State League One Round 14 Review
After the disruption in recent weeks with wet weather, State League One football roared back into action with a round that produced 25 goals and a new competition leader.
Camden Tigers almost replicated their first round victory over league leaders Balmain Tigers, drawing 1-1 after leading for most of the match at Ron Dine Reserve. Elsewhere, Prospect United maintained their ascent with a 4-0 home thumping of WNSW Mariners, Dulwich Hill continued their renaissance by easily accounting for Nepean 4-1, Northbridge FC clipped the Hawks’ wings with a 7-1 thrashing, and Granville Rage upset Hakoah 1-0 away in the late game on Sunday evening.
The season was on the line in our match of the round at Magdala Park where Gladesville Ryde Magic hosted Inter Lions.
Gladesville Ryde Magic – Inter Lions 3 – 2
In a match that produced 5 goals, two penalties, six cautions and two red cards, Gladesville Ryde Magic kept their faint finals hopes alive with a 3-2 victory over Inter Lions at Magdala Park on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams came into the match in 10th and 11th spot on the ladder respectively, and the desperation they both needed to grab the three points came out in abundance with the amount of errors and ill discipline across the ninety minutes.
Following on from a couple of wet weather weekends, Magdala Park looked sublime, a flat dry surface on a crisp sunny afternoon ready for what loomed as a season defining match for both clubs.
The nerves were there in the initial quarter of an hour, neither side able to penetrate the other as defenders ruled the roost, but unbeknownst to many, it was definitely the calm before the storm.
The first real opportunity did not arrive until the 16th minute, when the Magic failed on a couple of occasions to clear an Inter corner. The ball fell invitingly to Inter skipper, Adrian Vizzari, who cracked his angled shot over the crossbar amongst plenty of finger pointing in the Magic backline.
Two minutes later and Gladesville hit the front. Young Mitchell Smith strode down the left hand side before lofting a cross towards the back post. Striker Scott Tonkin intelligently headed it back across goal to team mate, Tim Woodhouse, who in turn headed it on for Samir Eshani to volley into the net from a couple of yards.
This goal spurned Inter into action, and the diminutive Nicky Ruoco started to turn it on in the attacking midfield role he was playing. Ruoco’s speed with the ball at his feet saw him go close twice within minutes, stabbing wide on the turn in the 23rd minute after receiving a low cross at the near post from Miguel Martinez, and shooting just wide from outside the box in the 26th.
A Gladesville counter attack on 27 minutes caused all sorts of mayhem, breaking with speed as Yavuz Ekinci sent Alaa Ali Khan on his way down the right flank. Ali Khan sent over a low firm cross, and Inter’s skipper, Adrian Vizzari, in a desperate attempt to block the ball, threw himself at it and was adjudged to have handled the leather.
Experienced whistle blower, Mr Dave Finlay, was all over it and pointed to the spot to hand the Magic a penalty. Before the kick could be taken, however, the man who set up the opportunity, Alaa Ali Khan, was deemed to have spoken out of line to the referee’s assistant, and was duly marched, reducing Gladesville Ryde Magic to ten men, and sensationally, within the course of winning a penalty kick.
Inter’s keeper, Roberto Maiorana, guessed the correct way, but Gladesville skipper, Johnny Martinez, struck his penalty firmly into the bottom corner to the keeper’s right to double the Magic’s advantage.
The playing numbers were evened out in the 34th minute, when Inter’s captain, Adrian Vizzari, impeded the run of Samir Eshani on the edge of his penalty area, receiving his second caution and subsequent red card to make it 10 vs 10.
Inter were seemingly on the ropes, but managed to bring themselves back into the match by reducing the deficit just two minutes before the break. The busy Tony Panuccio made an arched run around team mate Nicky Ruoco, receiving the ball down the left hand side before being upended as he attempted to glide past Gladesville defender, Aaron Khan.
Gladesville’s keeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, a mere spectator until this point, could do nothing to stop Miguel Martinez’s spot kick, diving to his left as the ball was struck in the opposite corner.
The action wasn’t over just yet, and in first half injury time, Inter coach, Matteo Maiorana, was sent from the bench after a discrepancy with the referee’s assistant, just before the half time whistle brought much needed respite to all and sundry.
The second half had barely begun and Inter Lions drew level after a great mazy run and subsequent cross by Nicky Ruoco. Inter’s Miguel Martinez untangled himself from a threesome with team mate Kachi Enyi, and a Magic defender, to turn on a six pence and stab home from a couple of yards.
A draw wouldn’t be of much help to either side, so we started to see some desperation in the attacking thirds, amidst some incorrect options and stray passes.
Gladesville’s Scott Tonkin stung Roberto Maiorana’s hands in the Inter goal with a fierce snapshot in the 58th minute, whilst down the other end Balmain’s Kachi Enyi headed wide a minute later from almost right in front after an exquisite cross by Miguel Martinez.
Enyi did better in the 62nd minute, heading downward and firmly from Ruoco’s lofted cross, but Magic custodian, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, parried the danger comfortably.
The decisive moment of this encounter came in the 66th minute, and it involved a clash between the two unrelated Martinez’s.
Magic skipper, Johhny Martinez, ran forward in support of his attack, and found himself on the end of a deep cross by substitute, Ben Kerr. But just as he was about to connect with his head, Inter’s Miguel Martinez, tracking back to support his defence, lunged desperately at the ball and only succeeded in heading past his own stranded keeper, Roberto Maiorana, to edge the Magic back in front.
The Gladesville strikers, Scott Tonkin and Mitchell Smith, were relatively starved of service throughout the match, but they did combine in the 71st minute to almost great effect. Tonkin played Smith into a tiny gap where he proceeded to slide the ball just wide of the upright as Inter’s keeper, Maiorana, came rushing out to close the angles.
Things worsened for Inter in the 78th minute, with Miguel Martinez earning his second caution of the match, leaving his team to battle it out with just nine men.
Magic took advantage of the numbers in the final stages, but just couldn’t add to the scoreboard. In the 81st minute, Mitchell Smith volleyed from point blank range straight into the arms of Inter’s Maiorana after Tim Woodhouse had nodded back a Johnny Martinez corner.
A couple of minutes later and it was a desperate block by Inter’s Eren Demiroz from Magic substitute, Peter Yannopoulos, after Gladesville’s Scott Tonkin had made an incisive run down the right flank before cutting it back to his team mate.
A minute later Magic again took advantage of their numerical advantage, with Tonkin sending Ben Kerr into space, only for the Gladesville substitute to slide his shot inches wide of the Inter goal post.
In the end, that was all she wrote and the Magic grabbed the spoils to keep their season alive, moving above the Western NSW Mariners and into 9th spot on 14 points. Tim Wodhouse was solid in central defence, and supported effectively whenever he moved up for set pieces, whilst skipper, Johnny Martinez, toiled hard from box to box.
You could say it was some ill discipline that cost Inter Lions in the end, as winning with nine men was always going to be an uphill task. Nicky Ruoco looked the goods on the ball, and Dario Espejel and Eren Demiroz were solid and effective defensively, but it wasn’t enough on the day, and the Lions will have some work to do from here if they are to climb away from the bottom rungs of the ladder.
Match Stats
Gladesville Ryde Magic 3 (Eshani 18’, J.Martinez pen 27’, M.Martinez own goal 66’)
Inter Lions 2 (M.Martinez pen 43’, 48’)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Magdala Park
Referee: Mr David Finlay
Assistant Referees : Mr Keith Yau and Mr Blayne Whiteman
Bench: J. Woods, Z. Elrich, W. Angel, V. Rigoli, I. Johnson.GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC: 33.K.Tohouroglou, 6.A.Ali Khan, 10.Y.Ekinci (15.P.Yannopoulos 78’), 7.S.Eshani (14.T.Huet 60’) , 4.A.Khan, 8.J.Martinez (capt), 12.C.Newton (13.B.Kerr 52’), 11.M.Smith, 3.S.Speirs, 9.S.Tonkin, 5.T.Woodhouse.
Substitutes Not Used: 1.A.Guirgis.
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: 6.A.Ali Khan 27’.
INTER LIONS: 1.R.Maiorana, 8.A.Al Waeli, 12.E.Demiroz, 15.K.Enyi (7.A.Poniris 63’), 6.D.Espejel, 9.M.Martinez, 3.P.Pace, 5.T.Panuccio (11.A.Crane 75’), 10.N.Ruoco, 2.M.Sidoti (13.S.Roda 52’), 4.A.Vizzari (capt).
Substitutes Not Used: 14.S.Di Natale, 21.L.Soto.
Yellow Cards: 4.A.Vizzari 27’ & 34’, 9.M.Martinez 37’ & 78’, 2.M.Sidoti 52’, 5.T.Panuccio 61’.
Red Cards: 4.A.Vizzari 34’, 9.M.Martinez 78’.
STATE LEAGUE ONE ROUND FOURTEEN REVIEW
Prospect United gave the visiting Western NSW Mariners a touch up at William Lawson Park on Saturday afternoon, winning to the tune of 4-0.
Four cautions and a red card didn’t help the visiting Mariners, who have dropped a spot to 10th as a result of the defeat.
Prospect’s goals came from skipper Gus Orcajo, Thomas Kasunic, Daniel Brooker, and Tom Simpson, the win putting them on 18 points and into 7th spot, on the brink of the top half of the ladder.
Dulwich Hill SC showed they are back with a vengeance, defeating Nepean FC 4-1 at Arlington Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Dully’s top goalscorer, Carlos Villazon, got them going on 20 minutes, latching onto a decisive through ball by Anthony Musumeci before striking home the only goal of the first half.
Chris Pinto doubled Dully’s advantage just after half time, scrambling home following a quickly taken free kick by Anthony Musumeci. Just before the hour mark it was 3-0, when Joseph Savor sent a diagonal ball into space for James Villazon, who crossed early for new signing, Aaron Cordova, to score clinically.
Anthony Musumeci eventually got his name on the scoresheet by collecting a short corner by Chris Pinto, and sending over a cross that eluded all and sundry on its way into the Nepean net.
Josh Hunter pulled a goal back for Nepean in the 76th minute, but they were no match for Dully on the day, and no doubt missed the energy and running of midfield workhorse, Terry Pannowitz, who was out, suspended, on the day.
The defeat sees Nepean drop into the bottom half of the ladder, sitting on 18 points and in 8th spot on goal difference. Dulwich Hill on the other hand move to second spot on 22 points, back up where they were early in the 2013 campaign.
Northbridge FC kept true to their mid season promise by demoralizing Hawkesbury City SC at Northbridge Oval on Sunday afternoon, the 7-1 scoreline no doubt sending a shudder through the rest of the competition.
The Hawks have been a hot and cold side in 2013, capable of beating anyone on their day, but succumbing lifelessly on others. They simply didn’t show up against Northbridge, who rattled in the goals at will in a commanding performance.
The rampaging Lee Jones grabbed a brace of goals, as did Paul Orgad, whilst Mitchell Lensink and Tom Bentham also made the scoreboard. An own goal finished off proceedings for the home side, who moved ominously into 1st place on the ladder on 23 points.
Michael McCrory scored the Hawks consolation goal just after the half time break with a 20 yard screamer, the result seeing Hawkesbury drop to 5th spot on the ladder, remaining on 20 points.
Bottom placed Camden Tigers defied the odds once again on Sunday afternoon, holding league leaders, Balmain Tigers, to a 1-1 draw at Ron Dine Reserve.
I say ‘again’ because Camden are the only side to inflict a defeat on Balmain this season, and on this occasion they were 15 minutes or so from replicating that effort.
In the end it was the heroics of the two shot stoppers that ruled proceedings, with Camden’s Matthew Johnston, and Balmain’s ‘tiger cub’, 16 yr old Lachlan Kerr, producing super efforts to give their respective teams a share of the spoils.
Balmain almost nudged in front as early as the 3rd minute, when striker, Rosario Occhipinti, managed to out jump the Camden defence and crash his header against the upright before the ball was cleared.
Camden responded by converting their first real opportunity in the 9th minute. The recently returned Grant Mackechnie pounced on a long through ball which had caught the Balmain defence napping, before controlling the ball and slotting it calmly into the back of the net, much to the cheers of the home support.
Balmain’s Rosario Occhipinti repeated his earlier effort in the 26th minute, leaping above the Camden defence to head the ball towards an empty Camden goal. Once again the ball hit the upright and was cleared, much to the angst of the Balmain faithful.
The visitors found the woodwork for the third time in the match on 33 minutes, when free kick specialist, Liam Cole, curled the ball around the defensive wall and against the Camden crossbar as the league leaders threatened to restore parity.
Both keepers were at it again early in the second stanza, with a standout save from Camden’s Matthew Johnston on 52 minutes thwarting Rosario Occhipinti, after the custodian faced the Balmain sharpshooter in a dreaded one-on-one situation.
Balmain eventually found their equalizer, and it came via the boot of Domenic Di Mento on 75 minutes. Balmain were awarded a free kick just outside the Camden penalty area, and Di Mento curled the ball around the defensive wall and into the back on the net to give his side a share of the points.
The point sees Camden climb to 11 points, and even though they are still rock bottom, they have now drawn level with Inter Lions, and now are a solitary win from 9th spot and with all to play for. Balmain have lead the competition for so long, but a combination of wet weather postponements, results elsewhere, and this stalemate against Camden have seen them drop to third for the time being, on 22 points.
Granville Rage upset the applecart somewhat at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday evening, beating the in-form Hakoah Sydney City East by 1-0.
Daniel Vukovic was the hero for the Rage, scoring the all important winner on 27 minutes.
Vukovic won possession in the middle of the park, before a succession of passes found flyer, Zac Watters, on the flank. Watters raced down the left before cutting it back for Vukovic, who had continued his run, and he slotted it home to give the Rage the points.
Despite missing Daniel Martinez, Calum Hedge and Manut Yel, the Rage were good for their win, with young Daniel Bortolazzo almost hitting the scoresheet in a promising starting debut match.
The defeat sees Hakoah drop to 4th spot on the ladder, remaining on 21 points, whilst the Rage are right back in the thick of it again, climbing to 19 poiints and 6th spot, just four points from the summit.
-By Frank Speranza
