A second-half strike from Alec Urosevski, helped Rockdale Ilinden maintain their perfect start to the 2021 season with a 1-0 win at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday in the National Premier Leagues NSW competition.
It was a hard-fought win in front of a vocal home crowd as they held out Olympic for all three points.
However, the win was soured by a freakish injury to Daniel Araujo, who was taken from the field by an ambulance which delayed the game by more than an hour.
Both sides received free kicks in the opening 10 minutes but neither could hit the back of the net, until Rockdale Ilinden took the lead in the 59th minute when a corner beat an outstretched Luke Kairies.
They came close again in the 72nd minute but a diving Kairies stopped the ball just outside the box.
Coach Juric said luck hadn’t been on their side in the first two matches.
“It’s disappointing to lose by one goal, but it’s early days in the season,” he said.
“If we play like we did today in the rest of the games, we’ll be okay.
“Today was a tough game and on show were two of the best teams from last year, but we were well in the game.
“We have not been scoring in our first two games because of a bit of bad luck; it is what it is, but we have hit a few posts here and there, and maybe our luck will change if we keep working hard.”
