Super Mario Sends Souths Second
Souths United 1 (Stojakovic 48’) Grange Thistle 0
HT 0-0
Played at Wakerley Park
Promotion was on the agenda when a conservative approach by both sides defined a game that failed to entertain until Mario Stojakovic scored in the 48th minute as Souths United beat Grange Thistle 1-0 at Wakerley Park on Saturday evening. A bumpy surface at Runcorn ensured a high-bouncing ball so it was no surprise when the goal came from a flash of brilliance on the ground. The lively Stojakovic beat three defenders with a burst of acceleration, found clear space and leisurely stroked the ball past Zac Symons in goal Four minutes from full time, Caleb Mayberry looked certain to equalise after a great turn, but an evil bobble intervened and he could only watch on with anguish as his shot pinged wide of the left hand upright. Fate plays strange games sometimes. On the balance of play, Grange have reasonable evidence to suggest they were marginally better on the day. With both teams playing two banks of four, the ball spent a lot of time going sideways but the fulltime whistle came too early for the visitors who were starting to threaten having been forced to search for an equaliser. Souths were depleted almost to the point of being unrecognisable. With respect to all the other players, they were missing the huge chunk of their core staring line-up. This was a defining victory for a club which has been their own worst enemy at times this season. Both teams can take positives from their set piece defence. Corners and the occasional free kick in dangerous areas were inevitably dealt with and cleared away. Even Matt Hornby playing as a hurly, burly centre-forward was unable to get any aerial contact inside the box. The ramifications of this result will be felt as soon as tomorrow afternoon when Southside Eagles play Mt Gravatt at Memorial Park. SSE will go second with a win but it’s a must-win for the Hawks following the big win by Centenary over Pine Rivers. And if that wasn’t enough to keep the tightest league in Brisbane interesting, Wolves beat top team North Star 2-1 at O’Callaghan Park. FB Media Player Of The Match: RM Mario Stojakovic - Souths United
The winner was important, of course, but Stojakovic was lively from kick off and was always most likely to break the deadlock despite some heavy treatment at times. Team line-ups Souths: Radovanovic, Anderson, Catanzaro, Edwards, Gjura, Hodzic, Radulovic, Rodgers, Smith, Stojakovic, Young. Subs: Faber, South, Strattford, Nagy
Grange: Symons, Ballye, Bimrose, Clayton, Dimovski, M.Hornby, S.Hornby, R.Hornby, Parke, Taylor, Xinis. Subs: Nakagawa, Pereira, Hayden, Mayberry. Referee: Marty Krenes
