State League Two Round 19 Review
The remaining four fixtures will need to be fitted in over the next three weeks of competition.
The points table shows Fairfield Bulls (35), Luddenham (34), Wanderers (33), Hurstville (30), Roosters (28), Springwood (28), Belmore (24), Prospect (24), Gazy (23), Bathurst (22), Hawkesbury (13) and Hakoah (12).
On the goalscoring front with three rounds to go:
14 goals: Niram Kanoun (Fairfield),
12: Khaled Elkerhani (Fairfield),
11: Michael Di Meglio (Hurstville),
10: Elias Navarrete (Wanderers), Ercan Topal (Roosters), Michael Amed (Gazy),
9: Huso Merdanovic (Gazy),
8: Bryan Campbell (Springwood), Jarred Portegies (Bathurst),
7: Michael Wood (Luddenham), Peter Henderson (Springwood), Paul Curjak (Prospect), James Christie (Bathurst),
6: Mauricio Sanchez (Wanderers), George Iliopoulos (Belmore), Rob Portelli (Prospect), Josh Morgenstern (Hakoah),
5: Alaa Ali Khan (Fairfield), Emmanuel Papageorgiou (Hurstville), Angelo Vagenas (Hurstville), Luis Freitas (Prospect), Joliyan Berhko (Gazy), Kelston George (Hawkesbury),
Gazy in a thriller over Hawkesbury
Gazy Lansvale came from 1-3 down to defeat Hawkesbury City 4-3 in a blinder at Benson Lane Field on Saturday evening. A nailbiter for all who watched and a hair-puller for both coaches, Gazy showed great tenacity to bounce back from a three-goal mid-half blast by Hawkesbury to steal a dramatic victory, their second successive win following last week?s gutsy 2-0 win against Hurstville.
While they probably won?t make the finals, Gazy have not hung up the boots either and can still take some good momentum into next season. For Hawkesbury it was yet another bitter blow in a year that will be better remembered for their McDonald?s Cup success and the brooding of some great young talents. The game against Lansvale didn?t start that well for them either as Wail Derbass sent in a ninth minute goal to put the visitors in front.
What followed next was almost hypnotic as first Michael McCrory let loose with a brace of goals inside 10 minutes (four goals in a productive July for McCrory) before Dale McKay became Hawkesbury?s 12th goalscorer for the season with another well taken chance moments later to send the home side 3-1 in front on the half-hour mark. However, City?s good work was a little undone when Gazy goalscoring machine Huso Merdanovic poached one late in the half to trail 2-3 at the break, his ninth of the year.
With the game finely in the balance the second half produced even more goalmouth action and Trevan Spiteri leveled the scores for Lansvale 10 minutes after the restart. Not to be outdone by his strike partner Merdanovic, Michael Amed then found his way onto the scoresheet to put Gazy miraculously in front 4-3 on the hour-mark to set up a tense finish to the game. Both sides had their chances but it was the visitors who finally prevailed.
In a somewhat tragic season for Gazy, it will be a shame that one or two disappointing results (most noticeably a 5-0 loss to Hakoah) inevitably stopped Lansvale from making the post-season. Coach Phil Pavela would still be proud with the way his chargers have still turned up to play some good football these past few weeks.
For Hawkesbury it was their sixth loss at home and could well mean that the wooden spoon will be decided in an all-for-pride match against Hakoah next weekend (the two sides are separated by a point at the bottom of the table). City coach Gary Lewis must be sick of the number of ways his young side has lost matches this year, but he has already indicated that blooding the club?s cubs is a definite move towards next season.
Hawkesbury City 3 (Michael McCrory 21/32m Dale McKay 34m) Gazy Lansvale 4 (Wail Derbass 9m Huso Merdanovic 42m Trevan Spiteri 54m Michael Amed 63m)
Grade 20: Hawkesbury City 1 Gazy Lansvale 2
Luddenham scuttle Prospect
A plucky first-half own-goal has given Luddenham United the spoils of victory and severely dented Prospect United?s hopes of any finals action this year in the process. Not much separated the two sides in tricky conditions at Luddenham Oval on Sunday afternoon and it wasn?t a pretty win at all according to Luddenham coach Andrew Montgomery.
The goal came in the 20th minute after Casey Johnson took the ball down the line and whipped it across the Prospect goal only for a defender to slide in and disastrously edge the ball into his own net. The visitors searched for an equaliser but the home side proved effective at the back and held their nerve for a vital win. It was Luddenham?s sixth win at ?The Oval? and their fifth clean sheet of the year.
?Prospect were very tough in a hard but fair game,? Montgomery said. ?There wasn?t many chances from either side throughout the game, it was mainly a hard battle in the middle of the park; a very even game. Any [competition] points at this stage are good to try and solidify a top-five spot.?
It wasn?t Luddenham?s first cheeky win of the year. They used an own goal to push past Springwood 1-0 in round 12 and are still primed for a good finals campaign, with just the two losses in their 16 outings, to go along with a dash of good fortune.
Prospect coach Tony Caruso must be wondering where it all went askew after his team looked great at the round 11 mark with just one loss to their name. They have lost six of their last eight since to slide out of finals contention and the weekend defeat was their sixth on the road (now equal worst with Gazy) and the seventh time they have been held to nil (now equal worst with Bathurst and Hakoah). They have also scored in just one of the last six rounds to all but hit a brick wall.
Luddenham United 1 (own goal 20m) Prospect United 0
Rain soaks up four games
The weekend downpour saw four fixtures postponed: Bathurst ?75 vs Fairfield Bulls at Alec Lamberton Field, Springwood United vs Fairfield Wanderers at Summerhayes Park, Hurstville City Minotaurs vs Hakoah at Belmore Sports Ground, and Roosters FC vs Belmore Hercules at Mona Park. There is three weeks left in the competition to reschedule all four games that could, in the end, play a big hand in determining the minor premiership, finals make-up and positions, and the wooden spoon.
Round 19 results
First grade
Hawkesbury City 3 (Michael McCrory 21/32m Dale McKay 34m) Gazy Lansvale 4 (Wail Derbass 9m Huso Merdanovic 42m Trevan Spiteri 54m Michael Amed 63m)
Bathurst ?75 vs Fairfield Bulls washed out
Springwood United vs Fairfield Wanderers washed out
Hurstville City Minotaurs vs Hakoah washed out
Roosters FC vs Belmore Hercules washed out
Luddenham United 1 (own goal 20m) Prospect United 0
Grade 20
Hawkesbury City 1 Gazy Lansvale 2
Bathurst ?75 vs Fairfield Bulls washed out
Springwood United vs Fairfield Wanderers washed out
Hurstville City Minotaurs vs Hakoah washed out
Roosters FC vs Belmore Hercules washed out
Round 20 Fixtures
Round 20 of State League division two has three Saturday fixtures for the third time in a row, Prospect United against Roosters FC at William Lawson Reserve (5pm kick-off), Bathurst ?75 versus Luddenham United at Alec Lamberton Field (7pm), and Hawkesbury City travel to Hensley Athletic Field to take on Hakoah (7pm). On Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-offs), Springwood United play Gazy Lansvale at Cherrybrook Park, Hurstville City Minotaurs travel to Blick Oval for a blockbuster against old foes Belmore Hercules, and Wanderers welcome Fairfield Bulls to Knight Park.
-By Daniel De Nardi
