State League Two Round 5 Review
While Hurstville finally broke their shackles with an impressive 4-0 rout of Gazy in a round two midweek catch-up match, they were very quickly chained back up by a rampant Springwood 5-0 in round five action on the weekend. And while Luddenham edged out Hawkesbury 3-2 in a thriller, Hakoah dished out a 4-1 lesson to Nepean, and Northbridge won a 5-3 goal-fest against Gazy Lansvale, there are definitely a lot more eyes looking Chopin Park?s way as the newcomers snuck into the competition?s top-three following a 2-0 win over Bathurst to continue their unbeaten run.
Wanderers and Prospect lead the way after five weeks of football following their respective 2-1 and 1-0 victories over Roosters and Belmore but trying to read into the competition ladder this early on will only make your eyes water as a mere four points separates the top nine clubs. Three teams remain unbeaten in Chopin Park, Springwood and Prospect, while only Nepean is yet to open their winning account.
The other notable aspect of the 2011 competition is the number of goals being scored ? 130 and counting at a flippant rate of almost four a match. Last year?s tight season produced a healthy 3.1 goals per game, this year it?s still rising at 3.8 per game. An attack-savvy Hakoah have provided the majority of these and they?re not having a problem finding people to score them either. Last year?s wooden-spooners have already registered nine goalscorers in just five games (Wanderers have the next most with eight).
But while it?s terrific to see such free-scoring action, unfortunately it?s not the home fans leaving happiest at the end of the day. Five weeks in and there have been almost as many wins from the away team as the host (13 wins to 11, with 10 draws), proving that no side can afford to feel too comfortable? even in front of their own supporters.
In other news, it was a special 300th for Matthew Garrow at Hawkesbury, the referees get a special mention from a classy Carlos Camacho, former Premier League and Super League players dip their hats to the division two standard, and just what magic can The General conjure up for his sick Minotaurs? And don?t forget to read this week?s feature story on perhaps the youngest goalkeeper to saddle up for a State League side ? Luddenham?s Riley Keayes.
Hakoah down Nepean
Hakoah romped to a 4-1 victory over a gallant Nepean at Cook Park on Saturday afternoon, a Justin Kosmina second-half double sealing an emphatic three-goal victory. Hakoah took a 2-1 halftime lead after scoring twice from set pieces (something that is earning them quite the reputation around the league), Seamus Dowd and Simon Weiss both converting Hakoah corner kicks to trump Nikola Pozder?s penalty equaliser.
The home side were well in it but showed their lack of experience when the Hakoah midfield took advantage of some over-eagerness and thread the ball through to Justin Kosmina, and the son of Socceroo legend John Kosmina showed terrific poise to score to make it 3-1 inside the final half-hour. Kosmina sealed the win with a well-taken second goal minutes before fulltime.
Nepean coach Carlos Camacho took the good and the bad from a game that can only help his developing unit. ?The first half was well-balanced and I felt that we were very much in the game. Hakoah looked a bit more dangerous in attack but there wasn?t a great deal of difference between the two sides. We only let ourselves down by allowing two goals from two corners as we did train for that; we know Hakoah a good from set pieces,? he said.
?The big difference was fitness, and the second half was a different story. Hakoah are a very good side, very well balanced, tactically very aware, and a good mix of fast, fit players and experienced, hardened players; they don?t give you much space. We have to keep focus on our priority, which is to play the football we want to play. What we really haven?t done well is score first in any of our games and put the pressure on the other side.?
?At the moment we?re just too tempted to defend and leave ourselves open. In modern football it?s important not to concede, but as long as the boys continue to believe, we will get the results. We are fortunate to have a lot of boys striving to have a go in first grade, but we don?t want to find ourselves struggling already and not enjoying our football.?
Camacho showed his class when he praised the referee for maintaining a high degree of consistency in a hard-fought match. ?One of the problems with Australian football is that we don?t encourage good refereeing. Of course we all make mistakes but what is really important is the consistency in the rulings,? he said. ?We?ve had players sent off and penalties awarded to us and I think, overall, the standard has been quite good.?
?Another thing I?ve enjoyed is hearing how the [former] super and premier league players have been pleasantly surprised at the level of State League Two football. That just shows that maybe the competition standard has been underestimated in the past. We have been unlucky not to get a win this year but we are going to get that breakthrough and that will be a huge turning point for Nepean, and hopefully we can go on [over the next few years] and emulate the great Hakoah club one day, a club that takes their football seriously and play the game so well.?
Nepean FC 1 (Nikola Pozder 27m) Hakoah 4 (Seamus Dowd 10m Simon Weiss 30m Justin Kosmina 65/88m)
Reserve grade: Nepean FC 0 Hakoah 0
Luddenham edge out Hawkesbury
Luddenham United held off Hawkesbury City to win 3-2 at Benson Lane Field on Saturday evening. First half goals from both sides set up an enthralling second period, with Luddenham weathering a Hawkesbury storm to prevail 3-2 and inflict City?s first loss of the season. It was also Luddenham?s fourth straight win over Hawkesbury.
Hakan Celik opened the scoring on 20-minutes when he beat the offside trap to chip the Luddenham keeper for an early Hawkesbury lead, and one that was shortlived as City defender Andrew Zammit then feathered United scoring supremo Huso Merdanovic in the box and the wily striker picked himself up off the ground to coolly convert the sport kick to restore parity just before the half-hour mark.
Hawkesbury still looked the goods until Celik was withdrawn a minute into the second half due to a knee injury and an ensuing drop in concentration immediately following his substitution allowed United midfielder Dujon Webster to finish off a neat one-two with Michael Wood and put Luddenham in front. Some slack City marking 10 minutes later freed up space for Grant Obeid to add a third for the visitors with half-an-hour left to play after Ivan Bazina had a header cleared off the line.
In a bid for more goals Hawkesbury coach Gary Lewis took off a fullback and pushed Ryan Wilson upfield and the move paid off when the slick fullback booted in a corner kick to make it 3-2 inside the final few minutes. City almost pulled off a miracle comeback when Wilson provided a sharp cross from the right that looked delicious for a waiting John McCrae at the far post but the ball was scrambled off the line by some desperate Luddenham defence to keep the scores unchanged at fulltime.
United coach Andrew Montgomery called it a cracking victory. ?They?re a very good side and they never gave up the whole match, even at 3-1 down with minutes to play, but that?s almost like a six-pointer for us as a loss would have put us out of touch with them,? he said. ?I still believe we need to pick up 10-12 points every five games, if you grab that you start putting gaps on other sides. There?s still a long, long way to go and teams won?t start to sort themselves out until at least round 10.?
His counterpart Lewis knew the result would?ve been more favourable if his side had finished off more of their chances. ?I?ve got no excuses. We were leading and controlled the game for the first 30 minutes and probably should have scored again before we copped another penalty [the third against City this season]. While I?m not disputing the decision, we try to teach our boys to stay on their feet and go for goal rather than play for a penalty, and that really changed the complexion of the game.?
?We were all over them in the last 15 minutes? but they have some very experienced players at the back and they slowed the game right down. Having said that, we had numerous chances in the first half to get away from them and it?s just one of those competitions where if you don?t take your chances you will pay the price. We kept Luddenham in the game and they won it.?
On a brighter note for Hawkesbury, stalwart goalkeeper Matthew Garrow celebrated his 300th game for the club by helping the reserves to a 2-1 win over Luddenham. While no-one was able to pin down Garrow?s exact age, needless to say he?s been at the club a very long time and it?s refreshing these days to see such loyalty. Lewis had nothing but praise for the City icon and congratulated Garrow on his outstanding achievement.
Hawkesbury City 2 (Hakan Celik 21m Ryan Wilson 87m) Luddenham United 3 (Huso Merdanovic 26m Dujon Webster 48m Grant Odei 61m)
Reserve grade: Hawkesbury City 2 Luddenham United 1
Springwood hammer Hurstville
Springwood United gave themselves a high-five after demolishing Hurstville City Minotaurs 5-0 at Summerhayes Park on Saturday night to grab their first win of the year. The game was only minutes old when Peter Henderson exploited a gap in the Minotaurs defence to run onto a great through-ball and smash in the opening goal, and it was 2-0 before the 10-minute mark when Kaan Davies blasted a freekick into the Hurstville wall and celebrated a fortunate deflection.
The visitors somehow picked themselves up off the canvas to launch a spirited counterattack before United?s Bryan Campbell drove a dagger into the Hurstville hearts with a scrappy goal that made it 3-0 at halftime. The Minotaurs still looked dangerous in the second half but a tremendous individual effort from Springwood?s Craig Small, where he ran 30-40m and beat 3-4 defenders before slotting the ball in the net, squashed any hopes of a Minotaurs revival, and Henderson?s second goal of the match on the hour-mark sealed a crushing 5-0 victory.
It was Springwood?s third win in four games against Hurstville and maintained United?s unbeaten start to the season but coach Errol Warwick-Day stayed grounded. ?Last year we proved to ourselves that were capable of results like that, and our aim has always been to be competitive. We were getting tons of chances and weathered their storm, but it?s a long season and we will meet opponents who will get us on their day. Morale is measured differently at every club, what that 5-0 win gives us is confidence and self-belief. We have players who are still learning their way and this win will give them a big jolt in the arm.?
In regards to Hurstville?s slow start to the year, Warwick-Day couldn?t offer much. ?They?re certainly not that bad [as their record suggests]. They still have lots of good quality players, and I really thought it would be tough after they beat Gazy 4-0 midweek, but they did seem a bit underdone? it surprised me that Hurstville looked so underprepared,? he said.
Hurstville had seemingly picked up the pieces from a shattered start to the season with an inspiring 4-0 catch-up win over Gazy Lansvale midweek, Domenico Battaglia scoring a second-half hat-trick in a result that could?ve been a lot worse for Lansvale. But it was goodbye Dr Jekyll and hello Mr Hyde as a mistake-ridden Minotaurs fluffed their way around the field against Springwood, leaving coach Peter Sarikakis searching for an antidote.
?I really have no idea what is going on [with the side]. We played some good soccer on Wednesday night [against Gazy] and passed the ball around beautifully. I don?t know why we play so poorly on Saturday night games, but we did some really silly things and Springwood punished our mistakes,? he said.
?We can play soccer, the players are there, but we need to go back to playing simple soccer; I don?t want them to do tricks for no reason. If you play basic football, possession football, the wins will eventually come. Look, I wouldn?t be involved in the game if I didn?t think I could pull the players out of this. We?ll sort things out.?
Springwood United 5 (Peter Henderson 2/63m Kaan Davies 9m Bryan Campbell 34m Craig Small 57m) Hurstville City Minotaurs 0
Reserve grade: Springwood United 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 2
Chopin Park beat Bathurst
Second half goals to Matthew Gibson and Marco Kraljevic sealed a hard-fought 2-0 win for Chopin Park Rams over Bathurst ?75 at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night. The win elevated Chopin Park to the top of the points table but Bathurst were left kicking themselves at the number of missed goalscoring opportunities that could?ve swung the result the other way.
The home side showed plenty of tenacity in the first half and produced most of the game?s chances but it was a Rams freekick on the hour-mark that opened the scoring when Joe Badrov?s powerful drive from 25m out forced a fine save from the Bathurst keeper only for Chopin Park defender Matt Gibson to follow up and tap in the rebound. The visitors extended their lead 15 minutes from fulltime via another freekick, this time Marco Kraljevic?s shot took a wicked deflection and looped into the far corner to make it 2-0.
Try as they did Bathurst found it difficult to find a way through a stubborn Chopin Park defence, and when they did they couldn?t get it past an inspiring effort from Rams keeper Peter Akers. Chopin Park coach Radek Czerwinski knows his side is raising eyebrows but he refused to get carried away with the club?s lofty position this early in the season.
?It?s only five rounds in so the position is absolutely irrelevant when there?s 21 rounds to go,? he said. ?Bathurst were probably the best team we have played so far ? they were composed, compact and mobile, and now I understand how hard it is for Sydney teams to go to Bathurst and get a result. We knew they would be confident after last week?s win [6-0 over Gazy] and we knew it was going to be a big challenge for us. Bathurst had more chances than we did over both halves, they play quite fast football? but the [Rams] boys defensively played very good.?
Czerwinski was delighted with the club?s early season form and said the good results were having a terrific impact on everyone at Chopin Park. ?Half of the team 10 months ago were playing park football, so the boys have no problem in keeping their feet firmly on the ground ? and that?s a credit to them. I?ve been involved with the club since 1996 and it has never had such a good atmosphere? the good morale is like having an extra player on the field.?
Bathurst coach Mark Rooke congratulated the Rams on their win but he rued his team?s lack of finishing prowess, particularly after a clinical 6-0 disposal of Gazy last week. ?It was a very frustrating night actually. We had a few enforced changes [captain Ricky Guihot out suspended] and the boys who came in did a fantastic job, but we could?ve been 2-3 goals up at halftime,? he said.
?While it?s good to see the boys playing some good football, in front of those sticks there is a real problem with consistency. We have to make sure we kill teams off. The attitude of the players is fantastic, but the longer the scoreline stays at 0-0 it doesn?t have to be the best goal in the world to change the game against you.?
Chopin Park Rams 2 (Matthew Gibson 59m Marco Kraljevic 77m) Bathurst ?75 0
Reserve grade: Chopin Park Rams 4 Bathurst ?75 0
Prospect outlast Belmore
Prospect United took division two?s number one spot with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Belmore Hercules at William Lawson Reserve on Sunday afternoon ? and they still have a game in hand. Both sides had their moments, Belmore launching many raids and having a shot cleared off the line before Michael Viera?s goal just on halftime tipped the balance in favour of Prospect. Gus Orcajo did well down the right flank and ripped the ball into Justin McLeay who knocked it back for Viera to slam home what proved to be the match winner.
United coach Tony Caruso said the rain made for an interesting football debate. ?It was a very hard game and the conditions brought everyone down to the same level,? he said. ?We still have a long way to go and [regarding the competition?s even playing standard] everyone has good players in their team, it?s just about making them gel. There?s pressure on every team with every match.?
Belmore coach John Kyriazopoulos said there were plenty of positives to take out of the match. ?It was a bit of a battle and the boys just stopped for 30 seconds and that?s all it took to concede a goal that won them the match,? he said. ?All credit to Prospect, they?re a great team but, as I said at the start of the season, no team is easy and that?s why we?re seeing a lot of unusual results.?
?The past two weeks were a bit poor from our side, so full credit to the boys because they really dug deep [against Prospect] and put in a good performance. [Despite a few injuries] We are looking forward to the Waratah Cup [this week] to give a few of the other boys a chance to step up.
Prospect United 1 (Michael Viera 41m) Belmore Hercules 0
Reserve grade: Prospect United 1 Belmore Hercules 3
Fairfield cage Roosters
Fairfield Wanderers shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 2-1 win over Roosters FC at Hill Sports High on Sunday evening. A second-half downpour ensured that most of the good football was played in the first 45 minutes, Elias Navarette getting things going for the visitors with a scrappy goal on nine minutes and Hari Nikocevic made it 2-0 in the blink of an eye with a long range missile that tracked underneath the keeper?s outstretched arm and into goal.
But Roosters were by no means out of the contest and piled on the pressure as the rain upped the ante, a lively counter attack landing at the feet of Ercan Topal who slid a skimmer into the Fairfield net to halve the deficit, and that?s the way it remained after a boggy pitch hampered both team?s second period efforts.
Wanderers coach Leo Maturana was pleased with the victory and the way in which it was attained. ?It was a difficult game after the rain started coming down? it was very hard to play football in the second half and we were content to close them out,? he said. ?In regards to second position in the ladder] This is only a battle, we haven?t won the war yet ? that is still 20 weeks away. The [tight] competition shows that you have to be on the game every Sunday or you?ll get beaten. We haven?t played a bad team and thankfully everything we have planned is working out at the moment.?
Roosters coach Musti Akca believed the rub of the green wasn?t with his side this week. ?We were just a bit unlucky. We conceded a scrappy goal off a corner, but overall we played good soccer and I thought we should?ve won. Results matter, but we were happy with the way we performed.?
Roosters FC 1 (Ercan Topal 45m) Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Elias Navarette 9m Hari Nikocevic 20m)
Reserve grade: Roosters FC 0 Fairfield Wanderers 1
Northbridge blast past Lansvale
Northbridge outgunned Gazy Lansvale in a 5-3 shootout at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday night. It was the division two newcomers? first win of the season but the mood was a stark contrast in the other dressing shed, Gazy have conceded 15 goals in a miserable three-game week losing 6-0 in Bathurst, 4-0 to Hurstville and now a 5-3 loss to Northbridge.
Lansvale came out firing against Northbridge and grabbed the lead when Elvis Ibric capitalised on some excellent build-up play, but goals to Ry Harding, Daniel Hillege and a Max Zanders penalty lifted Northbridge to a 3-1 halftime lead. Gazy hit back again after the break with Ado Smajovic atoning for a few earlier misses from his teammates to cut the deficit to just the one goal, however, it was time for the new boys to shine and a Hardy double closed out the match. A late consolation goal from new Lansvale signing Akin Konak made it 5-3 at fulltime.
Gunslinger Hardy now leads the league in scoring with a six goal booty in the four matches he has suited up for; Hakoah?s Neil Jablonski is next best with four strikes.
Northbridge coach Joe Haywood?s grin was pretty big. ?A win is what we needed to stay in touching distance with the leaders and we have shown over the last few games that we?re moving in the right direction. This gives us even more confidence,? he said. ?Look, we?re not exactly making massive strides? all I want are little building blocks each week to move forward.? Haywood also said Northbridge Oval was just about ready to play on. ?It looks great and we?re looking forward to playing there for the first time and hopefully get a good crowd behind us,? he said.
Gazy manager Safet Alispahic summed up the past week as ?Unbelievable! Something is happening that I don?t like. We were not expecting this and we now have to realise where the problem is and try to fix it,? he said. ?All three games [the 6-0, 4-0, 5-3 losses] we did a lot of easy mistakes. I saw tonight where there is some problems and we have to fix it. The team played good and the score is not a true sign of what is on the field. It is individual mistakes, and not enough consistency. We have a Cup game on Wednesday [against Bonnet Bay] and then a tough game against Luddenham next week, but I think this is the end of the bad story.?
Northbridge FC 5 (Ry Hardy x3, Daniel Hillege, Max Zanders) Gazy Lansvale 3 (Elvis Ibric, Ado Smajovic, Akin Konak)
Round 5 scores
Nepean FC 1 (Nikola Pozder 27m) Hakoah 4 (Seamus Dowd 10m Simon Weiss 30m Justin Kosmina 65/88m)
Hawkesbury City 2 (Hakan Celik 21m Ryan Wilson 87m) Luddenham United 3 (Huso Merdanovic 26m Dujon Webster 48m Grant Odei 61m)
Chopin Park Rams 2 (Matthew Gibson 59m Marco Kraljevic 77m) Bathurst ?75 0
Springwood United 5 (Peter Henderson 2/63m Kaan Davies 9m Bryan Campbell 34m Craig Small 57m) Hurstville City Minotaurs 0
Roosters FC 1 (Ercan Topal 45m) Fairfield Wanderers 2 (M Navarek 9m H Nikocevic 20m)
Prospect United 1 (Michael Viera 41m) Belmore Hercules 0
Northbridge FC 5 (Ry Hardy x3, Daniel Hillege, Max Zanders) Gazy Lansvale 3 (Elvis Ibric, Ado Smajovic, Akin Konak)
Rescheduled round 2: Gazy Lansvale 0 Hurstville City Minotaurs 4 (Alex Obeid 12m Domenico Battaglia 50/80/86m)
Reserve grade:
Nepean FC 0 Hakoah 0
Hawkesbury City 2 Luddenham United 1
Chopin Park Rams 4 Bathurst ?75 0
Springwood United 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 2
Roosters FC 0 Fairfield Wanderers 1
Prospect United 1 Belmore Hercules 3
Rescheduled round 2: Gazy Lansvale 4 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1
Next week?s games
Round six of NSW division two kicks off with Northbridge versus Chopin Park at Chopin Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm kickoff), followed by two night games between Bathurst and Prospect at Alec Lamberton Field, as Springwood meet Belmore at Summerhayes Park (both first grade games at 7pm). There are three matches on Sunday afternoon (from 3pm), when Wanderers play Hawkesbury at Knight Park, Luddenham face Gazy Lansvale at Luddenham Oval, and Hurstville host Nepean at Punchbowl Oval, followed by a Sunday night game between Hakoah and Roosters at Hensley Athletic Field (7pm). Springwood and Prospect will also play their round-two catch-up match at Summerhayes Park on Thursday night.
Round one of the Waratah Cup knockout also starts this week with five Wednesday night match-ups ? Hawkesbury City tackle Enfield Rovers at Bensons Lane Field (6.30pm kickoff), Fairfield Wanderers host Belmore Hercules at Knight Park (7.15pm), Northbridge visits Bass Hill at Walshaw Park (7.15pm), Gazy Lansvale welcome Bonnet Bay to Cherrybrook Park (7.15pm) and Chopin Park Rams face Lidcombe Waratah at Bensons Lane Field (8.15pm). On Thursday night, Hakoah play Chullora Wolves at Hensley Athletic Field (7.15pm kickoff) while Bathurst ?75 take on Glenmore Park at Parker Street Oval (7.30pm).
-By Daniel De Nardi
