State League Two Round 12 Review
It was part of a remarkable round 12 of results that also saw last year?s title winners Wanderers inflict another loss on Hurstville, 2-0, Gazy beat Prospect 2-0, Hawkesbury defeat Bathurst 2-0 and Hakoah and Belmore draw 3-3.
With Luddenham and Roosters snuggling up at the top of the leaderboard, the battle beneath them is something to behold. Hurstville and Wanderers share third spot, but they are a mere four points ahead of Bathurst, who are third from the bottom. It goes to show how tight the competition is and why getting points from any games is vital to every team?s finals chances ? victories even more so.
Individually, a weekend double to Wanderers striker Elias Navarrete drew him level with a stack of players who have bagged six goals for the year, Luddenham?s Michael Wood, Bathurst?s Jarred Portegies, Hurstville weapon Michael Di Meglio and Lansvale?s Michael Amed all still one strike behind current chart-topper, Roosters skipper Ercan Topal (7).
Minotaurs forward Emmanuel Papageorgiou, Prospect?s Paul Curjak, Bathurst?s James Christie, Fairfield duo Khaled Elkerhani and Nirian Kanoun, Lansvale?s Huso Merdanovic, Hawkesbury?s Kelston George and Hakoah?s Josh Morgenstern have now claimed five goals each.
Hawkesbury down Bathurst
Hawkesbury City have kept their golden run alive with a stirring 2-0 win over a wayward Bathurst ?75 at Bensons Lane Field on Saturday evening. Coming off a midweek 1-1 catch-up draw with Belmore, Hawkesbury shook off the early-game nerves to press ahead of Bathurst in the first half and eventually break through via an attacking onslaught leading up to halftime. First Brad Holst unleashed a left-foot thunderbolt that smashed against the post to settle nicely at the feet of Edwin George, whose first attempt was met by a better save from the Bathurst keeper, but George?s follow-up found the target for a 1-0 lead.
Hawkesbury rode their luck in the second term as first Robert Carle found the back of the net following a wicked deflection to establish a 2-0 advantage for City two minutes after the restart, and they can thank the heavens as raid after Bathurst raid ended in futility. The visitors knew it just wasn?t going to be their day when Hawkesbury goalie Matt Garrow pulled off a remarkable save near the end of the match to secure the home side?s first clean sheet of the season.
Hawkesbury coach Gary Lewis was glad to hear that fulltime whistle sound. ?We hung in there, and missed a couple of open goals, but then [Bathurst coach] Mark [Rooke] will tell you that they had enough chances to win the game in the second half. That?s the way football is,? he said. ?We were a bit rusty to start but then we started to come together.?
?It was a bit tough for us when we lost both our captain Gavin Hartge and [goalscorer] Robbie Carle; they have really held that midfield together and have been very good for us. We ran out of legs in the last 20 minutes, fortunately for us Bathurst shot like grease; they couldn?t hit anything.?
Bathurst coach Mark Rooke had mixed emotions after the match. ?We missed five chances inside the six-yard box and didn?t take one of them. It was a disappointing night in front of goals really,? he said. ?But we played some very good football again ? everything but the end product. I am pleased with the way they?re playing, but we are letting games slip away that we should be taking points out of. This week is crunch time for us against Gazy.?
Hawkesbury City 2 (Edwin George 42m Robert Carle 47m) Bathurst ?75 0
Grade 20: Hawkesbury City 2 Bathurst ?75 0
Wanderers pen Minotaurs
Last year?s champs Fairfield Wanderers inflicted further injury on a wounded Hurstville City Minotaurs with a 2-0 win at Belmore Sports Ground on Saturday evening. The win allowed Wanderers to draw level on the points table with Hurstville in equal third position; the Minotaurs now losing three games on the trot and looking shaky to say the least.
The visitors started briskly and a sweeping series of passes saw the ball drift into the path of a superb run from captain Rodrigo Brito on the half-hour mark, but his strike was parried by the Hurstville goalkeeper onto the feet of Elias Navarrete who made no mistake with the follow-up.
The Minotaurs came out stronger in the second half before a snappy piece of goalkeeping from Wanderers custodian Rodrigo Galiano saw him collect a Hurstville corner and dispatch it downfield onto a golden run from Navarrete, who rounded two defenders and blasted into the top corner of the goal from inside the box to set up a 2-0 match-winning lead with 10 minutes to go. It was the sharpshooter?s sixth goal of the year.
Wanderers coach Walter Alvarez was very happy with the result. ?I thought it was a very important game for us; not just because of the good sporting rivalry between the two teams but also because we stay in touch with the top five. Hurstville came back in the second half and looked more confident, but I thought we controlled the game well.?
Hurstville coach Peter Sarikakis said his team?s sufferings were a mental thing. ?When not everyone puts in the effort in that?s what happens,? he said. ?I will change a few things this week but, really, the players will have to lift their attitude. I have a few new boys in who will need a bit more match practice under their belt. We?re definitely not a competition heavyweight any more. It?s the attitude, it?s just wrong at the moment.?
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Elias Navarrete 26/79m)
Grade 20: Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Fairfield Wanderers 1
Luddenham deflect past Springwood
In an entertaining affair it was left to an unfortunate own goal to separate Luddenham United from Springwood United at Summerhayes Park on Saturday night. Both sides had plenty of chances to score more, Luddenham defending heroically and clearing several Springwood chances off the line, while the visitors also enjoyed strong of possession that amounted to little more than goalkicks for the opposition. As it was, a scintillating Casey Johnson run from halfway ended in his drive toward goal being deflected into the net for the game?s only goal in the 17th minute.
Luddenham coach Andrew Montgomery knew his team had been lucky, but there were also chances to finish the game off that went begging. ?Having said that, Springwood had chances to get back in it and caught us out a couple of times; it could have been 4-4 in the end,? he said. ?But who would?ve thought [Luddenham challenging for the top spot]. The hard work now is staying near the top of the table.?
Springwood coach Errol Warwick-Day remained upbeat despite copping just the second own goal recorded in the league this year, the Roosters benefitting from a slice of luck in the second round to defeat Hakoah 2-1. ?It was a very entertaining game to watch; a good game of football. What can you say about it?? he remarked. ?We played a very good game of football; the quality is there, it?s about getting the results; these things happen.?
Springwood United 0 Luddenham United 1 (own goal 17m)
Grade 20: Springwood United 1 Luddenham United 0
Belmore, Hakoah in six-goal draw
There were six goals but no winner in a 3-3 draw between Hakoah and Belmore Hercules at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday afternoon. Chimaobi Nwaogazi got the ball rolling with a ninth minute strike to make it 1-0 to Belmore before Eli Port returned fire for Hakoah 10 minutes later to level the scores. Pat Darvill then put the home side in front with a well take chance in the 38th minute, only for George Iliopoulos to equalise for Hercules on the stroke of halftime.
Neither side let up in the second half and further goals beckoned, Hakoah returning to the lead on the hour mark via an Andrew Kanchik goal (the defender?s first this year), and they looked headed towards a confident victory with the end line in sight. But Belmore?s brilliant new signing Nwaogazi stepped up in the final minute to boot in a last-gasp equaliser, the scoreline settled at 3-3. The African-born striker has now collected a brace in two of the three games he has played for Hercules.
Belmore coach Ernesto Meduri said the goal-fest might have been spectacular for fans, it wasn?t the ending he would have preferred. ?Really, with all the goals, my keeper did not touch much of the ball, and football is like that,? he said. ?It is a little bit of bad luck for us this year and I think Hakoah might have been a bit lucky with their goals.?
With eight goals in two games, no wonder Hakoah coach Paul Watkins still felt quite good. ?We played fairly well and got what I thought was a fair result. To concede a goal from the last kick of the match is a little disappointing,? he said. ?We?re still struggling for a bit of consistency with the players; it?s going to be a different team again next week, but we?ll take points any way they come at the moment. If you had offered me a draw at the start of the match I would have taken it.?
Hakoah 3 (Eli Port 19m Pat Darvill 38m Andrew Kanchik 58m) Belmore Hercules 3 (Chimaobi Nwaogazi 9/89m George Iliopoulos 44m)
Grade 20: Hakoah 0 Belmore Hercules 5
Gazy outshine Prospect
Gazy Lansvale put in a workmen-like performance to defeat an in-form Prospect United 2-0 at Cherrybrook Park on Sunday afternoon. It was Gazy?s third win from four matches and exorcised the defensive demons from a 0-5 loss to Hakoah in their last run, while Prospect were perhaps a little loose from a two-week playing break die to the recent wet weather.
Lansvale were up for it from the start and striker Huso Merdanovic proved more than a handful early and it wasn?t surprising to see him illegally brought down inside the box. But despite five goals under his belt this season, Merdanovic?s own penalty conversion attempt was well saved by the Prospect keeper, diving low to his right, and the score remained 0-0 at halftime.
The game ebbed and flowed and United went close on more than one occasion. However, it was a moment of brilliance from Merdanovic to open the scoring when he curled ball a deft strike from the left hand edge of the penalty box inside the top right hand corner of the goal midway through the second half. The fiery forward was at it again near fulltime and Merdanovic?s diagonal run, cut infield and cross to new signing Trevan Spiteri was met with due respect from inside the six-yard box to make it 2-0.
Gazy coach Phil Pavela said it was a good win from a good game. ?It was end to end stuff. Our defence played really well and managed to keep them at bay. If we can defend like that, I?m always confident we?ll get the goals we need to win games. But it just depends on which team wants to turn up on the day [following the Hakoah horror].?
The loss did take Prospect coach Tony Caruso off guard. ?It was surprising considering how well I thought we had been going [one loss in nine games]; the boys played extremely well and had a number of chances to score. But it?s a fine line between taking chances and the result is us 2-0 down,? he said. ?Gazy are not a bad outfit; they kept us at bay. We were a little bit rusty [from the twp-week break], but overall I?m still happy with the way we played. Still, to lose the points after the good run we?ve had is a little of disappointing.?
Gazy Lansvale 2 (Huso Merdanovic 75m Trevan Spiteri 87m) Prospect United 0
Grade 20: Gazy Lansvale 5 Prospect United 1
Bulls buck Roosters
Fairfield Bulls turned on a dynamic display to knock Roosters from the top of their perch following an epic ? and long ? 3-2 victory at Lidcombe Oval on Sunday afternoon. The win drew Fairfield to within two points of a possible top-five place and dished out the Roosters? second loss of the year. The drama started early when Bulls striker Khaled Elkerhani was chopped down inside the box with just 10 minutes gone in the match, and Nirian Kanoun stepped up to slot the spot kick into the bottom right hand corner for a 1-0 halftime lead to the visitors.
With Fairfield staring d?j? vu in the face yet again, leading at the break, Bulls coach Michael Mamoo spoke to his players about going on with the job and it was ironically from a Roosters attack that Kanoun broke free again and beat the keeper at the other end to make it 2-0 on the hour-mark and notch up his fifth goal of the campaign. The Roosters did come back into the game and an unusually struck floater from Eren Kirkpinar from a long way out brought the score back to 2-1 with 25 minutes still to play.
Enter Sargon Georges, whose 25-yard missile with 10 minutes remaining brought a gasp out of everyone watching. But the drama wasn?t over. With the game heading into a long injury time period, the Roosters pulled a goal back again with John Kelly capitalising on an awkward goalmouth scramble, but it was to prove too little too late and the referee blew for fulltime with Fairfield in front 3-2.
Mamoo was looking for a show of strength from his players and he was very impressed with what he got. ?The boys showed an unbelievable amount of character, which is what I was looking after losing last week to Luddenham,? he said. ?We?re definitely a top team, the boys just have to keep believing in themselves. Everybody worked hard today, and I was thrilled for them, but next week will be just as tough [Springwood on Saturday, Hurstville on Sunday], especially with three players missing from this week?s game [following five yellow cards].?
Roosters FC 2 (Eren Kirkpinar 74m John Kelly 85m) Fairfield Bulls 3 (Nirian Kanoun 7m pen/63m Sargon Georges 79m)
Grade 20: Roosters FC 1 Fairfield Bulls 3
Round 12 results
First grade
Hawkesbury City 2 (Edwin George 42m R Carle 47m) Bathurst ?75 0
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Cristian Navarrete 26/79m)
Springwood United 0 Luddenham United 1 (own goal 17m)
Gazy Lansvale 2 (Huso Merdanovic 75m Trevan Spiteri 87m) Prospect United 0
Roosters FC 2 (Eren Kirkpinar 74m John Kelly 85m) Fairfield Bulls 3 (Nirian Kanoun 7m pen/63m Sargon Georges 79m)
Hakoah 3 (Eli Port 19m Pat Darvill 38m Andrew Kanchik 58m) Belmore Hercules 3 (Chimaobi Nwaogazi 9/89m George Iliopoulos 44m)
Rescheduled game: Round 10: Belmore Hercules 1 (Darrel Fernandes 44m) Hawkesbury City 1 (Kelston George 18m). Grade 20: Belmore Hercules 2 Hawkesbury City 1
Grade 20
Hawkesbury City 2 Bathurst ?75 0
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Fairfield Wanderers 1
Springwood United 1 Luddenham United 0
Gazy Lansvale 5 Prospect United 1
Roosters FC 1 Fairfield Bulls 3
Hakoah 0 Belmore Hercules 5
Next week?s games
Round 13 of division two State League starts with Prospect hosting Hakoah at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening (5pm kick-off) and Gazy Lansvale travelling to Bathurst at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night (7pm). On Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-offs), Belmore welcomes Springwood to Blick Oval, Roosters play United at Luddenham Oval, while at Knight Park, Wanderers meet Hawkesbury and Fairfield Bulls tackle Hurstville.
-By Daniel De Nardi
