State League Two Round 7 Review
Hurstville FC still lead State League 2 with a tight 2-1 win over Southern Bulls in round seven, but they’re being chased by three sides on four-game winning streaks – Fairfield City Lions, Western Condors and Stanmore Hawks.
Fairfield dominated Uni of NSW 4-0, Condors beat 10-man Enfield 3-1 and Stanmore trounced fifth-placed Southern Branch 5-1, while Belmore United came back from 1-3 down to edge out old rivals Hurstville City Minotaurs 4-3 in a frantic weekend of action. Schofields Scorpions had the bye.
Individually, Hurstville FC striker Jonathan Joannidis remains in front with eight goals but Mauricio Navarrete has scored in his last four games to move the Condors ace to one goal behind. Belmore’s Pablo Cardozo and Stanmore’s Neil Philippou both have six goals, Fairfield star Coskun Tabak five, while Haisam Morhi (Minotaurs), Farres Aoun (Fairfield), Paul Paras (Belmore) and Dario Borovickic (Hurstville FC) have netted four times each.
First grade
Fairfield City Lions 4 (Coskun Tabak, Nas Basha, Mojtabe Mohebbee, Christian Ekwerike) University NSW 0
Southern Branch 1 (Daniel Dawkins 1) Stanmore Hawks 5 (Neil Philippou x2, Ciao Roque, Maxime Jacquin, Vince Leto)
Hurstville FC 2 (Dario Borovickic, Chris Terkes) Southern Bulls 1 (Ibrahim Kamara)
Belmore United 4 (Paul Paras x2, Pablo Cardozo x2) Hurstville City Minotaurs 3 (Luis Escalante x2, Angelo Vagenas)
Western Condors 3 (Roberto Sanchez x2, Mauricio Navarrete) Enfield Rovers 1 (Adrian Castro)
Grade-20
Fairfield City Lions 0 University NSW 0
Southern Branch 1 (T. Wade) Stanmore Hawks 4 (K. Stasi, A. Stasi, J. Theophanous)
Hurstville FC 1 (A. Rady) Southern Bulls 3 (J. Di Iorio x2, E. Marquez)
Belmore United 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 3
Western Condors 6 Enfield Rovers 3
Hurstville pen Bulls
Hurstville FC stayed top of State League 2 with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Southern Bulls at Hurstville Oval on Sunday afternoon, although they were lucky to still be in the game at halftime.
The visitors were all over Hurstville in the opening period, only some poor finishing keeping the score unchanged at the break. It was a different second-half story as FC saw more of the ball and pulled ahead when Chris Terkes twisted and turned his way through some traffic following a corner to send the ball into the bottom corner for a 1-0 lead; and an unmarked Dario Borovickic doubled the home side’s advantage moments later with a neat strike under a diving Bulls keeper.
Southern then went into hyper-drive with Ibrahim Kamara halving the deficit midway through the second half but they left their run too late and fulltime sounded with Hurstville’s noses just in front
FC coach Steve Zoric was delighted with the way his side responded from last week’s 5-1 shellacking by Stanmore. “I’m much happier today. It was a tough game against a very good Bulls outfit and we were pretty lucky in the first half – we haven’t been dominated like that by anyone this year; but we clicked into gear when it was needed and the boys really reacted well to last week’s loss,” he said.
“I will stick my hand up and say they definitely had the better of us, only some desperate defending kept it at 0-0 at halftime, but I felt we were starting to get some momentum going toward the end of the half so it was a positive halftime talk. I just told them to wake up, move better, and pressure higher. We changed the midfield rotation and to the boys’ credit they started getting on top of them and created some good chances.
“We gave away a sloppy goal to let them back into it and the last five minutes was heart attack stuff – our keeper Antonio Pandza goalkeeper was outstanding – but the boys showed character and discipline and looked like they really wanted it in that second half.”
Bulls coach Ramsin Shamon could only lament on what could’ve been after blowing so many first half opportunities. “It really should’ve been 5-6 nil at halftime, our finishing really let us down as I think our goalkeeper only touched the ball once in the first half,” he said.
“But we’ve been struggling in front of goals all year [seven in six matches] and that’s letting other teams grind out points against us… and if you don’t score you can’t win. Football’s a pretty simple game and you try not to complicate things. I’m absolutely wrapped with how we’re playing, we’re just not deadly enough in front of goals.”
Hurstville FC 2 (Dario Borovickic, Chris Terkes) Southern Bulls 1 (Ibrahim Kamara)
Grade-20: Hurstville FC 1 (A. Rady) Southern Bulls 3 (J. Di Iorio x2, E. Marquez)
Belmore wrestle Minotaurs
Belmore United and Hurstville City Minotaurs played out an absolute corker at Blick Oval on Sunday afternoon, the home side putting in a Hercules-like effort to recover from two goals down early in the second half to win 4-3.
Some neat Pablo Cardozo footwork unleashed Paul Paras on the quarter-hour for Belmore to grab an early ascendency before some poor defending gifted Hurstville’s Luis Escalante two quick goals for a 2-1 halftime lead, although the advantage was soured with a send-off for a clumsy tackle just moments before the break.
United then blew their numbers benefit when they also had a player sent off for a silly challenge seconds after the restart and Hurstville’s Angelo Vagenas pounced straight away to take a 3-1 lead. With Minotaurs seemingly in control, Belmore trio Cardozo, Paras and Andrew Lazarou took the game by the horns and three goals in 15 minutes (one to Paras, two to Cardozo) put United in front 4-3 at fulltime.
Belmore coach George Lazarou called it a remarkable victory. “They did well to come back and win,” he said. “It’s clear we’ve still got a few problems with our defence, it’s more a discipline thing than anything else (keeping with your man, marking in grids, etc) that got shown up more with our stopper James Cross out with a hamstring injury.”
“But something happened after we went two goals down, we just dominated and they didn’t look like scoring again. I’m very happy and proud of the players as it was a very important win. I believe our problems can be fixed and we can be a better side, so I’m not too concerned at this stage.”
Minotaurs coach Peter Sarikakis was seething at his players, an anger stemming from a belief his team is much better than they’re showing. “For the first time we have a player sent off and we actually played well with 10 men, but from the very minute they went down to 10 players we just self-destructed and went to pieces… I just can’t believe it,” he said.
“My keeper made three childish errors to give them their goals [in the second half] and my number one striker [Haisam Morhi] misses two one-on-ones when we’re leading 3-1. It’s just not good enough for this level of football – it’s very frustrating.”
“With any striker it’s a confidence thing, so I think it is good timing to be coming up against Schofields next week as it gives us a chance to find some form again and start playing to our ability. I also need the players to realise how important it is to come to training and prepare properly for each game.”
Sarikakis was also relieved star goalkeeper Sheku Kamara played a full game in Hurstville’s grade-20 3-1 win over Belmore and said the teenager would be straight back into first grade goals against Scorpions.
Belmore United 4 (Paul Paras x2, Pablo Cardozo x2) Hurstville City Minotaurs 3 (Luis Escalante x2, Angelo Vagenas)
Grade-20: Belmore United 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 3
Condors down Rovers
Western Condors held out an improving Enfield Rovers 3-1 at Calabria Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon, the visitors playing three-quarters of the game with just 10 men but barely giving an inch to their more fancied opponents.
The game was minutes old when Roberto Sanchez latched beautifully onto a Raffaele Sapio cross and his volley almost snapped the net as Condors took the lead, matters getting worse for Enfield when one of their players was sent off after arguing against receiving a yellow card. The break in play advantaged Rovers, however, and they equalised shortly afterward via an Adrian Castro penalty to make it 1-1 at halftime.
Enfield could almost have snatched the lead early in the second half and were boosted further when the home side also had a player sent off for a second yellow card to even up the playing numbers, but it was Condors who scored next, Sanchez turning a defender inside the box and rocketing in a second strike to restore his team’s lead.
Western could’ve scored several breakaways before Mauricio Navarrete made sure of the result with a well taken goal that finalised the account at 3-1 – a fourth straight Condors win.
The margin could’ve been greater but Condors coach Barry Zambrano is still happy with how his side’s progressing with each game. “It should’ve been comfortable but we complicated the game. It went a bit stale for us while the official was dealing with their send-off and we lost our intensity,” he said.
Enfield actually played better when they went a man down and I had to remind my boys [at halftime] to keep their shape. Honestly, we could’ve had a few more goals in the second half but couldn’t hit the back of the net.
“I think the defence handled themselves well and we’ve been playing some good football. There’s always something to work on but I’m really pleased with how players coming into the side have covered quite well.”
Rovers football manager Joe Piazza is excited with what the future might hold for his side after putting in another great effort and a couple of new signings just about to hit the paddock. “We were really banging on the wall in that second half – we hit the post and missed a couple of one-on-ones, then they countered with a nice goal that made the job a whole lot tougher. But I really can’t fault the effort, the players are really putting in,” he said.
As well as a couple of new midfielders to offer some more attacking options, Piazza said Enfield’s defence will be bolstered by goalkeeper Michael Rutherford, who’s just jetted into Sydney after contesting the Oceania Champions League with top Vanuatu club Amicale.
Western Condors 3 (Roberto Sanchez x2, Mauricio Navarrete) Enfield Rovers 1 (Adrian Castro)
Grade-20: Western Condors 6 Enfield Rovers 3
Lions gouge Uni
Fairfield City Lions kept their unbeaten run in tact with a convincing 4-0 triumph against University NSW at Rydalmere Park on Sunday afternoon, netting twice in each half to dominate the scoreboard.
Christian Ekwerike headed in the opener and a Mojtabe Mohebbee screamer made it 2-0 at halftime before second-half Nas Basha and Coskun Tabak goals sealed the deal to chalk up win number four in a row. Incredibly, the two sides have registered 45 goals in their past nine encounters.
It was Fairfield’s first clean sheet of the season and they’ve already found 13 different goalscorers at the other end (in five games) to help position them second on the ladder two points behind leaders Hurstville FC, with two games still in hand.
No wonder why Lions coach Tony Basha is a happy camper. “Uni weren’t bad, they just weren’t in the game today. I think my boys showed their experience and kept the ball a lot better than them. But we also pressed well to get the ball back… it was just a well-controlled game from us,” he said.
Basha then booted the ball over the sideline when asked if his side was a title favourite. “We’re comfortable, we want promotion, we’ve made no secret about that; the coaching staff has done a great job in forming a structured side early on in the competition, but we’re also missing four first graders and have some big names still to come back to fitness… so I guess that makes [round eight opponents] Stanmore favourites doesn’t it?”
Fairfield City Lions 4 (Coskun Tabak, Nas Basha, Mojtabe Mohebbee, Christian Ekwerike) University NSW 0
Grade-20: Fairfield City Lions 0 University NSW 0
Hawks beat branch
Stanmore Hawks might’ve done Southern Branch a favour in their solid 5-1 win at Ison Park on Sunday afternoon by giving the state league newcomers a right-royal football lesson.
Branch took a shock lead 10 minutes into the match when Daniel Dawkins charged down a poor clearance from the Hawks keeper, the rebound crossing the goal-line the lift the home side in front. But it was all Stanmore after that, a Neil Philippou double and Ciao Roque strike handing the visitors a comfortable 3-1 lead at halftime, Maxime Jacquin and Vince Leto netting second-half goals to round out a fourth Hawks win on the fly.
Stanmore coach George Paradisis said the win only just made up for a lengthy five-hour round trip south. “I think the boys were probably still asleep from the drive down when we went 1-0 down. Thankfully they woke up after that and it was all one-way traffic for the next 40 minutes; the boys just totally ran riot,” he said.
“They had more of the ball after halftime, I think we got a little bit complacent before we just took over again. I’m actually more pleased with how well the boys who came into the side went; they played very well and it surprised me how well some of them have fit into the team after coming back from injury.
“The team’s playing well, the players are confident… everything’s going good so I don’t need to change a thing.”
Branch coach Brod Crighton admitted his side was simply outplayed from front to back. “They were strong and fast in the middle of park and we were slow on transition, they were sprinting past us,” he said. “Their ball movement was quick and once they got on top we just couldn’t do anything to stop them… They’re the best attacking team we’ve played against.”
“Thank goodness for second rounds because I think we can get them next time. We just need to work hard on being sharper with and without the ball.”
Southern Branch 1 (Daniel Dawkins 1) Stanmore Hawks 5 (Neil Philippou x2, Ciao Roque, Maxime Jacquin, Vince Leto)
Grade-20: Southern Branch 1 (T. Wade) Stanmore Hawks 4 (K. Stasi, A. Stasi, J. Theophanous)
Next week’s games
State League 2 round 8 kicks off with a Saturday evening blockbuster between University of NSW and Western Condors at David Phillips Field (5pm). On Sunday afternoon (3pm), Southern Branch play Southern Bulls at Ison Park, Stanmore Hawks host Fairfield City Lions at Arlington Oval, Hurstville City Minotaurs tackle Schofields Scorpions at Punchbowl Oval, and Enfield Rovers face Belmore United at Pratten Park, Hurstville FC has the bye.
-By Dan De Nardi
