NSW Division One Youth League Round 3 Review

While some of you are watching the competition tables on a weekly basis, I will not begin to look at them for at least another couple of weeks as experience has taught me that there is far too much chopping and changing during the early rounds of the season.
I am still seeking help from coaches, managers and conveners with short and (hopefully) unbiased reports from your matches, including the goal scorers (yours and theirs). The simple fact is that there are twenty venues in operation each weekend and I can only make it to one of them each week. Therefore, your assistance will be greatly appreciated.  I need to receive the emailed reports by 9.30am on Monday mornings (barrydavis52@hotmail.com) or you can ring me (0451 004 091) after 5.00pm on match days or anytime on Sundays.
Club Championship
Stanmore Hawks would have been over the moon when the collected thirteen points from their visit to Springwood United while Camden Tigers were undoubtedly pleased with the ten points they earned when they hosted newcomers Balmain East Tigers.
St George bagged eight points from their home fixture against Mt Druitt Town Rangers and Gladesville Ryde Magic added eight points to their tally when they took the trip to Hills Brumbies.
Hakoah?s journey to Southern Branch yielded nine points for the Easter Suburbs club while Nepean bagged eight points from their home ground encounter with Northbridge. 
Grade 13
Camden Tigers continued their perfect record with a very solid victory over Balmain East Tigers. Camden grabbed the lead as early as the third minute when a good attacking move was well finished by Jacob Emmerton and then they made it 2-0 in the twenty-third minute after a left flank raid was met by Emmerton who made no mistake. That scoreline remained through to the break and it was well deserved after Camden had dominated proceedings and, with a little luck, they could have been another goal or two to the good. Their attacking play was frequently thwarted by some excellent goalkeeping from Balmain?s Lupco Jovanovski and by the off-side flag. Just five minutes into the second half Camden made it 3-0 when Matthew Bezett floated a thirty-five metre free kick over the defence ad goalkeeper to find the back of the net. Nine minutes later a superb move on the right flank culminated with a cross that found Emmerton and he retained his cool to pull the ball down before completing his hat-trick with a well placed shot. With four minutes left on the clock Balmain put together an excellent string of passes that caught Camden off guard and the move was well finished off to take the scoreline to 4-1. However, in the last minute Bezett played a speculative ball into the box from forty-five metres and the bounce deceived the goalkeeper to make the final score 5-1. In the final analysis of this very entertaining match, Camden had too much class on the day but it is clear that Balmain will improve during the season as they have some very good players and the confidence provided by a win will do them the world of good.
Southern Branch produced the second high scoring result in as many weeks when they accounted for Hakoah with an amazing 7-1 scoreline while Nepean remained unbeaten when they accounted for Northbridge with a 3-0 result.
Unbeaten Stanmore Hawks collected three points for the first time with a 3-0 victory over Springwood United and Gladesville Ryde Magic made it three wins from as many matches when they were too good for Hills Brumbies with a 4-1 scoreline.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers bounced back from last week?s loss to post a 2-1 win over the previously unbeaten St George
Inter Lions Hurstville City Minotaurs
Grade 14
When Camden Tigers hosted Balmain East Tigers it was the visitors who were the dominant team throughout the first half but their best attacking efforts went unrewarded thanks to some very good goalkeeping and some very near misses. After the break and with the breeze at their backs, Camden came to the fore and they had by far the better of the play but they were unable to capitalise on their territorial advantage after being denied many times by some outstanding goalkeeping. In the final analysis, the scoreless draw was probably a fair result on the day but both teams showed enough to indicate that they will worry many an opponent.
Hakoah collected their first points for the season with a 5-3 victory over Southern Branch while St George extended their perfect winning record to three matches when they were 3-1 winners over Mt Druitt Town Rangers.
Stanmore Hawks also made it three wins from three games when they posted a 1-0 success over Springwood United and Gladesville Ryde Magic returned to the winners circle when they edged out Hills Brumbies by the odd goal in five.
The encounter between Nepean and Northbridge end at 1-1
Grade 15
The earliest stages of the clash between Camden Tigers and Balmain East Tigers were very even but it soon became apparent that the visitors really wanted the points as the slowly but surely began to dominate play. It took until the twenty-second minute for a goal to be scored and that came about as a result of a well worked move from deep inside Balmain?s half that culminated in a well placed cross and an accurate header from T. Syofrinalki. Just before the interval Camden had the chance to equalise but their penalty kick was superbly saved by the goalkeeper. Six minutes into the second half Balmain had an opportunity to extend their lead but their spot kick sailed well over the crossbar. Camden had a player sent off ten minutes later and that put paid to any chance they had to salvage something from the match. Balmain deserved the points as they looked a bit sharper, slightly more determined and technically better than their opponents. The difference between the teams was accurately reflected in the 1-0 final scoreline.
St George and Mt Druitt Town Rangers both retained their unbeaten status when their match ended at 1-1 while Nepean recorded their first three-pointer with a 3-0 result over Northbridge.
Southern Branch were a bit too good for Hakoah as the registered a 4-2 victory while Hills Brumbies and Gladesville Ryde Magic fought it out for a 1-1 draw.
The clash between Springwood United and Stanmore Hawks was locked at 0-0 when the final whistle sounded.
Grade 16
Camden Tigers hosted Balmain East Tigers in what was a fairly even game throughout the first half as both teams had several chances to take the lead but most of those opportunities were wasted. The play flowed from one end to the other with high expectations that a goal would come from one of the waves of attack but we had to wait until the thirty-fourth minute for a breakthrough. It cam when Camden put together a superb passing move that was well finished by Jake Astudillo to give the home team the lead. There was more of the same in the early part of the first half until Nick Holmes converted a spot kick in the fifty-third minute. While many teams would have simply accepted defeat at that stage, Balmain simply rolled up their sleeves and went at Camden as if there would be no tomorrow. However, the visitors could not breach the home team defence despite their very best efforts and so the match ended at 2-0.
St George posted their second consecutive win when they downed Mt Druitt Town Rangers 3-1 and Hills Brumbies retained their unbeaten status when they registered a 2-1 success over Gladesville Ryde Magic who were suffering the first loss.
Hakoah got the better of Southern Branch when they posted a 2-1 result while 
Stanmore Hawks edged out Springwood United with a 1-0 scoreline.
Nepean and Northbridge battled away for a scoreless draw.
Grade 18
The first half of the encounter between Camden Tigers and Balmain East Tigers was a real tussle as Camden launched wave after wave of attack only to see their best efforts come unstuck though a combination of some very determined defending, some excellent saves from the goalkeeper and some wasteful shooting. While Camden were not playing well, they were the dominant team and it was clear that the visitors were not going to give in. Camden finally reaped a reward when Jordan Hooke chased down a through ball in the forty-second minute and his angled shot was too good for the goalkeeper to reach. After the break Balmain went in search of an equaliser but they could not find a way through the Camden defence. The home team were clearly keen to extend their lead and they did just that in the fifty-third minute when a free flowing move ended at the feet of Hooke and he made absolutely no mistake with another angled shot that proved to be too good for the goalkeeper. Twelve minutes later Camden?s Jake Watson stepped up for a twenty-five metre free kick and his pile-driver shot rattled the underside of the crossbar before finding the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. Balmain, to their credit were still giving their all but they must have known it was all over when they had a player sent off in the seventy-fifth minute. Camden had only showing their true form in patches throughout the match and another of those appeared in the eighty-second minute when a sparkling passing move gave Hooke his hat-trick and took the score to 4-0. Balmain may not have won a game from their first three outings but they showed enough to indicate that they will caused quite a few problems for opponents in the coming matches.
Hakoah produced their first win for the season when they accounted for Southern Branch with a stunning 8-0 scoreline while Northbridge also collected their first three-pointer when they overcame Nepean with a 6-3 result.
In a high scoring thriller Stanmore Hawks took the maximum points with a win by the odd goal in five over Springwood United and the clash between St George and Mt Druitt Town Rangers ended in a 1-1 draw.
Hills Brumbies and Gladesville Ryde Magic battled it out for a scoreless draw.
-By Barry Davis