Super League Round 21 Review

Bonnyrigg wrapped up the Premiership with a 0-0 draw at third-placed Liverpool, Parramatta secured second place on the ladder following a tight 2-1 home win over Fraser Park, and Fairfield collected the wooden spoon via consecutive losses to St George (0-1 midweek) and Sydney Uni (2-4). Mount Druitt avoided a last round scrap with the Lions by upsetting St George 3-2.
A 1-1 draw between Northern Tigers and Rockdale, and Granville beating Central Coast 2-1, has made sure a mid-table quagmire will keep the interest going into the last weekend of regular season football. Five teams ? Rockdale (28), Northern Tigers (26), Central Coast (26), St George (25) and Fraser Park (24), the latter three with midweek catch-up games to play ? are still in the running for the fifth and final playoff spot.
Rangers upset Saints
Mount Druitt Town Rangers are storming home in the NSW Super League. The Rangers avoided a final round catfight with Fairfield at the bottom of the table with a stirring 3-2 win over St George Saints at Belmore Sportsground on Saturday night. It was Mount Druitt?s second successive Super League victory over the Saints and lifted them to a respectable 21 points on the ladder on the back of five wins and six draws for the season.
St George will be disappointed with the loss but they remain in the race for the finals thanks to a gritty 1-0 midweek win at Fraser Park. The Saints will also be looking at Mount Druitt as a bogey team to watch out for in the future as it was their second loss in a row at home to the Rangers. The visitors started brightly when Michael Haberman opened their account on three minutes, his goal taking him to six for the season.
Goals to Paul Marosevic (Rangers) and Kurt Crnic (Saints) in the 32nd minute made the score 2-1 at halftime before a 50th minute penalty converted by St George?s Goran Popovski leveled up the match. With both sides looking for a way past, it was left to Tayfun Buyokkopru to score his first goal of the season inside the final five minutes to give Mount Druitt a hard-fought win.
The Rangers moved seven points clear of the bottom following their win, and they will look to end the season on a high night when they welcome finals hopefuls Northern Tigers this weekend. The Saints, three points behind fifth-placed Rockdale, travel to the Central Coast midweek before facing top-four side Granville at Garside Park in their final round game on Sunday.
St George Saints 2 (Kurt Crnic 32m Goran Popovski 50m penalty) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3 (Michael Haberman 3m Paul Marosevic 32m Tayfun Buyukkopru 86m)
Granville bring down Coast
Granville Rage turned the tables on Central Coast Lightning in a pulsating 2-1 win at Garside Park on Saturday night. Central Coast could have pushed their way into the top-five with a positive result at home, instead they will have to claim points from their two games inside the next week, and rely on other results, to take fifth place. Granville, on the other hand, have cemented fourth spot to bag a guaranteed finals berth.
It was a double win to Granville over the Coast in 2008 and they had their home fans cheering early on Saturday night when Nenos Bobo scored in the 26th minute. Lightning forward Neil Woodcock returned fire with a 57th minute equaliser, his sixth goal of the season, but Bobo had the last laugh when he netted a second goal inside a minute of the restart to put the Rage back in front 2-1. The score remained unchanged to the fulltime whistle.
Bobo?s brace took him to nine goals for the year, which gives him a rough shot of overtaking Liverpool?s Alex Canak (14) and Parramatta?s Andy Amegashie (10) for the Golden Boot award in this weekend?s final round action. Canak does have the upper hand with Bossy playing an extra game midweek, but both Bobo and Amegashie have proven to be multiple goal scorers this season.
Central Coast Lightning 1 (Neil Woodcock 57m) Granville Rage 2 (Nenos Bobo 26/58m)
Top-three stalemate
Bossy Liverpool drew with Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0-0 at Ernie Smith Reserve on Sunday afternoon. Chances fell to both sides, but neither team could make the most of their opportunities. The stalemate stretched Bonnyrigg?s unbeaten Super League dominance of their cross-town rivals to six unbeaten runs, with Liverpool managing to score just one goal in all of those clashes. Two scoreless draws have been Bossy?s best results.
The shared points helped Bonnyrigg skip four points clear of second-placed Parramatta ahead of this Sunday?s final round clash against Central Coast. Liverpool are six points behind Parramatta and five points in front of Granville with two final-week matches to play, both against finals aspirants Fraser Park. It?s been a fantastic turn-around for Bossy, who finished in the bottom three of Super League last season.
Bossy Liverpool 0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
Parramatta pip Fraser Park
A 2-1 win to Parramatta Eagles over Fraser Park at Melita Stadium on Sunday afternoon has far-reaching implications. Firstly, the victory assured Parramatta would finish second behind Bonnyrigg and in front of Liverpool. For Fraser Park, however, their finals dreams hang on a tenterhook after coach Alex Augusto handed in his resignation ahead of two important games in the final week.
After a 0-1 midweek loss to St George, Fraser Park did well in a scoreless first half against Parramatta before goals to Fred Graham and George Lagoudakis booted the Eagles to a 2-0 lead. Alvaro Malmierca scored a consolation goal for Fraser Park in the 88th minute but, to make the finals, Fraser Park must now win both of their remaining clashes against Liverpool and hope Rockdale, Northern Tigers, Central Coast and St George lose theirs.
After turning the fortunes of Fraser Park around from last season, Augusto said his vision for the future differed greatly from that of club officials. ?I want different things to what the club wants. They see surviving in Super League as good enough but, for me, it is not good enough. The players are a top-five team,? he said. ?If something comes through, I have no problems at doing the job at any level. At the moment I need a rest.?
Parramatta Eagles 2 (Fred Graham 54m George Lagoudakis 68m) Fraser Park 1 (Alvaro Malmierca 88m)
Rescheduled Round 18 game: Fraser Park 0 St George Saints 1
Tigers, Suns draw
A 1-1 draw between Northern Tigers and Rockdale City Suns at Mills Park on Sunday afternoon didn?t help the cause of either side, but the point could prove vital. With fifth spot up for grabs, Rockdale?s Peter Apolevski put the visitors in front on 21-minutes ? his seventh goal of the season. But the Tigers showed their experience when Stephen Chipps equalised inside the final 10 minutes to share the points.
Rockdale (on 28 points) hangs grimly onto fifth position, with a final round match-up with a confident Uni side at Ilinden this Sunday. The Suns lead the Tigers ? who tackle Mount Druitt away this weekend ? by two points, while Central Coast (26), St George (25) and Fraser Park (24) are all still in the playoff mix with two games still to play this week. The closeness will ensure it will be an explosive round 22.
Northern Tigers 1 (Stephen Chipps 81m) Rockdale City Suns 1 (Peter Apolevski 21m)
Uni trounce Fairfield
Sydney University made it three wins on the trot and compounded the wooden-spoon misery of Fairfield City Lions with a crushing 4-2 win at Uni Oval on Sunday afternoon. The loss continued a dour season for Fairfield, who have managed to bank just three wins from 21 outings. A league-low 24 goals for and a woeful defensive record of 56 goals conceded, the worst by 17 goals, only underlines the Lions? problems.
Uni looked gone when they lost coach Bruce Tilt midway through the season, but a string of great results has assured their Super League place for next season. It was Uni?s seventh win of the year and they can dent Rockdale?s tilt at the finals in their last game at Ilinden Sports Centre this Sunday. The Suns will not be taking the game lightly.
It was a terrible start for Fairfield at Uni Oval and they conceded an own goal to gift ?the students? a 1-0 lead after just two minutes. A J Coutinho goal made it 2-0 on 17-minutes and Uni were looking comfortable. But a piece of Metik Ozturk magic on 21-minutes handed the Lions a lifeline, with a Mohammed Baghdadi strike on the half-hour bringing the scores level again.
At 2-2, the second half was mesmerising at times, before a double-strike from Uni forward James Hardy inside the final 20 minutes ? his fifth and sixth of the season ? gave the home side a 4-2 match-winning advantage. Fairfield tried hard to bridge the gap in the closing minutes, but the fulltime whistle signaled the end of their challenging run in Super League.
Sydney University 4 (own goal 2m J Coutinho 17m James Hardy 73/75m) Fairfield City Lions 2 (Metik Ozturk 21m Mohammed Baghdadi 30m)
Next week?s games
With the first four finals positions all wrapped up, and Fairfield securing the wooden spoon for 2008, attention now turns to the all-out brawl for fifth spot. Rockdale (28), Northern Tigers (26), Central Coast (26), St George (25) and Fraser Park (24) are all in the running, the latter three with catch-up games still to play. St George visit the Central Coast and Liverpool welcomes Fraser Park midweek, with all round 22 games to be played on Sunday. Minor premiers Bonnyrigg take on Central Coast at home, Fraser Park hosts Liverpool, Granville play St George at Garside Park, Fairfield tackle Parramatta at Norford Park, Northern Tigers travel to Mount Druitt, while Uni are at Rockdale for the final game.
Round 21 results
Central Coast Lightning 1 (Neil Woodcock 57m) Granville Rage 2 (Nenos Bobo 26/58m)
St George Saints 2 (Kurt Crnic 32m Goran Popovski 50m penalty) Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3 (Michael Haberman 3m Paul Marosevic 32m Tayfun Buyukkopru 86m)
PCYC Parramatta Eagles 2 (Fred Graham 54m George Lagoudakis 68m) Fraser Park 1 (Alvaro Malmierca 88m)
Bossy Liverpool 0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
Northern Tigers 1 (Stephen Chipps 81m) Rockdale City Suns 1 (Peter Apolevski 21m)
Sydney University 4 (own goal 2m J Coutinho 17m James Hardy 73/75m) Fairfield City Lions 2 (Metik Ozturk 21m Mohammed Baghdadi 30m)
Rescheduled Round 18 game: Fraser Park 0 St George Saints 1
-By Daniel De Nardi