NSW Super League Round 15 Review

None of the top five won in Super League this weekend but still it is West Sydney Berries who remain on top by just the one point ahead of Spirit FC.

The beneficiaries of the round were St George who returned to form with a 1-0 away win at Blacktown Spartans and Sydney University who defeated Hills Brumbies 4-2 while Fraser Park and Dulwich Hill both recorded important victories as they moved away from the bottom of the ladder.

Feature Match of the Week

Dulwich Hill v Central Coast

It has been a great week for Paul Carter and his Dulwich Hill charges who claimed their second win in six days after defeating Central Coast 1-0 at a sundrenched Arlington Oval.

It has also been a great week for Steve Donevski who scored the only goal of the game to get Dully the points, as he did midweek against St George. There can be no doubting the importance of the wins as they have lifted Dulwich Hill to fourteen points, and a gap is beginning to appear above last placed Hills Brumbies.

But it was never guaranteed that the win would go the way of Dulwich Hill as Central Coast did dominate the possession and territory for large parts of the game. But they had difficulty in overcoming an, at times, packed defence, the number of players in the penalty area proving a hindrance to any clear shot on target.

Most opportunities were really half chances with Darren Cooper shooting over the top and Graham Toope having a shot deflected for a corner. Matt Kasbarian did very well in tipping the shot from the ensuing corner over the bar as the Coast pressed.

But it wasn’t all one way. Darren Stapleton put in an inswinging freekick which evaded everybody and Thomas Sowden could have done better with a snapshot.

It was in the second half that the Coast started to get some clear cut chances. A goal seemed certain when Jamie Lobb shot from in front and a deflection appeared to have curled over Kasbarian. But the keeper, already on the ground, did a superb job in tapping around for a corner.

Matt Toogood pushed up into midfield as Dulwich Hill themselves, looked to get the scoresheet and they couldn’t have hoped for an easier opportunity. A mixup in the backline between Jonathan Faerber and his defence, on the edge of the eighteen yard box, allowed Steve Donevski to nip in and escape with the ball. It was an easy run to an open goal, and Donevski made no mistake.

It was a disaster for Central Coast who knew that a win today would put them well in the hunt for a finals spot. They tried to get back into the game, Lobb getting on the end of a high cross but not quite able to get over the top of the ball.  Louis Bozanic shot high but it was Lobb again who had the best chance of them all.

With just five minutes left, he found himself clear inside the area and it seemed just a matter of putting away past Kasbarian, on his favoured left foot. But the shot didn’t connect cleanly and the chance was lost.

In the dying moments, new Japanese recruit Sinamoto, who impressed when he came on at half time, smashed a shot against the post for Dulwich Hill and this was as close to 2-0 as it could get. But in the end, the single goal was enough.

“Sometimes you have to win ugly”, stated Paul Carter, “and today we did that”.

“But finally it is starting to happen for us, and we can start to look up the table a bit instead of down”.

Peter Preston was nothing if not succinct.

“That goal was a nightmare. It cost us the game”, he said.

“Our attitude wasn’t right today, players turning up late etc, and it just wasn’t good enough”.

Source P Rowney