Snakes Strike To End Saints Unbeaten Record
- Report & Photos: Ian Judd
- Jun 12, 2016
- 4 min read
Caboolture 2 (Muzyka 18' pen; Cleary 86') St George Willawong 0 HT 1-0 Played at: Grants Road Sporting Complex
Steven Cleary's late goal condemned St George Willawong to their first defeat of the season whilst Caboolture maintained their unbeaten record as they moved to the top of the Capital League 4 table after this pulsating clash between the two new sides to the Football Brisbane zone. Both sides entered into this top of the table encounter undefeated and whilst St George were at full strength, Caboolture were without keeper Geoff Sticklen.
Caboolture's Sam Heaney goes down after tangling with St George Willawong's Nikola Kataric. After a tentative opening, it was the visitors who settled into their stride the better, taking the game to Caboolture but they were undone shortly after the quarter hour mark when a mix up between keeper Dario Music and defender Nikola Kataric allowed speedy forward Sam Heaney to prod the ball into the box before being tumbled over by Kataric. It was an easy decision to make for referee Adrain Krasnoff as he pointed to the spot. Ben Muzyka stepping up to send Music the wrong way and put the Snakes ahead. St George controlled the possession stakes for the majority of the half but were unable to penetrate a tight Caboolture defence with skipper Dan Wordsworth commanding his back line to great effect, allowing little room for the Saints strike force with particular attention levelled at containing the fancy footwork of Dario Perkic. Likewise with St George, in a game where the two strongest defences in the league were on display, they did a great job of nullifying playmaker Steven Cleary. The two sides returned to the sheds at the break with just the penalty separating them, but there was definitely the feeling that it wouldn't end that way with both sides determined not to conceded their unbeaten runs and the second half didn't disappoint.
David Greci lifts his hands to his face after squandering St George's best chance of the game. St George had a golden opportunity to level the contest just after the hour mark. Sanjin Skavo worked his way down the right flank before cutting the ball back across goal, evading the out stretched arms of Caboolture keeper Jason Shields as David Greci raced into the six yard box with the goal at his mercy. The midfielder though totally mistimed his effort, shinning the ball wide of the upright as the collective groans from the Saints faithful echoed from the club house. The let off sparked the hosts into action as they looked to protect their slender lead and go in search of a sealer straight after with Music forced into a good save to keep his side in the contest. The visitors did manage to find the back of the net soon after but to fierce protests from the Saints bench and supporters, Greci's chip over Shields was ruled offside. It may have been a tight decision. Further drama then greeted the large crowd with Muzyka awarded a spot kick when tripped as he headed toward goal. The Caboolture top scorer looking to add to his first half strike from the spot. He again sent Music the wrong way but as fans celebrated, Referee Krasnoff signalled for the kick to be retaken after Tom Swane had encroached. Music then produced a superb save with his feet as Muzyka tried planting the ball down the centre of the goal. Protestations from the St George bench boiled over as coach Bojan Vilic was sent from the technical area, as had his colleague in the reserves game beforehand. Music was called upon again as he denied Cleary with less than five minutes remaining but Cleary would have the final say when he split the Saints defence and calmly slotted the ball past Music when one on one with the Saints keeper. Music perhaps could have dealt with it better but the goal all but ended the contest with little time for the visitors to respond. It was a game that promised much and it delivered, with passion and ability on display and nine yellow cards dished out indicating the physicality of the game.
Two quality sides that on the night would not have looked out of place in either Capital League 1 or 2. They must however earn that right and between these two and Samford Rangers, the promotion race is a three way split with one team destined to be left disappointed come the end of August. It certainly sets up an interesting back end to the season in Capital League 4.
FB Media Player Of The Match: #5 Dan Wordsworth - Caboolture
The Caboolture captain was solid at centre back and marshalled his back line superbly to blunt the Saints attacking trident. In particular Perkic was a passenger in the second half for St George largely due to running out of ideas on how to breach the Caboolture defence. Team line-ups Caboolture: Shields (gk), Cleary, Hayes, Heaney, Henderson, Muzyka, Sheumack, Swane, Thompson, Wordsworth, Worthington. Subs: Lawson, Taylor, Baines, Barnett, Schodel.
St George Willawong: Music (gk), Duligal, Greci, Kataric, Krkeljas, Perkic, Radmilovic, Skavo, Stevens-Robert, Stojicic, Zonjic. Subs: Yanik (rgk), Opacic, Cuic, Jankovic. Referee: Adrian Krasnoff
