Division One Youth League Round 12 Review

Only a very brave person would even suggest that the shock results have come to an end or that the result of any match is predictable because the competitions are so very close this season.
Club Championship
Camden Tigers retained the lead on this table despite the fact that they could take only five points from the home matches against ninth placed Hills Brumbies while Gladesville Ryde Magic are second after they managed to earn only five points from their encounter with seventh placed Hurstville City Minotaurs.
Third placed Stanmore Hawks pocketed twelve points when they faced Balmain East Tigers who have slipped back one place to thirteenth and Mt Druitt Town Rangers climbed two places to fourth when the grabbed all fifteen points from their home games against Northbridge who have dropped one place to fourteenth.
Hakoah feel back one place to fifth when they split the points at seven apiece with tenth placed Springwood United and St George drifted back to sixth after they earned ten points from their clash with eighth placed Southern NSW while Inter Lions shot up two places to twelfth thanks to the twelve points, their best ever, they took from their trip to eleventh placed Nepean.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 Balmain East Tigers added eight points to their tally when they visited Inter Lions,  Hills Brumbies bagged ten points when they hosted Northbridge and Mt Druitt Town Rangers pocketed seven points from the three matches played at Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Grade 13
Camden Tigers bounced back from their only loss and retained the leading role on the table when they were 3-0 winners over ninth placed Hills Brumbies. Camden settled into their game early and dominated field position. In the fourteenth minute, Jacob Emmerton opened the scoring for the Tigers after a sweeping passing movement gave him the space and time to beat the Brumbies keeper. Hills continued to challenge the Tigers in the centre of the park and with strong defence at the back. In the twenty-fourth minute, Camden were awarded a penalty and Nick Stojic calmly stepped up to drive the ball into the back of the net. The second half saw both teams move the ball around in an attempt to create goal scoring chances. In the forty-first minute, the speed and finish of Corey Debono was too much for the Brumbies defence and it was 3-0 to the Tigers. Despite creating more chances,Camden were unable to beat the Hills defence for the remainder of the game.
Southern NSW are still second after they were held to a 2-2 draw by St George who have slipped back a place to seventh.
Hakoah rose one position to third when they came up with a strong 5-0 success over tenth placed Springwood United and Gladesville Ryde Magic dropped back to fourth when they were beaten 1-0 by Hurstville City Minotaurs who have risen one place to sixth.
Fifth placed Mt Druitt Town Rangers were 4-0 winners when they met thirteenth placed Northbridge and eighth placed Nepean suffered a 1-0 loss to twelfth placed Inter Lions while Stanmore Hawks remained at eleventh after they defeated fourteenth placed Balmain East Tigers with a 2-1 scoreline.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 Inter Lions were 3-1 winners over Balmain East Tigers, Mt Druitt Town Rangers defeated Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-0 and the match between Hills Brumbies and Northbridge ended up being a 3-3 thriller.
Grade 14
Stanmore Hawks are still sitting at the top of the table thanks to their 4-0 success over sixth placed Balmain East Tigers while St George are in second spot following their 1-0 victory over eighth placed Southern NSW.
Hakoah remained at third after they were 2-0 winners over fourteenth placed Springwood United. Hakoah were controlling the early stage of the match and were constantly looking to go forward. In the thirteenth minute Greg Ellerine was adjudged to have been brought down in the box. The penalty was beautifully taken by Mikey Herman who gave the keeper no chanceand so Hakoah had the lead. The remaining fifteen minutes was a scrappy affair with both teams finding it difficult to string more than two passes together.  Despite this Springwood had chances to even the score, after they penetrated the defence on two occasions but they were unable to convert.  Hakoah also had a few chances, the best one by Dean Gruskin,  only to be denied by a diving Springwood goalkeeper. The second half began with the Springwood side determined to even the scoreboard. The Hakoah side were starved of the ball for the first fifteen minutes, dug deep and did not let the Springwood side breech their goal line. Springwood?s best chance came from a free kick, which hit the crossbar but failed to cross the line and was cleared away. Soon after coming on Jonathan Solomon gave a perfectly weighted ball to Simon Rouse on the fly and it was only a desperate save from the Springwood keeper that kept the ball out of the back of the net. However this seemed to reinvigorate the Hakoah side and more attacking play was finally forthcoming. The best of these was a great run on the right were Jordan Ozana nutmegged the defender and then played a perfect cross which was sublimely finished by Rouse.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers are holding down fourth position following their 5-0 triumph over Northbridge who have slipped back two places to thirteenth.
Fifth placed Camden Tigers went down 2-1 when they faced Hills Brumbies who have climbed two places to eleventh. Hills Brumbies opened their match with Camden Tigers on fire. They attacked from the opening whistle playing some very entertaining football. This intensity was rewarded with early goals to R.Hoad in the fifth minute and J.Wall in the twelfth and it looked as if Hills would run away with the game. To their credit, Camden continued to try and play their way back into the game and were unlucky not to score late in the first half when a Samuel Hall strike was pushed onto the bar then caught by the Hills keeper. Camden coach Mark Kolanovic made some changes for the second half and the match began to swing back towards the Tigers. Three Red cards were issued by the Referee for three seperate incidents in the second half and because of this, the game really opened up. Another great save by the Hills keeper prevented a Tigers goal in the forty-seventh minute but a Gus Hogbin strike in the fifty-first minute opened Camden’s account. From this point onwards Camden pushed forward in search of another goal but the Brumbies defence held strong. In the sixty-seventh minute, Camden looked to have snatched a late equaliser through Gus Hogbin with the Referee awarding the goal and then to the amazment of the Camden supporters, changing his decision after an offside ruling from his Assistant. The final score was probably a true indication of the game.
Seventh placed Gladesville Ryde Magic were held to a scoreless draw by Hurstville City Minotaurs who have moved up one place to ninth while Inter Lions scooted two places up the table to tenth when they were 2-1 winners over Nepean who have tumbled back three places to twelfth.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 Balmain East Tigers were 4-1 winners over Inter Lions, Hills Brumbies registered an 8-2 victory over Northbridge and the match between Gladesville Ryde Magic and Mt Druitt Town Rangers was locked at 2-2 at the final whistle.
Grade 15
Unbeaten Mt Druitt Town Rangers continued their run of success and remained on the top rung of the ladder with a 6-0 victory over twelfth placed Northbridge and Southern NSW retained second spot thanks to their 2-1 success over eighth placed St George.
Third placed Gladesville Ryde Magic were beaten 2-1 by seventh placed Hurstville City Minotaurs, fourth placed Stanmore Hawks went down 1-0 to sixth placed Balmain East Tigers.
Fifth placed Camden Tigers were held to a 2-2 draw by Hills Brumbies who are eleventh. Both teams played the opening half at a frantic pace looking to get on top of their opponents. It was Camden who took the early advantage through a goal from Sam Inzitari in the thirteenth minute. Some unusual off-side decisions from the Referee and his Assistants and the strong defence from both sides saw players become frustrated. This resulted in a rush of cards to both teams throughout the match. In the thirty-fourth minute of the first half D.Chidgey scored a great goal for the Brumbies and the half time score was 1 – 1. The second half was again played at a frantic pace with first Camden and then Hills taking the upper hand. Second half goals to L.Caceres for Hills and Josh Toogood for the Tigers saw both teams collect a point from a very entertaining match.
Hakoah retained ninth position after they fought out a 1-1 draw with tenth placed Springwood United while Inter Lions are tenth after they took the points with a 3-0 win-on-forfeit over thirteenth placed Nepean.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 Balmain East Tigers accounted for Inter Lions with a 3-1 scoreline, Northbridge downed Hills Brumbies 3-0 and Mt Druitt Town Rangers edged out Gladesville Ryde Magic with a 1-0 final score.
Grade 16
Stanmore Hawks are the competition leaders after they produced a 3-1 victory over fourteenth placed Balmain East Tigers while Hakoah are still placed second after their unbeaten run of nine matches came to a screaming halt when they went down 1-0 to Springwood United who have moved up two places to fourth.
Third placed Gladesville Ryde Magic extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a 1-0 success over Hurstville City Minotaurs who have tumbled back three places to eighth.
Camden Tigers have fallen back one place to fifth after they were beaten 3-1 by Hills Brumbies who have jumped up one place to seventh. A very polished Hills Brumbies scored in the sixth minute through M.Stjepic and again in the twenty-fourth minute through J.Woodberry to confirm their dominance of the first half. The second half saw a very determined Tigers side lift their intensity in an effort to get back into the match. In the fifty-first minute, Michael Ridgewell finsihed off a great passing movement from the Tigers to pull a goal back and bring the crowd to life. The remainder of the half saw both teams create chances but it would be Hills who would close out the game in the 68th minute with a strike from L.Maait and it was 3 – 1 to the Brumbies. Despite a final surge from the Tigers it was Hills that would pick up the three points with a very dominate performance.
St George rose one place to sixth when they were 5-0 winners over eleventh placed Southern NSW and Mt Druitt Town Rangers remained at ninth following their 4-1 success over twelfth placed Northbridge while Inter Lions stayed at tenth with a 5-0 victory over thirteenth placed Nepean.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 the match between Inter Lions and Balmain East Tigers ended at 1-1 while Hills Brumbies were 2-1 winners over Northbridge.
Grade 18
Camden Tigers extended their unbeaten sequence to five matches and remained at the top of the table when they battled out a 1-1 draw with third placed Hills Brumbies. This was what many perceived to be the game of the year to date. It turned out to be a battle of patience, skill and fitness and it was Camden who looked to have the early advantage. Several goal scoring opportunities were created but some strong keeping from Hills Kane Wallace prevented an early score for the Tigers. This all changed in the thirty-sixth minute when a Dean Stepien strike beat the keeper, giving Camden a 1-0 lead and Stepiens ninth goal of the season. Both teams battled hard for the first twenty minutes of the second half with Camden still looking the stronger at this time. Things began to change as the Tigers tired and the Brumbies then began to gain the advantage. Continual raids on the Camden goal were defended and it became a battle of strength and mental fitness. Could the Tigers hang on. In the seventy-ninth minute, a miss kick from Andrew Haim in goal for the Tigers saw Hills awarded a corner. From this set piece, Hills were able to equalise through Jordan Caporale and the Tigers heads dropped. The last ten minutes saw both teams defend strongly and in the end a 1 – 1 draw was probably a fair result.
Unbeaten Gladesville Ryde Magic remained at second after they were held to a thrill-a-minute 3-3 draw by seventh placed Hurstville City Minotaurs while Stanmore Hawks are in fourth position after they accounted for thirteenth placed Balmain East Tigers with a 7-0 scoreline.
Fifth placed St George came up with a 6-2 success over fourteenth placed Southern NSW and Mt Druitt Town Rangers are sixth following their 5-0 success over eleventh placed Northbridge.
Springwood United moved up one position to eighth when they were 2-1 winners over Hakoah who have fallen back one place to ninth while Nepean jumped one place to tenth when they downed twelfth placed Inter Lions by the odd goal in seven in an absolute heart-stopper.
In Catch-up action from Round 9 the final score was 1-1 when Inter Lions Balmain faced East Tigers while Hills Brumbies posted a solid 7-1 victory over Northbridge thanks to goals from  Jordan Caporale (2), James Shannon, Brad Robertson, Tomas Sarac and Mitchell Slee.
-By Barry Davis