Northern Tigers 0 Sydney United 1
Turns out, all you need is a little context, and a football game that would normally mean absolutely nothing to you turns into an exciting contest that has you gripped until the end. That’s the key ingredient that neutral fans must take into the Australia Cup round of 32, and Wednesday night’s all-NSW NPL clash between Northern Tigers and Sydney United at the eighth wonder of the world was a game that certainly needed an introduction.
Northern Tigers were at home tonight, their exposed stadium in suburban North Turramurra not deemed suitable for the country’s premier football competition, but the return to their roots was the next best thing. The club was born from Balmain Tigers when the NPL licence was acquired by the Ku-ring-gai football association, and the badge boasts exactly the same tiger logo to prove that bond; Leichhardt Oval would be a return home of sorts. The club sits atop the Football NSW League One, gunning for promotion to join their opponents Sydney United in the top tier. The club formerly known as Sydney Croatia, with an Australia Cup pedigree that saw them pack out Commbank Stadium in Parramatta only three years ago as they fell at the final hurdle against Macarthur FC, have a strong following of passionate fans; it would be a strange occasion not to have some noise from their supporters here.
The teams met only two weeks earlier in the final of the Waratah Cup, a strange phenomenon that sees the four semi-finalists of that competition qualify for the Australia Cup latter stages, with the risk that they’ll play each other again. That game, at the home of Football NSW at Valentine Park, ended 1-0 to Sydney United, a one-sided affair that didn’t earn the scoreline it deserved. So, armed with this context, arriving at the stadium would give a real sense of occasion. Watching Sydney FC women’s coach Ante Juric overseeing Sydney United in the warm up, his team boasting familiar A-League names Vedran Janjetovic, Adrian Vlastelica and Liam McGing, gave the correct impression that the visitors would be the stronger side, but with Lothar Mattheus lookalike Lachlan Lloyd and the almighty long-throw of striker Kai Denton in the opposition team, the game would not be a foregone conclusion.
The neutral was going for the cupset, the lower-league Northern Tigers to go against form and sprinkle some of the fabled magic of the cup, the football scholar or the betting man was going for a Sydney United victory. So, what did we get?
An increasingly chilly Leichhardt Oval drew a crowd of at least 500, with a bank of United fans by the Mary Street main entrance and a group of kids with a drum at the Northern end. The PA announcements were made over the top of a rap beat that made it sound like the announcer was the star of the song – it was impossible to hear the words. When that died down, with maybe six or seven minutes to kick off, the stadium was incredibly quiet. That was until the teams emerged, and we had an atmosphere, the players lining up facing away from the majority of the fans, but in view of the camera position, to go through the pre-game handshakes.
United were, as expected, the stronger out of the blocks, but the Tigers held their own. Carlos De Oliveria was lively for the away team and Mason Wells smashed a stinging shot just over the bar. A slippery surface provided Denton with a great chance in front of goal for Northern Tigers, but his shot was high and handsome. The game was definitely not a classic, but was finely poised, and it looked as though we’d have a goalless first half before the deadlock was broken right on half-time. A smart save by Bodie Denton, getting down low to turn a fierce shot around the post, led to a corner, and when the ball was swung in dangerously, all it needed was a touch from Luke Zuvela right in front to steer the ball home for 1-0. The match winner from the Waratah Cup scoring again.
A goal behind, the Tigers had to relax the reins a little to try and get back on parity, and they made a real go of it in the second half. The United fans were the first to give us a chant, the Tigers kids giving some noise back in riposte, and there was plenty of barracking from the United contingent when they felt the ball had crossed the line right in front of them. The next time a ball went close to going out, a group of Tigers fans next to them started hollering for a throw-in, good-natured banter from the home team’s faithful. De Oliveria thumped a shot just over, but it was Tigers who had the best chances, one very good opportunity falling to Jesse Spang on the run, but Janjetovic made the save at the near post. There was uproar as the former Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper fielded a ball very close to the edge of the area, the Tigers bench screaming for handball, but the local referee was right on the spot.
There seemed to be a lack of urgency from the Tigers; we might have expected an all-out attack from a bombardment of long-throws in the final moments of the game, perhaps even a goalkeeper in the opposition penalty area, but there was none of that and the final whistle brought cheers from the Croatia corner and resigned applause from the rest of the stadium. The United players seemed a little uneasy to be around the flares that mysteriously appeared on the field around them – the security guards had assembled all of the sand buckets in the right area and had the glowing embers extinguished quickly. It was a beautiful sight, the Sydney United fans chanting and applauding through the thick orange smoke. A romantic vision of a country where football is the number one team sport. Sydney was alive with the sounds and smells of football, the crowd had enjoyed a close game with chances for both teams, and in the end, the right team won.
This was the beginning of the Australia Cup proper. We didn’t have the A-League vs NPL edge that next week’s two games can boast, but with a little homework, we had a football match that entertained and did this magnificent competition proud in front of the TV cameras at a marvellous suburban stadium. Can you resist the magic of the cup? It’s time to give in and join this midweek football mania. SD Raiders v Macarthur FC? APIA Leichhardt v Melbourne City? Ready to see an upset win? See you there…