Saints see of Whittlesea with first half double
By Danny Campos (@francisfields)
Two goals in the first half were enough for St Albans to kill off any chances of a Whittlesea Ranges win, on Saturday afternoon at Chaplin Reserve.
A Barry Devlin goal in the 16th minute and an Anthony Boras goal just before half time effectively put the game to bed in the first half, leaving little hope for Whittlesea.
The first ten minutes looked rather unsettled, with either side looked rugged and hesitant with the ball.
But soon after, the play began to open up with the hosts picking up momentum in midfield.
A lot more presence and movement off the ball was evident.
After a quarter of an hour, St Albans defender Nicholas Sarbin took a speculative effort from 35 yards, only to see his shot beat goalkeeper Gian Tapia in the Whittlesea goal and hit the woodwork.
It was a sign of things to come as a minute later Barry Devlin got his name on the scoresheet with a tap-in, in front of goal.
On 35 minutes, Saints defender Nana Yaw Otuo-Acheampong found himself lucky not to receive a yellow card for a lunging late tackle on Whittesea’s Giosue Tolomeo.
On the stroke of half time, St Albans doubled its lead through defender Anthony Boras, as his shot looked to deflect off of a defender on its way in past goalkeeper Gian Tapia.
The second half saw Whittlesea Ranges commanding far more possession, but unable to break down the Saints’ defence.
Wasteful long balls kept flying in search of offensive play.
It was not until the hour mark when substitute Attila Ofli came on that the visitors lightened up in front of goal.
Ranges’ goalkeeper Gian Tapia found himself with plenty of work to do deep into the second half as shot came firing constantly from the hosts.
The youngster responded well to deny Barry Devlin twice, a long range effort from substitute Yusuf Yusuf and Ante Kozol who both looked in amazement how they missed their respective opportunities to further extend their lead.
Whittlesea finally managed to test Saints goalkeeper Stuart Webster in the final ten minutes and he responded well.
It was not to be for Whittlesea who showed signs of fatigue coming off from a mid-week game against Melbourne City.
Match Details
St Albans 2 defeated 0 Whittlesea Ranges (16’ Devlin, 44’ Boras) at Churchill Reserve.
St Albans Saints: 1. Stuart WEBSTER, 2. Ryan MCGUFFIE, 3. Nana Yaw OTUO-ACHEAMPONG, 4. Nicholas SARBIN, 5. Tedros YABIO, 8. Ross HARVEY, 9. Barry DEVLIN (19 George NICEVSKI 87’), 17. Michael PAUL (10. Yusuf YUSUF ’45), 11. Nicholas SCERRI, 13 Anthony BORAS (12. Damien PETERS 79’), 20. Ante KOZOL.
Unused Subs: 21. John SCOLLO, 23. Daniel SWEENEY
Yellow Cards: 56’ Ryan MCGUFFIE, 70’ Ante KOZOL
Red Cards: Nil
Whittlesea Ranges: 1. Gian TAPIA, 3. Mohammed MOHAMMED, 5. Daniel SOTIROPOULOS, 6. Andrew TAYLOR, 7. Matthew CUNDARI, 9. Daniel PELUSO, 10. Matthew IULIANO (25. Attila OFLI 56'), 17. Stefan BARICEVIC (15. Matthew KUNDEVSKI 75'), 4. Mario PIRANIA (19. Adem MUSTADANAGIC 66’), 20. Tobias HAEGELE, 23. Giosue TOLOMEO
Unused Subs: 2. Pavle DURKIC, 26. James RIZZARDO,
Yellow Cards: 58’ Giosue TOLOMEO, 81’ Andrew TAYLOR,
Red Cards: Nil
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.