 Lions
inch closer to Foxtel Cup top six
Monday
12 May
2008
(Dave Kristy) - Preston
Lions have inched closer to a coveted spot in the Foxtel
Cup’s top-six following a tense 1-0 victory over Fawkner
Blues at CB Smith Reserve.
Lions captain Tony Sterjovski scored from the penalty spot
in the 56th minute to snare his fifth goal of the season
and hand his side a valuable three points, in what has so
far proven to be a disappointing season.
The reigning champions went into the match as clear
favourites, but it was the home side that looked the
livelier of the two early on creating the more meaningful
chances.
Joseph Youssef, Christopher Greechan and Christopher
Camilleri all flashed shots wide of the post inside the
first quarter hour, before Camilleri brought the home
crowd to its feet, turning a defender and shooting with
conviction, only to see his shot deflected over the bar by
the Lions’ Victor Pititto.
Perhaps surprisingly, Preston found itself camped in its
own half for much of the opening 20 minutes, failing to
create any clear-cut chances.
The Lions came close soon after though, with John
Sapazovski’s header forcing Pasi Schwalger to punch the
ball clear of a gathering pack.
The match might have taken an interesting turn in the 22nd
minute after the Lions’ Michael Miskas and Fawkner’s Boris
Masic were involved in an altercation behind the play.
The linesman flagged the match official to attention, but
both players eventually escaped the incident with only a
caution.
Fawkner resumed its attack once play was restarted.
Youssef took possession on the edge of the Preston penalty
area but while his shot beat the flailing legs of the
Lions defenders and ‘keeper Lupce Acevski, it crashed
agonisingly into the upright, denying the Blues a deserved
lead.
Acevski was forced to leave the ground in the 42nd minute
with a serious leg injury, and he was replaced by reserve
‘keeper Aleksandar Stojanovski, who would later leave his
own mark on the game.
The contest was given some much-needed spark in the 55th
minute after Zia Younan went to ground in his own penalty
area while jostling for possession with Sterjovski.
The referee deemed his challenge worthy of a caution, and
awarded the Preston midfielder a somewhat fortunate
penalty, which he converted with assurance.
Preston should have put the result beyond doubt in the
76th minute after Bale Mickovski latched onto a cross from
Nicholas Schwal, but he flashed a tame header into the
waiting arms of Schwalger, leaving the home side with a
glimmer of hope.
That glimmer ignited just two minutes later when
Stojanovski charged out of his own area in a desperate
attempt to close down the onrushing Youssef.
The ‘keeper made contact with the striker just outside the
box, bringing him crashing to the turf and leaving the
referee with little choice but to issue a red card.
Fawkner substitute Fikret Husanovic then unleashed a
wonderful curling free kick that bent over the wall and
looked to have beaten Miskas at the far post, but the
stand-in ‘keeper pulled off a spectacular diving save to
stun the enthusiastic support.
The two teams then traded blows for the remainder of the
match, treating the crowd to a nail-biting finish.
Photo by
Daniel Flis - DVF Images
Fawkner Blues
0
Preston Lions
FC
1
Crowd: 700 (unofficial) at
CB Smith Reserve |
