State League Two Round 21 Review
Match of the Round
HAWKESBURY CITY SC V HAKOAH
Hakoah went into this match unbeaten in 18 league matches with the league title already sown up, but Hawkesbury City who sit just one place back were intent on upsetting the champions to seal their own fate in hope of a top two finish.
The first half lacked any real clear cut chances but both sides came to the party following the break, with a Michael McCrory goal midway through the second stanza enough to see the Hawks through to the end.
The Hawks were first to threaten after just 2? minutes of play as Ethan Simone made a fantastic run down the line after a tantalising one-two with Michael McCrory, in-turn delivering a dangerous ball into the box that took Evan Daglis by surprise for the first real chance of the game.
Neil Jablonski headed over the bar in the 15? minute from a high Deklan Gilmartin corner as the visitors were starting to gain better field position and pin the Hawks deep in their own half.
Neil Jablonski looked to craft out an attack for the blues by looping a ball over Hawkesbury?s defence for Jamie Watt on 20 minutes, but the heavy pass allowed Shane Johnson to intercept and thwart the attack.
Only a minute later saw Hakoah continue to pepper Hawkesbury?s goal mouth but Rhys Alchin made a last ditch tackle inside the box to win the ball from Jamie Watt, denying the striker any chance to pull the trigger.
Disaster almost struck in the 22? minute as Alchin saw his failed back pass intended for Shane Johnson intercepted by Neil Jablonski, but the striker?s left footed effort failed to trouble the Hawks custodian.
Neil Jablonski set Hakoah up on another attacking raid with a clever high ball for Jamie Watt in the 29? minute, but the Hakoah front man saw his first time cross easily cleared by Hawkesbury.
Dane Smith found some space out wide on 38? minutes and managed to locate Michael McCrory inside the box with a flat cross ? and the Hawks were unlucky not to have taken the lead as McCrory watched his header finish on the wrong side of the post by a matter of inches.
On the stroke of half-time Jamie Watt had two great chances one after the other inside the area that were blocked by the sheer number of bodies inside the box which saw both sides hit the sheds level pegging at 0-0.
Evan Daglis tried his luck following the restart letting fly a shot that sprayed wide of the target from a short corner.
Down the other end lively striker Jamie Watt threaded a pass through for Deklan Gilmartin who was unmarked on the edge of the box, but the midfielder?s unusually poor first touch let him down.
Ryan Wilson tried a long distance effort after 53? minutes, and the defenders dipping effort wasn?t too far off the mark with Terry Dal Broi happy to see it out for a goal kick.
Jordan Mundell showed great vision to knock a short ball over the Hawks defence for Randall in the 60? minute, and from a tight angle the defender could only manage an effort that bobbled across goal.
The second-half really saw the game open up with each side taking turns forward, and Hawks striker John McRae tried to create something out of nothing with an ambitious first time volley from a Rob Carle ball in the 67? minute that was caught on the full by Terry Dal Broi.
The Hawks finally broke the deadlock in the 75? minute following some brilliant work by John McCrae. The striker shook two markers on the left flank, running to the by line and brilliantly cut back for Michael McCrory who made no mistake by blasting his shot from point blank range into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Despite their slender 1-0 advantage, Hawkesbury were keen to put the game beyond Hakoah?s reach as Nathan Cooper hit a curling cross into the area that Michael McCrory headed just wide of the mark.
The Hawks continued to raid Hakoah?s final third and in the 78? minute Ethan Simone hit the crossbar with a side footed effort after a short free kick caught the visitors by surprise.
After soaking up plenty of pressure following the opening goal, the visitors looked to get back into the contest as Jamie Watt was denied by Shane Johnson in the 79? minute following a close range stabbed effort on goal.
Hakoah were throwing everything at Hawkesbury with less than 10? minutes on the clock but the ever-alert Shane Johnson ensured the Hawks kept a good grip on their one goal margin by showing great reflexes to parry a Deklan Gilmartin effort to safety from just 15 yards out.
The Hawks fans watched on in angst as Neil Jablonski had one last attempt, slamming a first time goal bound shot from a neat one-two with substitute Shrwartz with only minutes left on the clock ? but Johnson expertly dived at full stretch tipping the ball out for a corner.
As the referee?s whistle sounded for full-time, the Hawks fans cheered on as their side claimed victory over a previously undefeated Hakoah outfit.
The win sees the Hawks move four points clear into second place, giving them commanding position to earn a home semi-final while Hakoah will be disappointed to have tasted defeat for the first time this season just one week out from the finals series.
FULL-TIME
Match Stats
Hawkesbury City SC 1 (M McCrory 75?)
Hakoah 0
Saturday August 11th, 2012
Bensons Lane Field, Richmond
Hawkesbury City SC: GK.S.Johnson; 18.E.Simone, 14.R.Alchin, 33.V.Profilio, 8.R.Wilson, 38.G.Hartge (11.J.McCrae 14?) 37.R.Carle, 28.E.Daglis (4.A.Stevenson 80?), 7.N.Cooper, 3.D.Smith (5.A.Jones 58?), 17.M.McCrory
Substitutes Not Used: Nil
Yellow Cards: 38.G.Hartge 9?
Red Cards: Nil
Hakoah: GK.T.Dal Broi; 8.J.Mundell, 13.M.Katz, 10.D.Gilmartin, 9.N.Jablonski, 3.D. Ranshuijsen, 15.M.Randall, 14.J.Watt, 16.D.Blumberg (31.R.Wolanski 66?), 29.A.Joseph (28.N.Schwartz 76?), 4.M.Kacen
Substitutes Not Used: 6.N.Kosmina, 35.G.Pollak
Yellow Cards: 15.M.Randall 50?, 9.N.Jablonski 75?, 4.M.Kacen 78?
Red Cards: Nil
Division Two Review ? Round 21
Prospect United 3 (A Jennings 25? A Gatt 55/70?) Mountains United 0
Saturday, 11 August 2012 @ 5-00pm at William Lawson Reserve
Prospect United move into third spot after a solid 3-0 win over Mountains United on Saturday night which sees them tie up back to back wins.
The home side took the lead through Adrian Jennings mid-way through the first half to lead 1-0 at the break before Adam Gatt made sure of the three points with a second half brace.
Prospect meet Hawkesbury City in the last round of the season with second spot still up for grabs while Mountains United faces Bathurst 75? in an important fixture that will decide the makeup of the top five.
Bathurst 75? 0 FC Gazy 0
Saturday, 11 August 2012 @ 7-00pm at Alec Lamberton Field
Bathurst 75? will rue a missed opportunity after failing to secure victory against bottom placed FC Gazy on Saturday night at home with both Hurstville City and Mountains United both failing to register wins.
Bathurst 75?s season hangs in the balance as they are due to face Belmore United on Friday night at home before travelling to Summerhayes Park on Sunday afternoon to tackle Mountains United. Two wins will secure Bathurst?s passage into the finals with Hurstville just 2 points ahead and due to meet Nepean on Sunday.
FC Gazy on the other hand have dropped into last place after failing to pick up a win in over a month of football. Unfortunately anything but a win next week will see the Lansvale based club pick up the unwanted Wooden spoon for the second consecutive year.
Nepean FC 1 (S Pintabona 90?) Western Condors FC 2 (C Enwiya 18/43?)
Saturday, 11 August 2012 @ 7-00pm at Cook Park (St Marys)
Western Condors defeated Nepean FC 2-1 away at Cook Park on Saturday night.
Western Condors sharp shooter Carlos Enwiya scored two first half goals but Nepean who are known for their fighting qualities scored through Sam Pintabona in the 90? minute ? but it was too late as the Condors held the hosts off to claim all three points.
The win sees Western Condors return to winners list after a three week absence while Nepean drop into eleventh place after losing their last five in a row.
West City FC 3 (I Cabezas 36? B Mitrovich 43/71?) Hurstville City Minotaurs 3 (K Phylactou 29? A Obeid 56? H Morhi 73?)
Sunday, 12 August 2012 @ 3-00pm at Chopin Park
West City FC and Hurstville City Minotaurs played out an entertaining 3-3 draw to share the spoils on Sunday afternoon.
Hurstville City took the lead via Kyriacos Phylactou in the 29? minute but Cabezas replied for the hosts in the 36? minute to restore parity.
Brendan Mitrovich put the home side up just before half-time to make it 2-1, but the lead was short-lived as Hurstville?s Obeid hit back after 56? minutes to make it 2-2.
The action continued as Brendan Mitrovich scored his second in the 71? minute to make it 3-2 but Haisam Morhi almost instantly replied for the Minotaurs to tie things up at 3-3 ? and that?s the way it stayed.
Hurstville City Minotaurs still sit in fifth place but will need to win their remaining fixture against Nepean FC and hope Bathurst slip up in one of their matches to ensure they proceed through to the finals, while West City drop out of the finals race and will look to finish off their season strongly next week.
Luddenham United 2 (G Odei 18? C Camilleri 60?) Belmore United 3 (J Skufris 24? P Kalantzis 37? N Latsinos 87?)
Sunday, 12 August 2012 @ 3-00pm at Luddenham Oval
Belmore United secured an important victory to move off the bottom of the ladder as they scored late in the game to outdo Luddenham United 3-2 away from home on Sunday.
Grant Odei put Luddenham in the driver?s seat with an 18? minute opener but Belmore?s John Skufris made it 1-1 just five minutes later before Paul Kalantzis added Belmore?s second just before the break.
Chris Camilleri made it 2-2 after 60? minutes and as both sides looked to have cancelled each other out, Latsinos popped up with an 87? minute winner to secure three vital points for Belmore.
Belmore have collected a handy seven points from their last three games to move into tenth position, but they aren?t out of the woods just yet and will need to secure at least one more point in their remaining two fixtures to avoid the wooden spoon ? unless of course FC Gazy fail to win their last game.
Luddenham United drop into ninth spot after failing to secure victory in their last four games and will be hoping they can claim a win in their last game of the campaign next week.
Division Two Reserve Grade – Round 21 Overview
Hawkesbury City SC vs Hakoah ? 2-0
Prospect United vs Mountains United ? 3-3
Bathurst 75? vs FC Gazy ? 8-1
Nepean FC vs Western Condors FC ? 2-1
West City FC vs Hurstville City Minotaurs ? 1-0
Luddenham United vs Belmore United ? 5-0
-By Dean Southern
