State League One Round 20 Review
Gladesville Ryde Magic moved a step closer to the Premiership following their victory over the Southern Bulls, Inter Lions moved to within three points of the Magic following two resounding wins in just three days, whilst Mt Druitt grabbed another half dozen goals, taking their season tally to 63.
We review all the action of Round Twenty, with a focus on the Saturday afternoon clash between Northbridge FC and Schofields Scorpions.
Match of the Round
Northbridge FC ? Schofields Scorpions 0-1
Schofields Scorpions have come from nowhere to put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons following six points from two matches in a fruitful fours days of football.
The Scorpions were sitting in tenth spot on the ladder on Wednesday, on 18 points, but a 4-0 midweek triumph against Hurstville ZFC was followed up here with a 1-0 victory against Northbridge, and all of a sudden they are just two points outside the top five with four matches remaining in their fixture schedule.
Three successive clean sheets and some clinical finishing have catapulted the Scorpions right into the mix of teams looking to play finals football in 2012, with the congestion no clearer following yet another intriguing round of fixtures in State League One.
The goals midweek against Hurstville came from youngster Peter Pelekanos, Damien Stivala, Adam Anderson, and Will Stuart, in what was a dominating display from a team high on confidence.
They brought that confidence to Hills Sports High on Saturday afternoon, ready to tackle a Northbridge side that had won just once in the past four weeks, and were eager to address a slide that threatened their spot in the top five.
Schofields could easily have been in front as early as the 9th minute when Arron Caller was clean through, smacking his shot a metre wide of the corner of the goal after Ben Lam had slipped a great pass in behind the Northbridge defence.
The Northbridge defensive line was playing high up within their half, and they were almost caught out a couple of times when the Scorpions attacked in numbers down either flank.
The lively Damien Stivala stung the fingers of Northbridge?s goalkeeper, Craig Whitehouse, in the 18th minute, weaving inside from the right wing before letting fly with a 20 yard shot as Schofields continued their assault.
Northbridge were competitive in the middle of the park, but too often within the first half hour their final pass was lacking in the attacking third and potential opportunities went begging.
All that changed in the 36th minute, when Schofields goalkeeper, Nishad Ali, raced off his line to clip a Northbridge attacker near the corner of his penalty area, and referee, Mr James Barnes, was ever alert in awarding the penalty.
Northbridge skipper, Ricky Woodward, stepped up, but shot weakly to the keeper?s left, and Ali redeemed himself by diving low to save the spotkick.
Incredibly within sixty seconds we had a case of d?j? vu, except this time it was Northbridge keeper, Craig Whitehouse, who raced off his line to collect Arron Caller in almost an identical fashion, also just inside the corner of his penalty area.
Schofields youngster, Peter Pelekanos, showed maturity beyond his 18 years to take ownership of the pressure kick, sending Whitehouse the wrong way with a clinically struck shot to put the Scorpions into the lead on 38 minutes.
Northbridge had one last opportunity just before the break, Hatzinikolaou blasting over from just inside the Scorpions box after a long free kick rebounded into his path.
Pint sized centre forward, Ry Hardy, came off the bench for Northbridge at the beginning of the second half, and almost drew his side level in the 59th minute, his flick header inches wide of the upright following a swerving cross from Aaron Taylor.
The tackles began to become a little fiercer in the centre of the park as Northbridge?s desperation to get back into the match became evident, and referee, Mr James Barnes, was forced to issue a couple of cautions to keep a lid on the emotions.
As Northbridge pushed numbers forward, Schofields looked to counter, with Will Stuart especially, an absolute terrier in winning possession for his side time and time again.
Both sides emptied their respective benches in an attempt to wrestle the ascendancy from their opponents, and the fresh legs made for a frenzied final quarter of an hour.
Damien Stivala, who was in his element with the ball at his feet on the artificial surface, swung over a corner in the 85th minute that skipper, Tim Harrington, got his head to ? alas, the ball whisked just past the right hand post.
Just when all seemed lost for Northbridge, one final long ball into the box was cleverly worked by Michael Cole into Ry Hardy?s path. Hardy dragged the ball past Schofield?s keeper, Nashid Ali, but his shot towards an empty net lacked venom and was cleared by a retreating Schofields defender.
That was all she wrote for the Northbridge fans, and Schofields had secured another valuable three points on the road to keep their season well and truly alive.
The loss means Northbridge remain on 26 points and in 5th position, given results elsewhere went their way. Michael Cole was his energetic self in the centre of the park, increasing intensity as time wore on, whilst big Aaron Taylor was a constant menace with his strength and ability to hold up the ball in attack.
Schofields are now up to 24 points and have climbed to 9th position, just two points outside the top five, with two matches in hand on most teams above them. Tim Harrington and Peter Pelekanos provide that blend of experience and youth in the defensive line with both having strong games once again, Damien Stivala showed wizardry on the flank as he took on the Northbridge defenders, whilst Will Stuart had a whale of a game in the centre, tackling like there was no tomorrow.
Match Stats
Northbridge FC 0
Schofields Scorpions 1 (Pelekanos pen 39?)
Saturday August 4th, 2012
Hills Sports High, Seven Hills
Referee: James Barnes
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. Johnson.NORTHBRIGDE FC : 1.C.Whitehouse, 32.A.Hatzinikolaou, 34.G.Saikawa (9.R.Hardy 46?), 2.H.Solomons (36.C.Starchells 68?), 16.M.Bell, 6.R.Woodward (capt), 14.P.Orgad, 8.M.Cole, 19.A.Taylor, 37.S.Klages (12.K.Hall 81?), 20.J.Wynter.
Substitutes Not Used: 18.G.Maundrell, 27.M.Judge.
Yellow Cards: 1.C.Whitehouse 38?, 8.M.Cole 49?, 14.P.Orgad 57?.
Red Cards: Nil
SCHOFIELDS SCORPIONS: 1.N.Ali, 12.T.Harrington (capt), 3.A.Pearson, 6.M.Harrison (31.H.Krha 60?), 14.P.Pelekanos, 9.B.Lam, 7.D.Stivala, 6.A.Anderson, 17.W.Stuart, 10.T.Simpson (11.C.Ianni 27?), 13.A.Caller (4.S.Okaro 83?).
Substitutes Not Used: 38.D.Southey, 28.B.Rogers.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
State League One Round Twenty Review
Camden Tigers vs Stanmore Hawks 0-0
Camden Tigers and Stanmore Hawks did themselves no favours when playing out a scoreless draw at Ron Dine Reserve on Saturday evening.
With both teams just outside the top five, and harbouring hopes of finals football come season?s end, neither could take advantage of Northbridge?s slip up at home to Schofields and hence remain outside the semi final spots.
The point sees Camden Tigers go to 26 on the ladder, behind 5th placed Northbridge on goal difference with three games each left to play, whilst the Hawks are two points further adrift on 24 in 8th spot.
UNSW vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1-6
With all due respect to the rest of the high performing Mt Druitt Town squad, the Macrae-Fogarty roadshow continued on it?s merry way on Saturday evening, making yet another emphatic appearance, this time at David Phillips Field.
The competition?s two deadliest strikers are now locked in a battle for the Division?s golden boot award, and were at it again against UNSW, scoring five goals between them to spearhead the Rangers to a resounding 6-1 drubbing of the ?students?.
UNSW came into this match on the back of a Thursday night 1-3 loss to the high flying Inter Lions, and were clearly feeling the effects of two matches within 48 hours, unable to cope with the swift counter play of Mt Druitt.
Daniel Fogarty opened proceedings on the night by netting in the 14th minute, and Todd Macrae made it 2-0 just four minutes later. The match was effectively over by the break when both strikers scored their second goals respectively, giving the Rangers a 4-0 lead and leaving UNSW with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Ryan O?Shea stole a little of his team mates limelight, knocking in a Justin Kirby corner to stretch the lead to 5-0 in the 73rd minute, before Huss Rachid gave the home fans something to cheer, pulling back a goal for UNSW on 77 minutes.
Fogarty grabbed his hatrick in the 80th minute ? his 19th goal of the campaign, just one behind his team mate, Todd Macrae ? before being substituted by Shane Ardle, another of Mt Druitt?s attacking weapons, back after a long term injury just in time for the business end of he season.
The loss sees UNSW remain in fourth spot, but they would be licking their wounds somewhat after a disappointing couple of days, albeit on the back of a testing fixture schedule, and will need to regroup fairly quickly given they have a number of teams snapping at their heels.
Mt Druitt on the other hand just don?t know how to stop scoring goals, finding the net 63 times now in 20 matches, up to 37 points and sitting third on the ladder.
Gladesville Ryde Magic vs Southern Bulls 2-0
Gladesville Ryde Magic put one hand on the Premiership trophy by accounting for Southern Bulls 2-0 at Magdala Reserve on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately neither team ignited any real spark during this rather lack-lustre match between the competition front runners, and a club well beyond the finals series, but sure to be playing for pride in the shirt.
Gladesville played rather cautiously early on with strong numbers in defence, conscious that their opposition had nabbed the competition points in their previous encounter earlier in the season during a 7-goal thriller.
Southern Bulls, for their part, seemed content to play a possession-style game across the midfield. Their team today contained a number of younger players from their U/20?s squad who earned their spots following some promising showings during the season.
Young Abdul Alnakeeb was a thorn in the side of the Magic every time there was even a sniff of a goal, using his considerable pace to win the ball on a number of occasions and then create opportunities for his teammates. The Bulls lost some spark when he was substituted due to injury in the 63rd minute.
Gladesville dominated much of the first half but were unable to convert a number of half-chances. The Magic?s Lachlan Harte stormed down the right wing on a number of occasions midway through the first half and really stretched the Bulls defence. In the 18th minute Harte squared a ball into his striker Andrew McKie who, with no room to move, turned his marker and squeezed his shot just past the right-hand upright. This was one of the closest calls for the Bulls goalkeeper, Luke Hormis, who spent most of the first-half plucking high crosses out of the air to nullify various attacking raids from the Gladesville flanks.
The second half started with a withering onslaught from the Southern Bulls.
Gladesville absorbed the pressure and then, as if to jolt his comrades from their slumber, the Magic?s Peter Doherty rampaged down the centre of the park before unleashing a missile that thumped the left-hand upright and spilled away for a Magic corner.
Doherty?s workrate was superb throughout the afternoon and his creative vision eventually set-up the game breaker in the 60th minute. Having won the ball on the halfway line, Doherty quickly released Thierry Huet down the left wing. Huet sped past a defender before squaring a ball to Andrew McKie on the edge of the box, who did well to beat his marker, his low left-foot drive finding the corner of the net past a diving Hormis.
Once the goal had been scored the Bulls tried desperately to spark some attacking raids but were continually repulsed by a strong Magic defence.
Both teams made substitutions to strengthen their tiring contingents during the final 20 minutes and it was one of these substitutes, Scott Tonkin, that took to splitting the Bulls defence with a penetrating run in the 80th minute to setup striker Stephen Lloyd.
With Tonkin cutting the ball back from the by-line, Lloyd made himself good room in the box but just lifted the ball over the crossbar with only the Hormis, the Bulls keeper, to beat. But redemption for Lloyd was swift and sweet, and the assist once again came from Tonkin.
Within a minute Tonkin, again, ran down a ball deep into the Bulls half before flicking it into Lloyd just outside the box. Lloyd used all his guile and experience to beat his man and run on to a bouncing ball in the penalty area before despatching a solid drive into the bottom corner of the net past a grasping Hormis, and that was all she wrote.
As a result of the three points, the Magic have now moved to 42 points after 20 matches, three points ahead of Inter Lions with just two scheduled rounds left to play.
Fairfield City Lions vs Balmain SC 0-3
Just when you thought Balmain SC had dropped off the pace a little, a victory over Fairfield City Lions at Norford Park on Sunday has resurrected their semi final aspirations.
Daniel Borg edged the visitors in front in the 28th minute, and that?s the way it stayed until the second half. Joel Cook then doubled Balmain?s advantage on 51 minutes, grabbing his brace in the 72nd to wrap up proceedings.
Fairfield?s season has been one of inconsistency, and the loss here has left them in 10th spot on 23 points, still in with a shout of making the finals in a few weeks time.
The three points sees Balmain climb to 25, and they now sit in 7th position, just one point outside the top five, but what they have is four games left to play, more than any other club, so their finals destiny is in their own hands.
Hurstville ZFC vs Inter Lions 0-5
Inter Lions have had a remarkable second half of the season, their ascent continuing over the weekend with two victories in four days putting them in outright second place on the ladder, just three points from league leaders, Gladesville Ryde Magic.
The Lions had a great victory on Thursday night at Ninevah Field, accounting for UNSW 3-1 in a real ?six pointer?, a brace of goals coming from Domenic Di Mento, who was returning from injury, with the evergreen Adrian Vizzari grabbing the other.
The Lions backed this up with a thumping 5-0 drubbing of Hurstville ZFC on Sunday afternoon, the victory taking them above Mt Druitt Town Rangers and into outright second place in the competition.
Domenic Di Mento got things rolling for Inter with his 11th goal of the campaign on the half hour, and brother Jacob chimed in with the Lions? second just before the break.
Inter blew Hurstville off the park within quarter of an hour after the break to complete the rout, with Daniele Chiandotto making it three in the 50th, Jacob Di Mento grabbing his brace in the 58th, and Adrian Vizzari making it 5-0 just after the hour point.
-By Frank Speranza
