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03/01/04 South Melbourne

Strikers Scramble Over South

The Brisbane Strikers overcame a defiant ten men South Melbourne outfit to win 1-0 at Perry Park last night.  The turning point of the match came when Steve Laurie was sent off for shoving Louis Brain to the ground.  From them on it was a case of Brisbane breaking down the well organised South Melbourne defense.

The match began as a very even affair as both teams jostled to gain control of possession.  The early opportunities came from South Melbourne as they capitalised on the use of Kovacevic as on overlapping player.  In the 13^th minute Kovacevic crossed a good ball to Scott Turnbridge in the box, but his header went just wide of the up right.

Brisbane was being very patient with their build up and the first real opportunity for the home side came in the 22^nd minute.  Louis Brain skipped past two players on the right hand side; his superb cross was met by the head of Royce Brownlie who headed down but the ball bounced over the bar.

Four minutes later it was another Kovacevic cross which caused havoc in the Brisbane area.  Karl Dodd uncharacteristically miss hit the ball, and it fell straight to Michael Curcija.  Curcija from only twelve yards managed only to hit the ball wide of the up right.

Brisbane however was finding their passing range and was looking more dangerous with every attacking move.  30 minutes in some patient build up play led to Steve Fitzsimmons going down the right; his well hit cross was met by the on rushing Matt McKay in the area.  McKay headed down towards the far post, but Eugene Galekovic pulled off a superb save to deny the Strikers.  A minute later an almost mirror image of the previous opportunity this time Steffanutto was put through by Royce Brownlie.  Steffanutto put in an excellent cross with Matt McKay once again latched on to.  His header however went just over the bar.

The 33^rd minute saw the most controversial moment of the match.  Steve Laurie received a straight red card for what seemed to be a shove on Louis Brain.  It proved to be the turning point of the match.  With ten players South Melbourne were not able to compete with Brisbane in midfield and were resigned to defend deep in their own half.

Surprisingly, Brisbane was not able to capitalize on their one man advantage for the remainder of the first half, and failed to create any further goal scoring opportunities.  This was also due to a well organized South Melbourne unit, and some fine defending from the likes of Ante Kovacevic and Mehmet Durakovic.

The first half saw a very even affair, until the sending off of Steve Laurie.  Both teams’ defenses were in fine shape and were letting very little through.  South Melbourne were relied upon Kovacevic to get forward and create an extra man so in order to break down the Brisbane defense, while Brisbane were looking to get in behind the South Melbourne defense by playing it wide.  The Torcida Banana was once again in full sway and providing plenty of entertainment for the home fans.

South Melbourne began the second half with keeping a clean sheet the major priority.  This gave Brisbane plenty of space in midfield to get forward and barrage the South Melbourne defense.  However the South Melbourne defense was proving to be a formidable task to conquer and it was until the 57^th minute that Brisbane threatened the South Melbourne goal.

Steve Fitzsimmons played it square to the on rushing Peter Grierson.  Grierson had space and time and from twenty yards out hit a well placed shot, which just whistled past the top left hand corner of the goal.  Playing against ten men Brisbane brought on a second striker, and David Pilic made way for Joshua Rose.

Brisbane was resigned to long range shooting.  Even in the 61^st minute when Matt McKay stole the ball in midfield the Brisbane counter attack could only end with a Joshua Rose shot from the edge of the area which Galekovic picked up on the second attempt.

A minute later Brian put an excellent ball into the area for Fitzsimmons to run onto.  Fitzsimmons had an acute angle from which to work with and his shot hit the side netting.

South Melbourne’s scrambling defense was proving frustrating for the Strikers.  In the 65^th minute South Melbourne once again managed to get the ball cleared, however on this occasion Joshua Rose from just outside the area and with his back to the goal, got a snap shot on target, yet Galekovic was equal to the task and pulled off a super save.

Con Boutsianis replaced Michael Curcija in order to freshen up the South Melbourne attack in the 69^th minute. However, the creative Boutsianis found it difficult to inspire his side, who was more concerned with keeping the ball out of their goal.

In the 74^th minute South Melbourne had their best opportunity of the second half, after some poor passing in midfield by Brisbane.  Vaughn Coveny latched onto the ball and raced forward.  From the corner of the area hit a shot which went over the bar.  It was certainly a chance which Coveny could have done better with.

Brisbane was having a frustrating time trying to find a gap in the South Melbourne defense.  South Melbourne was equal to anything Brisbane threw at them.  It was going to require a moment on inspiration for Brisbane to break the deadlock.

In the 80^th minute Brisbane were awarded a corner after Brownlie’s flick on down the right was intercepted.  Louis Brain put an excellent ball towards the penalty spot, the ever-reliable Peter Grierson rose above everyone and his header flew above the head of Galekovic who could do nothing.  Brisbane had finally cracked the South Melbourne defense and now it was 1-0 to the Strikers.  The relief around the stadium was met by an almighty outburst of joy, as the three and a half thousand strong crowd leapt to their feet.

Brisbane was now in control of the match and it was going to be very difficult for South Melbourne to come back with only ten men.  The introduction of Paul Trimboli for Vince Lia in the 86^th minute proved too little too late for South Melbourne.  The match ended with Brisbane victorious and an important step towards the finals.

The second half saw Brisbane with all the possession and forward running.  However South Melbourne stood firm and made it very difficult for the Brisbane attack.  It seemed as though Brisbane were lacking some imagination going forward and the insertion of a creative playmaker would certainly have added another dimension to the Brisbane attack.  In the end the goal came from a set piece and proved enough for the victory.  South Melbourne will be disappointed after defending so well for so long.  Brisbane will now have to regroup as they take John Kosmina’s Adelaide United, in what will prove to be a ‘warm welcome’ to the former Strikers boss.

Brisbane Strikers 0 (1) 

v 

South Melbourne 0 (0)

Scorers: Peter Grierson (79')

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