State League Two Round 1 Review
The Wanderers head the points table via a solid 3-0 home win over Bathurst, with Luddenham disposing of Northbridge 2-0, Hercules outmuscling Roosters 2-1, and Hawkesbury bringing down the mighty Minotaurs 1-0 in a spicy weekend of results. In the other games, 1-1 draws were played out between Prospect and Hakoah, Gazy Lansvale and Nepean, and Chopin Park and Springwood also finished one-all.
Hakoah, Prospect draw first-up
Hakoah battled back from a goal down to grab a late 1-1 draw with Prospect United to start the 2011 division two season at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening. While both teams could have snatched victory a draw was perhaps a fair result as Prospect desperately hung on a player down after goalscorer Ahmed Chanab was given a straight red card early in the second half for a clumsy lunge from behind. And in the end it was a bit of magic from veteran midfielder Jon Pillemer that provided the leveler for ex- Sutherland Sharks? Scottish midfielder Neil Jablonski with 15 minutes to go, cancelling out Chanab?s brilliant first-half opener for Prospect.
Last year?s wooden-spooners Hakoah were a little slow out of the blocks, perhaps from the grueling afternoon drive west along Parramatta Road, and Prospect blew several early chances before Chanab went on a spirited canter down the left flank, beating a number of defenders to score a great individual goal on 23-minutes. Trailing 1-0 at the half Hakoah coach Mark Robertson demanded more from his charges and they responded with a second-half onslaught.
The send-off of Chanab for a clumsy challenge from behind helped the Hakoah cause as the visitors applied the pressure and used the overlap to create several scoring opportunities, the breakthrough finally coming in the final quarter-hour when wily Pillemer (reputed to be aged in his 40s) found space on the left via a neat give-and-go and delivered a pin-point cross for Jablonski to rise high and head down into the bottom corner for the equaliser. The game finished 1-1, leaving Hakoah without victory over Prospect in four straight matches.
Robertson was somewhat pleased with the result, glad with grabbing a point away from home but disappointed his troops didn?t put away a winner. ?It was a great start to get an away draw. We came out a little bit slow and I thought our defenders could have got an earlier tackle in on their goalscorer, but take nothing away from their player [Prospect?s Chanab] as it was a terrific goal,? he said.
?I just told them [at halftime] that they can?t expect to get respect, you have to earn it and that means working harder than usual. They had a player sent off which always help, and we overloaded them down the sides to create a couple of chances, but we could only score the one goal. They also had a late chance to win it, so I guess a draw was probably a fair result.?
?I kind of wanted to do a bit better,? Robertson said. ?We were down a few players, but no excuses really as the game was there for the taking. I think the players looked back and thought we could have done a little bit better, so that?s a good sign, but it was a long way to go to get a draw.?
Prospect coach Tony Caruso praised his side for holding on a player short. ?It was a good result; the boys did extremely well to hold them out for so long,? he said. ?We played very well from the outset, the boys really delivered, but unfortunately we didn?t put away our chances. We had a last-minute scramble in the goalmouth and their keeper produced a point-blank save so I?ll take that result; it?s a good outcome considering we were down to 10 men.?
Prospect United 1 (Ahmed Chanab 23m) Hakoah 1 (Neil Jablonski 75m) or Chanab
Grade 20: Prospect United 2 Hakoah 0
Hungry Hawkesbury upset Hurstville
Hawkesbury City scored a stunning 1-0 victory over last year?s defeated grand finalists Hurstville City Minotaurs in a big game under lights at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday night. A late goal from Hakan Celik sealed the win for Hawkesbury, their first over the Minotaurs in two years, and they did it while regular coach Gary Lewis was out of town, stand-in coach Dean Bertenshaw steering Hawkesbury to a terrific season start.
Hawkesbury overcame a number of player withdrawals through injury and illness during the week to challenge big guns Hurstville from the start of play, some slick ball movement and team play providing the visitors with a number of early chances. The Minotaurs will also rue missing several clear-cut opportunities of their own ? last season?s golden boot Michael Di Meglio skying his shot from a few metres out in the first half and Haisam Morhi blasting straight at the keeper from point-blank range in the second term ? but with the game deadlocked heading into the final quarter-hour it was left to former Rooster Celik to score the winner in his first game for Hawkesbury following a great combination of teamwork and a clinical finish. What began as a midfield movement ended with Celik taking the ball inside the box to beat the keeper with a fine shot.
Lewis was understandably elated with the result. ?I was away at a prior commitment so Dean Bertenshaw did really well to get the win, especially with a couple of last-minute changes to the squad,? he said. ?Dean ran a couple of good training sessions with the boys during the week and from all reports it all went well in the match. It?s a much better start than last season, that?s for sure.?
?From what I?ve heard it was a fairly even game that either side could have won,? he said. ?Robbie Carle and Gavin Hartge apparently did well and our new back-four stood up, which was good. We took this season as a whole fresh start from last year and it?s way too early to make any predictions, but it was good to get away with the win. It will still be a tough battle week-in week-out.?
Hurstville coach Peter Sarikakis said he would?ve been happy to come out of the game with a draw after several Minotaurs big names remained on the injury list (Nick Goumis knee, Alex Obeid groin), but he admitted ?that?s how it goes in football. We had two unbelievable chances [Di Meglio and Morhi] and I don?t know how they both missed the goal to be honest. At halftime I said they had to dig deep as Hawkesbury played a tough, physical game, even last year I thought they were a pretty good side, but we were not outplayed; Hawkesbury played some good football, they took their chance and we didn?t take our chances. It was a good game.?
?Of course I?m disappointed we missed the three points, but we are still waiting to get a few players back and we have some big fellows who need a few games to get match fit. Everyone?s a bit rusty.? While Hawkesbury and Hurstville finished at opposite ends of the points table last year, the third successive one-goal result between the two sides has created a real rivalry that should lean towards a highly anticipated round 14 rematch.
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Hawkesbury City 1 (Hakan Celik 77m)
Grade 20: Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Hawkesbury City 0
Springwood stalemate at Chopin Park
A 1-1 draw saw Chopin Park Rams become the only league debutantes to snare a point in the opening round of competition, but they did it tough against a 10-man Springwood United on a balmy Sunday afternoon at Chopin Park. Drama came early in the match when Springwood?s Aaron Jones gave away a penalty in the first 20 minutes, but he will thank his goalkeeper Geoff Abrahams for being up to the task in a fine save to his right to deny the home side. However, Jones couldn?t stay far enough away from the referee?s whistle and 10 minutes later he was sent from the field after picking up a second yellow card ? one of six for United ? to leave Springwood a man down for most of the game.
Things went decidedly from bad to worse for United coach Errol Warwick-Day when Rams midfielder Henry Martinez played between two defenders and sent a shot low to the far post to put Chopin Park in front on the hour-mark. But anguish turned to elation when Bryan Campbell dummied, pirouetted and blasted into the Rams net to restore parity just five minutes later, 1-1 at halftime. Both sides impressed in the second term and Abrahams was called on yet again in a heroic performance, hurtling off his line to snuff out a likely Chopin Park winner but the scoreline remained unchanged at fulltime.
In a game that could have gone either way Chopin Park coach Radek Czerwinski said he couldn?t complain with the result. ?I thought we gained plenty possession of the ball and created more of the chances. Before the game I would have taken a draw and seeing how the game unfolded and seeing what we created there is a bit of salt in the mouth, but never-the-less it is a good start to the season against an established team who has won it before.?
Although perplexed with the number of cards dished out to his side, Warwick-Day held nothing but commendation for his mountain brigade. ?Geoff Abrahams pulled out two match winning saves? and I?m proud of all the boys. They showed great courage and character to come back from a goal down and a man down on a really hot day. No doubt when we get together at training we will concede it was a good result.?
Chopin Park Rams 1 (Henry Martinez 30m) Springwood 1 (Bryan Campbell 34m)
Grade 20: Chopin Park Rams 1 Springwood United 0
Lansvale level with Nepean
An inspirational performance from battle-torn Gazy Lansvale saw them hang on for a brave draw against league newcomers Nepean FC at Cherrybrook Park on Sunday afternoon. Gazy scored early and looked to be cruising before being shown two red cards just before the halftime break in a game-changing sequence of events. But rather than go into a shell and hide, Lansvale fought bravely and troubled Nepean on several occasions before Emmanuel Azzopardi broke through for the visitors just before the hour-mark.
Gazy came out firing against a depleted Nepean side from the opening whistle and T Turgut capitalised on an early raid, bending a beautiful banana kick into goal for the first score. Elvis Ibric thought he had doubled the advantage 10 minutes later when he went one-on-one with the keeper and found the back of the net only for the referee to cancel the goal and award Lansvale a freekick from outside the box instead. Many believed advantage should have been paid but instead of going two goals up Gazy went two players down when some ill-directed comments from Ibrahim Korana and Mohamad Al Rekari saw the referee march them from the field just before the interval.
Lansvale coach Safet Alispahic was livid with his players but instead had to focus on the game at hand as Nepean started to assert themselves with the extra numbers, only some stubborn resistance from Gazy keeper Kani Uzunlar keeping them from an equaliser. The visitors finally found a breakthrough on 60-minutes when Azzopardi finished off a fluent attacking move for Nepean to level the scores, but Lansvale weren?t done with yet and launched some impressive counter attacks in the closing minutes that tested the ninja-like Nepean custodian Robbie O?Connor. Azzopardi also went close when he hit the post, however, the fulltime whistle blew with the scores locked at 1-1.
Alispahic had mixed emotions after the match. Although upset with the discipline of some of his players he could not speak highly enough of the way they held on for a point. ?It was unbelievable really and I am so happy and proud of them; they showed character and spirit and everything,? he said. ?Of course I?m not happy with the loose discipline and I am upset with the boys who make this mistake, but it was a good game, a good crowd and excellent weather, and we learn a very good lesson. Congratulations to the boys and I also wish Nepean all the best for the season. I tried to continue from last season with some improvements to the discipline and spirit, and the whole club today was terrific. I just can?t wish for more.?
Nepean coach Carlos Camacho also drew plenty of positives after fielding a team with 10 less squad players to pick from. ?It was a fairly messy game, but it was also very hard fought,? he said. ?We did what we could with a lot of players down and I?m very pleased that we held our discipline. I believe we kept our heads and held up against a physical side [in Gazy], but we need a bit of work tactically in attack and a bit more urgency when we win the ball in midfield? we weren?t able to play our game as much as we wanted to. We did come back from 1-0 down and it could have gone either way, but I?m pleased with how the boys played in their first official match together against a very good team.?
Gazy Lansvale 1 (T Turgut 28m) Nepean FC 1 (Emmanuel Azzopardi 59m)
Grade 20: Gazy Lansvale 3 Nepean FC 2
Belmore pip Roosters
A last-minute penalty kick helped Belmore Hercules to a 2-1 win over Roosters at Hills Sports High School on Sunday afternoon in a match that had both sets of fans on the edge of their seats. The action went from end to end in a see-sawing first half without a goal materialising, but the second half exploded into life when Paul Paras broke through the Roosters defence and connected on his shot perfectly to give Belmore a 50th minute lead.
Hulisi Orhan duly responded when he placed a well-timed header into the Hercules goal with 20 minutes still to play and both sides creating chances. But late drama ensued as the clock ticked towards fulltime and Roosters goalkeeper Erkan Gurbuz clipped a Belmore attacker to give away a penalty, Con Paradisis stepping up to slot home the spot kick and seal the win for Hercules. The result was sweet revenge for Belmore who lost both of last year?s fixtures to the Roosters.
Despite a first-up loss Roosters coach Musti Akca believed his side could?ve and perhaps should?ve taken more from the match. ?We lost but we missed just about everything today. We conceded a penalty in the 90th minute, the Belmore keeper somehow saved 3-4 shots from the six-yard line? the ball just didn?t want to go in for us,? he said.
?We weren?t upset with the [penalty] call as we knew we could have put that game away with all the good work that we did. We definitely played well and can take a lot of positives from the match ? I?m looking forward to playing them in the second round already. It was also quite a good crowd as plenty of locals had come down to watch a good game [on the astro turf] in good conditions.?
Roosters FC 1 (Hulisi Orhan 70m) Belmore Hercules 2 (Paul Paras 50m, Con Paradisis 90m)
Grade 20: Roosters FC 3 Belmore Hercules 2
Fairfield bring down Bathurst
Fairfield Wanderers shot to the top of the division two leaderboard courtesy of a 3-0 domination of Bathurst ?75 at Knight Park on Sunday afternoon. Luis Escalante needed only seven minutes to fire his team in front as his acrobatic rebound left the Bathurst keeper with no chance, and the visitors never really looked in it after that.
Chance after chance fell Fairfield?s way but it wasn?t until midway through the second half that the Wanderers went further ahead, former Marconi Stalliosn player Erick Anabalon finding himself in the right place at the right time when he edged in a Mauricio Sanchez volley, and Ian Peti sealed the result less than a minute later when he pressured the Bathurst defence into a turnover and put it past the keeper for Fairfield?s third of the match.
Wanderers coach Leo Maturana was a happy man after guiding his side to a solid start to the season. ?I?m delighted to say the least,? he said. ?I thought we maintained our shape really, really well in very hot conditions and dominated the game. We worked very well on our chances and we took them. It was a very good start, yes.?
Fairfield Wanderers FC 3 (Luis Escalante 7m, Erick Anabalon 67m, Ian Peti 68m) Bathurst ?75 0
Grade 20L Fairfield Wanderers FC 3 Bathurst ?75 2
Luddenham burn Northbridge
Luddenham United showed they will be a force to be reckoned with in season 2011 following a dominant 2-0 win over division two starters Northbridge in the opening round. United were breathtaking at times as they tore the visitors apart in front of a bumper crowd at Luddenham Oval on Sunday afternoon, Angelo Martino scoring after just three minutes.
The action started early as Michael Wood showed a deft touch when he chested down a throw-in near the corner flag, faked right and cut back left to send an inch-perfect pass for Martino to put away on his left boot and send the fans into early raptures.
Northbridge struggled a little with the ball but they still maintained a one-goal deficit at halftime before another moment of brilliance 10 minutes after the restart saw the home side double its lead. Martino was again involved as he nutmegged a defender in the corner and whipped the ball to the far post, Glen Davis running in front of the defender to force a crisp header into the top corner. Luddenham could have built on its score but Wood shot narrowly wide in a one-on-one with the opposition keeper, who also got a fingertip onto a Reece Shiels chip to send it out of bounds. The score remained 2-0 at match end.
While he couldn?t fully work out what sort of side Northbridge could be in division two, Luddenham coach Andrew Montgomery was mesmerised with what his team was capable of. ?In my opinion we played some brilliant football; the tempo of the game was brilliant, we created a lot of good opportunities, our fans were brilliant and really spurred us on… It was good start to the season and we still have a couple of players to come back into first grade.?
Luddenham United 2 (Angelo Martino 3m, Glen Davis 55m) Northbridge FC 0
Grade 20: Luddenham United 1 Northbridge FC 3
Round 1 scores
Prospect United 1 (Ahmed Chanab 23m) Hakoah 1 (Neil Jablonski 75m)
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Hawkesbury City SC 1 (Hakan Celik 77m)
Gazy Lansvale 1 (T Turgut 28m) Nepean FC 1 (Emmanuel Azzopardi 59m)
Chopin Park Rams 1 (Henry Martinez 30m) Springwood 1 (Bryan Campbell 34m)
Roosters FC 1 (Hulisi Orhan 70m) Belmore Hercules 2 (Paul Paras 50m, Con Paradisis 90m)
Fairfield Wanderers FC 3 (Luis Escalante 7m, Erick Anabalon 67m, Ian Peti 68m) Bathurst ?75 0
Luddenham United 2 (Angelo Martino 3m, Glen Davis 55m) Northbridge FC 0
Grade 20
Prospect United 2 Hakoah 0
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Hawkesbury City SC 0
Gazy Lansvale 3 Nepean FC 2
Chopin Park Rams 1 Springwood United 0
Roosters FC 3 Belmore Hercules 2
Fairfield Wanderers FC 3 Bathurst ?75 2
Luddenham United 1 Northbridge FC 3
Next week?s games
Round 2 of NSW Division Two kicks off this Saturday (March 19) with newcomers Nepean and Chopin Park facing off at Cook Park, St Marys, (3pm kick-off), followed by Hawkesbury City versus Belmore Hercules at Bensons Lane Field (5pm). Two night games feature Springwood United against Prospect United at Summerhayes Park (7pm) and Bathurst ?75 against Roosters FC at Alec Lamberton Field (7pm).
On Sunday afternoon (March 20), Gazy Lansvale host Hurstville City at Cherrybrook Park (3pm kick-off), Fairfield Wanderers welcome Northbridge FC to Knight Park (3pm), while Hakoah meets Luddenham United under lights at Hensley Athletic Field (7pm).
-By Daniel De Nardi
