State League One Round 7 Review

Gladesville Ryde Magic made it 7 wins from 7 matches, Stanmore Hawks broke their duck to move off the bottom, and all teams but Camden Tigers and Balmain found the net on a weekend not set out for defences.
So let?s take a look at who set the net bulging, with a special focus on Gladesville Ryde Magic?s away trip to take on Balmain SC.
Match of the Round
Balmain SC vs Gladesville Ryde Magic
Gladesville Ryde Magic took advantage of a couple of horrendous errors to comfortably account for Balmain SC 2-0 on Sunday night at Lambert Park.
The playing surface at Lambert was not in great condition, a little bumpy and dusty in patches, but the players applied themselves early, trying to push the leather around without too much penetration at either end.
In fact it took a quarter of an hour for the first real opportunity, and it fell to the Magic, a far post header from Tim Woodhouse comfortable saved by Balmain?s custodian, Daniel Conway.
Within sixty seconds Conway was at it again, saving low from Scott Tonkin after the lanky Gladesville midfielder had pinched possession and cracked a low strike at goal from the edge of the box.
Both sides found it difficult to get into any rhythm, with the final ball most of the time going begging as they both approached the final third.
A goal was what the doctor ordered, and it came in he 29^th minute for the visitors.
A long punt upfield fell behind the Balmain defence, and central defender, Kachi Enyi, tried a couple of times to head the ball back to his keeper. Gladesville?s pint sized striker, Peter O?Doherty, was alert as ever, pouncing on the loose ball to expertly lob Daniel Conway and give the Magic a 1-0 lead.
It was unfortunate for Enyi to blot his copybook, given he was a power of strength at the centre of defence ? alongside Kevin Baker ? fierce in the tackle, and strong in the air.
The home side regrouped and made a rare foray forward via Johnny Buonavoglia in the 37^th minute. Balmain?s experienced campaigner jinked inside and out of a defender near the corner of the box, before unleashing a low far post drive that was deflected by Magic goalkeeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou.
The Magic replied in the 42^nd minute, with O?Doherty slipping a pass through to Andrew McKie, and the big striker?s low shot flashed past the far upright.
Little brother, Alistair McKie, also squeezed a shot in before the break for Gladesville, his free kick from the edge of the box in first half injury time swerving over the wall, before being parried by Balmain skipper, Daniel Conway.
The home side almost equalized in the opening moments of the second half, with Kevin Baker slamming a far post header at goal from Robbie Bruno?s free kick, Tohouroglou once again equal to the task with a firm block.
Baker was in the mix of it again on 55 minutes, miscuing his back pass to Conway with the ball taking a terrible bounce, and Andrew McKie was the fortunate recipient, lobbing over the advancing Conway and into the net off the post, a case of ?de ja vou? for the Balmain custodian.
Magic lifted the intensity and work rate at this stage, eager to defend their lead, whilst equally aware of catching Balmain on the counter whilst the home side pushed forward.
Johhny Martinez was one of the Magic players covering ever blade of grass in the middle of the park, and he let fly with a volley in the 64^th minute from Andrew McKie?s cross that went straight down Conway?s throat.
Scott Tonkin had been pushed into a more attacking role once Andrew McKie had been subbed on 74 minutes, hitting a speculator along the turf in the 76^th minute that Conway found difficult to handle as the ball deflected off the keeper on its way to a corner.
The home side tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game, but for all their efforts, the Magic stood firm, and Balmain couldn?t muster any serious goal mouth threats as the match wound down to its inevitable conclusion.
Balmain would be disappointed to allow the game to be decided on two errors, but the truth was they did struggle to threaten the Magic goal, and when they came close, the experience and alertness of Tohouroglou won out.
Despite two successive losses, Balmain remain in the top half of the ladder, but only just, in sixth spot with 8 points.
The Gladesville juggernaut keeps on rolling on, with their seventh win from as many matches giving the Magic a maximum 21 points in 2012.
They have maintained a six point lead over their nearest rivals, the Mt Druitt Town Rangers, who they meet in a blockbuster next weekend.
BALMAIN SC                           0
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC   2 (O?Doherty 29?, Andrew McKie 55?)
at Lambert Park, Leichhardt on Sunday, May 6, 2012
Referee ? Mr Jim Nicolaou
Referee?s Assistants ? Mr Keith Yau and Mr Chris Peck
BALMAIN SC: 1.D.Conway (capt), 2.T.Hyde (18.W.Donato 80?), 4.K.Baker, 13.T.Snowden, 14.K.Enyi, 17.L.Cole, 8.R.Bruno, 16.D.Borg (C.Bello 60?), 7.V.Leto (6.J.Cook 67?), 12.J.Boutkabout, 10.J.Buonavoglia.
Substitutes not used ? 19.A.Petratos, 22.P.Timms.
Yellow Cards ? 14.K.Enyi 36?.
Red Cards ? Nil
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC: 1.K.Tohouroglou (capt), 2.A.Morris (16.T.Huet 49?), 5.T.Woodhouse, 11.B.Townley-Jones, 6.A.Ryan, 12.L.Harte, 9.S.Tonkin (7.T.Nastoulis 81?), 8.J.Martinez, 10.Alistair McKie, 15.Andrew McKie (4.C.Robertson 74?), 14.P.O?Doherty.
Substitutes not used ? 1.P.Ferrara.
Yellow Cards ? Nil
Red Cards ? Nil
Round Seven Review
Stanmore Hawks vs Fairfield City Lions  3-2
Stanmore Hawks finally cracked it for a victory on Saturday night against Fairfield City Lions at Arlington Oval, but they still gave their supporters palpitations before scoring a late winner in a 3-2 triumph.
Two of the most experienced players in Division One got things going for the Hawks, with Rafael Bove (10^th) and Steve Biviano (20^th) giving Stanmore a commanding lead they held until half time.
When Ben Cronk pulled one back for the Lions on the hour, Fairfield gave themselves hope of dragging something out of the match. But they shot themselves in the foot, with two red cards within minutes, one of them to their midfield maestro, Yavuz Ekinci.
Remarkably, despite playing now with nine men against eleven, Friday Jeremiah equalized for Fairfield to restore the Lions hope.
But it was to be Stanmore?s day after all, with substitute Neil Philippou snatching an 86^th minute winner to send the home fans into a well overdue frenzy.
The three points puts Stanmore on 4, and off the bottom on goal difference, one point and one place behind Fairfield City Lions, who have two matches in hand on most sides around them.
Schofields Scorpions vs Inter Lions  2-2
The spoils were shared at CSI Sport Ground on Sunday afternoon, with Schofields and Inter Lions playing out a 2-2 draw.
Daniele Chiandotto put the Lions in front after just five minutes, but Ben Lam equalized for the Scorpions in the 18^th to restore parity.
Inter?s livewire striker, Domenic Di Mento, has been consistently knocking them in during the opening rounds of 2012, and grabbed his fifth goal of the campaign after 42 minutes to put Inter back in front before the break.
Just when the clock seemed to be ticking over up stepped Tim Simpson to snatch a late equalizer for the home side, giving both teams a point each.
Schofields climb to 8^th on 7 points, whilst Inter are 3^rd on 9, in what is a congested competition ladder with 5 points separating no less than ten teams.
Southern Bulls vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers  2-6
Mt Druitt overcame a 0-2 deficit to overwhelm Southern Bulls 6-2 in a fierce attacking lesson at Ernie Smith Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
FNSW had no details of the scorers of the Southern Bulls goals at the time of press, but we do know both came during the first half to give the home side what looked like a commanding lead.
Despite losing Shane Ardle to a serious injury late in the first period, Todd Macrae pulled a goal back before the break for Mt Druitt, but even the sternest Rangers supporters had no idea what was about to unfold during the second period.
Macrae was brought down just after half time inside the box, and converted the penalty himself to draw the Rangers level.
Daniel Fogarty used his pace to get down the flank and put over a great cross shortly after, and Macrae was on hand to grab his hatrick and edge the Rangers in front 3-2.
Mt Druitt then turned up the volume to score another three times, with Macrae grabbing his 4^th of the afternoon, before Fogarty and second half substitute Kurt Elborough ? with his first touch after coming on ? completing the rout.
Southern Bulls remain 5^th on the ladder despite the heavy loss, sitting on 9 points with a couple of other sides.
Mt Druitt Town found themselves on 15 points in second spot, six points in front of three teams on 9 points, and six behind Gladesville Ryde Magic, whom they meet next week in a Round 8 clash of the titans.
Hurstville ZFC vs UNSW  2-4
UNSW have gone from second last to equal third on the back of two successive wins over the past seven days, coming from a goal down on Sunday to thump Hurstville ZFC 4-2 at Hurstville Oval.
Young striker, Paul Gagro, put the home side in front after just 20 minutes, before Sebastian Bendall restored parity for the ?students? right on half time.
There must have been something special in the half time drinks because UNSW came out of the sheds all guns blazing, scoring three times in 13 minutes to effectively end the match as a contest.
Bendall grabbed his second on 55 minutes to edge the visitors in front, whilst Mark Bryan made it 3-1 just two minutes later.
Dennis Cutura extended the score to 4-1 with his 68^th minute goal, and despite a 78^th minute goal for Hurstville ZFC by Carlos Carneiro, it came too late to make any difference with UNSW taking all three points.
Northbridge FC vs Camden Tigers 2-0
Camden Tigers slumped to their 4^th defeat of the season in a 0-2 loss to Northbridge on Sunday afternoon, dropping to bottom spot on the competition ladder in the process.
Northbridge grabbed all three points courtesy of goals by Ry Hardy (63^rd) and James Goodwin (72^nd), and have now climbed to 7^th spot as a result of the win, sitting on 7 points.
-By Frank Speranza