State League 2 Round 11 Review

Stanmore Hawks extended their lead at the top of State League 2 to eight points following a 16-0 demolition of Schofields Scorpions in round 11 of action.
Southern Branch’s 1-0 defeat of Fairfield City helped them draw alongside the Lions and Hurstville FC in second place with a host of teams nipping at their heels. Condors drew 1-1 with Hurstville and Southern Bulls had the same scoreline at Belmore United to remain a couple of points behind, Uni inching closer after beating Minotaurs 2-0.
At the competition’s halfway point just four points separate second from eighth.
Individually, a Hawks field day helped exaggerate their scoring conquests, Neil Philippou putting seven past Schofields to take a gigantic golden boot advantage, his 15 goals dwarfing nearest rivals Belmore’s Pablo Cardozo (9), Hurstville’s Jonathan Joannidis (8), team-mate Nick Paradisis (8) and Condors’ Mauricio Navarrete (7).
Schofields Scorpions 0 Stanmore Hawks 16 (Neil Philippou x7, Nick Paradisis x6, Lachlan Wright x3)
Southern Branch 1 (David Boscoscuro) Fairfield City Lions 0
Western Condors 1 (Carlos Carniero) Hurstville FC 1 (Raffaele Sapio)
Belmore United 1 (Terry Atsas) Southern Bulls 1 (Troy Eedy)
Hurstvill City Minotaurs 0 University NSW 2 (Joel Silvestre x2)
Condors level with Hurstville
Western Condors drew 1-1 with Hurstville FC at Calabria Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon to stoke the finals fires of both sides.
A tight scoreless first half opened up after the break when Carlos Carniero finished off a brilliant sequence of passing and FC looked like adding to the tally before Raffaele Sapio smashed in his own rebounded shot to level the scores for Condors midway through the term. Both teams searched for a winner but the scoreline remained unchanged at fulltime.
Hurstville coach Steve Zoric thought both sides had their spells but felt his side might’ve made more of their dominance at times.
“I was a bit disappointed with their equaliser as we were really looking dangerous for another couple of goals when that happened,” he said. “Then they almost caught us with a game winner on the counter at the end and we might’ve even lost it.”
Condors coach Barry Zambrano also saw a lost opportunity. “Again I’m disappointed to not get the result as we had a lot of possession, but I guess I’m also happy that we at least got something out the match so in that regard it’s not a bad job.”
Belmore, Bulls stalemate
Belmore United and Southern Bulls dueled for a 1-1 draw at Blick Oval on Sunday afternoon that kept both sides within striking distance of the top five.
While both sides had their chances – Terry Atsas converting a first-half penalty for Belmore and Bulls countering through Troy Eedy’s second half equaliser – the result’s biggest influence would have to have been new United keeper Syuzo Tsunoda.
The teenager only arrived from Japan a few months ago but showed the skill and tenacity that has him destined for higher leagues according to both coaches.
Belmore coach George Lazarou agreed. “I don’t think he’ll be with us for very long, he was simply outstanding for us today,” he said.
“We had enough chances of our own to win it and felt we were good for it, outstanding, but we didn’t land the killer blow and then gave away a penalty.”
Bulls coach Ramsin Shamon bowed to Tsunoda’s tenacity. “Amazing! In the first 20 seconds we had a one-on-one and he stopped that… he stopped everything. The boys were hitting the target every time and he would get some part of his body on it; he was everywhere.”
“I though we did well to control the game and heaps of opportunities and made some good decisions with the football, but we got bitten by not putting the ball away – but this guy in goal for them, he’s in the wrong league.”
Branch topple Lions
Southern Branch made it a miserable trip south for Fairfield City Lions following a crafty 1-0 victory at Ison Park on Sunday afternoon that wrapped three points up for coach Brod Crighton’s birthday.
A solid Branch defence brokered the deal between the sides as Fairfield took a whole half to finally get going, allowing
Branch’s David Boscoscuro scored the winning goal midway through the first half to underline Fairfield’s lax start to the game and they could’ve doubled the advantage on the hour-mark had Scott Regent’s header not been cleared off the line by a Lions defender.
The visitors were much-improved in the first half but some enterprising play went unrewarded in front of goal and Branch held onto a terrific win that puts them equal second on the ladder (fourth on goal difference) in their debut state league. Credit a backline that has held five teams scoreless in nine games.
Crighton paid tribute to a team building in confidence. “It was a bit of a battle but our back four were superb, they didn’t let anything past them, they were tight at the edge of the box, there was nothing stupid and we just played it out through the middle every time,” he said.
“It was very disciplined from my boys. We know we’ve got quality, it’s just a mental application for us and this is the first time we’ve been mentally strong.”
Fairfield coach Tony Basha said he had to jolt his players into action at the halftime break but was pleased with their response. “I was happy with the team’s effort in the second half showing, we just lacked that killer instinct and our final pass was off,” he said.
“The boys really pushed for an equaliser but the football gods were not there for us today. Branch defended well and kept their shape. They were very disciplined and to their credit they held us out. Well done to them.” 
Stanmore smash Schofields
Stanmore Hawks ran rings around Schofields Scorpions in a 16-0 thumping at the CSI Ground on Sunday afternoon.
It was 3-0 after 10 minutes, 8-0 at halftime and Stanmore went on with the job with another eight second-half goals to open up a decisive eight point gap at the top of the leaderboard – and a goal-difference of positive-32 to boot (double their nearest rival).
Neil Philippou netted seven times, Nick Paradisis six and Lachlan Wright chimed in with a hat-trick to complete a rout that (surprisingly) isn’t the biggest division two defeat, Camden Tigers managing a 17-0 win against Penang in 2009.
Hawks coach George Paradisis had mixed feelings about the result. “I really felt sorry for their players and told them to keep their heads up at the end of the game, but my side don’t get anything out of a game like that either,” he said.
“Having said that, we still had to go out there and do a job and my boys were just too pumped up not do well against a team like that. Now we can’t wait to get Minotaurs next week; they’re the only team that’s beaten us and it’s been a while since I’ve seen a bunch of guys so hungry.
Uni down Minotaurs
University NSW snuck silently into seventh place with a 2-0 win against Hurstville City Minotaurs at Punchbowl Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Minotaurs didn’t make it easy for Uni but a Joel Silvestre goal either side of halfway to completed a two-goal win that takes Uni to within four points of second place (with two catch-up games up their sleeve).
Coach Jorge Piatta was delighted with his player’s focus and may even have raised a glass to the other sides for results that helped further the Uni cause.
“It was a very good victory to be honest, away from home against a Minotaurs team that is hard to beat,” he said. “The players tried to keep a good formation as being organised and disciplined are our priorities, and I think they did a wonderful job.”
Minotaurs coach Peter Sarikakis knows a lack of scoring has seen points slip from his grasp and hoped an appearance from star striker Michael Di Meglio (2010 state league two golden boot) would inspire them in the second half of the season.
“We had good chances in first half and it’s disappointing to lose without getting a goal. Our young players are continuing to play well for the club and I really want to develop these players that are putting in the effort,” he said.
Next week’s games
All State League 2 round 12 games are on Sunday afternoon (3pm first grade kickoff) with Western Condors journeying south to play Southern Branch at Ison Park, Belmore United and Hurstville FC battle it out at Blick Oval, Hurstville City Minotaurs meet Stanmore Hawks at Punchbowl Oval, Enfield Rovers host University of NSW at Pratten Park, and Schofields Scorpions tackle Southern Bulls at the CSI Ground.
-By Dan De Nardi