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Mooroolbark 4 - 0 Dandenong Sparrows
The winter sun shone on Esther park yesterday as 6th-placed Barkers had their first-ever encounter with Dandenong Sparrows, lying 3rd. An entertaining game was in prospect, with 2 of the division’s top 3 scorers (Ithier and B.Adams) on show. Barkers made 2 changes from the side that lost 2-3 in the Old Melburnians swamp, with Cauteruccio and Hardcastle replacing Andrew Findlay and Coe. On the bench, Haidar was poised for his senior debut, while T.Adams, returning from Monbulk, would make his first Barkers appearance for 4 years.
Ithier soon started pulling the strings in midfield for Sparrows, and after 6 minutes he crossed from the right to Navarro, whose shot forced Havercroft to dive to his right and hold well. Early chances for Barkers fell to B.Adams and Christoforou, whose 10th-minute shot warmed Tzimopoulos’s hands in the Sparrows goal. The breakthrough for Barkers in an open game came in the 13th minute, when Doughty crossed from the right, finding B.Adams. He brought the ball down smartly and flashed a shot past Tzimopoulos for 1-0. The visiting keeper made further good saves from Christoforou and B.Adams as Barkers looked like they might take the highly-rated visitors apart.
No further goals came though, and Sparrows began to create danger of their own without really testing Havercroft. Ten minutes before the break, a slick move involving Christoforou, Doughty and B.Adams saw the ball break to Doughty, who hit a screamer against the bar. Then Hardcastle sent in a curling free kick to Doughty, whose glancing header was held by the impressive Tzimopoulos. Barkers had the ball in the net from a Hardcastle cross, but offside was given. Then Hardcastle won a loose ball and cut in from the left, forcing the away keeper to save. Half-time 1-0, with Barkers looking very impressive, but you always got the feeling that 1 goal would not be enough against Sparrows, who up to this point were equal top scorers in the division.
Coe replaced the concussed B.Adams at half-time, and almost scored 5 minutes in when an excellent cross from Dube on the left was slightly too high, with Coe facing an open goal. Then Sparrows had a chance when Ithier put Baheerathan through, but his shot went over. Barkers pressed again, and a left-side cross ran through to Doughty on the right, whose cross found the head of Coe, making no mistake from close range for 2-0.
Sparrows were now forced to chase the game. On the hour, Madhavan turned and shot wide, then Baheerathan was clean through, but the agile Havercroft somehow palmed his shot over the bar. Sparrows then had a number of shots blocked as barkers defence was under siege. However, with 20 minutes to go, a suicidal Sparrows back pass was seized on by Doughty, who rounded the keeper and made it 3-0. Three minutes later, Coe received the ball from Christoforou, and put a snap shot wide. In the last minute, a Sparrows clearance fell to Coe, who went down the right and crossed for Doughty to make it 4-0. In stoppage time, Haidar almost had a perfect debut as he put a looping shot just wide.
This was one off the best Barkers displays in years, as they won convincingly against strong, dangerous opponents. Havercroft kept his first clean sheet, but was kept busy. Other standouts were Doughty and Topali, but this was a terrific team effort, and on this form Barkers would trouble any side in the division. Barkers go up to 5th, while Sparrows drop to 4th. Next week, Barkers visit 9th-placed Old Camberwell Grammar. The division is shaping up to be extremely competitive, with only 6 points separating the top 9 teams.
Line-ups:
Mooroolbark: Robert Havercroft, Mario Cauteruccio, Andrew Cowie, Mergs Topali, Yiannaki Christoforou, Nhlanhla Dube, Mark Findlay, Andrew Linnie, Trent Hardcastle, Brechan Adams, Adam Doughty. Subs used – Keegan Coe, Taury Adams, Talal Haidar.
Dandenong Sparrows: Nathan Tzimopoulos, Jason Castel, Adrian Di Benedetto, Hugo Araujo, Brent Madhavan, Ronald Navarro, Alistair Jennings, Vivian Mondon, Ted Ithier, Kali Alwan, Obed Baheerathan. Subs used – Kevin Petersen, Gerd Leveque.