Dene left disappointed as Sutherland claim all three

After the recent heavy rainfall it appeared Mother Nature did not want there to be any football this weekend.

Following the news Bonnyrigg's fixture against Sydney United and Rockdale's clash with Marconi were to be postponed, all attention turned to Seymour Shaw Park to watch Robbie Stanton's Sutherland Sharks tackle Brian Dene's Parramatta FC.

The first half saw a number of opportunities for both sides, but neither were able to capitalise. One of the few positives to take from the first period was the promising partnership of Almir Dizdaric and Brodie Mooy, which caused a number of problems for Sutherland's backline.

The 300 spectators who braved the elements didn't have to wait long after the interval to see a goal. Matt Bailey scored his fourth goal in four games for Sutherland after a mix up in the Parramatta box. Robbie Stanton was nothing but positive in his appraisal of Bailey.

"[Matt] is just a really good timer with making his runs, and if you watch him, he works really hard off the ball also. He just drifts into these key areas making these little runs and his finishing has been impeccable.

"He isn't getting carried away either. He is just one of those guys who always has an opportunity ever game and has just been taking them. He's happy with his football."

Although this was the only goal of the game, Brian Dene's side had a number of opportunities, mainly resulting from set pieces. Chris Camilleri came agonisingly close a number of times with his dead balls, but could not manage to keep the ball down with the unpredictable winds.

Parramatta FC fans shouldn't be completely disappointed with the result though after seeing starts from new recruits Matthew Osman and Brodie Mooy, coach Dene philosophical on their debuts.

"Signs are good. I wasn't initially going to use them until 30 minutes to go, but we had to make two late changes - club captain Ben Delicata out with a hamstring problem and Kutaiba Elrich joining him on the sidelines.

"We had to bring these two in, and it is not ideal. They've not played full games for probably over 12 months, but signs are promising.

"Two exciting players, and you can see what they do on about 70% (fitness) at the moment. When we get them to 100%, I know we're only going to get better."