By Takis Triadafillou
The final of the Over-45 Football Championship in NSW took place at Poulton Park at 7 pm on Friday, August 23, between Hurstville City Minotaurs and San Souci.
The spirit of Peter (The General) Sarikakis’ players was evident on the field. Although they played with only ten players due to the dismissal of their key defender, Nikos Plataniotis, they were undeterred and gave everything to win the Over-45 Championship. This was the tenth consecutive Championship win for the team.
The popular Greek team proved they were not ready to relinquish their status as the top team in the St. George area just yet.
The Minotaurs opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a powerful goal from Manuel Sarikakis, who had returned from a holiday on the Greek islands just a week prior. After a 20-minute stoppage, he entered the box, bypassed a defender, and unleashed a rocket that no one could stop.
The Minotaurs’ supporters celebrated, boasting about their right to victory against the strong San Souci supporters. Near the 20th minute, while the game was quite balanced, the referee dropped a bombshell that threatened to overturn the match by issuing a “controversial” second yellow card to the popular Plataniotis.
All the Minotaurs players protested this decision, leading to Kerry Agiasotis also receiving a 10-minute suspension. With the Minotaurs losing both of their midfielders, it was time for The General to take control and lead a team of just nine players against a strong San Souci side with 11 players. They managed to keep San Souci scoreless during the 10 minutes they played with two fewer players.
When Agiasotis returned to the field, The General reorganised the team. In the 38th minute, with the Minotaurs having a corner kick and after a scuffle by Peter Andriotis for a high ball, the ball reached Malcolm Bidau, who struck it beautifully to make the score 0-2 in favour of the Minotaurs, sending shockwaves through the large San Souci stand, which could not believe what was happening to their team.
The Minotaurs’ coach once again worked his magic, and even with one player less, his team began to control the game.
The halftime break came with the Minotaurs dominating the game and leading 0-2. During the break, The General had to instil confidence in his players, convincing them that they were on the verge of making history by winning the 10th cup in the last 10 years, even with just 10 players.
Of course, the score could have been 0-3 in the 80th minute when Andriotis received the ball five meters in front of the goal and was alone with only the goalkeeper to beat, but he missed the easy chance to score.
At the end of the 90 minutes, San Souci succumbed to the superiority of the Mighty Minotaurs, who celebrated by singing their team song and the Greek National Anthem later at the Bexley Gyro Shop, where The General took his players to celebrate the conquest of their 10th consecutive cup.
When The General was asked which of his players performed the best, he replied: “All my boys played like heroes!”
He reminded everyone that “this victory was dedicated to the memory of the player and friend, Nikos Andreou, who passed away last year at the age of 47 from a heart attack after returning from his tour in Crete.”
Coach: The General
Team: Dragan Pupovac, Ali Jaafar, Robbie Hooker, Malcolm Bidau, Sam Panagakis, Kerry Agiasotis, Nick Plataniotis, Manolis Pitsourdakis, Ahmad Al Sudani, Manuel Sarikakis, Peter Andriotis, Aris Coloveros, Tom Pontidas, Modar Sultan, John Cosentino, Steve Lourbeas, Spiro Kladis, Gojko Sekutkoski, Chris Christopoulos, and George Karavatakis.
