Division One Youth League Round 11 Review

Club Championship
Camden Tigers pocketed nine points when they hosted Southern NSW and Gladesville Ryde Magic earned twelve points at home to Balmain East Tigers while Hills Brumbies took ten points from their clash with Springwood United.
St George bagged nine points from their local derby clash with Hurstville City Minotaurs and the encounter between Mt Druitt Town Rangers and Stanmore Hawks ended with the clubs sharing the points at seven apiece.
Hakoah earned all fifteen points when they faced off with Nepean and that is the best result of the season for the eastern suburbs outfit while Northbridge nabbed ten points from their encounter with Inter Lions, easily the best outcome for Northbridge so far this season.  
In the Round 6 catch-up matches on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic took eleven points from their meeting with Springwood United.
Grade 13
Camden Tigers suffered their first defeat for the season when they went down 1-0 to Southern NSW. The first half saw Camden dominate field position but they were continually frustrated by a determined and hardworking Southern defence which saw both sides go to the break with the game scoreless. Camden looked to continue their field dominance from the opening whistle of the second half but it was Southern who looked to knock the ball around in an attempt to open up the Camden defence. As the second half rolled on, both sides created chances but the tight defence and excellent keeping from Camden’s Clarkson and Southern’s Strahan appeared to have the game heading for a scoreless draw. Camden had a chance in the 54th minute when Khit Minh found himself one-on-one with the keeper but some brave work by Strahan again frustrated the big Camden striker. Another raid by Southern and a wide ball to C.MacQueen in the 59th minute proved to be the decisive moment. MacQueen received the ball about 25 metres out from the Camden goal, and with a super strike, the ball crashed into the left hand post and past Clarkson’s outstretched hand to give Southern an amazing 1 – 0 result.
Gladesville Ryde Magic registered a 4-0 result when they faced Balmain East Tigers and Hurstville City Minotaurs downed St George with a 3-0 scoreline.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers took their unbeaten run to four matches when they produced a very impressive 5-0 result to overcome Stanmore Hawks and Springwood United made in two wins in a row when they had a 1-0 success over Hills Brumbies.
Hakoah took their unbeaten sequence to six matches when they were 5-0 winners when they faced Nepean while Inter Lions and Northbridge played out a thrilling 3-3 draw.
In the Round 6 catch-up match on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic accounted for Springwood United with a 6-0 result.
Grade 14
Stanmore Hawks have clearly recovered from their only loss a fortnight ago as they registered a 1-0 success over Mt Druitt Town Rangers while St George stretched their unbeaten run to six matches when they were 3-1 winners over Hurstville City Minotaurs.
Gladesville Ryde Magic bounced back from last week?s loss to register an impressive 6-1 victory over Balmain East Tigers and Hills Brumbies had a handy 3-0 success when they faced Springwood United while Camden Tigers produced a 2-0 win over Southern NSW. Oscar Robertsson-Smith opened the scoring for the Tigers in the 14th minute when he outpaced the Southern defence to place the ball past the Keeper. The Tigers continued to create goal scoring chances but the solid Southern defence and some wayward shooting kept the score to 1 – 0 at the half time break. The second half opened well for the Tigers with a goal to Samuel Hall in the 42nd minute. A long range strike from 30 metres that gave the Southern keeper no chance saw the Tigers jump to a 2 – 0 lead. Camden continued to create further chances but again Southern were strong and kept the Tigers at bay. The final result saw Camden run out winners to pick up a valuable three points over a very committed Southern Branch.
Hakoah made it three wins on the trot when the downed Nepean by the odd goal in five while Northbridge made a return to the winners circle with a 4-1 result over Inter Lions.
In the Round 6 catch-up match on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic were 2-1 winners over Springwood United.
Grade 15
Mt Druitt Town Rangers continued along their unbeaten way when they were 3-0 winners over Stanmore Hawks while Southern NSW were a bit too good for Camden Tigers as they took their unbeaten sequence to six matches with a 4-2 win. The game was played at a frantic pace from the start with S. Kennedy opening the scoring for Southern Branch in the seventh minute. Camden then counter attacked looking for that equaliser. They created the chances but were unable to find that vital goal. In the twenty-ninth minute, against the run of play, B. Vamba doubled Southern’s lead when he pounced on a Tigers defensive error to beat a diving Walsh in goal for the Tigers. Both teams lifted again for the second half and in the 55th minute, Camden were rewarded for their efforts with a strike from Jordan Agius which brought the game to life. In the 57th minute S.Kennedy silenced the Camden crowd when got his second for Southern to give them a 3 – 1 lead. In the 63rd minute, Liam Hastie had the crowd roaring again when he converted a spot kick for the Tigers second. Camden pushed forward in search of another goal but were caught out when B. Wallington scored for Southern Branch in the 68th minute. In what was a very entertaining match, Southern would run out 4 – 2 winners.
Gladesville Ryde Magic suffered a surprising 2-0 loss when they met Balmain East Tigers while Hurstville City Minotaurs accounted for St George, winning the match 2-1 and Hills Brumbies defeated Springwood United with a 3-1 scoreline.
Hakoah knocked over Nepean with an impressive 4-0 scoreline and Northbridge came up with a 4-1 victory when they met Inter Lions.
In the Round 6 catch-up match on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic produced a 2-1 victory over Springwood United.
Grade 16
Stanmore Hawks made a return to the winners circle when they came up with a 1-0 victory over Mt Druitt Town Rangers while Hurstville City Minotaurs saw their three match unbeaten run come to a halt when they were beaten 1-0 by St George who were coming off two losses.
Camden Tigers produced a very strong 5-0 victory over Southern NSW. The Tigers good form continued when they jumped to an early 2 – 0 lead through goals to Ben Roberts in the second minute and Taylor McDonald in the fourth minute. To their credit, Southern continued to battle on and make Camden work hard for the remainder of the first half. Despite creating chances, Camden were unable to extend their lead and went to the break 2 up. The goals came quickly again in the second half with Michael Puntillo making it 3 – 0 in the 39th minute. In the 48th minute Nick Holmes made it 4 – 0 and in the 52nd minute Joshua Thurston made it 5 – 0. Camden were just too strong for a determined Southern Branch on the day and were very happy with the three points collected.
Hills Brumbies sprang a surprise when they were able to defeat Springwood United 3-1 and Gladesville Ryde Magic made it two wins in a row when they were 4-0 winners over Balmain East Tigers.
Hakoah have now gone nine games without loss following their stunning 10-0 victory over Nepean while Inter Lions made it two wins in a row with a  4-0 success over Northbridge.
In the Round 6 catch-up match on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic and Springwood United battled out a 1-1 draw.
Grade 18
Camden Tigers produced a very respectable 8-0 victory over Southern NSW. The first 30 minutes of the match saw both sides create opportunities but no goals. Camden were looking tired and frustrated and needed a lift. This lift came in the 31st minute with a great goal to Matt Trotter. The Tigers then stepped up a gear and goals to Jesse Kennedy in the 35th minute and a second to Matt Trotter in the 43rd minute saw Camden 3 – 0 up at the break. Again for the first 20 minutes of the second half, Southern and Camden created opportunities but no goals. In the 65th minute Dean Stepien made it 4-0 to Camden when he latched onto a pin point pass from Sean Doherty to beat the Southern keeper. This goal from Stepien was the start of an amazing 6 minutes for the Tigers and Stepien. In the 68th minute Stepien scored his second to make it 5 – 0 to Camden. In the 70th minute Stepien got his hat trick and in the 71st minute he got his fourth and Camden had a 7 – 0 lead. Ben Knobel finished the goal scoring for the Tigers in the 80th minute. Even though Southern were beaten on the scoreboard, they never stopped trying and should be commended for their gutsy effort.
Hills Brumbies took their unbeaten sequence to ten matches when they were held to a scoreless draw by Springwood United while Gladesville Ryde Magic remained undefeated after nine matches when they were 4-1 winners over Balmain East Tigers.
Stanmore Hawks are unbeaten in their last three outings after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Mt Druitt Town Rangers who have not lost in their last four matches and St George returned to the winners circle with a win by the odd goal in five over Hurstville City Minotaurs.
Hakoah bounced back from two losses to post a 4-3 win over Nepean in an absolute thriller while Northbridge have now won three in a row after they were 4-2 winners over Inter Lions.
In the Round 6 catch-up match on Sunday Gladesville Ryde Magic and Springwood United battled it out for a 1-1 draw.
-By Barry Davis