Sharks v Hills United 2-1 Win 6th April

Relief as Sharks fight back to secure important victory

6 April , 2024 By Football NSW Match Highlights https://youtu.be/6kejhRg8KMk

Sutherland Sharks recorded an important 2-1 victory over Hills United at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday ending its three-match losing streak in round 9 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition.

The hosts fell behind in the fifth minute when Noah Casserly pounced from a Sharks defensive error to thump home a header and his first for Hills this year.

Sutherland then equalized through Mason Fernandez and should have been ahead before the break when Levi Sciuriaga did everything but score sending an effort wide of the upright.

Substitute Liam Rippon however netted the eventual winner with his first kick of the game late on.

It was a fixture that, perhaps, on paper didn’t give the impression of a plethora of goals being scored by two teams battling in the nether regions of the league but the full bloodied performance of the sides was worth the entry fee.

With chances set to be at a premium it was imperative those created were put away which is exactly what Casserly did. Making the late run and ghosting into the area unmarked to head the Hills troops into the lead in the 5th minute when Sutherland failed to clean up from a Glen Kelshaw free-kick.

Needing to rally from the early setback, Sutherland enjoyed the majority possession however their visitors were quick to break up potential attacks and looked dangerous on the counter.

Hills looked to be that little bit sharper in winning more of the 50/50’s as well as their speed in transition.

Jay McGowan and Fernandez played a beautiful one-two to get the former in behind the Hills defence in the 31st minute but McGowan couldn’t curl the ball around Ryan Wood who made a comfortable save.

Yet it could have gone horribly wrong for the home side two minutes later when Yu Okubu was sent away through the middle but couldn’t get enough on the ball to send it past Nenad Vekic before the Centre-Backs were able to mop it up before crossing the line. It would go down as an opportunity spurned further exacerbated moments later when Thomas Lopez skied an effort over the bar from the edge of the area.

They would prove costly errors when Sutherland equalized with a screamer via Fernandez who’s sweetly struck shot from outside the box flew past Wood. And it should have worsened for the visitors when Sciuriaga stole into the area and did everything right in standing up Wood but sending his shot the wrong side of the post two minutes later.

Sutherland were putting the moves together in the final few minutes of the half however both sides could feel aggrieved they were not in front at the break. There could have been few arguments had Hills hit the sheds 3-two up.

On the resumption it was Caleb Jackson-Brown who found himself in the book for a niggly foul on McGowan who had the beating of the Hills player and acres of space ahead of him.

What ensued was an intriguing game of attack, defend and counter with neither able to find the telling pass into the box to threaten the scoreline nor test the ‘keepers.

Sciuriaga went with the outside of the boot, under pressure from two Hills defenders, but skied another very decent chance over the bar when a more experienced player might have chipped the onrushing Wood. A case of what might have been for the home side.

Mitch Stamatellis, unafraid to venture forward, sent another shot past the woodwork before Sutherland’s ‘Super Sub’ Rippon, on for barely two minutes, put Sutherland ahead and equally found himself in the book seconds later. An inspired move from Sharks coach Steven Zoric, but a very mixed introduction from the young striker.

Anthony Frangie found his way through a packed Sharks’ defence to produce a super save from Vekic and deny Sunday Yona on the follow up with eight minutes of normal time remaining in a grandstand finale to the match.

Yona broke down the right for United and sent in a delightful centre that begged for a tap in but evaded everyone in the dying stages before Sutherland broke in a three-on-one move only for Mo Ahmed to fluff his lines and allow the visitors time to steal the ball and clear their lines.

Vekic made a last ditch stop, this time from Kelshaw, Hills finding and exploiting space again down the right, in stoppage time as the visitors pushed to square the ledger.

It proved a tense finish leaving Hills United Coach Luke Casserly to comment.

“Football gives you a great lesson,” he said before continuing.

“You absolutely get what you deserve in football and today we got exactly what we deserved.

“Both clubs are in the positions we are in because we haven’t performed well enough so far this season.

“We were second best in every department and nowhere near our normal level, even simple passing we couldn’t get right today and it’s simply not good enough to be at this level,” he concluded.

Sharks coach Steven Zoric applauded his players on a vital result for the club.

“We were a little more cautious going forward today because obviously when you get turned over 7-nil the week before we needed to get back to basics in training and sort the defence out,” he said.

“We concentrated on our positioning and looking to control their counter and use our possession to deny them that and I feel we had the better possession in the first half which made them look more dangerous when they did counter.

“The second half the boys started to fire up and started to find those little pockets to get in behind them and got some good rotations happening.

“We’ve got to work on being more clinical in the final third but overall, a good battling performance and three points against another tough team.”

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks 2 (Mason Fernandez 37’, Liam Rippon 78’)

Hills United FC 1 (Noah Casserly 5’)

Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda

Saturday, 6th April 2024

Referee: Adrian Arndt

Assistants: Charbel Geha and Luke Chapman

Fourth Official: Hayden Michlmayr

Sutherland Sharks: 1. Nenad Vekic, 2. Kotaro Kitsuta, 4. Mitch Stamatellis, 5. Takahide Umebachi, 10. Mason Fernandez, 11. Jay McGowan, 14. Chris Lindsay, 15. Matthew Moric (8. Mo Ahmed 62’), 27. Matty Jackson (6. Sam Gulisano 76’), 71. Levi Sciuriaga (32. Liam Rippon 76’), 91. Jonty Busch

Subs not used: 23. Ethan Beaven, 26. Jacob Garner, 99. Jacob Cremen-Cowan

Yellow Cards: Liam Rippon 79’, Mason Fernandez 89’

Red Cards:

Hills United FC: 1. Ryan Wood, 4. Brian Jamba (13. Cam Philp 69’), 5. Daniel Petkovski, 9. Yu Okubo (24. Sunday Yona 57’), 11. Anthony Frangie, 15. Noah Casserly, 17. Caleb Jackson-Brown, 19. Glen Kelshaw, 20. Thomas Lopez (18. Mitch Smith 57’), 26. Tommy Makko, 27. Nicolai Muller (7. Wade Giovenali 69’)

Subs not used: 3. Ethan Smith, 31. William Loucas

Yellow Cards: Caleb Jackson-Brown 49’, Anthony Frangie 85’

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3 – Noah Casserly (HU)

2 – Mason Fernandez (SS)

1 – Anthony Frangie (HU)

By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock