NSW Super League Round 17 Review

But watch out for Blacktown Spartans, who jumped to second and remain only four points behind with two games up their sleeve.
Losses by the Rams, Spirit FC, St George and Granville Rage have widened the hopes for many, with Northern Tigers, Sydney University and Central Coast gaining the most from the weekend?s results.
Feature Match of the Week
Dulwich Hill v Northern Tigers
Anyone club wanting to take out the Championship this season will want to keep an eagle eye out on Northern Tigers. The reigning champions, who were nine points adrift of fifth spot at the halfway mark of the season, have moved to within one point of a finals spot after comfortably accounting for Dulwich Hill 2-0.
They never really looked in danger at Arlington Oval, despite the hard work of Dulwich Hill, who needed points of their own but for a different reason. They almost went a goal down on the first attack of the day, Matthew Kasbarian needing to be alert when a wayward back header fell to Matt Collins. With only thirty eights seconds gone, Collins could have put the Tigers one up but Kasbarian palmed over, away from danger.
The Tigers were in control early and had a couple of opportunities to take the lead. Travis Oughtred came very close with a header from a corner while a strong freekick flew out wide to the left, the ball was headed back in across the face of goal but Collins couldn?t quite connect. But if the Tigers were threatening, they finally got their reward after good backing up by Adam Hett saw him receive a precise pass from Collins, slamming the ball into the net from just inside the area.
Half an hour gone, and the Tigers were looking good. Dulwich Hill certainly battled away but Steve Donevski, alone up front, was always going to find it difficult against a defence as strong as the Tigers. Sunamoto came on just before half time to add extra strike power but the Tigers maintained composure.
The restart almost saw another goal to the Tigers. Hett again, came very close after a cross from Max Glanville this time, almost doubling his tally. Glanville was in fine form today, looking sharp and keen. He tormented Dully out wide on the right, his pace a constant concern.
But as long as it remained just the one goal, Dulwich Hill were in with a chance. They had a brief flurry midway through the second half, Matt Toogood looking to create some chances. It was from a Toogood cross that Dully had perhaps their best chance of the game with Matt Ferreira heading over. Donevski tried from a direct free kick but Stuart Page had it covered all the way.
Lucas Dawson had a couple of chances, Kasbarian again equal to the task. Kasbarian saved Dully on more than one occasion but he could do little about the Tigers second. Glanville skipped past a sliding Mirza Sehic and took off down the wing. A cross to the far side found Tom Geekie, who neatly laid on to Gavin Forbes, the striker making no mistake to seal the win.
The win moves the Tigers to sixth and well within range of Spirit FC (fourth) and St George (fifth) in what will be a tense month for many.
Jason Eagar always had confidence in his side.
?I knew that we would be able to get the points but we needed clubs to drop points as well for us to make any ground, and that is exactly what has happened. That is only the second time this season though that we have had two wins in a row?.
It is perhaps the Tigers? defence which has been their lynchpin.
?We have only conceded three goals now in our last seven games and while I haven?t looked at the stats, I can?t remember a save that Stuart Page had to make today?.
It was a sombre Paul Carter after the game.
?We weren?t quite there today?, he said. ?I thought we might be able to do something, and though we put a little pressure on their backs, we just didn?t pressure them overall?.
Dulwich Hill 0 v Northern Tigers 2 (Adam Hett 31?, Gavin Forbes 83?)
10 July 2011
at Arlington Oval
Referee: Alex Glasgow
Assts: Lance Greenshields and Patricia Villagomez
Dulwich Hill: 1. Matt Kasbarian 3. Thomas Sowden 4. J Gibbs (T Sunamoto 44?) 7. Matt Toogood 16. Mirza Sehic 18. Joseph Savor (10. Jason Garrido 80?) 5. Daniel Zentner (11. Mark Pinto 68?) 6. C Jones 15. Darren Stapleton (c) 14. Matt Ferreira 17. Steve Donevski.
Subs not used: 19. Matt Bianco 22. K Perestreiro
Coach: Paul Carter
Northern Tigers: 1. Stuart Page 12. Rhys Williams 2. Travis Oughtred 4. Michael Rolston 3. Luke Reading 6. Adam Hett (7. Tom Geekie 77?) 11. Danny Vukovic (16. Steven Baveas 63?) 15. Lucas Dawson 5. Matt Collins 8. Max Glanville 10. Gavin Forbes (9. Thomas Mackay).  
Subs not used: 14. Brendan Salameh 26. Marc Messina.
Coach: Jason Eagar
St George v Central Coast
It was an amazing finish at St George Stadium as a gallant Central Coast, down to nine players for the last ten minutes, snuck a winner right at the death to keep their season alive.
It was a result that didn?t seem likely after Ivo de Jesus equalised for St George from the penalty spot in the eighty third minute. The Coast were reduced to nine at that point following the dismissal of Dale Hall for handball and if a winner was going to come, the chances were it would be from the home side.
Central Coast had taken a first half lead when Matt Mitchell charged down a clearance from Saints keeper, Luke Turnbull, the ball ricocheting back into goal. But despite holding the majority of possession, and territory, St George were not able to get past the solid Coast defence.
The second half proved a different matter, however. The send off of the Coast?s Louis Bozanic, after receiving a second yellow, in the seventy third minute, gave St George a distinct advantage and the Saints pushed forward in numbers in desperate search of the equaliser. Chances were coming regularly for St George as gaps appeared but as the game wore on, the Coast still hung on.
But that handball by Hall saw the Coast down to nine and when de Jesus put away the resultant penalty, St George piled on the pressure. The Saints came closest when David Smith hit the post in the eighty sixth, while a free kick just outside the box by de Jesus was cleared away by an increasingly desperate Coast.
As it seemed that the draw would be the final result, in a fast counter attack, and with St George pushed up, Central Coast charged down on Turnbull?s goal and with the Saints defence outnumbered, it was left to Jamie Lobb who hammered home in the seventh minute of time added on.
There was barely time for St George to kick off and threaten one last attack but it was the Coast who celebrated a stunning victory.
?That was so important?, said Peter Preston. ?Had we lost tonight, our season would have been over. But we really dug in and that got us the result?.
?St George certainly have a lot of good ball players and credit to them. But even though they had a lot of possession, I didn?t think they had a lot of chances, at least in the first half when the ball was always in front of us?.
?The second half was different but credit to us as well. I am still not sure how we were 2 v 1 at the end when we broke, and it was almost 3 v 1?.
Kory Babington could hardly believe it.
?I am so disappointed, times ten. Gutted,? he stated. ?It?s not as if we played badly but again, we just didn?t take our chances. Our concentration slipped at crucial moments and we really need to keep the intensity over the full ninety minutes?.
?Our consistency is a bit of a problem and we sometimes lack that sense of urgency. But credit to the Coast, they deserved their dues at the end of the day?.
St George 1 (Ivo de Jesus 83? pen) v Central Coast 2 (Matt Mitchell 34?, Jamie Lobb 90+7)
Blacktown Spartans v Granville Rage
Blacktown Spartans moved into outright second following a tough 3-1 win over Granville Rage at Francis Park, being made to work all the way against a committed Rage.
An early goal to James Young, after just two minutes, caught Granville unawares but despite going a goal down so soon, the Rage dominated the majority of the half as they sought a goal of their own. But despite an intense amount of pressure, Granville could not breach the Spartans backline.
Instead, it was Glen McPherson who doubled Blacktown?s lead, running at the defence before netting just after the hour. A quick response by the Rage, Pat Cappuccio dispatching home a loose ball, brought it back to 2-1 but a third to the Spartans, via the boot of Tom Spencer, made the points safe.
Spencer, cleared to play earlier than expected after recovering from injury, scored an absolute bomb, slamming the ball into the top right corner from a good twenty five metres, with just eight minutes left.
?That goal was worth the entry fee alone?, said Ben de Hann. ?He hit it so sweetly, I wouldn?t have wanted to be anywhere near the goal. Jason Holmes had no chance?.
But it was three good goals scored by the Spartans.
?It was nice to put away that early goal. We tend to get a few chances early on and it was good to put one away this time. Young?s goal, and Glen McPherson?s, both came from good runs and we knew that we would get the chances as the Rage play high, we just had to make sure we took them?.
?Granville certainly dominated the game, there was plenty of aerial bombardment but we stayed solid at the back?.
It was not a good night for Granville, as Mauricio Islas explained.
?It was so frustrating,? he said. ?It is just not happening for us at the moment. Blacktown?s first goal was easily offside and we had one goal disallowed when the ball crossed the line. But what do you do, you have to keep battling away?.
?And we picked up a couple of injuries too, a couple taken off on stretchers, we will have to wait and see how badly those injuries are?.
?I am so gutted for the boys, we dominated the match so much. Blacktown probably had four shots and Jason picked the ball out three times?.
But there was no argument about the quality of Tom Spencer?s goal.
?That was just a cracker. You would never see a goal like it?, Islas agreed.
Blacktown Spartans 3 (James Young 2?, Glen McPherson 63? Tom Spencer 82?) Granville Rage 1 (Pat Cappuccio 64?)
West Sydney Berries v Macarthur Rams
West Sydney Berries knocked off second placed challengers Macarthur Rams 2-1 to retain top spot and increase their competition lead to four points.
The visitors took the lead through Chris Gomez just two minutes before half time leaving the Berries with a second half job to do. But the prolific Stefan de Jesus scored brilliantly to draw the Berries level, chesting the ball down and hitting a sweet half volley. Phil Reilly got on the scoresheet for the first time this season, smashing in a left foot strike into the top corner from well outside the box to put the Berries ahead with just over a quarter of an hour left.
The win could be one of the most important for the Berries, seeking to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking. As the only team to have played all scheduled games, and with just five games to go, they will be keeping a keen watch on the catch up games over the coming weeks.
But the win at Lidcombe wasn?t a fait accompli.
?It could have gone either way,? stated Steve Karavatakis. ?The Rams hit the post in the second half and we had to battle all the way. I thought the goal we conceded was a bit cheap though, a bit of confusion at the back?.
?But we had five out, and it was a makeshift defence. Overall, we have done really well and obviously very happy with the win,? he said.
Claudio Canosa was disappointed although he accepted the defeat.
?There was very little between the two teams and sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I have no complaints?, he said.
?And they scored a cracker of a goal. That goal [Reilly?s], had it been scored anywhere in the world, it would have made headlines. It was an absolute bullet. There was nothing we could have done about either of their goals?.
?But we were a little unlucky too. Alan de la Cuadra had a shot which hit both posts and bounced out. Had that gone in, we would have been up 2-0. It just means we will be back at training during the week, working hard, there is still plenty of football left?.
West Sydney Berries 2 (Stefan De Jesus 65? Phil Reilly 73?) Macarthur Rams 1 (Chris Gomez 43?)
Spirit FC v Sydney University
It was a comprehensive victory for Sydney University at Christie Park, the Students doing further damage to Spirit FC.
Nils Justine got Uni on the right track scoring after thirty two minutes, a lead they held until half time. Fifteen minutes after the break, top scorer Liam McConaghy notched his eighth of the season to put Uni in a commanding position. David McMurray then added further salt to Spirit?s wounds getting a third ten minutes later to seal a 3-0 win.
With other results going their way this weekend, Uni have brought themselves back into serious finals contention and their rescheduled match against Central Coast, tentatively marked for Wednesday, will be very important indeed.
Spirit FC 0 Sydney University 3 (Nils Justine 32? Liam McConaghy 60? David McMurray 71?)
Hills Brumbies v Fraser Park
There was little uncovered at Lily Homes Stadium, the 1-1 result not changing much at the bottom of the ladder as the Brumbies and Fraser Park shared the points.
A Danny Wilson goal put Fraser in the box seat but constant and heavy Brumbies pressure paid dividends when Lord Darkoh drew them level, heading home from a corner, midway through the second half.
A missed penalty by Fraser Park though, may well prove crucial come the final standings.
Hills Brumbies 1 (Lord Darkoh 68?) Fraser Park FC 1 (Danny Wilson 14?)
Top Goalscorers
10 –       Kris Holbrook                (Granville Rage)
9 –        Chris Gomez                 (Macarthur Rams)
            Dragan Savic                (Hills Brumbies)
            Dimitri Zakilas               (West Sydney Berries)
8 –        Stefan de Jesus            (West Sydney Berries)
            Grant Maundrell (Central Coast)
            Liam McConaghy          (Sydney University)
7-         Juan Chavez                 (Spirit FC)
            Steve Donevski (Dulwich Hill)
            Shannon Hankin            (Macarthur Rams)
            Matt Mitchell                 (Central Coast)
-By Peter Rowney