Division One Youth League Round 20 Review

Club Championship
This competition is far from settled and it really could be determined on the final day of the competition so there are sure to be plenty of heart-stopping reactions as the clubs involved in the race keep a very close watch on the results of the other clubs.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers maintained their place at the top of this table when they split the points at seven apiece with third placed Hakoah after the Rangers had bagged ten of the first round points.
Second placed Gladesville Ryde Magic had taken twelve points from their first round meeting with twelfth placed Inter Lions and history repeated as they grabbed a dozen points again this week.
Magic added seven points to their tally when they played three catch-up matches from Round 16 against Hills Brumbies.
Camden Tigers are holding down fourth position after they earned eleven points from their visit to tenth placed Springwood United and that was not quite as good as their first round match-up when the Tigers had taken twelve points from the day.
St George are placed fifth following their haul of twelve points from the meeting with thirteenth placed Nepean and that repeated the outcome of the first round meeting between the clubs.
Sixth placed Stanmore Hawks pocketed nine points when they last saw ninth placed Southern NSW and this time the Hawks achieved a better result when they secured twelve points from the day.
Hills Brumbies are in eighth position after they took eight points from their encounter with eleventh placed Balmain East Tigers reversing the outcome of the first round clash when Balmain had kept nine of the points.
The fixture between Northbridge and Hurstville City Minotaurs is being played during this week and I will bring you those results next week.
Grade 13
Over the coming weeks there is certain to be quite a battle among the current top seven teams for places in the finals series and then for the pecking order within the top five.
Camden Tigers are three points clear at the top of the table after they accounted for thirteenth placed Springwood United with a 4-0 scoreline, exactly the same result as the Tigers had posted from the first round match.
Southern NSW climbed one place to second thanks to a 2-1 success over eleventh placed Stanmore Hawks and that completes the double for Southern as they were 7-1 winners last time around.
Hakoah slipped back one place to third when they were beaten 3-1 by Mt Druitt Town Rangers after their first round encounter had ended in a 2-2 draw. However, due to catch-up matches played elsewhere, the Rangers have dropped back to sixth.
St George remained at fourth when they produced a 2-0 victory over eighth placed Nepean who the Saints had beaten 4-0 when the teams met in the first round.
Placed sixth on goal difference Gladesville Ryde Magic posted a 1-0 success over tenth placed Inter Lions who Magic had beaten 3-1 when they faced off in the first round.
In Round 16 catch-up action Magic battled out a 2-2 draw with the Brumbies after Magic had taken all the first round points with a 4-1 win and that had moved Gladesville Ryde up to fifth.
Hills Brumbies are still in eighth position after they battled out a 1-1 draw with fourteenth placed Balmain East Tigers who had claimed the first round points with a 1-0 win.
Grade 14
It looks as though the current top four will fight it out for the best possible position in the finals series and then there seems to be a battle looming among the next three teams to secure the other place in the play-offs.
Stanmore Hawks moved up one position to lead the way on the table when they were 4-0 winners over Southern NSW who the Hawks had beaten 5-0 in the first round.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers fell back to second after they suffered a 2-1 loss to fourth placed Hakoah who had gone down 6-0 to the Rangers last time the teams faced each other. From the kick off the Hakoah boys were playing good quality football. The passing was solid, the moves were elegant and the ball was doing the work and talk. Hakoah had a number of opportunities to get on the score board due to the attacking flair of Simon Rouse with the assistance of Mikey Herman in midfield who was delivering accurate passes to the forwards, but Hakoah could just not get that elusive goal.  The back four were composed, playing with maturity and kept the attacking options of Mt Druitt to a minimum.  After a number of near misses, Hakoah were rewarded with an excellent team goal. The ball was passed from the back to Mikey Herman who played a through ball to Simon Rouse on the right. Rouse then crossed the ball into the box where a Mt Druitt defender tried to clear but it only went as far as Herman who hit the ball cleanly with his left foot into the back of the net. The score was Hakoah 1 ? Mt Druitt 0. The second half saw some changes and the Hakoah side came out attacking with flair and composed on the ball, particularly in the back four.  Two under 13s came on, Jordy Koton and Brad Paikin, and played like they had been members of the team for the whole season. A second goal was imminent and 13 minutes into the half Brad Paikin on the right passed the ball infield to Mikey Herman who was everywhere today. Herman then played a long ball to Simon Rouse who tore down the right flank and deftly chipped the ball into the back of the net over the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper. Hakoah continued to press for a third but simply could not convert. Mt Druitt, to their credit, did not give up and substitute Inban Selvados scored a goal with nine minutes remaining to make the score 2-1. The last nine minutes were nail biting as Mt Druitt pushed everyone forward to get the equalizer but once again Hakoah?s defence were up to the task, with Dean Gruskin, Dan Engelman and Daniel Seeff putting their bodies on the line. The final whistle went and Hakoah had avenged their first round humiliation and won 2-1.
 Third placed St George produced a 4-1 victory over fourteenth placed Nepean and that has given the Saints the double as they had won the first round encounter 3-0.
Balmain East Tigers are in fifth position thanks to their 3-0 success over Hills Brumbies who had suffered an 8-2 defeat when they saw Balmain last time around.
Camden Tigers are in sixth spot on goal difference following their 1-0 win over thirteenth placed Springwood United who the Tigers had beaten 2-1 in the first round.
Seventh placed Gladesville Ryde Magic went down 1-0 to twelfth placed Inter Lions who were happy to claim the double as they had won the first round clash with a 5-1 scoreline.
In Round 16 catch-up action Magic defeated the Brumbies with a 4-1 scoreline to claim the double as Magic were 3-2 winners in the first round. This result did not affect the position of either team on the table.
Grade 15
It seems certain that the current leaders will claim the title as Premiers over the next couple of weeks due to their impressive margin. Then we have a serious contest between the next seven teams for the remaining four places in the finals series.
Unbeaten Mt Druitt Town Rangers have a lead of seventeen points at the top of the table after they were 5-1 winners over seventh placed Hakoah and that gives the Rangers the double as they had won the first round game 4-0.
Southern NSW have retained second spot despite their 2-0 loss to fifth placed Stanmore Hawks and that squared the ledger as Southern had claimed the first round points with a 2-1 result.
Balmain East Tigers fell back to fourth when they were surprisingly held to a scoreless draw by fourteenth placed Hills Brumbies who Balmain had beaten 2-0 when the teams faced each other last time.
Gladesville Ryde Magic are in third position thanks, in part, to their 2-1 success over Inter Lions who have slipped back one place to fourteenth. The Lions had lost 1-0 last time they faced Magic.
Also, in Round 16 catch-up action, Magic produced a 1-0 win over the Brumbies and that contributed to Magic?s upward move.
Eighth placed Camden Tigers battled out a scoreless draw with Springwood United. who dropped back one place to eleventh. The mountain men had gone down 2-1 in their first round encounter with the Tigers.
St George moved up one place to tenth when they produced a 1-0 result over twelfth placed Nepean reversing the first round result when Nepean had taken the points with a 1-0 scoreline.
Grade 16
Over the next six weeks there will be eight teams trying to claim on of the five spots in the play-offs and then for the best places in the top five pecking order so the result of every single match will be of interest to everyone in this competition.
Hakoah are still one point clear at the top of the ladder thanks to their 1-0 success over ninth placed Mt Druitt Town Rangers and that gives the eastern suburbs outfit the double as they had won the first round encounter 4-0.
Second placed Gladesville Ryde Magic had produced a 2-1 victory in their first round engagement with tenth placed Inter Lions and Magic completed the double this week with another close result, this one a 3-2 result.
Stanmore Hawks are in third position following their 2-1 victory over twelfth placed Southern NSW who had gone down 3-0 last time they faced the Hawks.
Springwood United are still in fourth place after they were held to a scoreless draw by seventh placed Camden Tigers who had suffered a 3-1 loss in the first round clash.
Fifth placed St George registered a 3-1 result over Nepean who the Saints had beaten 5-1 in the first round encounter.
Hills Brumbies are placed eighth came up with a 4-2 victory over eleventh placed Balmain East Tigers and that has given the Brumbies the double as they had won the first round match 4-3.
Grade 18
What a time we should have over the next few weeks at the current top three battle it out for the best possible placing and then we have a fight between the next four teams for the other two places in the finals series.
Undefeated Hills Brumbies continue to lead the way on the competition table after they posted a 6-0 victory over twelfth placed Balmain East Tigers who the Brumbies had beaten 4-0 last time around. Scoring the goals for Hills were Brad Robertson (2), Glen Kelshaw, Mitchell Slee, Tomas Sarac and Aideen Boyss.
Camden Tigers are still placed second following their 1-0 win over ninth placed Springwood United who had lost 2-1 last time they saw the Tigers.
Third placed Gladesville Ryde Magic came up with a 3-1 result over thirteenth placed Inter Lions and that completed the double for Magic as the were 6-1 winners in the first round.
Stanmore Hawks remained at fourth thanks to their 8-0 success over fourteenth placed Southern NSW after the Hawks had taken the first round points with a 3-2 scoreline.
St George are holding down fifth position even though they suffered a 2-1 loss to tenth placed Nepean, reversing the first round result when the Saints had taken the points with a 3-2 result.
Sixth placed Mt Druitt Town Rangers battled out a 2-2 draw with seventh placed Hakoah after the Rangers had bagged the first round points with a 3-1 scoreline.
-By Barry Davis