came out of the break with all guns blazing as Emmanuel Giannaros’ shot from the corner of the 18-yard box floated just over the left hand corner of the goal.

Rockdale’s fans were again left frustrated in the 52’ minute as former A-League striker Jason Naidovski beat the offside trap and got the ball past the oncoming Henderson, only to hit the post.

The chances kept coming for the visitors as Shay Spitz’s cross was met by the head of Monie – the striker’s header though finished over the crossbar.

Sydney Olympic slowly regained the majority of possession but could not break the stringent Suns defence.

In the 71’ minute Olympic’s fans were on their feet as Gullo was sent goal bound with only the goalkeeper to beat. Unfortunately for the youngster, Gullo succumbed to cramp, as the chance went begging.

2’ minutes later the Blues had another chance on goal as Phil Makrys found Chris Triantis in space on the right. Triantis’ shot though went directly into the hands of the awaiting Dion Shaw.

Tod Bamber had a great chance to help his team take the lead 1’ minute after coming onto the pitch but saw his half-volley go well over the bar and out for a goal kick.

In the 83’ minute Triantis took on the Suns defence, making his way into the box from the left before cutting the ball towards Zac Elrich whose impending shot was saved and quickly headed out for a corner.

Triantis had another chance 2’ minutes later but his curling effort went straight to the chest of Shaw.

Bamber had the best chance to win the game for his team in the dying moments. Triantis played a lovely through ball to the striker only to see his one-on-one opportunity well saved by Shaw.

The home side fought hard in the final 5’ minutes with a handful of opportunities gone missing ending the game at 1-1.

Following the match Rockdale City Suns coach Wally Savor said he was happy with the result despite his side needing a win:

“It was a game we needed points from to stay alive and I know Olympic needed the points too,’’ he said.

“I think we played really well and in patches we kept the ball well.

“First-half was maybe ours and the second probably theirs. So I was happy with our start and even into the second-half.

“But in respect to them they threw some numbers forward and they have some fast players so we’re not complaining as we have gotten a point. I think a draw is a fair result.’’

In the home dressing room Peter Tsekenis said:

“We did come out a bit shaky and Rockdale came here with no real pressure on them and it showed,’’ he said.

“We weathered a big storm as they did come at us and credit to the boys we stuck in there and got an equaliser.

“I thought in the second-half we picked it up and as the game went on we got stronger.

“We had a couple good chances in the end and you would probably wonder how they could miss them.’’

In the Grade-20 fixture Rockdale City Suns ran away with a 4-1 victory over Sydney Olympic.

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic 1 (Makrys 40’)

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Spitz 26’)

Sunday 21^st August, 2011

Belmore Sports Ground

Referee: Khodr Yaghi

Assistant Referees: Craig Fisher and Thomas Lee

Fourth Official: Janne Sjogren

Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 18.Jerry Kalouris, 3.Brett Studman, 8.Chris Triantis, 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 14.Will Angel (17.Mitchell Stamatelis 62’), 7.Phil Makrys (C), 11.Robbie Mileski, 9.Husky Akil (22.Zac Elrich 67’), 19.David Gullo (15.Tod Bamber 79’)

Substitutes Not Used: 12.Bill Tsanidis, 21.Sam Emmanouil

Yellow Cards: Studman 66’

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 22.Dion Shaw; 21.Mirko Jurijl, 6.Josh Lawson, 2.Paul Dee, 7.Pece Apolevski (C), 3.Shay Spitz, 10.Sash Trajcevski, 17.Sasho Tirovski (19.Marino Musumeci 46’), 23.Ashkin Oygur, 18.James Monie (11.Adem Kir 91’), 9.Jason Naidovski (5.Jeffrey Issa 80’)

Substitutes Not Used: 16.Anthony Perri, 1.Ben McNamara

 

 

NSWPL Round 14 fixture played 3 July 2011- Marconi Stadium- report courtesy of FNSW

Suns battle hard for fortuitous win over Stallions

03.07.11 20:43

 

Rockdale City Suns' Dominic Hudap scored the winning goal against Marconi in their thrilling 2-1 victory on Sunday

Rockdale City Suns were decidedly second best during the first 45’ minutes at Marconi Stadium against the Stallions, though the side managed to come away with all three points courtesy of late goals for a 2-1 win.

The Stallions were left to rue their profligacy in front of goal after a totally dominant period that saw them find the net just once when Nahuel Arrarte finished off a marvellous move to volley home.

Rockdale City were without inspirational captain Peter Apolevski who was left to serve out the remaining week of a suspension and were often left chasing shadows and could have found themselves a goal down in the 2’ minute when Chris Nunes scampered down the right flank and crossed into a congested penalty area but no-one was able to convert.

Shay Spitz replied on kind for the Suns a few moments later but his over-hit centre drifted out for a goal kick.

What followed was almost one-way traffic as Marconi took control of the midfield after becoming embroiled in a battle of attrition before stamping their authority and fashioned a splendid opportunity on the quarter hour when Arrarte floated a free-kick into the mix that Askin Oygur, in a Man of the Match performance, was able to head clear.

Oygur again thwarted Marconi when Arrarte sent over another cross for Josh Sama on the left that he couldn’t bring down, only for the Suns burly centre-back to get to and again dissipate any danger.

Marconi took it to the visitors and but for the lack of final ball into the box, woeful finishing and gritty determination of the Rockdale back-line would have taken the lead long before Arrarte put them ahead in the 26’ minute.

Arrarte volleyed home sweetly leaving Ben McNamara no chance between the sticks.

Sama shot weakly toward goal that McNamara gathered easily shortly after before Arrarte again volleyed, this time narrowly over, from a Keith Shevlin centre.

Giorgio Speranza, James Monie and Shay Spitz, playing on the right in the first-half, with Sash Tirovski and Dominic Hudap slotting in behind them, worked hard up front for Rockdale and were not found wanting in effort but they were shackled by the Marconi defence that limited them to long-range shooting. This almost did pay off when Tirovski scuffed a shot that slipped narrowly past Chronopoulos’ right-hand upright.

Suns coach Wally Savor needed to change things at the break and immediately brought Jason Naidovski on for Adem Kir at the start of the second period to give his side more attacking options which almost paid off when Hudap slipped a shot into the side netting.

Marconi were now the side under the pump and Luke Casserly made a double change when bringing on Matthew Gordon and Mayora for Josh Sama and Shevlin respectively, but still the Rockdale road show continued to perform and Brenton Rhodes was thankfully for the home side on hand to get his head in the way of a Naidovski overhead kick to keep his side in the lead.

Hudap had Chronopoulos scrambling across his line with another long-range effort as Marconi were now forced to soak up the pressure and it came as no surprise when another Suns substitute, Itsuki Hasegawa, fired in a free-kick that Joshua Lawson powered forward to head home to restore parity.

Monie was able to head back across goal 4’ minutes later that fell to Hudap on the edge of the area and this time he made no mistake firing home to give Rockdale the lead.

With the last throw of the dice Marconi replaced Nunes with Mitchell Mallia as they chased the match when attempting to get a point but it wasn’t to be.

Luke Casserly wasn’t happy after the game when stating:

“I think there were a couple of decisions that went against us today and we thought they should have had a player sent-off for a two footed tackle but you don’t always get them in matches and the lad goes on to get the winning goal.

“However, we were dominant and looked okay, but in the second-half you have to give Rockdale credit for they way they fought back, they were a totally different team.

“They showed a lot of energy, out enthused us and exhibited a lot of composure when they needed to after we went into our shells a bit and didn’t control the ball in the areas we needed to.

“We changed our shape to try and stop their game a little bit but in the end it wasn’t about shape or structure but the energy and composure they showed with the ball in the second-half and that’s where we really ourselves down I think.

“In the last couple of weeks the decisions haven’t been going for us and it’s sometimes like that when you’re battling but these things are going to happen and we should have put ourselves into a winning position in the first-half and we didn’t do enough after the break to win the game.”

Rockdale had a relieved coach in Wally Savor when he added:

“Last week we put in our heart and soul and came away with nothing and today we started poorly and got the points with a bit of luck when the ball  bounces your way but that’s football I suppose.

“It’s an old cliché but it was a game of two halves. We were rubbish in the first 45-minutes but after the break we were the better side when we changed our shape and put an extra striker on and modified our 4-4-2 and it seemed to change the game for us.

“The boys lifted and they knew the performance of the first-half was unacceptable and having the extra forward on the field and changing Shay (Spitz) from the right to the left wing worked for us as Jason (Naidovski) was able to push on up front with Jimmy (Monie), switch the system and take a few risks and I’m really happy and the boys deserved it for their effort out there today.

“Mentally and psychologically it is a massive boost for the guys and the balance of the team so we can put our best foot forward next week against APIA.”

Savor diplomatically evades answering when posed with it being a good feeling to get the monkey off the back with his first win as Rockdale coach by saying:

“Yes it’s been a good day with our U/18 and U/20 sides winning too which makes me really happy and we can all sleep a little easier to tonight,” he laughs.

Marconi Stallions and Rockdale City Suns Grade-20 encounter finished with the visitors 2-0 victors.

Match Stats

Marconi Stallions 1 (Arrarte 26’)

Rockdale City Suns 2 (Lawson 82’, Hudap 86’)

Sunday 3^rd July, 2011

Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park

Referee: Alex Glasgow

Assistant Referees: Bachar Allam and Bruce Cameron

Fourth Official: Michael Weiner

Marconi Stallions: 22.James Chronopoulos; 2.Andrew Mailer, 3.Ali Haydar, 6.Brenton Rhodes, 8.Sean O’Connell, 9.Keith Shevlin (15.Matthew Mayora 62’), 14, Graz Trimboli, 20.Josh Sama (11.Matthew Gordon 62’), 23.Chris Nunes (17.Mitchell Mallia 89’), 24.Daniel Petkovski, 26.Nahual Arrarte (C)

Substitutes Not Used: 5.Adel Eljamal, 21.Nikodin Matic

Yellow Cards: G.Trimboli 43’, O’Connell 77’

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 3.Shay Spitz, 6.Joshua Lawson, 8.Dominic Hudap, 11.Adem Kir (9.Jason Niadovski 46’), 12.James Monie, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 17.Sash Tirovski, 19.Marino Musumeci (14.Itsuki Hasegawa 72’), 21.Mirko Jurilj (C) (10.Sash Trajcevski 59’), 23.Askin Oygur

Substitutes Not Used: 20.Roberto Speranza, 22.Dion Shaw

 

 

NSWPL Round 13 fixture played 25 June 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre- report courtesy of FNSW

 

Sydney United took all three precious points on Saturday evening in their 2-1 victory over Rockdale City Suns at Illinden Sports Centre.

 

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 6^{th 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:

Assistant Referees:

Fourth Official:

Rockdale City Suns:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Sydney United:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Nil Lyons 74 20.Ryan Norval, 22.Samuel Chapple 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’) Nil Tirovski 63, 14.Itsuki Hasegawa, 22.Dion Shaw, 4.Sean Thomas 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 Matthew Cropper Thomas Lee & Cameron Bruce Jason Blackwood

 

 

NSWPL Round 12 fixture played 19 June 2011- Jenson Oval- report courtesy of FNSW.

 

Bankstown City scored a 1-0 win over great rivals Rockdale City at Jensen Park on Sunday afternoon.

 

A goal from Frederick Graham in the 86’ minute was enough to separate the two sides after Pece Apolevski missed a penalty in the 8’ minute for Rockdale. For Bankstown it was their first win on home soil for the season.

It was a first-half of few chances and even less highlights, but early on it did not look like this was going to be the case. Within the opening 10’ minutes Bankstown had picked up a yellow card and Rockdale was awarded a penalty in different incidents.

First Lenox Tweneboa was booked for a poor challenge and then Giorgio Speranza went on a mazy run on the left which ended with the referee awarding the Suns a penalty. Speranza’s composure had the Bankstown defence looking as if they were scared off making a tackle following the earlier yellow card to Tweneboa. Speranza stepped inside two players and hit the byline. He looked to cross the ball into James Monie in the centre but instead the ball came off the arm of Bilal Al Najjarine. The resultant penalty was not hit powerfully by Pece Apolevski but it was on target, only for Zlatko Joseski to go low to his right and deflect the ball away, thus denying Rockdale the perfect start.

Unfortunately, the next 35’ minutes did not live up to what was promised in the first 10’. Opportunities were half-chances at best with the five men at the back of both teams enough to combat the attacking men of their opponents.

In the 13’ minute David Gardiner hooked the ball back into the area after a corner was poorly cleared, but no Bankstown attacker could get to the ball.

Gardiner was having an excellent game until injury cruelly took him from the match just on 40’ minutes.

Then Dominic Hudap tried to get the game by the throat with some great passes through the middle of the park. However, the best that came of them was a cross from Shay Spitz but James Monie’s header of the ball went straight to Joseski.

The defence continued to be strong for Rockdale, especially from Josh Lawson and the experienced Mirko Jurilj with the only real threat to their composure coming when Aman Hadid, Frederick Graham and Hussein Salameh worked together to pressure the Suns in the 23’ minute.

The resultant corner saw Ben McNamara spill the ball as he came for it and Hadid tried to bring the ball down and shoot only for his shot to be blocked by the wall that was the defence. Even when it was pierced, a few seconds later by Sean Mitchell, the ball ended up straight in the midriff of McNamara.

On the half hour Graham and Hadid combined well but Hadid’s last touch was just too strong and McNamara got down to the ball and denied any chance for Bankstown to have a shot.

On 36’ minutes, Spitz had two goes at crossing from the left, the first headed away by the defence before Monie could get to it, and the second blocked at the origin by the Bankstown defence.

Bankstown then held much of the possession before the close of the half but right on half-time Adem Kir stepped past his marker and shot from long-range, the ball going over the top but closer than most of what happened in the opening stanza, excluding the penalty attempt.

Whatever was said at half-time managed to fire both teams up early in the second, with the home side especially keen to start.

From the kick off Bankstown regained the ball and Hadid demonstrated all his guile and skill to float past his markers and fire a shot in from long-range that curled, but not enough, and just stayed the wrong side of the post.

Graham and Mitchell linked but the cross from the left by Tweneboa was poor. Then Rockdale hit back, strongly. Askin Oygur, also playing well from the back, played a great ball to Spitz on the left and he put in a cross to Monie at the far post, where he was unmarked, but Monie was just unable to reach it.

In the 51’ minute Spitz, Adem Kir and James Monie combined but Spitz was unable to get the ball to Apolevski waiting in the centre of the attacking area. Apolevski then played a great ball to Spitz who went on a good run but his ball to Speranza was wasted when his Rockdale teammate was unable to get his shot below the crossbar, albeit only just once more.

If the penalty miss had changed the game then once more things turned when in the 65’ minute Apolevski received a straight red card for a challenge on Peter Peralta.

For Bankstown, however, the chance seemed absent from the day, as evidenced by an effective Tweneboa cross seeing Omar Saadi volleying it well and truly over the crossbar. Rockdale did not give up and substitute Jason Naidovski was particularly a threat by closing down Bankstown at the back.

The possession was not being converted by either team, though. A Peter Peralta ball floated into the area towards the goal and for a moment threatened to float in but McNamara got up tall to stop the half chance. Then a brilliant ball from Lebanese star Al Najjarine from the back to Graham almost paid off but eventually the ball through to Salameh was intercepted out.

For Al Najjarine it capped a day where he was strong at the back but also played some great passes out of trouble for Bankstown – Al Najjarine signed last week from Lebanese side Najmeh.

Tweneboa then had a strong shot blocked well out from the goal by the Rockdale defence. Rockdale went up the other end and in the 82’ minute as a header from Josh Lawson was denied by Joseski before a follow up shot from Rockdale was blocked by traffic, as was another follow up shot from Askin Oygur.

Sean Mitchell was still trying to engineer something for the home side as well, working well with Graham but the Bankstown side just could not come up with an answer to the Rockdale defence, or so it seemed.

It looked like a 0-0 draw until the 86’ minute when something came from nothing, as it so often does in football. Substitute Suad Ameti had been played into attack by Salameh but looked to be going nowhere. He was well marshalled away from goal and the ball looked like going out when he somehow kept the ball in, slid it past Josh Lawson and played the ball past McNamara and into the goal mouth where three Bankstown players were waiting. Frederick Graham, who had ridden the wave of negative comments emanating from some sections of the crowd all game, was there waiting to do what any striker is paid to do, put the ball in the back of the net, and the critics were silenced.

Still Rockdale tried to clamber an equaliser but in the end time was their greatest enemy and so this most historic of clashes went the way of Bankstown City on this occasion.

For Rockdale coach Lee Sterrey it was a story of the lost opportunity:

"The penalty changed the game. If we had scored it would have forced them to come out and play differently, instead they could play the way they are used to. It is disappointing as we did not deserve to lose the game, they never had a kick on goal all game until one incident at the byline cost us the match.

"It is those little things we must be careful of for the whole game, not just most of it."

For Bankstown coach Blagoja Kuleski it was a great day as he saw his side win at home for the first time this season:

"If somebody is happy today it is me. We never gave up. So often we lose because of the little things but today the little things went our way.

"Rockdale gave us a tough game but we happened to take our chance tonight and thus are pleased to pick up the whole three points."

 

In the Grade-20 match, Rockdale City Suns secured a 2-0 victory over Bankstown City.

Match Stats

Bankstown City Lions 1

Rockdale City Suns 0

Sunday 19^{th June, 2011}

Jensen Park, Sefton

Referee:

Assistant Referees:

Fourth Official:

Bankstown City FC:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Rockdale City Suns:

Substitutes Not Used:

14.Itsuki Hasegawa, 22.Dion Shaw 1.Ben McNamara; 13.Giorgio Speranza, 2.Paul Dee (9.Jason Naidovski 61’), 21.Mirko Jurilj, 26.Josh Lawson, 23.Askin Oygur, 7.Pece Apolevski, 11.Adem Kir, 8.Dominic Hudap, 3.Shay Spitz (19.Marino Musumeci 81’), 18.James Monie (17.Sash Tirovski 72’) Nil Lenox Tweneboa 7’, Steven Bozinovski 7’, Frederick Graham 17’, Zlatko Joseski 73’ 14.Nicholas Ristevski, Gk.Antonio Anic 1.Zlatko Joseski; 4.Blaz Dejanovic, 5.David Gardiner (2.Omar Saadi 39’), 8.Peter Peralta, 15.Steven Bozinovski, 20.Frederick Graham (19.Steve Krteski 89’), 21.Aman Hadid (30.Suad Ameti 78’), 9. Bilal Al Najjarine, 18.Lenox Tweneboa, 10.Hussein Salameh, 7.Sean Mitchell Alex Long Sam Grasso and Bachan Allam Andrew Best (Graham 86’)

 

 

 

NSWPL Round 11 fixture played 5 June 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre- report courtesy of FNSW

 

Struggling Parramatta FC came to Ilinden Sports Centre with caretaker coach Pat Marando at the helm for the first time and started the game like a whirlwind when missing a 3’ minute penalty, yet taking the lead inside the first 10’ minutes.

 

The Suns, lethargic at first, blew the Eagles away in a second-half onslaught no-one would have predicted.

As Kutaiba Elrich weaved into the Suns penalty-area, Giorgio Speranza and Marino Musumeci were adjudged to have jointly brought him down in only the 3’ minute of play. Peter Crevani stepped up to take the spot-kick, though a poorly struck effort was well saved by the impressive home goalkeeper Ben McNamara to keep the scores level.

It was, however, the custodian who was deemed at fault when Elrich took an 8’ minute free-kick and curled his shot into the net from the angle of the box with the shot-stopper’s positioning questioned.

With Bryan Soane firing over from the edge of the box moments earlier, the Suns could have found themselves three down inside the first 10’ minutes as Parramatta FC dominated, were sharper to the ball and gave the home side no time to settle.

Whilst looking eager for the fight ahead, it wasn’t until the 13’ minute that Rockdale had its first effort that Musumeci couldn’t reach when a cross from the left flashed across the area.

Elrich and Grima were interchanging their positions up front delightfully and caused no end of problems for the Suns defence and were almost uncontrollable for much of the opening half as the visitors threatened to run riot with the neutral being forgiven for thinking this was an Eagle’s home match.

Shay Spitz found himself in referee Adam Weir’s book 5’ minutes later and perhaps could have been ordered from the field shortly afterwards but was substituted for Jason Naidovski on 22’ minutes - an astute swap it would prove to be.

Parramatta continued to boss the Suns around and another set piece almost brought the home side undone again when Elrich played the ball short to Luke Grima and he watched his shot from 25-yards out slip narrowly past the right hand upright of McNamara after narrowly heading wide previously.

Peter Apolevski tried to rally the troops but Parramatta showed no signs of letting their grip slacken although a cross from Mirko Jurilj caused a few anxious moments for Eagles’ goalkeeper Anthony Costa when he flapped at the out swinging ball. The ball popped into the air, bounced off his head and into his grateful arms in one of the lighter events of the game, though it wasn’t such good fortune when he next touched the ball as he picked it out the net.

Another cross, from a corner this time, found its way to the back stick and as Costa contested the ball with Joshua Lawson he appeared to lose his grasp after collecting it when hitting the head of the Rockdale back-cum-midfielder. Following the goalmouth scramble that ensued he managed to prod the ball home to level the score just before the break.

The Eagles were behind 2’ minutes after the break when James Monie nipped in behind the defence from a Musumeci through ball to dink over the advancing Costa, and from then on the tables were turned.

The visitors could have drawn level in the 49’ minute when Crevani fired point-blank at McNamara and the danger was cleared.

They were further behind after 53’ minutes when Naidovski finished a sweet move that saw Monie pull the ball back for the substitute to make it 3-1.

It was to get worse still as Naidovski completed the scoring when Adem Kir sent over another cross that was put away with the left foot as, yet again, the Eagles were unable to deal with the ball in from out wide.

Both sides had the opportunities to add to the score board with stout defence, terrific goalkeeping and the post, when Monie again, in a Man of the Match performance, knocked the ball down for Naidovski who beat the ‘keeper only for the ball to deflect back into play off the upright before the visitors cleared.

It was a result that didn’t look on the cards, particularly in the opening half, but one that Suns coach Lee Sterrey will take:

"We should know our own ground better than the visiting side and it looked the other way around and yet again we looked to be a yard or two off the pace and intensity for much of the first-half.

"The first 5’ minutes for us were diabolical and the penalty we gave away, thank God Ben (McNamara) saved it but we still ended up giving away five or six fouls and we end up going behind to a free-kick that was soft around the box and we simply weren’t switched on in the first 45’ minutes. I wasn’t happy about it and let the players know at the break.

"Second-half we came back, rolled up the sleeves and got stuck in and lads like Josh (Lawson) wear their heart on their sleeve and he got us level just before the whistle and we came out strongly for the second-half.

"Our presence stepped up and we got the result and all the players know that as we build this club there is going to be competition for places and we showed that today with a few of the younger lads in the side but I am sounding like a broken record when saying we have to be switched on from the first whistle instead of starting as slowly as we did today."

Caretaker Parramatta FC coach Pat Marando wasn’t a picture of happiness when stating:

"You get disappointed when you see you dominate matches like that and end up on the wrong end of a 4-1 score line when apart from the set-piece, we have been vulnerable to that this season, we dominated the half.

"We are undermanned at the moment and had a couple of the U/20 players out there today up front in Luke Grima and Ben Jurman, and it went well for us for 43’ minutes, but the second-half we made mistakes and you cannot afford to do that in this competition.

"I have to look for the positives and the young guys performed quite well out there today, a few of the combinations worked well and we need to move on from here because our job is to survive in the league and my job as caretaker coach is to make sure these boys go out on the park and have pride in their shirt and that is all I can ask for.

"The game goes for 90’ minutes though and we have to make sure we are switched on for that long and with Rockdale capitalising on their chances I can’t say we didn’t have opportunities to win this game as we created plenty and it doesn’t get any easier as we have the midweek Waratah Cup game at home this Wednesday against Sutherland Sharks," Marando ended.

 

Rockdale City Suns and Parramatta Eagles Grade-20 match finished scoreless.

Match Stats

Rockdale City Suns 4

Parramatta Eagles 1

Sunday 5^{th June, 2011}

 

NSWPL Round 10 fixture played 29 May 2011 - Ilinden Sports Centre- report courtesy of FNSW.

Sydney Olympic made a further statement with their bid to secure some silverware this season, extending their lead at the top of the NSW Premier League ladder to four points following Round 10 action.

The Blues were ruthless in their assault on Ilinden Sports Centre, securing a 2-0 win over Rockdale City Suns with Phil Makrys and David Gullo sealing the win with first-half goals.

All present at the venue paid their respects during a one minute of silence following the tragic passing of Blacktown City FC defender Tyler Simpson late last week. The family, friends and teammates of Tyler remain in the prayers of all the football community.

Dominic Hudap opened proceedings in the opening minutes of play with a rather ambitious attempt from distance. The Suns central midfielder sent his looping effort wide of the mark, though 3’ minutes later, Hudap did force Paul Henderson into an uncomfortable save, again with an effort from long-range.

Sydney Olympic found their first opening in the 8’ minute as Mirko Jurlj’s attempted clearance from the backline ricocheted off David Gullo. The power behind Jurlj’s clearance ensured Gullo’s deflection would carry over the goal line, much to the relief of the veteran Suns defender.

Adem Kir sprung into action in the 15’ minute as he cleverly created space on the edge of the penalty-area to rifle in an effort with his left peg. The midfielder’s shot hit the target, though lacked any real power to trouble Henderson.

Kir was at his best again moments later as he cleverly turned his marker on the halfway line before sending James Monie free down the right. The burly striker did well to maintain possession, under the watchful eye of Richard Luksic, though the Blues defender closed off any real angle for the Suns striker as the chance amounted to nothing. 

Sydney Olympic’s best moments in the attacking third arrived via the feet of Robbie Milseki, though the Blues failed to carve out any real threat on Ben McNamara’s goal as the Reds defensive line stood very strong early on.

The Blues continued to play their way into the match and leading goalscorer Alex Smith got his first look in on goal in the 25’ minute as Phil Makrys sent him clear down the left-flank. Smith took a neat touch to position himself, though from a difficult angle could only fire directly at Ben McNamara.

The Blues found their breakthrough in the 28’ minute as Phil Makrys’ free-kick from the right-flank was floated into the penalty-area. Richard Luksic was the target, though the strong defender was clearly pushed in the back by Askin Oygur, leaving the referee with no choice but to award the spot-kick. The experienced Makrys, as calm as always, sent the Blues into the lead with a cool finish to the left of the goalkeeper.

Suns youngster Giorgio Speranza showed his class in the 35’ minute with a beautiful piece of skill to win his side a free-kick down the left-flank. With three players surrounding him, and no teammate in sight, Speranza did well to win his side some metres down the flank and a set-piece.

Sydney Olympic easily dealt with the free-kick and quickly went on the counterattack. A poor bounce for Suns goalkeeper Ben McNamara saw the shot-stopper air-swing his clearance, allowing Smith to pick up possession of the ball. The Blues striker played a square pass into the path of Gullo who saw his first time effort parried by an outstretched McNamara, making amends for his earlier mishap.

The Blues did find their second in the 38’ minute, again following a comedy of errors in the Suns penalty-area. With McNamara failing to hold onto a delivery, and the defenders failing to clear the ball away to safety, Gullo drove his effort into the top left-hand corner, out of the goalkeeper’s reach to double his side’s lead.

On the stroke of half-time, Smith nearly added further misery to the Suns side as he rose highest to head Makrys’ free-kick delivery from the right inches over the crossbar.

Rockdale City came out of the gates quickly following the re-start with Adem Kir’s free-kick nearly picking out Monie. The striker used all his muscle to gain an advantage, though Luksic & Co. won the battle by clearing the ball away to safety.

The Suns continued to press for a goal to re-open the contest as Hudap and Speranza combined well on the edge of the penalty-area in the 48’ minute. Speranza played a neat pass into the path of Adrian Karakolevski though the Blues got defenders behind the ball to thwart any danger.

Despite the Suns dominance of possession in the early second-half exchanges it was Sydney Olympic to produce the first clear chance of the half. Robbie Mileski and Phil Makrys played a tantalising one-two on the edge of the penalty-area as the latter was played through on goal. With the close attention of two Suns defenders and an oncoming Ben McNamara, Makrys failed to beat the Suns shot-stopper with his attempted chip.

At the other end, Suns captain Peter Apolevski picked up the scraps at the back post following a Suns free-kick, though his first-time effort cleared the crossbar.

Sydney Olympic continued to hit the Suns on the counterattack and nearly added a third just after the hour. Some fine play by Peter Triantis in midfield – another star performer for the League leaders – made space for Alex Smith on the edge of the penalty-area. With time to shoot, Smith sent his diagonal effort inches wide of McNamara’s right-hand post.

The visitors put on a show for their travelling supporters in the 67’ minute as Emmanuel Giannaros played an exceptional one-two with Smith. The neat touches between the two sent Giannaros clear on goal. The Blues defender rounded McNamara with a fine touch though ran out of room on the right byline as the ball finished over the goal line.

The Blues went close again moments later as Smith played a pin-point cross from the left into the path of Mileski. The Sydney Olympic playmaker was at full stretch though could only send his glancing header wide of the target.

Smith was at the centre of attention again in the 74’ minute as he, this time from the right, played a tremendous cross behind the Suns defenders and into the path of Hussein Akil who blasted his effort over the crossbar.

Rockdale City got a look in on 75’ minutes via Hudap, though the midfielder’s attempt was from distance and lacked precision.

James Naidovski followed up for the Suns with a venomous drive from an acute angle, calling the Suns supporters onto their feet as the net was ruffled. Unfortunately for the Suns faithful, the ball finished in the side netting.

Naidovski should have pulled a goal back for the Suns in the 88’ minute when played through on goal. From a slightly decentralised position, Naidovski’s diagonal effort across Paul Henderson was parried with a strong palm by the shot-stopper.

The Suns striker was culprit of another missed opportunity in the final minute of normal time as Monie played a header across goal and into the path of Naidovski. With only a split-second to readjust, Naidovski sent his first-time volley wide of goal.

Following the match, Rockdale City Suns coach Lee Sterrey expressed his disappointment at the result:

“Very disappointed with the result today, definitely.

“The competition is a very tight competition already, you can’t turn up and give away two soft goals like we did today, you just can’t do that.

“The penalty was very disappointing as we were penalised for a soft shove in the area, and that is something that we never get in our favour. The second goal was a mistake by the goalkeeper, he (Ben McNamara) doesn’t make too many mistakes though today he made a few, and in the end the overall inexperience of the side proved the difference.

“At the time of the penalty, we weren’t playing as well as last week, though we were in the game, comfortable and we matched the League leaders. Had the soft penalty not been given, the match would have taken a different turn.

“We’ve started to tough out results and the competition is so close that with one win you can move into fourth spot. We’ll drop back to about ninth this weekend, though we need to look at our next match and look for a result.

“We play Parramatta FC and that is a must win match for us next week,” Sterrey ended.

Winning coach Peter Tsekenis expressed his disappointment at the condition of the playing surface, though praised his players for their efforts in adjusting to secure a great win.

“It is a point we often discuss about the quality of the surface, and that of today was horrible.

“We want spectators to come out and watch matches in this competition, though how can we keep getting them back when the playing surfaces across the competition are so bad? We have yet to play on a good surface this season.

“Our team loves to play a quick passing game, though on this surface it was impossible. I am very pleased that we were able to adjust to the surface and still dominate. In the end, I think we could have scored six with the chances we created, and defensively, I don’t think we were pressured at all until the 88’ minute, so we are all very pleased with the results this weekend.

“We do have a busy week with a cup match coming up, though we will continue to take it one match at a time and not look further than the next match,” concluded Tsekenis.

In the Grade-20 division, Rockdale City Suns twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Sydney Olympic.

Rockdale City Suns 0

Sydney Olympic 2 (Phil Makrys (pen) 29’, David Gullo 38’)

Sunday 29^th May, 2011

Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale

Referee: Kurt Ams

Assistant Referees: Sarah Ho and Bachar Allam

Fourth Official: Tom Klein

Crowd: 892

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 2.Paul Dee, 3.Shay Spitz, 6.Joshua Lawson, 7.Peter Apolevski (C), 23.Askin Oygur (15.Adrian Karakolevski 40’), 21.Mirko Jurilj, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 11.Adem Kir (9.Jason Naidovski 54’), 8.Dominic Hudap, 12.James Monie

Substitutes Not Used: 14.Itsuki Hasegawa, 19.Marino Musumeci, 22.Dion Shaw

Yellow Cards: Shay Spitz 65’

Red Cards: Nil

Sydney Olympic: 1.Paul Henderson; 2.Emmanuel Giannaros, 3.Brett Studman, 5.Richard Luksic (C), 7.Phil Makrys, 6.Alex Smith, 14.William Angel (9.Hussein Akil 65’), 11.Robert Mileski (23.Takayami Omi 76’), 16.Peter Triantis, 18.Jerry Kalouris, 19.David Gullo (15.Tod Bamber 87’)

Substitutes Not Used: 4.Ibrahim Haydar, 21.Nenad Vekic

Yellow Cards: Peter Triantis 46’, Emmanuel Giannaros 57’

Red Cards: Nil

 

 

NSWPL Round 9 fixture played 21 May 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre- report courtesy of FNSW.

Suns shine but Sharks sub breaks hearts

Suns captain Peter Apolevski notched a penalty on the stroke of half-time against table toppers Sutherland Sharks but it was the visitors who used their ‘get out of jail’ card when substitute Jasli netted a headed equaliser with two minutes to go after coming on just three minutes earlier as Rockdale made them look a pale shadow of themselves in a hotly contested local derby.

Rockdale’s first attacking opportunity of the game came in the 8^th minute when Adem Kir curled a right-footed shot around Nathan Denham’s left-hand upright. This came after some neat build-up work through the centre involving Giorgio Speranza and James Monie when Apolevski slipped the ball through from the right to create the chance in a hotly contested midfield battle.

Sutherland created a few half chances but didn’t hit their straps early on and when Kir again had a shot in the 19^th minute it took a Denham full stretch save to keep the home side at bay.

Former Suns striker Sam Awad almost put the Sharks ahead a minute later when spinning in the box but placing his shot into the side netting.

Apolevski and Paul Dee did a splendid job in marshaling the rampaging runs of Nick Tsattalios down the left and Askin Oygur was almost in the back pocket of best mate (off the field) of Awad to contain his aerial threat, and when he went forward, the task fell to Joshua Lawson who was not found wanting, as the visitors drew on all their reserves to slowly pull themselves into the match as they countered the defensive looking 5-4-1 of Lee Sterrey’s men..

Apolevski was through after a defensive slip from the Sharks that had Denham out to save sharply with his feet as neither side could find the inaugural breakthrough.

With four flooding the midfield for Rockdale, Panni Nikas was never allowed the freedom he has been accustomed to set up play and the Sharks were left to fight hard for any scraps that came their way and it remained to and fro for much of the half and when Dominic Hudap saw his shot from 25-yards flash narrowly passed the post.

Drama hit in the 44^th minute at Rockdale though as Sharks defender Paul Kohler was adjudged to have tripped Hudap.  

Apolevski stepped up and scored from the spot and broke the deadlock to give the home side the lead just before the half-time break.

Rockdale were forced to soak up plenty of early pressure in the second half with Nikas going close as Sutherland pushed forward with some urgency as they sought the equaliser to bring the game back to parity, yet the home side showed great resilience in stemming the tide and looked to hit on the break as the space appeared at the back.

Apolevski slipped the ball to Speranza who in turn passed on to Monie but his flick shot sailed harmlessly over the bar in the 63^rd minute and less than sixty seconds later it was Speranza who fired straight at Denham as they looked to kill the game off with a second goal that looked more on the cards than an equaliser as the minutes ticked over.

The remainder of the half was a case of attack and counter attack with the Suns midfield making plenty of forays down the Sharks left flank, led mainly by their impressive captain Apolevski.

Sharks coach Robbie Stanton needed to tinker with his formation and brought on the fresh legs of Huseyin Jasli in the 85^th minute after playing nearly the full ninety minutes in the Under 20 side and it turned out to be an eventful cameo appearance.

Nick Stavroulakis rounded three Rockdale defenders who between them managed to force him out wide to pose no threat to their lead until Askin Oygur fouled the Sharks midfielder with the resultant free-kick floated into the mix by Nikas for Jasli to connect with a sweet header beyond the despairing grasp of McNamara to give Sutherland a share of the spoils - but questions must be asked as to who was supposed to be picking up the late substitute that lead to the goal that snatched a draw from the clutches of a certain win.

A disappointed Suns coach Lee Sterrey said afterwards, “We fought hard and our shape was great all night, we kept our structure and discipline in every area and I am really proud of the guys tonight.

“They really put everything on the line out there and we definitely deserved the three points and we should have stopped Panni Nikas 10-metres inside their half because once he gets one on one with you on the counter attack we should have been able to deal with him and when he went as wide out on the left as he did, we should have just stood our ground but instead we give away a soft free-kick and he floats in an in-swinger and our defence was simply suicidal in that position.

“That said, the boys played really well, really fought hard and I’m very proud of what they did and of course they wanted to give the supporters a good game to watch and I feel they’ve done that.”

Talk before the match was of a defensive 5-4-1 formation that was anything but. “Our wide guys pushed on and James Monie did very well for a time and I felt the tactics tonight were the right ones because we knew this would be a tough game and they are a very good team home or away and this was always going to a stern test with Dominic (Hudap) and the others putting themselves on the line to reach the Monie flicks and knock downs and getting up and down quickly in attack and defence.

“Dominic made the penalty with fast support and the four in midfield supported the attack at all times and we set out to be fearless and not sit back and we were intense and in their faces for eighty-five minutes and got caught by a sucker punch at the end and I’m very disappointed by that but Sutherland are a very good team, they’re topping the table and the yardstick we all have to measure ourselves by.

“Robbie (Stanton) has them well drilled and our pitch would have helped but in reality there was only one team who deserved to win this game and we feel it is two points dropped.”

Robbie Stanton, Sutherland coach, was in agreement when he added, “The first-half we didn’t turn up and play smart football and really played into their hands and the system they were playing suited their football and was effective when you look at their results and with Lee Sterrey being the astute coach he is, they were always going to be tough to beat, especially here at home but we were lucky today and as you rightly said, we got out of jail.

“I think we had enough possession in the second-half in their half to get something from the match but in the end it really was a close run thing and we did get out of jail with the late goal and they will probably feel they were unlucky in the end not to hold us out because they are a tough team as there are no easy games in this league.

“Lee (Sterrey) is a very wise coach and has been around a lot longer on the coaching ranks than I have and he has his players very well structured and they won’t give anything away cheaply and the difference is that they took their chance when it came along while we didn’t create as many opportunities as we normally would and that is because of the way they approached the game and didn’t give us any time on the ball.

“That said, they deserved their goal and both sides have had a heavy week and we didn’t look sharp out there and were flat at times so maybe I’ll look at changing a few things up a bit but we certainly chanced our arm toward the end by throwing on a couple of the young boys and it paid off and I have to be happy with that.

“I needed to get someone out there who was fresh and eager to get on with the job and Hus (Huseyin Jasli) has been pushing for a chance in recent weeks and when you consider he came on with five to go after playing most of the Under 20 grade game, nets the equaliser and picks up a caution it was just the pick-me-up we needed so I have a lot of thinking to do over the next few days.

“If Rockdale can produce performances like this on a consistent basis I have no doubts they can be in the Top Five at the end of the campaign, they are hard to break down and play well at home and home form can make or break the season.”

The Rockdale City Suns and Sutherland Sharks U/20s grade match finished with the visitors 3-nil victors.

Match Stats

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Peter Apolevski 45' pen)

Sutherland Sharks 1 (Huseyin Jasli 88')

Saturday, 21st May, 2011

Venue: Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale

Referee: Alex Glasgow

Assistant Referees: Christian Mehl & Steven Nguyen

Fourth Official: Alex Long

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara, 3.Shay Spitz (19. Marino Musumeci 84), 6.Joshua Lawson, 7.Peter Apolevski (c), 2.Paul Dee, 23.Askin Oygur, 21.Mirko Jurilj, 13.Georgio Speranza, 11.Adem Kir, 8.Dominic Hudap, 12.James Monie (9.Jason Naidovski 78)

Substitutes Not Used: 14.Itsuki Hasegawa, 15.Adrian Karakolevski, 22.Dion Shaw

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Nathan Denham, 2.George Souris (c), 4.Yianni Fragogiannis (11.Todd Halloran 64), 6.Sam Awad (5.Lachlan Cahill 68), 8.Chris Price, 10.Matt Bailey, 14.Nick Stavroulakis, 15.Michael Katz, 20.Paul Kohler, 23.Panni Nikas, 33.Nick Tsattalios (19.Huseyin Jasli 85)

Substitutes Not Used: 7.Jimmy Bakis, 22.Jack Duncan

Yellow Cards: Fragogiannis 32, Nikas 75

 

 

NSWPL Round 8 fixture played 15 May 2011- Lily Homes Stadium - report courtesy of FNSW

 

Rockdale City Suns continued their topsy-turvy start to the NSW Premier League with a 1-0 win over Blacktown City FC at Lily Holmes Stadium on Sunday.

Missing influential players Kosta Lagoudakis, Sash Tirovski, Josh Lawson and Paul Dee, the Suns fought hard with substitute Shay Spitz scoring the winning goal in the 67’ minute.

It was Blacktown City however who showed they were eager to get back into the top-five with a flurry of attacks from the first whistle. In the 3’ minute a quick free-kick provided their first sight on goal as Matt Lewis half-volleyed the ball straight to the chest of Ben McNamara in goal for Rockdale City.

The Suns had their first opportunity 4’ minutes later after Tyler Simpson miss-kicked a Steven Veleski cross leaving Jason Naidovski with a world of time to beat the goalkeeper. Unfortunately for Naidovski, Blacktown City goalkeeper Symon Jaeger came off his line to save what should have been the opening goal.

Blacktown City almost took the lead in bizarre circumstances in the 14’ minute as Mirko Jurilj almost put the ball into his own net. Mitchell Duke sent a fierce cross into the box which came off Jurilj’s leg and moved goalwards, only to be saved by a diving McNamara.

Rockdale City fans had their hearts in their mouths in the 22’ minute as a counterattack led by captain Peter Apolevski sent Veleski straight through the Blacktown defensive line. After beating three defenders, last year’s under-20s golden boot winner could not put the ball past Jaeger who came out well and saved with his legs.

Unfortunately for Veleski that was the last he saw of the match as he was assisted form the field from what looked to be an ankle injury sustained while missing the chance with Adrian Karakolevski replacing him.

The even contest continued as Blacktown City responded, peppering the Rockdale defence with two dangerous raids in the 31’ minute.

Blacktown had a great chance to score on the stroke of half-time as Mitchell Duke broke down the left hand touchline but his cross was intercepted by McNamara with two free Blacktown players coming through.

Both sides came out of the break hungry to break the deadlock as the game moved at a rapid pace.

As the teams settled, Rockdale had another chance go begging in the 52’ minute. Askin Oygur won the ball in defence for the visitors before feeding Hasegawa who thread a nice ball through to Naidokski on the right. The former Newcastle Jets striker got a shot off early but hit the ball directly at Jaeger.

3’ minutes later Mitch Long won the ball off the Rockdale defence before passing to Major whose imposing shot went inches away from the right hand upright.

In the 60’ minute Lee Sterrey turned to his bench and replaced Hasegawa with Shay Spitz who made an immediate impact winning a free-kick out wide. Adem Kir whipped the free-kick into the box with Blacktown clearing the opportunity.

The home side had the best chance of the match in the 64’ minute as Major threaded a ball through to Roodenburg whose soft shot beat the goalkeeper but hit the post before Rockdale cleared.

Rockdale City finally broke the deadlock in the 67’ minute as a poor clearance by Blacktown let Spitz blast the ball into the back of the net for the lead.

Mark Crittenden turned to his bench straight after the goal and substitute Bruno Pivato almost became an instant hero as a half-volley was tipped onto the crossbar and over for a corner.

The goal seemed to switch on the home side as they took control of possession, pinning the Suns in their own half.

In the 79’ minute Tyler Simpson went close with his header going wide of the mark.

With 5’ minutes remaining, Rockdale set five players in defence to secure three vital points to take back to the Illinden Sports Centre.

The plan worked a treat as a late chance to Simpson was sprayed, ending the game 1-0 to the visitors.

Following the match Rockdale City Suns coach Lee Sterrey said he was happy luck finally turned towards his team:

“We should’ve scored early with Jason Naidovski and the other chance with Steve Veleski, so considering we had those chances I was disappointed with the 0-0 score line at half-time,’’ he said.

“Something finally fell our way seeing that we haven’t had that much luck this year. “We are still looking to find our feet.’’

The mood was quite sombre from the Blacktown sheds with coach Mark Crittenden thoroughly disappointed with his side’s performance:

“We gifted them two chances early and luckily for us our keeper made two great saves to keep us in the match,’’ Crittenden said.

“We were just not good enough in the last third again and I am extremely disappointed.’’

In the Grade-20 fixture, Blacktown City missed two golden opportunities in the final stages ending the match a 1-1 draw against Rockdale City Suns.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC 0

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Shay Spitz 67’)

Sunday 15^th May, 2011

Lily Homes Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Jason Blackwood

Assistant Referee: Sarah Ho and Nick Backo

Fourth Official: Matthew Cooper

Crowd: 400 Approx.

Blacktown City FC: 1.Simon Jaeger; 2.Tyler Simpson, 3.Mitchell Duke (8.Chris Bedzo 85’), 4.Travis Major, 5.Patrick Gatt, 7.Luke Roodenburg (C) (18.Bruno Pivato 67’), 9.Kain Rastall, 10.Mitch Long, 11.Milorad Simonovic, 13.Matt Lewis, 17.Adam Jenner (16. Luke Austin 69’)

Substitutes Not Used: 40. Daniel Bradasevic

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 13.Giorgio Speranza, 21.Mirko Jurilj, 23.Askin Oygur, 7.Pece Apolevski (C), 11.Adem Kir, 10.Sash Trajcevski, 14.Hsuki Hasegawa (3.Shay Spitz 60’), 8.Dominic Hudap, 9.Jason Naidovski, 18.Steven Veleski (15.Adrian Karakolevski 26’) (16.James Monie 74’)

Substitutes Not Used: 25.Roberto Speranza, 22.Dion Shaw

Yellow Cards: Hsuki Hasegawa 49’, Adem Kir 63’, Shay Spitz 75’

Red Cards: Nil

 

 

NSWPL Round 7 fixture played 8 May 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre- report courtesy of FNSW

 

 

Rockdale City Suns were left to lick their wounds after squandering a number of goalscoring opportunities against South Coast Wolves on Sunday afternoon at Ilinden Sports Centre.

 

 

Mark Picciolini’s 42’ minute strike, against the run of play, was enough to seal the points for the Wolves.

In a half that presented few chances, the best fell to the home side but they didn’t capitalise on good build up play and were strangely guilty of opting for the wrong option in front of the sticks on almost every occasion.

James Monie squandered the first chance in the 8’ minute, failing to get enough purchase on a header that slipped over the crossbar.

Instead of playing with five across the back, the Suns went for a traditional 4-4-2 formation and looked to take the game to South Coast Wolves hard and fast, and the strategy worked well.

The visitors seemed conscious of the Suns approach, though they seemed unable to make the necessary changes on the pitch during the first-half but they could have taken the lead earlier when a defensive mix-up between goalkeeper and defender gifted Sasho Petrovski a golden opportunity. Suns goalkeeper Ben McNamara was able to scramble back and save the lobbed effort from the Wolves striker in the 10’ minute in what was just about their only real chance of the half until the Picciolini’s strike.

Steven Veleski, making himself busy, was slipped through for the Suns in the 21’ minute and should have done better than fire narrowly wide of the upright, and when he combined with Monie 4’ minutes later, it took a last ditch tackle to clear the danger. The resulting corner came to nought, and with Alex Mansueto playing strongly at the back for the visitors, the task was all the harder for the Suns.

Itsuki Hasegawa sent a raking pass into the box for Shane Spitz to chest into the path of Monie in a wonderful flowing move that again went wide of the mark for the home side.

At the other end, Petrovski had a free-kick from the edge of the box deflected away off the wall for a corner in reply but still neither side was able to breach the defences.

The best chance of the half arrived in the 41’ minute when Veleski used his pace to pierce the Wolves defence, going past defenders like they were statues but in getting to the line he should have pulled it back for Monie, or squared into the unmarked Adem Kir, but instead chose to try and draw Brodie Crane from his line and beat him at the near post, a low percentage option that proved costly not 60-seconds later as Piccolini found the net for the Wolves.

Petrovski should have side-footed home from a Samat Kaynak cross but McNamara spread himself full length to deny the effort, and when the ball came back to the striker, a goalmouth scramble ensued that was eventually cleared.

Rockdale upped the tempo further at the start of the second-half when Veleski again broke down the right and this time pulled the ball back for Spitz who became the latest player to fire narrowly wide.

Dave Abel played over a cross that Monie was unable to reach in ended at the feet of Suns captain Peter Apolevski on the right who sent it back into the area, before the ball was directed behind for a corner.

South Coast, although forced to soak up the pressure, should have doubled their lead in the 59’ minute when a Stephan Paric corner was headed back across goal to be met by the head of Piccolini. The striker’s attempt was cleared off the line, and when the two again combined moments later it was McNamara who came to the Suns rescue.

Lee Sterrey was forced into tactical changes and went to three at the back as Rockdale went in search of an equaliser.

Hasegawa fired a free-kick wide from the edge of the box in a tame effort after Jack Dusczynski gave away a needless foul yet when Apolevski put in a ball across the face of goal there was no-one following in sharply enough to apply the simplest of touches to share the spoils.

The game was crying out for anyone to put their foot on the ball, slow things down in the middle of the park and select the correct option going forward but with the pitch cutting up in the latter stages, it didn’t eventuate.

In a game dominated by the home side, it was they who came away with nothing leaving coach Lee Sterrey to lament afterwards:

"We wanted to play a high tempo game and be up in their faces and with the pitch getting bumpier and bumpier day by day you have to play off your front line and attain a lot of second phase play and ball, but I thought our intensity to go on with it as the half wore on was disappointing.

"I feel we controlled the first-half up until 42’ minutes when they had one chance and put it way and perhaps should have added a second a minute later and to give up two chances in that space of time meant we switched off at the back for a couple of minutes.

"Had we won today we put ourselves in the Top Five and that is what was at stake and I stressed that to the players as two wins on the trot puts you right back in the thick of things.

"We were up for the game but only in second gear and we needed to be more ruthless and gone on with it and scored plenty and that is how we’ve been playing without getting the end product."

A relieved South Coast Wolves coach Trevor Morgan agreed they were somewhat fortunate when adding:

"Rockdale surprised me and I’ve been watching their squad a little bit this season and we had set up our structure to counter their normal pattern but they came out in a 4-4-2 formation and threw those plans out the window and I asked the boys at half-time if anyone had noticed that and they said they had so I asked them why we didn’t change things on the pitch then?

"We did score against the run of play and perhaps should have had another immediately afterwards, but last week I thought we shared the first-half with Marconi and were dominant in the second and it’s fair to say it was the reverse here today.

"We had chances in the second 45’ minutes when young (John) Martinovski hit the post and Piccolini was clean through a couple of times when the ball bounced awkwardly leaving him to decide whether to head the ball or let it drop to the foot but we didn’t make the best of those chances and I have to admit that Rockdale controlled the match."

 

 

In the Grade-20 division, South Coast Wolves went down 1-0 to Rockdale City Suns, the goal courtesy of a Jamie Slaveski penalty chipped down the middle.

Match Stats

Rockdale City Suns 0

South Coast Wolves 1

Sunday 8^{th May, 2011}

Ilinden Sports Centre, Bicentennial Park

Referee:

Assistant Referees:

Fourth Official:

Rockdale City Suns:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

South Coast Wolves:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Player Ratings:

3 – Mark Piccolini (SCW)

2 – Andrew Gomez (SCW)

1 – Askin Oygur (RCS)

Nil Timpano 91 16.Tom Cirjak, 21.Hayden Durose 1.Brody Crane (C); 2.Alex Mansueto, 3.David Abel, 4.Jacob Timpano, 5.Nick Littler, 8.Andres Gomez, 9.Mark Piccolini, 10.Sasho Petrovski (14.Cam Littler 70), 11.Chris Nathaniel (7.Samat Kaynak 30’) (17.John Martinovski 62’), 13.Stephan Paric, 15.Jack Duczynski Nil Nil 22.Dion Shaw, 10.Sash Trajcevski 1.Ben McNamara; 13.Giorgio Speranza, 21.Mirko Jurilj, 23.Askin Oygur, 7.Peter Apolevski (C), 11.Adem Kir, 14.Itsuki Hasegawa (9.Jason Naidovski 67), 3.Shay Spitz (8.Dominic Hudap 67), 5.Jeffrey Issa (17.Sash Tirovski 76), 18.Steven Veleski, 12.James Monie Nathan Roberts Adam Coombes and Thomas Lee Kurt Ams (Piccolini 42’)

 

 

 

 

NSWPL Round 4 rescheduled fixture played 4 May 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre

 

Rockdale City Suns 1 Marconi Stallions 0

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

NSWPL Round 7 30 April 2011- Bonnyrigg Sports Centre

Report courtesy of FOOTBALL NSW:

 

 

 

A late goal has handed Bonnyrigg White Eagles their first win of the season, snapping a four-game draw streak with a 2-1 win against Rockdale City Suns at Bonnyrigg Sports Centre.

 

 

 

The match was highlighted by two goalkeeping blunders, the latter coming from Rockdale’s Dion Shaw in the 87’ minute to give the White Eagles the victory.

Despite Bonnyrigg finishing the match with just nine men, a first-half goal to Nathan Elasi proved the difference, giving the home side a much-needed three competition points.

Inclement weather may have dampened the outfield, but there was nothing dull about the opening to this match. It took just 2’ minutes for Rockdale to leave their mark on the game, but they should have been playing from in front.

Sash Tirovski did well to latch on to a pin-point accurate chip over the Bonnyrigg defence, but was unable to direct his close-range shot past Phillip Zabaks.

Zabaks’ effort inspired his front men, who immediately went on an attacking raid of their own.

A quickly taken Tynan Diaz free-kick was whipped across the face of goal towards an unmarked Jamie McMaster, but the no.19’s header hit the far post, allowing the Suns to clear from danger.

When Ben Spruce brought James Monie down on the edge of the penalty-area, Hsuki Hasegana stepped up in the hope of beating the eight-man Bonnyrigg wall.

Hasegana’s free-kick forced Zabaks to dive out to his left, but the curling shot sailed just wide of the post.

The first goal of the match arrived in bizarre fashion - a moment Zabaks will be hoping to erase from his memory.

An unintentional back pass from Michael Robinson forced Zabaks off his line but the goalkeeper only got a slight touch to the ball, turning in agony as the ball trickled into the back of his own net to give Rockdale a 1-0 lead after 18’ minutes.

The White Eagles hit back 9’ minutes later with a quality team goal. A Bonnyrigg cross found Jamie McMaster at the far post, who headed the ball back towards the centre of the goal. Nathan Elasi was at the right place at the right time, getting his head to the ball to send it into the back of the net to equalise in the 27’ minute.

The Suns had an opportunity to take back the lead just 8’ minutes out from half-time, but Shay Spitz’ driving shot from outside the box was thwarted by a diving Zabaks.

In the 45’ minute the visitors were awarded a free-kick on the halfway line.

Hasegana’s free-kick was given plenty of air, allowing Ashkin Oygur enough time to position himself and head towards goal. Only the diving efforts of Zabaks, who after making a horrible blunder was doing well to redeem himself, denied the Suns their second.

Bonnyrigg then turned defence into attack and almost capitalised on a lapse of concentration from Peter Apoleski, but Suns goalkeeper Dion Shaw came off his line to ensure the score remained 1-1 at half-time.

The White Eagles were rejuvenated in the second-half and created the bulk of the early chances.

McMaster’s mistimed shot went across the face of goal towards the oncoming Nathan Elasi, but the former Melbourne Victory striker was unable to get boot to ball.

A goal-mouth scramble almost gave Bonnyrigg their second of the night, but the Suns’ scrambling defence prevailed.

With the game hanging in the balance, Bonnyrigg’s Nikola Zonjic was given his marching orders for a violent confrontation with James Monie, leaving Bonnyrigg with 10-men for the last 25’ minutes.

Daniel Severino came off the bench midway through the second period and was given a chance to leave his mark on the match when the White Eagles were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box.

Despite his best efforts, Severino’s curling shot sailed just over the crossbar.

A minute later he was again in the thick of the action but his mid-air side kick trickled wide of the post.

With the game destined to be heading for a draw, another goal-keeping blunder – this time from the Suns custodian - handed the White Eagles the victory in the 87’ minute.

A Severino corner appeared to hit the hand of a Suns defender, allowing the Bonnyrigg players the chance to yell and let their case be known - it was Tynan Diaz who got the last touch of the ball to record the White Eagles three precious points.

In the midst of the pleas and the likelihood of a penalty being awarded, Suns keeper Dion Shaw watched the ball slowly dribble into the back of the net to hand the White Eagles their maiden victory of the season.

Shane Webb was given his second yellow for bringing down a player in the dying moments but it didn’t impact on the result.

Suns coach Lee Sterrey was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities:

"We had at least five 100 percent chances in the match," Sterrey said.

"But our execution in the front third is not good enough."

The former Marconi coach was far from impressed with the way his side handled playing against 10-men.

"We didn’t push on," Sterrey said.

"I’ve seen 10 men beat 11 before and they really stepped up to the plate and kept going and going.

"At least six times we were on the break in the second-half with a four-on-three or a three-on-three and our last pass and execution was terrible."

In the home shed coach Brian Brown was in a better mood:

"I was very happy, especially considering we finished the game with 9-men,"

"To be honest I thought it was going to be one of those hard nights before the game started.

"I went and watched Rockdale last week and I knew they’d play five at the back and I was hoping the field would be quick enough to let us play our game.

"I was happy with the way the boys played… the effort was there and so was the commitment."

 

 

 

Match Stats

Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2

Rockdale City Suns 1

Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg Heights

Saturday April 30^{th, 2011}

Crowd:

Bonnyrigg White Eagles:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Rockdale City Suns:

Substitutes Not Used:

Yellow Cards:

Red Cards:

Nil Dominic Hudap 61’, James Monie 66’, Musumeci 75’, Naidovski 80’ 11.Adem Kir, 1.Ben McNamara 22.Dion Shaw, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 23.Ashkin Oygur, 10.Sash Trajcevski, 7.Pece Apoleski, 14.Hsuki Hasegana, 8.Dominic Hudap, 3.Shay Spitz (5. Jeffrey Issa 56’), 21.Mirko Jurilj, 18.James Monie (19.Marino Musumeci 72’), 17.Sash Tirovski (9.Jason Naidovski 56’) Nikola Zonjic 66’, Shane Webb 90’+3’ Shane Webb 44’, 90’+3’, Tynan Diaz 54’ 1.Andrew Bazi, 4.Wade Oostendorp, 16.David Vrankovic 99.Phil Zabaks; 3.Nikola Zonjic, 12.Tako Murayama (10.Daniel Severino 59’), 5. Chris Tadrosse, 6.Ben Spruce, 7.Nathan Elasi (8.Alex Canak 61’), 9.Brad Boardman, 11.Shane Webb, 17.Michael Robinson, 19.Jamie McMaster, 23.Tynan Diaz. 600 Approx. (Michael Robinson (og) 18’) (Nathan Elasi 27’, Tynan Diaz 87’)

 

 

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

NSWPL Round 6 23 April 2011- Cromer Park

Rockdale City Suns 1 Manly United 0

Report courtesy of FOOTBALL NSW:

A second-half penalty from Sash Tirovski handed Rockdale City Suns a 1-0 win on Saturday night against Manly United FC at Cromer Park.

Heavy rain hit the Northern Beaches on Friday and before kick-off ensured free flowing football was out of the question. In the end, it was not a game many who braved the cold will look back at with fondness. Scrappy is the best description.

One time Manly player James Monie carved out the first half-chance of the contest, laying the ball off to Tirovski after 4' minutes. But he snatched at the chance, shooting wide of the target.

9' minutes later the home side almost took the lead following a Scott Balderson free-kick. The energetic midfielder directed his effort at the near post, but Suns goalkeeper Dion Shaw was up to the task.

On the 20' minute mark Manly had a legitimate penalty claim ignored by referee Steve Lucas. Justin Hayward was about the pull the trigger before being clipped in the area. It seemed an obvious spot kick, but Lucas waved play on.

7' minutes later Rockdale's Shay Spitz went on a mazy run but produced a tame effort that United gloveman Kang Ho Lee had no problems dealing with.

Balderson then had the best chance of the first-half. A pinpoint cross from Hayward should have been buried from six yards, but Balderson somehow headed wide of the target.

After the break many sensed one goal would decide the contest. Both teams had half chances, before the Suns took the lead on 67' minutes.

Manly wingback Jimmy Oates, who gave away a penalty against Sutherland a few weeks ago, was guilty of a rash challenge again. The Suns broke on a counterattack and Oates fouled Spitz. Tirovski held his nerve from 12 yards, leaving Manly chasing the game.

The last 20’ minutes saw Manly United press repeatedly. Oates could have redeemed himself on 88' minutes, but couldn't beat Shaw when clear on goal.

Suns coach Lee Sterrey was relieved to chalk up his first win in the NSW Premier League this season:

"In the first-half I thought we were really good, especially in the first 20’ minutes,'' he said.

"Our shape was great, we opened them up quite a bit.

"We needed a win to get some confidence.

"We have been leaking a few goals, so it was pleasing that didn't happen again.

"The result shows the character we have in the sheds."

His opposite Craig Midgley was disappointed with a number of his players:

"We had far too many lads who had an off night,'' he said.

"We didn't create much ourselves, we only started improving once we were chasing the game.

"Conditions weren't great, but it was the same for both teams.

"Hopefully we can use this as a learning curve."

In the Grade-20 match, Rockdale City beat Manly United FC 2-0.

Match Stats

Manly United FC 0

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Sash Tirovski 67' (pen))

Saturday 23^rd April, 2011

Cromer Park, Dee Why

Referee: Steve Lucas

Assistant referees: Sarah Ho and Craig Fisher

Fourth Official: Alex Long

Crowd: 300 Approx.

Manly United FC: 1.Kang Ho Lee; 2.Jimmy Oates, 4.Graeme Forbes, 5.Marc Richards, 6.Michael Daly, (14.Seung Soo Lee 77') 7.Scott Balderson, (21.Joey Gibbs 63') 8.David Dodd, 9.Robbie Cattanach, (18.Colin Iley 61') 10.Adam Foti, 11,Justin Hayward, 17.Matt Sim

Substitutes Not Used: 22.Tonu Liiband, 25.Jordan Edwards

Yellow Cards: Hayward 7'

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 22.Dion Shaw; 13.Giorgio Speranza, 7.Peter Apolevski, 23.Askin Oygur, 10.Sash Trajcevski, 11.Adem Kir, (20.Rob Speranza 79') 14.Hsuki Hasegawa, 8.Dominic Hudap, 3.Shay Spitz, 17.Sash Tirovski, (5.Jeffrey Issa 68') 18.James Monie (9.Jason Naidovski 79')

Substitutes Not Used: 1.Ben McNamara, 19.Marino Musumeci

Yellow Cards: Monie 14', Oygur 85'

______________________________________________________________________________________

NSWPL Round 3 10 April 2011 - Sydney United Sports Centre

Rockdale City Suns 1 Sydney United 6

Report courtesy of FOOTBALL NSW:

Sydney United sent a message to the rest of the NSW Premier League with a crushing 6-1 victory over Rockdale City Suns at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday. The win sees the side climb to the top of the ladder.

After Ben Vidaic opened the scoring for the home side, a quick-fire double by Elsid Barkhousir and a screamer by man of the match Steve Hayes, rooted Rockdale to the bottom of the competition ladder.

The game started in very sloppy circumstances as torrential rain peppered the pitch prior to kick-off. As the rain stopped, Rockdale began controlling possession, playing the ball on the ground as Sydney United chased their opposition.

The first chance of the game deservedly went to Rockdale in the 6’ minute after a Dominic Hudap corner met a Jason Naidovski header only for Michael Cindric to do enough to put the latter off.

Rockdale continued to control possession with Hsuki Hasegawa and Shay Spitz dominating the midfield area. In the 10’ minute Hasegawi had his side’s second chance on goal as his shot went straight to the chest of Vedran Janjetovic in goal for Sydney United.

United were not going to let their home advantage slip and in the 11’ minute had their first shot on goal. After moving the ball out from defence, Elsid Barkhousir played a lovely one-two with Ben Vidaic to eventually shoot directly at Ben McNamara.

The tide slowly started to turn for the home team, and in the 14’ minute a lovely through ball by Barkhousir found Luka Glavas who beat the offside trap. A lovely cutback allowed Vidaic to head the ball goalwards only to hit the crossbar as the scores remained level.

Within seconds, Sydney United broke the deadlock as Steve Hayes played a great through ball to Vidaic who shot to the right of McNamara to give his side the lead.

The goal sparked Rockdale back into attack and on 16’ minutes a floating free-kick was headed straight to Janjetovic for an easy save.

Rockdale continued to threaten the Sydney United defence with a switch of play. 3’ minutes later, Apolevski sent Spitz down the left hand side but his shot was well wide of the mark.

Minutes later a failed clearance from the corner allowed Spitz to whip the ball towards Naidovski who again headed the ball just wide.

As the rain set in, both teams struggled to maintain possession with some wayward passing in the difficult conditions.

Sydney United settled quickly and in the 24’ minute a play down the left hand side sent Barkhousir on goal only for Josh Lawson to win the ball and thwart the attack.

The action packed match then descended into a physical affair as both sides traded free-kicks in each other’s halves.

In the 30’ minute Rockdale had a legitimate penalty claim turned down after Sash Tirovski looked to be brought down by Michael Cindric. But it would be Sydney United who would double their lead as from the ensuing attack Steve Hayes’ deflected shot fell for Barkhousir who, after one touch, volleyed the ball home to give his side a 2-0 buffer.

The tide had fully turned for United as directly from the kick-off, Hayes again partnered with Barkhousir playing him through a hole for the latter to chip the ball just over McNamara to make it 3-0.

Steve Hayes kept the pressure on Rockdale as his every touch found a teammate in space to keep the Suns on the back foot.

But it would be Rockdale who would score next as a through ball in the 38’ minute found Sash Tirovski who went around Janjetovic cleverly before coolly placing the ball into the back of the net.

Sydney United continued to pepper the Suns defence and in the dying minutes of the half Glavas was again on goal but a poor shot kept the score at 3-1 at the break.

Suns coach Lee Sterrey went for the jugular after the break bringing on Adem Kir and James Monie in the hope of changing the match. The changes seemed to rally Rockdale who came out of the sheds with all guns blazing but could not find the right ball to cause the United goal any threat.

Rockdale’s chances of a comeback were cut short in the 56’ minute as Hayes hit the ball sweetly into the top left corner from 20-yards out to give his side a 4-1 lead.

The night turned worse for Rockdale City as they were reduced to 10-men in the 62’ minute as Josh Lawson was sent from the field by referee Alex Glasgow for what appeared to be an elbow to the head of Steve Hayes.

Despite being a player down Rockdale continued to threaten the United defence as Kir shot just wide of the mark in the 66’ minute.

4’ minutes later, Rockdale countered with Shay Spitz taking on four defenders only to spray his shot wide.

Ufuk Talay came into the match and regained control of the midfield for Sydney United as they kept possession for many minutes as the Suns players tired.

The plan began to work as Barkhousir chipped the ball over the Rockdale defence to find Glavas free only for Oygur to get back and save the day.

Rockdale turned to counterattack football and in the 80’ minute Shay Spitz cut the ball back to Hasegawi only for the midfielder to shoot well over the crossbar.

It would be Sydney United who would have the last laugh in the 88’ minute as Barkhousir completed his hat-trick before Luka Glavas scored with an easy tap in to end the match 6-1.

Following the match Rockdale City Suns coach Lee Sterrey said his side gave away too many cheap goals:

“We’ve given them three or four goals and they ended up with six and that is just not good enough,’’ Sterrey said.

“The amount of times we were not goal side of our player tonight was unbelievable.

“But the real difference is the execution. We were back in the game at 3-1 and we were two or three times around the box but they get one half chance and Elsid scores in the bottom corner.

“Execution and quality of player is a lot of difference. If you talk about Glavas or Elsid compared to the players at Rockdale I mean we lack quality in certain areas but we’re looking to play better than we did last year.’’

Sydney United coach Jean-Paul De Marigny was happy with his side’s performance but said there is still a lot more to come:

“Maybe I’m a hard person to please but I thought we need to improve on our passing game,’’ he said.

“But when we’re getting in the attacking third we are very ruthless. Collectively we did quite well, it’s now about getting better every week.’’

In the Grade-20 match Sydney United scored a second-half header in torrential rain to defeat Rockdale City Suns 2-1.

Match Stats

Sydney United 6 (Ben Vidaic 14’, Elsid Barkhousir 30’,31’ 88’, Steve Hayes 56’, Luka Glavas 90’)

Rockdale City Suns 1 (Sash Tirovski 38’)

Sunday 10^th April, 2011

Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park

Referee: Alex Glasgow

Crowd: 400 Approx.

Sydney United: 1.Vedran Janjetovic; 5.Damon Collina, 4.Michael Cindric, 3.Mitchell Speers, 19.Mitchell Thompson (38.Tomislav Mijic 58’), 23.Ivo Bosnar (C), 9.Elsid Barkhousir, 10.Steve Hayes (14.Petar Markovic 70’), 29.Ante Tomic (15.Ufuk Talay 62’), 11.Luka Glavas, 13.Ben Vidaic

Substitutes Not Used: 18.Daniel Rezo, 20.Ryan Norval

Yellow Cards: Michael Cindric 71’, Petar Markovic 86’

Red Cards: Nil

Rockdale City Suns: 1.Ben McNamara; 19.Peter Apolevski (C), 3.Shay Spitz, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 20.Josh Lawson, 8.Dominic Hudap (11.Adem Kir 46’), 17.Sash Tirovski (10.Sash Trajcevski 67’), 23.Askin Oygur, 14.Hsuki Hasegawa, 9.Jason Naidovski, 18.Steven Veleski (21.James Monie, 46’)

Substitutes Not Used: 5.Jeffrey Issa, 22.Dion Shaw

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Josh Lawson 62’

Player Ratings:

3 - Steve Hayes (SU)

2 - Elsid Barkhousir (SU)

1 - Michael Cindric (SU)

____________________________________________________________________________________

NSWPL Round 2 2 April 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ciy Suns 0 Bankstown City Lions 1

Scorer:

Burgin 49th minute

Rockdale suffered its first loss of the season against old rivals Bankstown Saturday night in front of almost 1200 fans at the Ilinden Sports Centre.

A disappointing result in a game that saw Rockdale dominate possession, but lacking that final blow in the front third.  New recruit Hsuki Hasegawa showed some nice touches however it wasn't to be for the home side.

Suns team:

 

 

 

1.Brad McNamara, 19.Marino Musumeci

22.Dion Shaw; 3.Shane Spitz (Jeffrey Issa 53’), 6.Joshua Lawson, 7.Peter Apolevski (C), 8.Dominic Hudap, 9 Jason Naidovski (12.James Monie 70’), 13.Giorgio Speranza, 17.Sash Tirovski, 18.Steven Veleski, 23.Askin Oygur, 42.Hsuki Hasegawa (11.Adem Kir 59’)

 

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

NSWPL Round 1 27 March 2011- Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale City Suns 1 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1

Scorers:

Rockdale - Adem Kir 50th minute

APIA- Parisi 61st minute

Teams:

Rockdale

22.Dion Shaw; 7.Peter Apolevski, 23.Askin Oygur, 10.Sash Trajcevski, 6.Joshua Lawson, 13.Giorgio Speranza, 4.Kosta Lagoudakis (11.Adem Kir 13’), 8.Dominic Hudap, 3.Shay Spitz (19.Marino Musumeci 88’), 9.Jason Naidovski (5.Jeffrey Issa 74’), 12.Steven Veleski.

APIA

1.Jose Bello-Amigo; 2.Mark Byrnes, 3.John Kelso, 13.David D’Apuzzo, 4.Cole Tinkler, 5.Michael West, 7.Stephen Kayes, 8.Anthony Hartshorn, 11.Nicola Rizzo (19.Sam Messam 74’), 9.Robbie Younis, 10.Franco Parisi (16.Chris James 88’) 

Summary

A tight game played under grey skies that didn't quite live up to expectations.  Rockdale eventually took the lead courtesy of a 30 metre screamer from Adem Kir and should have gone 2-0 up shortly after with Steven Veleski unlucky after finding himself one on one with the APIA keeper.  Rockdale were made to pay with Parisi levelling the scores shortly after.

 

Ilenden Sports Centre, Rockdale