2005 Provisional
League 1 Nth/WestRound 8 21/05/05
Strathnaver Reserve,
Strathmore Heights
By Adam Tennenini
Brimbank have come away with a hard fought 1-0 victory in front of a parochial crowd at Glenroy. The win lifted the Stallions to first place in the 2005 Championship.
With the match in the balance for the best part of seventy minutes, Robert Nedelkov stepped up to break the deadlock and score the decisive and match winning goal.
The home side took it up to the Stallions early on and used the vast open spaces of Strathnaver Reserve to their advantage. Joe Markovac was the stand out for Glenroy, controlling the middle of the park and linking well with his forwards.
For Brimbank, Perri, Inglesi and Giordano set the tempo and controlled the Stallions movement up the park, the Glenroy defence led by Ante Stipic was resolute however in holding the team in black & white at bay.
The first real opening arrived half way through the first period. Giordano took possession of the ball inside the area and passed wide to Nedelkov who had a made a run around the his outside. With the goal in sight, Nedelkov was only able to shoot wide from an acute angle.
The physicality of both sides shone as the match settled, Glenroy's hard tackling a feature in their quest to gain the ascendancy. Brimbank didn't relent however. The match was poised on a knife edge going into the send half.
Glenroy captain Tomislav Grgic showed great leadership to propel his team forward on many occasions in the early part of the second half. With Markovac providing great support, Grgic linked up well with striker Balazinec as they desperately seeked a goal to open the game wide open. It was Balazinec who squandered the best chance of the game, when his shot from 6 yards produced a world class save from keeper Dimitropoulos. After streaming down the right wing, Grgic reached the by line before squaring a
delightful pass to Balazenic. Glenroy would no doubt rue the missed opportunity.
Brimbank continued to press forward and take advantages of the gaps that were beginning to open up in the Glenroy defence. Joe Fontana was brilliant in getting around Glenroy's defensive lines on many occasions, as were Perri and Giordano whose abilities to take on and beat players was un-questionable.
Through sheer persistence, it was Brimbank who scored the goal which sealed Victory twenty minutes from time. Robert Nedelkov was on target yet again as he ducked and weaved inside the box. Nedelkov was able to get a shot off inside a congested penalty area and see it ricochet off the post and into
the net.
The goal seemed to take the wind out Glenroy's sails as they lamented their missed opportunities.
Brimbank: Dimitropoulos, Espisito (Giurleo), Tennenini, D.Rulli, Inglesi,
Donato, Perri, Fontana, Giordano (Loschiavo), Nedelkov, Meddis (Di Primo).
Glenroy: Sobol, Stipic, Zalac (Kaps), Candido, Rubera (D. Kozul), Balazinec,
Bebic, R.Kozul, Jelincic (Mirt), Grgic, Markovac.
Reserves: Glenroy 0-2 Brimbank