NSW Premier League Round 14 Review

Despite some heavy rain throughout the week, the playing surface was held up nicely as the League's front-runners battled from start to finish for top-spot.

The visitors created the first real raid on goal on 26' minutes as Laurence Braude picked out Aleksander Canak in open space in-front of goal, though the striker was dispossessed by a last-ditch Paul Cotte tackle. At the other end moments later, the White Eagles took the lead. Bonnyrigg's David Gullo was clumsily challenged by Marconi's Christopher Nunes, leaving the referee with no chance but to award the penalty. Daniel Severino stepped-up for the spot-kick, and had no trouble slotting the ball past James Chronopoulos in the Marconi goal.

Despite the Stallions best attempts to get back into the match, mid-week McDonald's Cup hero Matthew Hall was also thrown into the mix after the break, though an equaliser failed to arrive.

Instead, following chances to Severino and Milorad Simonovic for the home-side, the White Eagles did manage to put the result beyond doubt with a second goal on 73' minutes. A fine build-up of play by the White Eagles players saw Nathan Elasi find the space to pick out Jamie McMaster at the far post. McMaster, with all his experience, cleverly nudged the ball into the back of the net, much to the delight of the home supporters.

The win now sees Bonnyrigg surpass the Stallions on goal difference at the top of the table.

Bankstown City returned to the winner's list with a win over stern rival Sydney Olympic. With both sides struggling for form, the Lions secured a 2-1 win at Belmore to see the side climb up to eighth spot on the League ladder, meanwhile the Blues occupy eleventh-spot. Sydney Olympic was dealt a major blow in the opening minutes as Anthony Doumanis was forced to leave the field through injury. Both sides attempted to get the upper hand after the first 10' minutes, and the breakthrough did arrive for the Lions on 26' minutes. A scramble inside the penalty-area saw Richard Luksic get an effort on goal. The Lions captain had his effort parried by Paul Henderson in the Blues goal, though the rebound ricocheted off Luksic and finished in the back of the net.

Sydney Olympic found their equaliser 10' minutes later as Angelo Petratos was on the spot to pick up a loose ball behind the Bankstown City defence before slotting coolly past Zlatko Joseski. The Lions goalkeeper stole the show in the second-half converting a 65' minute penalty to send Bankstown City into the lead, before pulling off a number of world class saves to protect the one-goal lead through until the final whistle.

At Bicentennial Park South in Rockdale on Sunday, Rockdale City Suns put together a resilient showing to grind out a 0-0 draw with Blacktown City FC, despite playing the final 40' minutes with 10-men. The Suns lost Adem Kir shortly after the break following his second yellow card of the afternoon, forcing the side to fend with a numerical disadvantage. Despite the extra man, and a monopoly on possession in the attacking third, the Suns remained compact in defence, constantly frustrating Blacktown City, and at the same time created some good scoring opportunities on the counter-attack. The Suns better chances of the second period fell to Peter Apolevski, man of the match Dominic Hudap and new signing Almir Dizdaric who entered the fray for the final 10' minutes, though arguably the best chance was squandered by Jeffrey Issa. The Suns substitute had his back to goal, though with only the goalkeeper to beat, failed to slot past Matt Ryan with his 'overhead' effort.

Blacktown City's difficulties to break down the Suns defence proved to be Aytek Genc's side's downfall, though Joel Chianese did almost snatch it for the visitors midway through the half when he rounded goalkeeper Ben McNamara with a fine display of skill, though failed to slot home into an empty goal from a tight angle. In the end, the home-side would certainly be the happier of the two with a share of the spoils over the 90' minutes.

Sydney United's win-less streak extended to three matches as the West Sydney Berries held the Reds to a 1-1 draw at Sydney Olympic Athletic Centre. Sash Tirovski had the Berries ahead inside of the opening 60'' seconds of the match, much to the dismay of the Sydney United defence.

Despite the Reds best efforts to get back into the match, the Berries showed their intentions to force the win with Tirovski, Ryo Maekawa and George Lagoudakis driving the team forward.

The Reds started to play in the second period, and following a disallowed goal to the Berries' Maekawa on 53' minutes for off-side, Sydney United did find the equaliser after the hour. A swift counter-attacking move sent Petar Markovic into the opposing half. The midfielder's shot-turn-cross from the right caught Berries goalkeeper Hamish McLean off his line, and the ball sailed into the back of the net. Both sides fought hard for a late winner, though both needed to settle with a share of the points following the referee's final whistle.

Sutherland Sharks comprehensively defeated South Coast Wolves at WIN Stadium in a one-sided 90' minute football affair. The defending champions, who struggled through the first half of the season with some inconsistent performances, are now certainly contenders to go back-to-back in 2010. Coach Robbie Stanton has established a lot of confidence across the group of players at his disposal, and the results demonstrate this point. Blake Powell was the architect of the defeat of the Wolves, scoring all three of this side's goals in the 3-0 triumph. Powell opened the scoring in the 39' minute, latching on to a Jim Bakis cross from the right to send his diving header into the back of the net.

The advantage was doubled shortly after the hour as Ben Spruce's fine skill created the space in the penalty-area before cutting the ball back across goal. Amidst a sea of legs, the ball fell to Powell who was on the spot to convert from close-range.

The Wolves did create some goalscoring chances though Jason Trifiro, Mark Picciolini & Co. failed to test Sharks' goalkeeper Nathan Denham. Powell headed his third into the back of the net in the 88' minute, sealing the Sharks the win and three-points to keep the pressure on the teams above them on the league ladder.

The Manly United FC - A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers Round 14 clash was washed out following the week of heavy rain. This match will be re-scheduled shortly - please visit Football NSW website for an update on rescheduled match time.

-By Joseph Carlucci

Results

Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2 (Daniel Severino 31m pen Jamie McMaster 73m) Marconi Stallions 0.

Sydney Olympic 1 (A Petratos 30m) Bankstown City 2 (Richard Luksic 26m Zlatko Joseski 63m pen),

Rockdale City Suns 0 Blacktown City FC 0,

Manly United FC APIA Leichhardt Tigers Washed Out,

West Sydney Berries 1 (Sash Tirovski 2m) Sydney United 1 (Peter Markovic 63m),

South Coast Wolves 0 Sutherland Sharks 3 (Blake Powell 38/53/58m).

Table