State League Two Round 13 Review
Fairfield compounded Hurstville?s woes with a crushing 6-2 win, and Belmore?s 1-0 defeat of Springwood mean the Bulls, Minotaurs and Hercules share fifth place on the ladder, one point n front of Bathurst, who beat Gazy 2-1. Despite their losses, Springwood and Gazy sit just outside the top-five with catch-up games in hand.
Individually, a brace to Fairfield?s Nirian Kanoun and a goal to Bathurst?s Jarred Portegies saw them join Roosters skipper Ercan Topal at the top of the goalscoring charts with seven strikes. They are followed by the six-goal hauls of Luddenham?s Michael Wood, Wanderers striker Elias Navarrete, Hurstville weapon Michael Di Meglio, Lansvale duo Michael Amed and Huso Merdanovic, and Prospect?s Paul Curjak. Incredibly, the league has notched up its 92nd goalscorer, with six new faces appearing on the goalscorers list.
Prospect down Hakoah
Prospect United returned to a top-three position with a well-crafted 2-1 victory over bottom side Hakoah at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening. Hakoah had shown form in recent weeks but they met a Prospect side that had endured a staggered schedule of late and were keen just to play football on successive weekends. The 2-1 win repeated the final scoreline from their round three encounter.
United started strongly and Paul Curjak found his mark to score in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead they held until the break. Hakoah had chances of their own and some pressure on goal resulted in Prospect finding the back of their own net to draw the scores level again inside the final half-hour. But it was a Luis Freitas goal they settled the issue, his 80th minute winner lifting United in front.
Prospect United 2 (Paul Curjak 18m Luis Freitas 80m) Hakoah 1 (own goal 62m)
Grade 20: Prospect United 3 Hakoah 0 win by forfeit
Rescheduled games
Round 11: Hawkesbury City 2 (Steven O?Dea 59/90m) Prospect United 2 (Justin McLeay 51/77m). Grade 20: Hawkesbury City 1 Prospect United 0
Bathurst overcome Gazy
Bathurst ?75 ran over the top of Gazy Lansvale in an entertaining 2-1 win at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night. The visitors started full of running and Lansvale had many chances to score. Huso Merdanovic finally broke through for an opener to take a well-deserved halftime lead, but Bathurst changed shape for the second half and the new look suited them as Ricky Guihot and Jarred Portegies ran in goals for a neat 2-1 win at home.
Bathurst coach Mark Rooke was delighted with the end result. ?You can take away the first half but the second half was quite good,? he said. ?Gazy didn?t make it easy for us, but we came out and scored two very good goals in the second half to collect the points.?
Bathurst ?75 2 (Ricky Guihot 48m Jarred Portegies 63m) Gazy Lansvale 1 (Huso Merdanovic 25m)
Grade 20: Bathurst ?75 0 Gazy Lansvale 1
Belmore pip Springwood
Belmore Hercules defeated Springwood United 1-0 in a topsy-turvy game at Blick Oval on Sunday afternoon. United were quick out of the blocks and were awarded a penalty 10 minutes into the match, but a fine save from Hercules keeper Niccolo Colombo kept the scoreline unchanged. A fine goal from Paul Paras on the quarter-hour mark, latching onto a beautiful long pass to scored and give Belmore a decisive 1-0 advantage.
Hercules coach Ernesto Meduri was happy with the way his team played, especially after having Andrew Lazarou sent off early in the second half. ?The players did very well to hold it together. I was very pleased with the way they played,? he said.
Belmore Hercules 1 (Paul Paras 15m) Springwood 0
Grade 20: Belmore Hercules 3 Springwood 0
Roosters rule over Luddenham
Roosters overturned a three-game run without a win with an opportunistic 1-0 win over Luddenham United at Luddenham Oval on Sunday afternoon. While Luddenham had two goals disallowed, Bilal Elveren made the most of a rare Roosters attack to pounce on a freekick scramble, his deflected shot into goal settling the top-of-the-table clash 10 minutes from fulltime.
United believed they had scored early when a header hit the underside of the bar and bounced toward the goal-line, but the referee waved play on. A second Luddenham goal was pulled back for a pushing infringement from a corner kick.
Roosters coach Juan Ortiz was pleased with the way his side wrapped up their fifth win from seven road games this season, also the fifth time the Roosters have kept a clean sheet. ?We went through a rough patch, so to beat Luddenham is a good boost,? he said. ?They are well structured, but any team can still win this competition.?
United coach Andrew Montgomery was lost for words. ?Good luck to them; they got away with it,? he said. ?We went nine games undefeated, which was a pretty good run, now everything points to Hurstville. I expect nothing but a good victory.?
Luddenham United 0 Roosters FC 1 (Bilal Elveren 85m)
Grade 20: Luddenham United 1 Roosters FC 2
Wanderers beat Hawkesbury
A 10-man Wanderers got the better of Hawkesbury City in a 2-1 victory at Knight Park on Sunday afternoon. Jim Vasiliou got the visitors off to a fine start when he responded best to his first effort, a cracking effort that the Wanderers failed to clear, and his second attempt found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. But the Wanderers regained their composure and Maycol Hurtado unleashed a firecracker from the edge of the box to level the scores before halftime.
The Wanderers were dealt a blow when Jonathan Hurtado was sent from the field following a second bookable offence, but it was the home team that took the ascendancy despite playing a man down. Wanderers goalie Rodrigo Galiano was in fine form and pulled off some great saves to keep his side in it and their second goal came from sustained pressure that freed Ian Peti on the right and his audacious lob cleared the City keeper for a brave 2-1 victory.
City coach Gary Lewis was disappointed, particularly after claiming a late 2-2 draw in a catch-up game with Prospect during the week. ?We played rubbish,? he said. ?We started well but some sloppy defence allowed them to get a couple of cheap goals. The Wanderers are pretty good on the ball, and we just need to learn some patience. We played desperate football when we didn?t need to.?
Wanderers coach Walter Alvarez praised the fortitude of his players? performance. ?All credit to the boys. They focused on what we wanted to achieve. We still had to get the result, but the boys showed they can deliver,? he said.
Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Maycol Hurtado 28m Ian Peti 85m) Hawkesbury City 1 (Jim Vasiliou 12m)
Grade 20: Fairfield Wanderers 2 Hawkesbury City 3
Rescheduled games
Round 11: Hawkesbury City 2 (Steven O?Dea 59/90m) Prospect United 2 (Justin McLeay 51/77m). Grade 20: Hawkesbury City 1 Prospect United 0
Bulls buck Minotaurs
Something clicked inside the Fairfield Bulls and they went on a 6-2 rampage to inflict further pain on a wounded Hurstville City Minotaurs at Knight Park on Sunday afternoon. It was an amazing five goal grab in 25 first-half minutes ? including doubles to strike duo Nirian Kanoun and Alaa Ali Khan ? that gave Fairfield their victory platform, erasing an early Angelo Vagenas goal for Hurstville lead to go into the sheds 5-1 up. The Minotaurs pulled a goal back early in the second term through M Sultan, but a late Eddy Adam goal rounded out a classic four-goal victory.
Fairfield coach Michael Mamoo was ecstatic. ?I was very pleased, yes. Something happened today with us and Hurstville was the unfortunate team that got punished,? he said. ?It was great to see the boys work hard to wrap the game up. It was a fantastic result.?
It was certainly a better game than the day before, when their catch-up game against Springwood at Knight Park was called game off after a goalpost collapsed and almost hit a few players just after halftime. United were leading 2-1 at the time and the match will have to be replayed.
Fairfield Bulls 6 (own goal 17m Alaa Ali Khan 20/40m Nirian Kanoun 30/37m Eddy Adam 87m pen) Hurstville City Minotaurs 2 (Angelo Vagenas 18m M Sultan 62m)
Grade 20: Fairfield Bulls 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1
Round 13 results
First grade
Prospect United 2 (Paul Curjak 18m Luis Freitas 80m) Hakoah 1 (own goal 62m)
Bathurst ?75 2 (Ricky Guihot 48m Jarred Portegies 63m) Gazy Lansvale 1 (Huso Merdanovic 25m)
Belmore Hercules 1 (Paul Paras 15m) Springwood 0
Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Maycol Hurtado 28m Ian Peti 85m) Hawkesbury City 1 (Jim Vasiliou 12m)
Fairfield Bulls 6 (own goal 17m Alaa Ali Khan 20/40m Nirian Kanoun 30/37m Eddy Adam 87m pen) Hurstville City Minotaurs 2 (Angelo Vagenas 18m M Sultan 62m)
Luddenham United 0 Roosters FC 1 (Bilal Elveren 85m)
Grade 20
Prospect United 3 Hakoah 0 win by forfeit
Bathurst ?75 0 Gazy Lansvale 1
Belmore Hercules 3 Springwood 0
Fairfield Wanderers 2 Hawkesbury City 3
Fairfield Bulls 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1
Luddenham United 1 Roosters FC 2
Rescheduled games
Round 10: Fairfield Bulls Springwood postponed. Grade 20: Fairfield Bulls 3 Springwood 2
Round 11: Hawkesbury City 2 (Steven O?Dea 59/90m) Prospect United 2 (Justin McLeay 51/77m). Grade 20: Hawkesbury City 1 Prospect United 0
Next week?s games
Round 14 of State League division two pits Hawkesbury City against Fairfield Bulls at Bensons Lane Field on Saturday evening (5pm kick-off), while Hakoah hosts Bathurst ?75 at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday night (7pm). On Sunday afternoon (all matches at 3pm), Belmore Hercules welcomes Prospect United to Blick Oval, Gazy Lansvale take on Fairfield Wanderers at Cherrybrook Park, Roosters FC tackle Springwood United at Lidcombe Oval, while Luddenham United play Hurstville City Minotaurs in a big match at Luddenham Oval.
-By Daniel De Nardi
