Thursday November 26, 2009 7:16 pm

Youth Mens Premier League: Dural give the Allstars a lesson in the heat (NSW)

Dural top the Allstars 5-2 at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Halls

Published 26/11/2009

Second placed Dural Warriors maintained their strong season in the Youth Mens division with their best win yet by soundly beating league leaders Inner West Allstars 5-2 away from home at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Hall.

Both sides had key players out but an out of sorts Allstars looked most affected with Sherwin Adeli and Kane Wright missing from the line up.

In a fast opening the Allstars started the game well and applied most of the pressure while Dural looked focused on competing hard but intent on soaking up the Allstars pressure which in the end worked a treat.

Slightly against the run of play the Warriors took a surprise lead with a fine solo effort from Zach Caruana. With the Allstars players waiting for the ball upcourt Zach cornered a defender and won an extended tussle for the ball. When the ball broke free he took on the keeper and determinedly potted the ball into the net at the second attempt.

The Allstars came surging back at the Warriors. Dural keeper Alastair Bruce tipped a fierce drive from Evan Daglis away for a corner then had another long range effort just miss the upright. Shortly after Daniel Fogarty forced a great save from Alastair Bruce following a quick counter attack.

The Allstars got the goal they were after when Shane Ardle held up the ball on the left flank and fed a perfectly weighted pass in-field for Daniel Fogarty to run on to and slot the ball past the keeper to make it 1-1.

Shortly after the Allstars nearly took the lead when Shane Ardle unleashed a stinging shot that Alastair Bruce did well to tip over the bar.

After 12 minutes Dural regained the lead when Rhys Giovenali stepped up and smashed a sizzling long range freekick into the top right corner of the net before the keeper and defence could even move to make the score 2-1.

Allstars keeper Andrew Mercuri tipped a goalbound effort from Nathan Niski away for a corner and then made a fine save to deny Blake Rosier. Shortly after Dural’s Aiden Dupen fired just wide.

The Allstars levelled the game when Daniel Fogarty neatly side footed the ball past the keeper following a quick one-two with Patrick Pace to make the score 2-2.

Just before half time the Warriors nudged ahead again when Rhys Giovenali spotted the run of Zach Caruana and fired an inch perfect diagonal pass for Zach to side flick the ball over the keeper and into the net to make it 3-2.

The Allstars came out in the second period intent on getting back into the game but despite all their efforts the Dural defence was soaking up the pressure and managing to hold them out.

The Allstars were attacking the Warriors through the middle of the court but the Dural defence were picking off the passes and counter attacking fast. Allstars keeper Robert Greenway made a great save to deny Blake Rosier, Zach Caruana fired over and Aiden Dupen crashed a shot against the post.

Despite this the Allstars were having their chances. In a quick counter attack Bruno Pivata fired just wide and the ever dangerous Shane Ardle broke away and forced a great save from Alastair Bruce. Shane Ardle went close again when he turned his defender but his goalbound shot forced an excellent save from Bruce.

In a pivotal moment in the game Dural extended their lead to 4-2. With a touch of luck Daniel Codrington fired a long range shot on goal and with the keeper committed into a dive the ball deflected off a defender and crashed into the net to give Dural a significant two goal lead.

The goal seemed to deflate the Allstars and their usual fast attacking style was wilting in the heat after expounding so much energy chasing the game.

Zach Caruana slammed a shot against the crossbar and nearing the end of the game Blake Rosier scored an excellent goal when he outpaced the Allstar defence by dribbling almost the length of the court and with Ryan Johnstone looming as decoy in support decided to go it alone and fired the ball past the keeper for a great solo goal to wrap things up for a 5-2 victory to Dural.

A delighted caretaker coach Joe Giovenali said he knew the goals would come eventually if his side stuck to their game plan to soak up the Allstars pressure. In the end the Warriors handled the stifling heat better, stuck to their task and ran out worthy winners.

Inner West Allstars 2 Dural Warriors 5

Goals

Inner West Allstars – Daniel Fogarty 2
Dural Warriors – Zach Caruana 2, Blake Rosier, Rhys Giovenali, Daniel Codrington

Inner West Allstars

12. Robert Greenway
9. George Khoury
22. Andrew Mercuri
8. Shane Ardle
4. Daniel Fogarty
3. Alexander Crane
7. Patrick Pace
6. Evan Daglis
5. Bruno Pivata

Dural Warriors

12. Alastair Bruce
7. Rhys Giovenali
9. Andrew Codrington
14. Ryan Johnstone
15. Blake Rosier
16. Samuel Bingham
17. Zach Caruana
20. Aidan Dupen
8. Wade Giovenali
5. Nathan Niski

Infringements

Inner West Allstars – 6 fouls

Dural Warriors – 6

Yellow Cards – Allstars 1, Dural 1

Red Cards – Nil

Officials – Andrew Best, Samuel Buck