Round 6 - Pirates put West to the sword
By RGB_07
West Adelaide's recent winning run came to an abrupt end with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Port Pirates in Round 6 at Pirate Park. Ribiero opened the scoring for the Pirates five minutes before half-time with a goal mouth scramble following a corner. Prior to that it was West who held the ascendancy in the first half with Angelo Arambatzis and Harry Skoumbros causing problems for the Port defence. The best effort, a fine header that cannoned off the bar from Skoumbros.
West started the second half in better fashion putting the Pirate defence under immediate pressure... With this sustained pressure West was able to equalize through substitute Peter Veloudos who had replaced Yianni Sarris, forced from the ground due to injury.
West continued the attacking momentum and were rewarded with a penalty after Apa Giamarelos was brought down in the penalty area after a fine run. Giamarelos having missed a penalty last week was reluctant to take this one so Daniel Reynolds stepped up only to see his effort saved by Pirates keeper Speer. This spurred on Port and they soon made it 2-1 when Tattoli finished from close range after West failed to clear from a corner. McFadyen then added a third late on to secure the win.
A disappointing showing after the penalty miss... it seemed to drain the confidence in the West team. Defensive duo George Belekis and Captain Brad Weaver were solid contributors for West but the remainder of the side was alittle off colour. West is in need of a huge pick me up as it entertains league leader Adelaide Hills in the next match.
"It was disappointing performace from the lads, if the pen had gone in the outcome may have been different... but thats football. Time now to re-group and focus our attention on Hills." Said Captain Brad Weaver.
Final Score: Pirates 3 (V.Ribeiro,N.Tattolli. K.McFadyen) West Adelaide 1 (P.Veloudos) (HT 1-0) Best – Pirates (J.Mavromatis, C.Alagich, M.Markham) West Adel (G.Belekas, B.Weaver, D.Reynolds)
Line-Up: Tsacos - Belekis, Sarris (Veloudos), Weaver (c), Alexandrou - Toumazos (Paspaliaris), Lambrinos, Reynolds, Giamarelos - Arambatzis, Skoumbros... subs not used: Karakasilis, Agnastopoulos
-----Reserves:
West Adelaide's Reserve side started their match against Port Pirates with all guns blazing after their defeat last game to Salisbury. Jono Mountzouris fired West into the lead with a thunderbolt into the roof of the net after ten minutes. It was a deserved lead as West came out of the blocks fired up by the words of Coach Tory Caputo. A couple of half chances proceeded for both sides for the remainder of the half with West good value for their lead.
The second half started evenly with both sides enjoying good spells but as the half drew on the Port Pirates side seemed to gain control and put the West side under continuous pressure with Josh Kolesnikowicz standing firm in the West goal.
With the pressure mounting and time running out, West defender Patrick Miranda was adjudged to have brought down the Port's forward in the box but from view of many (including me) the foul seemed to be committed outside of the area but with the consistently poor decisions of the officials throughout the day, the ref pointed to the spot.
Port converted and then piled on the pressure with West succumbing to late strikes to finish the match with a 3-1 defeat.
"We havent had much luck this season, it seems every mistake or poor decision that goes against us is costing us goals. We need to work hard an hopefully our luck changes." Said Captain Phil Spyrou.
Final Score: Pirates 3 v West Adelaide 1 (Mountzouris)
-----Under 19's:
West Adelaide's Under 19's unbeaten season remains intact after a nervy end to end match. The scoreline of 5-3 reflects that perhaps both teams' defences were not at their best. Yet from a fans perspective it was goals goals and more goals.
West started brightly with some early chances but they failed to find the target. Subsequently Port scored the first goal when West failed to deal with a corner and Pirate forward smashed home from close range. West responded when young striker Anthony Trimboli raced through onto a pass from Matty Bouzalas to round the keeper and equalize. West quickly got their second with a towering header by Scott Leonard after a well taken free kick form Bouzalas. But Port levelled after another defensive lapse making the score 2-2 at the break.
The second half started with Port being awarded a very dubious penalty against West skipper Chris Vounasis... The Port forward went down in a heap as if shot by a sniper. The dive (3.3 in difficulty) was rewarded with a penalty by referee Mr Magoo (For all the youngsters... google).
Anthony Barbon then expertly saved the penalty and his save acted as inspiration as West midfielder Leonard strolled through the defence after a neat exchange with Bouzalas to make the score 3-2 in West's favour. But the jubilation was short lived as Pirates hit back quickly after sloppy defending again to make it 3-3.
With the game heading toward a draw, Coach Pappas threw on super sub Peter Bouzalas who was instrumental in West's final two goals. Abdul Munu who was making his first start of the season after being promoted from the juniors rewarded his coach's faith with a well taken 4th goal. Then Peter Bouzalas scored his third goal in 3 games to secure the victory.
When asked about the performance after the match, Coach Pappas said "We will take this win, even though the performance was not our best... an ugly win is still a win."