State League Two Round 6 Review

Two games were called off (Hawkesbury versus Nepean and Springwood versus Belmore) but not before Prospect United took charge of division two following a 1-0 win over Springwood midweek and a 1-1 draw at Bathurst on the weekend. Luddenham are chasing hard after their 4-2 win over a hapless Gazy Lansvale, while Wanderers and Hawkesbury stayed in the top-six following their 0-0 stalemate. Roosters took fifth spot following their 4-2 slug-out win over Hakoah, and Chopin Park held onto fourth place after a 1-1 draw with a rising Northbridge.
Draws have been a bit of a feature for this year?s division two newcomers and in the six rounds to date Chopin Park has four and Northbridge and Nepean three stalemates each. It will be interesting to see if this has any impact on the end-of-year standings but at least it gives them a solid indication of their State League competitiveness.
However, while the league has captivated everyone with its weekly spills and thrills it?s also terrific to such early success in the 2011 Waratah Cup where a credible seven division two sides have advanced through to round one of the knockout phase. Northbridge FC, Chopin Park, Gazy Lansvale, Bathurst 75, Hawkesbury City, Fairfield Wanderers and Hakoah all crafted their way to midweek victories to now be pitted against the state?s Super League and division one clubs. Well done to all involved.
Northbridge draw at Chopin Park
Northbridge and Chopin Park Rams played out a dramatic 1-1 draw at Chopin Park on Saturday afternoon, capping off an outstanding week of football for both State League newcomers. Winners last week and winners in their midweek Waratah Cup ties both Northbridge and Chopin Park were riding high and keen for the flight to continue, and the Rams got themselves onto the scoresheet early when Lawrence Gbusseh beat the offside trap and the keeper to score on the quarter-hour mark. Five minutes later and the visitors drew level again as Kieran Hall restored parity for Northbridge before halftime.
The game took a second half twist when Chopin Park defender Goran Sivric was shown a straight red card 10 minutes in for a rash challenge on a Northbridge opponent, but the numerical advantage was shortlived when the young Northbridge keeper was also sent off for handling outside the penalty area to stop a Rams attack. The ensuing freekick was spilled by the replacement keeper and a Chopin Park player thought he had got a toe on the ball to push it into the back of the net but it was disallowed and called back for an infringement on the Northbridge keeper. Try as they did, neither side was able to find a decisive strike and fulltime sounded with the scores still locked at 1-1. 
Chopin Park coach Radek Czerwinski has hardly put a foot wrong in a brilliant start to 2011 for the Rams. They?re undefeated in the league, have conceded just four goals in eight competition matches (six League and two knockout games), and they beat Granville Association?s Lidcombe Waratahs 2-0 at Bensons Lane Field on Wednesday night to stay in the Waratah Cup field. ?I can?t complain at the moment. It is a good start and I am honestly happy with the way the boys have performed,? he said.
?We have always been the first to score in our matches and I thought we had plenty of chances to score more goals [against Northbridge]. Overall the game was even, but it was made hard for us when we had a player sent off and we predominantly defended after that. But both sides had chances to win.?
Northbridge coach Joe Haywood also had plenty to cheer about this week after the newly formed club continued its Waratah Cup run with a resounding 4-1 defeat of Bankstown Association?s Bass Hill at Walshaw Park on Wednesday night, and then held unbeaten Chopin Park on their home turf to maintain its mid-table stance.
?We probably should have got the victory today as we were more or less dominating, but it?s good to at least get something from the match,? Haywood said. ?[Solid Cup and League results] is just a building process for the club and the goal to play some good football along the way. We really want to push the league and see how far we can go in our first year.?
Chopin Park Rams 1 (Lawrence Gbusseh 15m) Northbridge FC 1 (Kieran Hall 20m)
Reserve grade: Chopin Park Rams 1 Northbridge FC 0
Waratah Cup: Northbridge 4 Bass Hill 1
Waratah Cup: Chopin Park Rams 2 Lidcombe Waratahs 0
Bathurst hold Prospect
Bathurst ?75 ground out a 1-1 draw with division two leaders Prospect United at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night. Any points for Prospect would take them into clear first place on the ladder following their 1-0 catch-up win over Springwood midweek (their third clean sheet of the year) and they started briskly against Bathurst when an attack down the left flank and subsequent cut back in to the middle freed up room for Justin McLeay to smash home the game?s opening goal on six minutes.
But the ?75 boys responded well ? buoyed by a tough midweek Waratah Cup win over Glenmore Park ? to test the visitors and it didn?t take long for an equaliser to come. A cleared corner on the half-hour mark was knocked back into the area and Dan Luther rose high to meet the cross with a definitive header into goal to level the scores up. Both sides had their chances to take the lead in the second half but the even contest finished 1-1.
?75 coach Mark Rooke was pleased with the week?s takings following a terrific 3-1 win in the Cup knockout where he needed players to volunteer for the long trek over the mountains for a Thursday night fixture at Parker Street Oval. ?The players were keen to travel down for it and it turned out to be a decent hit-out for the weekend [against Prospect], which certainly was a good result. Both had their chances to win the match; both defences did well, both attacks did well, and both keepers did well, so I think a draw was a fair result. It was pretty nice to come back from one down.?
Prospect coach Tony Caruso was unable to make it to the Bathurst outing but was delighted with what turned out to be a great week for the club. ?We had that Thursday night match at Springwood [for their fourth straight win] and they?re a quality outfit, and then to back it up against Bathurst, the players had to travel close to 500km in two days and to get four points out of it I?m very pleased and the boys should be proud of themselves,? he said.
Caruso remained grounded in regards to becoming the first team this year to lead the competition outright. ?There?s still a lot of football to be played so that breathing space doesn?t really amount to much,? he said. ?Unless there?s no mathematical chance at all of catching a team then the position is irrelevant.?
Bathurst ?75 1 (Dan Luther 35m) Prospect United 1 (Justin McLeay 6m)
Reserve grade: Bathurst ?75 0 Prospect United 1
Waratah Cup: Bathurst 75 3 Glenmore Park 1
Luddenham down Lansvale
Luddenham United outlasted Gazy Lansvale 4-2 in a first-half shootout at Luddenham Oval on Sunday afternoon to grab second place on the championship ladder. All six goals came in a blistering opening term that started when United ace Michael Wood flicked on an Angelo Martino freekick inside four minutes to score the first goal before defender Dino Imamovic did well to beat a couple of Gazy players to slide the ball through to Huso Merdanovic who made no mistake in front of goal to make it 2-0 in the ninth minute.
It was 3-0 10 minutes later when Wood stripped a Lansvale defender of the ball and scored his fifth goal of the season but Gazy received a lifeline when Ibrahim Hammed broke the United offside trap to narrow the deficit midway through the first term. Luddenham returned fire shortly afterwards when Merdanovic crossed to Grant Odei to head home at the far post to restore their three goal lead on the half-hour mark only for Hammed to strike again and halve the deficit for Gazy, trailing 4-2 at halftime.
The second half was a complete contrast to the first with plenty of chances, United?s Ivan Bazina?s shot cleared off the line probably the closest, but the score stayed the same at fulltime. It was Luddenham?s fifth win in six meetings with Lansvale and coach Andrew Montgomery praised the team?s steady progress. He would also pleased with Merdanovic?s contributions, the Luddenham gunslinger scoring a goal in his fourth straight match.
?I didn?t think Gazy were ever in the game. We gifted them a couple of goals and we could have had a couple more; I really don?t know what?s happened with them as they are not the team they used to be,? he said. ?It?s still going to be a tough season and the next four games for us will be defining [unbeaten Chopin Park and Prospect over the next two weeks]. This will give the league a better indication of where everyone is at.?
Despite a solid 3-1 Waratah Cup victory over Sutherland Association?s Bonnet Bay 3-1 at Cherrybrook Park on Wednesday night, Lansvale manager Safet Alispahic can see he has a mountain of work ahead of him to stabilise the Gazy ship in 2011. ?It was a funny and tough game [against Luddenham]. We opened very bad like the other few games and were 3-0 down after 20 minutes; but from that moment it was an even game, just that we were always playing catch up,? he said.
?We put in a hard effort and give them a hard time, but because of the bad start we lose the game. Congratulations to Luddenham. We still have serious issues to fix and need a bit of time? but we will not give up.?
Luddenham United 4 (Michael Wood 4/20m Huso Merdanovic 9m Grant Odei 32m) Gazy Lansvale 2 (Ibrahim Hammed 23/42m)
Reserve grade: Luddenham United 4 Gazy Lansvale 2
Waratah Cup: Gazy Lansvale 3 Bonnet Bay 3-1
Hawkesbury level with Wanderers
Fairfield Wanderers and Hawkesbury City were resting biceps this week after fighting out a 0-0 arm-wrestle at Knight Park on Sunday afternoon. The scoreless game (the season?s first) defied a rich goalscoring history between the sides ? maybe due to both sides feeling a little sore from solid midweek wins in the Waratah Cup ? but it was still an enthralling contest with plenty of chances created. The best of these probably fell to Hawkesbury?s Gavin Hartge who had the goal at his mercy in his first game back from a hamstring injury and missed, and two terrific saves from the City goalkeeper Rob Greenway ensured the points were split.
Wanderers defeated Belmore Hercules 2-1 in a Cup knockout clash at Knight Park on Thursday night and coach Leo Maturana was okay with a shared League result against a quality side like Hawkesbury three days later. ?We had chances and both teams were very equal? there only ever seemed to be one goal in it, so I?m happy to take a point,? he said. ?It was an arm wrestle, tough, quick, and a fair result in the end.?
Hawkesbury coach Gary Lewis agreed. ?They?re a good side and like to keep the ball, and they?re freekick specialists. But I thought our back four were solid against some good attacking players, and their back four also scrambled well. The midfield itself was a pretty good battle, so I?m pretty happy to take a point away from Knight Park? and glad to see the back of it actually,? he laughed. City ran out comfortable 6-0 Waratah Cup winners against Canterbury Association?s Enfield Rovers (B) at Bensons Lane Field on Wednesday night.
Fairfield Wanderers 0 Hawkesbury City 0
Reserve grade: Fairfield Wanderers 2 Hawkesbury City 0
Waratah Cup: Hawkesbury City 6 Enfield Rovers (B) 0
Waratah Cup: Fairfield Wanderers 2 Belmore Hercules 1
Roosters peck Hakoah
Roosters stunned Hakoah 4-2 in a slugfest at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday night to leap into a clearer looking top five. Adem Taslak opened the scoring after 10 minutes and returned Roosters striker Ercan Topal doubled the advantage before halftime. A well-timed Taslak run to the near post reaped dividends shortly after the restart and the on-fire Roosters sniper completed his hat-trick with another great cut to the centre of the box to finish off and make it 4-0 midway through the second period.
Roosters seemed to switch off after that and Hakoah, rediscovering the style thaearned them a superb 6-2 Waratah Cup win over Bankstown Association?s Chullora Wolves ves at Hensley Athletic Field on Thursday night (Justin Kosmina scoring four goals), grabbed the ascendancy with two quick goals to make it 4-2 with 20 minutes still to play, but the visitors held on for a spirited victory.
Roosters coach Musti Akca was pleased with his side?s fourth win over Hakoah in five encounters. ?It was a very good game to watch. We knew what Hakoah had done in the Cup midweek so we knew what was coming at us and prepared for that. The boys had basic and secondary instructions and everyone did a great job,? he said. ?We probably got a bit over-excited with being 4-0 up but we managed to hang on.?
Hakoah 2 Roosters 4 (Adem Taslak x 3, Ercan Topal)
Waratah Cup: Hakoah 6 Chullora Wolves 2
Two games washed out
The scheduled fixture between Hurstville City Minotaurs and Nepean FC at Punchbowl Oval was called off on Sunday afternoon due to overnight rain. Springwood United and Belmore Hercules also had their game at Summerhayes Park washed out on Saturday night but it was still a busy week for both sides. Springwood suffered their first loss of the year when they fell 1-0 to competition leaders Prospect at Summerhayes on Thursday night in a round-two catch-up match, Paul Curjak scoring the only goal on the half-hour to propel Prospect to the top of the leaderboard following their 1-1 draw with Bathurst this weekend. Belmore also played on Thursday night, losing 2-1 to Fairfield Wanderers in a hard-fought Waratah Cup knockout bout.
Springwood United Belmore Hercules washed out
Rescheduled round 2: Springwood United 0 Prospect United 1 (Paul Curjak 27m)
Reserve grade: Springwood United Belmore Hercules washed out
Rescheduled round 2: Springwood United 2 Prospect United 2
Waratah Cup: Fairfield Wanderers 2 Belmore Hercules 1
Round 6 scores
Chopin Park Rams 1 (Lawrence Gbusseh 15m) Northbridge FC 1 (Kieran Hall 20m)
Bathurst ?75 1 (Dan Luther 35m) Prospect United 1 (Justin McLeay 6m)
Fairfield Wanderers 0 Hawkesbury City 0
Luddenham United 4 (Michael Wood 4/20m Huso Merdanovic 9m Grant Odei 32m) Gazy Lansvale 2 (Ibrahim Hameed 23/42m)
Hakoah 2 Roosters 4 (Adem Taslak x 3, Ercan Topal)
Hurstville City Minotaurs Nepean FC washed out
Springwood United Belmore Hercules washed out
Rescheduled round 2: Springwood United 0 Prospect United 1 (Paul Curjak 27m)
Reserve grade:
Chopin Park Rams 1 Northbridge FC 0
Bathurst ?75 0 Prospect United 1
Fairfield Wanderers 2 Hawkesbury City 0
Luddenham United 4 Gazy Lansvale 2
Hurstville City Minotaurs Nepean FC washed out
Springwood United Belmore Hercules washed out
Rescheduled round 2: Springwood United 2 Prospect United 2
Next week?s games
Round seven of NSW division two kicks off with a Friday evening extravaganza between competition leaders Prospect United and Northbridge FC at a newly renovated Northbridge Oval (5.30pm kickoff). Chopin Park tackle Luddenham at Chopin Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm) before Saturday evening fixtures featuring Hawkesbury versus Roosters at Benson Lane Field, and Springwood against Bathurst at Summerhayes Park (5pm). On Sunday afternoon (from 3pm), Belmore play Nepean at Blick Oval, and Gazy Lansvale host Wanderers at Cherrybrook Park, while on Sunday night Hakoah and Hurstville clash at Hensley Athletic Field (7pm).
-By Daniel De Nardi