Nyadzayo hat-trick leads Lions to win over Nuna
By Billy Green (@billy_ume)
Eastern Lions have clinically dispatched of Nunawading City with a 3-1 win at Mahoneys Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
A Munyaradzi Nyadzayo hat-trick led the visitors to the win while youngster Daniel Patterson scored his first senior goal for the club, but it wasn't enough as the Lions walked to victory.
The defensive midfield of the Lions choked Nuna of holding any structure in attack as they fought to end their season-long, winless streak.
The Lions didn’t take any time to warm up, working the Nuna defence from the first whistle.
On 5 minutes, Munyaradzi Nyadzayo easily bypassed a few defenders and placed it onto the feet of Philip Ajao in front of goals, but he put his effort wide.
Soon after, Nuna goalkeeper Keegan Coulter made two desperate saves consecutively to keep Nuna's clean sheet intact.
Lions had another chance at the 15-minute mark as Ziggy Razuki broke through the defence but landed his shot at the feet of Coulter for an easy save.
He made up for it soon after, placing a cross perfectly into the path of Nyadzayo who directed it into the goal to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
Nuna began to hold possession in the forward third more as the match continued, but the Lions midfield were quick to support the defence and make it very hard to find any space for the Home team.
Striker Stefan Papageorgiou finally broke through the brick-wall defence on 30 minutes, but hit the cross-bar.
Moments later, Nyadzayo again easily side-stepped a few defenders and put it through for a goal, but celebrations were cut short when he was denied by an offside call.
Shaun Kenny, Ajao and Razuki all squandered more opportunities late in the half as any pressure from the Nuna defence seemed non-existent.
On 45 minutes they were rewarded for their dominance, when Ajao crossed it into Nyadzayo, who had no defenders even close to him directly in front of goals and slotted a simple goal.
Nunawading began the second half looking like a different team - much cleaner and structured - and it paid off immediately.
On 47 minutes, Daniel Patterson bustled his way through the Lions defence and scored to bring the game back within reach.
At the 63-minute mark, Nuna’s Felix Dimitrakis had a shot saved by the Lions goalkeeper Andrew Lightfoot, Emile Damey following up minutes later, side-stepping some defenders and slamming it unluckily into the cross-bar.
As the half wore on, Lions began to regain their dominance through the defensive pressures of the midfield.
On 70 minutes, Nyadzayo made a break down the wing and again teamed up with Ajao who passed it back for Nyadzayo to claim his hat-trick.
Having now gained a two goal buffer with a 3-1 lead, the Lions seemed to relax and play with the confidence they had shown at the start of the match.
Nyadzayo was dominant in attack and had two more missed opportunities before the close of the match.
Nunawading faces second-place Richmond SC next week as their winless woes continue.
Match details
Nunawading City 1 (Damey 47’) defeated by Eastern Lions 3 (Nyadzayo 20’ 45’ 70’) at Mahoneys Reserve
Nunawading City: 1. Keegan COULTER, 10. Ivan SKORICH, 7. Anthony GIANNOPOULOS, 5. Peter EVANGELAKOS, 17. David MOROVIC (9. David ANTEQUERRA 57’), 21. Felix DIMITRAKIS, 44. Samuel ANTONIADIS, 31. Dylan FACCI, 11. Daniel PATTERSON (19. John-Luc SILVESTRI 77’), 41. Emile DAMEY, 20. Stefan PAPAGEORGIOU (16. Spencer EGAN-TANNER 82’)
Unused Sub(s): 22. Dylan TERUIT, 4. Ben-Harvey ROBINSON
Yellow Card(s): Nil
Red Card(s): Nil
Eastern Lions: 1. Andrew LIGHTFOOT, 2. William ELLIS, 3. Matthew PARRY, 6. Andrew WILLIAMS, 7. Ziggy RAZUKI (8. Mitch BEAMISH 90+1’), 10. Philip AJAO, 11. Munyaradzi NYADZAYO, 13. Jarrah CLEAR, 14. Jordan HORN, 15. Yianni TOUMANIDIS, 16. Shaun KENNY (12. David MCKESSY 56’)
Unused subs: 21. Robert HAVERCROFT, 5. Thomas FALCONER
Yellow Card(s): Kenny 17’, Parry 80’, Williams 84’
Last Modified on 23/06/2015 11:12
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