State League One Round 10 Review
Our Review will reflect that Gladesville Ryde Magic managed to extend their lead at the top, Mt Druitt Town lost for the second successive week, whilst Schofields Scorpions and Fairfield City Lions move ominously up the ladder to sit just a whisker outside the top five.
UNSW vs Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-0
David Phillips Field, 7-00pm Saturday 26th May
The match of the round took place at a very cold and frosty David Phillips Field on Saturday night, with UNSW and Gladesville Ryde Magic drawing blanks in an enthralling tussle.
The ?students? came into the match on the back of some solid league form which saw them within striking distance of second spot on the ladder, although they were backing up from a midweek Waratah Cup drubbing at the hands of Premier League Blacktown City.
The Magic had suffered their first loss last week at the hands of Southern Bulls, but had a full deck of players on hand for this one and were hoping to return to the winners? list and maintain the gap between them and Mt Druitt in second place.
Despite both teams looking to move the ball forward at every opportunity the scoreboard remained 0 ? 0 for the entire 90 minutes and yet the game still proved to be an entertaining and skilful tussle between two talented rivals.
UNSW opened the first-half with plenty of go-forward and had the best of the early exchanges, although Gladesville Ryde Magic were quick to adjust to the repeated threats out wide from the UNSW midfielders, and slowly worked their way back into the game.
In the opening twenty minutes or so the ?students? executed a number of dangerous crosses in front of the Magic goalmouth, but frustratingly could not get a touch when it mattered most. On one of these occasions UNSW came close to converting after just 4 minutes, when striker Dennis Cutura latched on to a bobbling ball in the 6-yard box only to see his shot balloon over the crossbar.
In the 17th minute, Gladesville?s Andrew McKie showed tight control to leave the UNSW defence in his wake, but slipped his shot just past the right-hand upright from 20 metres.
The Magic kept at it, and in the 20th minute the effervescent Peter O?Doherty struck a 25 metre effort that narrowly sailed over the crossbar.
From the opening whistle of the second half UNSW showed an increase in their application to the task, and for long periods somewhat dominated the contest, both from a territorial sense, and by virtue of a flood of possession.
For their part Gladesville Ryde Magic continued to absorb the substantial pressure, looking to hit on the counter as they have executed in recent weeks. In the 65th minute Gladesville?s Andrew McKie was thwarted by a great save by John Duggan, the UNSW keeper, who spread himself and saved with his legs after facing the big Magic striker in a one-on-one duel.
Although maintaining pressure for long periods, UNSW found it difficult to fully breach the hard-working Gladesville defence, and would probably be disappointed that, on the night, they were unable to convert any of their half-chances into goals.
During the final 15 minutes Gladesville Ryde were unlucky not to take home any reward after a number of raids that had the UNSW defence in disarray. One such raid in the 85th minute saw the veteran Magic striker, Tommy Nastoulis, breach the UNSW defence, only to have his scuffed shot cleared off the line in a last ditch tackle from a defender.
Uni were desperate to knock over the competition leaders at home and made some telling substitutions up front over the final fifteen minutes, but even the return to action of accomplished striker, Stuart Meney, couldn?t inspire any movement on the scoreboard.
Furthermore, in the dying seconds of the match one final UNSW raid produced an acrobatic save from Kyriakos Tohouroglou, tipping the shot over the bar to keep the match scoreless.
Despite not being able to register a win over the past three weeks, the point has moved Gladesville Ryde Magic onto 23 points, and extended their lead to 7 over the newly second placed UNSW, who move to 16 as a result of this draw.
Schofields Scorpions vs Southern Bulls 3-0
CSI Sport Ground, 3-00pm Sunday 27th May
Schofields Scorpions continued their recent resurgence by moving to outright 6th position on the State League One competition ladder, courtesy of their 3-0 home victory over Southern Bulls.
The Bulls would have come into this match brimming with confidence, given they were the first side to defeat competition leaders, Gladesville Ryde Magic, in last week?s 7 goal thriller. But Southern Bulls have been frustratingly inconsistent this season, and came unstuck against a polished Scorpions display.
Speedy young flanker, Damien Stivala, was on the money in a performance which saw him score two goals, taking his tally to 6 for the 2012 season, whilst James Howard grabbed the other goal.
After a sluggish start to the year, Schofields now find themselves on 13 points, just three points from second spot, whilst Southern Bulls remain on 12 points, dropping to 8th spot on the ladder.
Hurstville ZFC vs Camden Tigers 0-1
Hurstville Oval, 3-00pm Sunday 27th May
In a real six pointer at the foot of the ladder, Camden Tigers prevailed against Hurstville ZFC in a tight match decided by a solitary goal.
Coming into the clash, both sides sat on 8 points with just Stanmore Hawks below them on the ladder, both having picked up a point in away fixtures last weekend.
Jeffrey Forrest grabbed the all important goal for Camden after just 10 minutes of play, and their resolute defence held the home side at bay for the remainder of the match to register a much needed victory.
As a result of Stanmore victory, Hurstville slump to last position on the ladder on goal difference, whilst Camden move to third bottom on 11 points in a very congested bottom half of the competition.
An interesting fact reflects Camden?s position at the moment ? although the Tigers have scored the fewest goals in the Division with just 9, they boast the second best defensive record behind leaders Gladesville Ryde Magic, with just 11 goals conceded, so a bit more focus in the attacking third could very well be just the tonic they need to climb the ladder.
Northbridge FC vs Stanmore Hawks 0-2
Hills Sports High, 3-00pm Sunday 27th May
Stanmore Hawks did something no other team has managed to do in 2012 ? keep Northbridge FC scoreless, and in the process, registered a much needed victory in their quest to resurrect their season.
A late scheduling change saw the match played on the artificial ground at Hills Sports High, and the flat surface suited the Hawks style of swift ball movement as they went about their afternoon shift.
Youngster, Kosta Gioulis, has been a revelation since his elevation to first grade a few weeks ago, and it was his fourth goal of the campaign on 26 minutes that gave Stanmore a valuable half time lead.
When Neil Philippou doubled the Hawks? advantage in the 66th minute, it was all over bar the shouting, and Stanmore hung on to record their second triumph of the season.
The loss sees Northbridge FC drop to 9th spot, but on 11 points and with a game in hand on some sides, they find themselves just a victory away from 4th spot on the ladder.
Stanmore move to 8 points courtesy of their win, off the bottom on goal difference, and will hope a win and clean sheet will help in starting their ascent up the ladder.
Fairfield City Lions vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2-0
Norford Park No.2, 3pm Sunday 27th May
Fairfield City Lions continued their topsy-turvy season at Norford Park No.2 on Sunday afternoon, accounting for second placed Mt Druitt Town Rangers by 2-0.
Lacking consistency in 2012 with 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, results elsewhere mean that the Lions can catapult themselves to outright second place on the ladder if they manage to win both of their games in hand, against UNSW (Thursday, 31st May) and Northbridge FC.
A scoreless first half was put behind them when Mirwiss Amiri gave Fairfield City Lions the lead on the hour mark, and the result was sown up with an 88th goal by veteran skipper, Yavuz Ekinci.
The three points sees the Lions climb to 7th spot on the ladder on 12 points, whilst failure to win in the past three weeks has seen Mt Druitt remain on 16 points, dropping to third on the ladder, and allowing the rest of the field to close the gap on the Rangers.
Inter Lions vs Balmain SC 1-1
Crest Complex, 3-30pm Sunday 27th May
Inter Lions and Balmain SC retained their respective positions in the top five of the State League One ladder when they fought out a 1-1 draw at the Crest Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams have been solid performers this season, having shown great improvement on last years performance, and continued that vein with a point a piece in this stalemate.
The match was played in a fiercely competitive spirit, but had no goals to show until the final ten minutes, when experienced defender, Adrian Vizzari, popped up in the 80th minute to give Inter Lions the lead.
But Balmain SC have shown a real resilience this year, a determination to not lie down, and duly equalized just three minutes later through Joel Cook to provide both sides with a share of the spoils.
With a point each from this encounter, Inter Lions(4th) and Balmain SC(5th) move to 14 points and within a victory of second place.
-By Frank Speranza
