State League Division 1 Round 15 Review
Balmain S.C. players celebrate Lorenzo Merlino's match winner against Dulwich Hill (Photo by John Sowden)
Frank Speranza reviews State League Division 1 action with a wrap of all the matches as well as the 'Match of the Round' between Dulwich Hill and Balmain SC.
Match of the Round
Dulwich Hill v Balmain SC
“DULLY SLIP UP ON BALMAIN BANANA SKIN”
Dulwich Hill’s championship plans were derailed somewhat on Saturday evening, when Balmain SC came away from Arlington Oval with a snatch and grab 2-1 victory.
Dully were looking for another three points off the back of some pleasing recent form, wishing to keep abreast of second placed Blacktown Spartans, and fielded a strong and experienced lineup. Jose Mendes in defence, Rafael Bove and Harry James in midfield, and Dusan Mihajlovic up front provide Dully with a wealth of knowledge across the park. Top scorer Neil Philippou and the evergreen Norman Tome were amongst the substitutes, giving coach Mark Strachan plenty of cards to play throughout the duration of what would become a frustrating evening for the Dully faithful.
Balmain fielded a relatively unchanged lineup, with skipper Jeremy Pettenon marshalling the back four, and a hard working midfield supplying the effective combination up front of experience, Lorenzo Merlino, and youth, Dane Maberley.
And it was this partnership that conjured up the first opportunity of the match, with Merlino playing a delightful through ball towards the left corner for Maberley to run onto. The youngster got to the ball first, cut back inside a defender, and hit a strong shot from the corner of the box that was well parried by Dully keeper, Sestak, before being cleared.
The pace of the match in the opening half hour was fierce to say the least, the Balmain team very quick to close down the Dully midfield, restricting them access into the final third.
Dulwich Hill have some real quality technical players in their lineup, and it was paramount that the Balmain boys utilized their own strengths of pace and tenacity to nullify the home side.
On 20 minutes Balmain made a foray down the left hand side of the park, with Merlino and Maberley exchanging passes, before the latter fired a ball across the edge of the penalty area. Robbie Bruno arrived unguarded and hit a ferocious 20 yard shot that went straight at Dully keeper Sestak, the custodian parrying the ball to safety.
Just five minutes later and Balmain put the cat amongst the pigeons with a clinical piece of finishing to take the lead.
Robbie Bruno picked up the ball near the touchline on the halfway, and knocked a long diagonal pass towards the edge of the penalty area.
Allowing the ball to bounce was always going to be a danger for Dully defender Chahine, and Balmain’s Maberley seized on the opportunity, shrugging off the fullback, before clipping a sweet half volley over the advancing Sestak to give Balmain a deserved lead.
Dulwich then increased the intensity with a view to replying immediately. A goal mouth scramble on the half hour following a Sam Messam cross resulted in a low snapshot from Harry James, Balmain’s keeper Daniel Conway brilliantly diverting the ball around the post.
The ensuing corner produced yet another scramble, and this time it was Mihajlovic’s turn to see his stab at the near post deflected by a defender for another corner.
On 34 minutes Maberley almost made it two for Balmain, picking up yet another pass near the left hand side of the box, and firing a bullet that skimmed the cross bar.
The end to end action continued, Bove finding Mihajlovic moments later with a dissecting pass just outside the penalty area, the striker firing low and just wide, leaving Balmain’s keeper, Conway, scrambling.
On 41 minutes Balmain made yet another inroad down the left wing, this time Tim Sowden whipping over a great cross. Lorenzo Merlino timed his jump perfectly, and his header was inches away from extending Balmain’s lead as it just missed the upright.
There was time for one more opportunity before the break, and it fell to Dully.
Sam Messam made a marauding run down the right wing, using his pace to beat one defender, and his skill to beat another as he cut back in from the goal line. Staying calm, Messam cut the ball square to Harry James, who laid it back for Dusan Mihajlovic, but alas, the striker skied his shot much to the angst of the Dully fans.
Referee Mr James Barnes showed he is one of the Division’s most experienced officials, allowing the game to flow, and knowing the difference between malice and tenacity.
He blew his half time whistle, with the visitors 1-0 up, and both teams looking for some rejuvenation from their coaches.
Dully came out the sheds determined to restore parity, and on 49 minutes came agonizingly close. Sam Messam was at his devastating best down the right wing, beating a defender before sending over a far post cross. Rafael Bove had ghosted in unmarked, but his volley from an acute angle missed the mark.
Balmain seemingly had no choice but to defend it’s territory as Dulwich Hill threw everything at the visitors. One such frenzied attack just after the hour mark resulted in Messam blasting a point blank volley at the Balmain goal from a few yards, but Conway miraculously got up to deflect the ball over the cross bar.
Dully coach Mark Strachan made his three substitutions around this point of the match, sensing it was a matter of time before the Balmain resistance would break. Balmain were not dissimilar to a boxer cowered in the corner, as Dully just kept on coming and coming with blows. A Norman Tome corner on 78 minutes fell kindly to Harry James, but he uncharacteristically blasted over from a few yards.
But the former Canberra and Sydney Olympic NSL star was not to be denied, when he was on the end of a great square pass from Sam Messam, and duly dispatched the ball high into the roof of the net from a few yards to equalise.
Now with the match at 1-1, both teams would no doubt have been ‘reasonably’ satisfied with the point, given the circumstances.
But Dully have many a time come home strong, and have won matches at the death, so hats off to the courage of Mark Strachan’s tactics, going three at the back and moving in for the kill by pushing more men forward.
Mihajlovic almost grabbed the winner for the home side on 84 minutes, receiving the ball inside the penalty area, swiveling as he beat a couple of defenders, but smashing his shot wide of the uprights from a tight angle.
Not only were Dully playing three at the back, but the last line was very high up the park, and looking to exercise the offside trap.
The dilemma with this of course is that it can work nine times out of ten, and it is the one time it doesn’t work that could end up costing you.
It was actually eight times out of ten that it worked for Dully, to be fair, and Balmain broke the trap for the first time on 88 minutes. Substitutes Hardwick and Deasey combined to race away, the former cutting the ball back for the latter who stroked it over the cross bar with the goal at his mercy.
One minute into injury time and Balmain broke the offside trap for the second time, and on this occasion they made the home side pay.
Deasey redeemed himself with a super through ball, and Lorenzo Merlino showed all his experience to stay calm, allowing the ball to bounce before cracking a low volley past the helpless Dully keeper, Sestak, to send the Balmain contingent into raptures.
Mr Barnes played six minutes of injury time, giving the Balmain fans palpitations, and during which time Dulwich continued their onslaught. On one occasion, there was a flurry of shots flying in at the Balmain goal, eventually Sowden clearing the danger, whilst a minute later Burrows went agonizingly close with a header from a Tome free kick, the ball being deflected away from goal.
But the final whistle did come in the end, with Balmain jubilant in their away triumph, whilst Dulwich Hill were made to rue the fact that their territorial dominance did not produce the desired result. But that’s football as they say, the points go to the team who scores the most goals, and today it was Balmain who were taking all three home.
Balmain’s assistant coach, ex-NSL and ex-A League star, Johhny Buonavoglia, was understandably ecstatic with his team’s victory.
“We had great organization and structure tonight, and tried to limit the opposition in attack when they had possession,” said Buonavoglia.
“We had a few weeks there recently where the ball just didn’t bounce for us, but we are a solid team, and will work hard, and our aim during the second round is to do better than we did in the first round. Anything else is a bonus,” added the man known affectionately as ‘Jockey’.
There were some solid performers on the night for Balmain, namely ; midfield workhorse Craig Andrews covered so many yards, tirelessly tackling across the park, and his efforts often go unnoticed. He was focused when defending, and kept Rafael Bove’s effect on the game to a minimum with a determined performance ; striker Lorenzo Merlino showed all his experience up front, holding the ball up well, laying off effectively, and deservedly scoring a great winning goal for his efforts ; skipper Jeremy Pettenon had to be at his commanding best, given Dully’s continual charges downfield, and marshaled his backline continually throughout ; young striker Dane Maberley had a great hour, before he was substituted with an injury, working hard off Merlino’s experience, pestering the Dully backline whenever they tried to play the ball out, scoring a great goal and almost grabbing a second.
Dulwich Hill’s captain, Harry James, was philosophical when reviewing the loss.
“We just didn’t come out prepared from the start, and allowed them to utilize their strengths. We are a good footballing side, but ended up in a tug of war with them, and they fought well and worked hard,” reflected James.
“At 1-1, we may have been happy with the draw, but we went three in defence, because we could smell victory, and it ended up backfiring – what can you do, you can’t win every game. Other teams will drop points in the run-in, no doubt, so we are still very confident of winning the championship,” predicted James.
For Dulwich Hill, best performers on the night were ; Sam Messam, who had another effective game, his strength, his pace, and his skill just too much for his Balmain opponents, and his crosses and assists in general are proving to be of great service to his team mates ; skipper Harry James performed strongly as usual, his speed on the ball defying his 33 years, and his speed mentally meaning he was often one step ahead, beating opponents at will, and always looking to unselfishly support his team mates for the better of the team ; Brian Burrows held firm in the middle of the park, strong in the tackle, focused in the quest to win possession for his team, and almost grabbed an injury time equalizer for his efforts.
Match Stats
DULWICH HILL SC 1 (James 80’)
BALMAIN SC 2 (Maberley 25’, Merlino 91’)
Sunday, June 28, at Arlington Oval, Dulwich Hill
Referee – Mr.James Barnes
Referee’s Assistants – Mr.Dave Ward & Mr.Mark Nemorin
DULWICH HILL SC ; 1.P.Sestak, 25.M.Chahine (7.N.Tome 70’), 2. J.Mendes, 20.A.Rao, 6.A.Scicluna (9.N.Philippou 65’), 8.S.Messam, 15.B.Burrows, 5.R.Bove, 11.H.James (capt), 10.D.Mihajlovic, 19. N.Paradisis (16.T.Atsas 72’).
Subs not used – 12.D.Radojkovic, 39.K.Perestrelo.
BALMAIN SC ; 1.D.Conway, 2.R.D’Arrigo, 3.T.Sowden, 4.C.Grayson (15.E.Byrne 39’), 5.J.Pettenon (capt), 6.C.Andrews, 7.D.McParland, 8.L.Merlino, 9.D.Maberley (13.D.Hardwick 60’), 10.R.Bruno, 11.J.Richardson (14.J.Deasey 82’).
Subs not used –12. S.Byrne,, RGK.H.Fujiwara.
DIVISION ONE REVIEW – Round Fifteen
Mounties FC – Hills Brumbies 5-1
Mounties went to town on Saturday night with a 5-1 home thumping of Hills Brumbies at Cook Park.
The damage was done in the first period with the Mounties going into the break with an insurmountable 4-1 lead.
Tresoglavic opened the scoring in the 10th minute for the home side, before Biviano grabbed the first of his brace on 20 minutes.
Hills responded straight away with a goal from Guirgis just three minutes later, but Provan (35’) and Orcajo (38’) extended the Mounties lead to 4-1 before half time.
Biviano scored his second of the match, and ninth of the season, five minutes into the second half, and that’s the way the scoring ended, providing the Mounties with a valuable three points.
Fairfield City Lions – Schofields Scorpions 0-0
Two of the highest scoring teams within the Division One competition surprisingly couldn’t find the net at Norford Park, as Fairfield City and Schofields ended scoreless.
Schofields remain third on the ladder on 26 points, and are ever so gradually making ground on the top two.
Fairfield’s point sees them join a couple of other sides on 16 points, but all three are eight behind fifth placed Mounties, and will find it tough to make the finals series without a consistent run of victories.
UNSW – Sydney Wanderers 3-0
UNSW continued their purple patch of form with a resounding 3-0 home victory over the inconsistent Sydney Wanderers at David Phillips Field.
Pint sized striker Rocky Luca helped himself to a brace, opening the scoring on 32 minutes before doubling the lead just after the hour mark.
Stuart Meney completed the win with his tenth goal of the season on 78 minutes.
The three points sees UNSW climb into seventh position, one point off the top half of the competition.
Hurstville ZFC – Blacktown Spartans 4-1
Hurstville ZFC continue to be the bookies nightmare of Division One with a shock 4-1 hammering of Blacktown Spartans at Hurstville Oval on Sunday afternoon.
A few weeks ago Hurstville knocked over Schofields Scorpions in a massive upset, and now they have another heavyweight scalp to their credit by beating the second placed Spartans, who sacrificed the opportunity to go top with the loss.
Captain-coach Steve Zoric put the home side in front on 14 minutes, and that’s how it remained until early in the second half.
Jurleta made it 2-0 for Hurstville on 64 minutes, before Stiven Kostanic scored his first, and his side’s third, goal in the 80th minute.
Wilson pulled a goal back for Blacktown in the 82nd minute, but Kostanic grabbed his brace two minutes from time, notching the twelfth goal of a fruitful 2009 season for the burly striker.
Stanmore Hawks – Inter Lions 2-2
A cliff hanger at Arlington Oval on Sunday evening ended all square as Stanmore Hawks and Inter Lions shared four goals.
The home side’s goals came from their skipper, David James, and tricky winger Chris Theodosiou, whilst Inter Lions got on the scoreboard via their captain, Adrian Vizzari, from the penalty spot, and Lachlan Wright.
Wright had suffered what was perceived to be a season ending knee injury in pre season, but has recovered remarkably, and will no doubt add some firepower to Inter’s surge up the ladder. Inter’s point sees them remain fourth on 25 points, whilst Stanmore move to 17 points and stay in the top half of the competition.
-By Frank Speranza
