State League Two Round 12 Review

Just two matches were completed over the weekend, Western Condors edging Southern Branch 1-0 and Southern Bulls dispatching Schofields Scorpions 3-0, but this week will be remembered more for the moment Enfield Rovers earned their first ever state league points, a 1-0 midweek catch-up win over luckless Schofields.
The Condors/Bulls victory on an otherwise rainy weekend helped them both to jump Fairfield City, Hurstville and Branch to be the new teams on Stanmore’s tail, albeit seven points off the pace.
Stanmore versus Minotaurs, Uni versus Enfield and Belmore versus Hurstville FC was all called off due to the wet weather around Sydney.

Condors break Branch
Western Condors turned a solid 1-0 victory over Southern Branch on Sunday afternoon into a delightful Nowra field trip, families and friends all travelling south to join the south-west Sydney based side for a fiesta at Ison Park.
The visitors added to the home side faithful made for a great atmosphere on an otherwise gloomy day, the conditions and both sides dogged defences ensuring goals would be at a premium.
Both attacks were methodical and it took an opportune moment to break the deadlock. Late in the first half Elias Navarrete pilfered the ball and headed straight toward the Branch goal, lofting the ball nicely for Ody Georgees to finish off nicely and take Condors to a 1-0 halftime lead.
Branch came out a better side after the break and but they couldn’t find the breakthrough they were searching for, particularly in a frantic final 10 minutes, and Condors held on for a tight win that takes them to second place on the table.
Western coach Barry Zambrano said both sides were determined to get something out of a rugged match. “It was a battle royale,” he said. “They found it hard to break us down in the final third and we were a little better in the centre of the park. I thought we played a calm game, so it was good to come away with the result.”
“They came up to Sydney in the first round and won both grades, including 1-0 in firsts, so we were very happy to return the favour.”
Branch coach Brod Crighton knew it would be tight. “There was only ever going to be one goal in it and they were the ones that got it,” he said. “It was disappointing how we conceded, a lack of urgency to get back… [but] I read them the riot act at halftime and they responded well in the second half, we were camped in their box at the end of the game but weren’t good enough to finish off some penetrating passes.”
Bulls trample Scorpions
Southern Bulls took on Schofields Scorpions at the CSI Ground on a soggy Sunday afternoon and grinded their way to a 3-0 victory.
Scorpions were squashed 16-0 by Stanmore last week and although Bulls had most of the running, Schofields did well to restrict them to just three goals on a mud-stained pitch.
Kyle Romeo danced his way through the defence in the third minute to open Southern’s account, John Fahmi finishing off strongly 10 minutes later to double the lead and anticipate a blood bath in the mud path. Ibrahim Kamara grabbed a third for the Bulls midway through the second half and the score remained 3-0 at fulltime.
Southern coach Ramsin Shamon wanted a bit better finishing despite the atrocious conditions in what was otherwise a stroll in the park. “We could’ve been better in front of goal, but they just parked the bus and the conditions made it even harder for us,” he said.
Enfield make the grade
It wasn’t always pretty but Enfield Rovers broke through for a beautiful maiden state league victory, 1-0 over Schofields Scorpions at the CSI Ground on Tuesday night.
Enfield looked to attack all game but it wasn’t until Adrian Castro’s spectacular scissor-kick from a Matt Benham floater just after halftime that they finally ruffled the back of the net.
More chances came and were wasted, and Schofields almost caught them out on the counterattack, but it was to be a famous Rovers victory. Naturally, football manager Joe Piazza was thrilled.
“It was more a feeling of relief, and although we missed a lot of chances it was great that we worked hard to keep a clean sheet,” he said. “We really went for it from the star, battled away, took the lead after halftime and didn’t throw it away. We just didn’t finish well enough.”
“… This is part of history for our club – Enfield Rovers first points in state league first grade, so I was very happy for the players, and the club.”
Next week’s games
State League 2 round 13 are all Sunday games (3pm first grade kickoff) as Stanmore Hawks host Enfield Rovers at Arlington Oval, Southern Bulls welcome Hurstville City Minotaurs to Ernie Smith Reserve, Hurstville FC tackle Schofields Scorpions at Calabria Sports Ground, Southern Branch meet Belmore United at Ison Park, and Fairfield City Lions clash with old foes Western Condors at Rydalmere Park. Branch are due to play Hurstville FC in a round 9 catch-up game at Ison Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
-By Dan De Nardi