State League Two Round 14 Review
Ten-man Uni sticking it to Stanmore Hawks in a 2-1 loss to the ladder leaders, 10-man Hurstville FC coming from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Hurstville City Minotaurs, both sides had a player sent off in Fairfield City Lions’ 1-0 win over Belmore United, top-five Southern Branch clinging to a 1-0 victory over win-less Schofields Scorpions, while (wait for it )10-man Enfield Rovers put four second half goals past Southern Bulls to make it back-to-back wins… one thing’s pretty clear in State League 2 – we’re not in Kansas anymore!
The weekend’s results sent Hawks seven points clear of Hurstville FC at the top of the table, Lions and Branch one point further back with Western Condors and Bulls breathing down their necks. Belmore and Uni have games in hands that keep them in the picture, but it’s the mid-season resurgence from all the bottom sides that throws this competition up in the air once again.
Neil Philippou’s 16th goal puts daylight between him and second highest scorer Pablo Cardozo (9).
University of NSW 1 (Luke Ursino) Stanmore Hawks 2 (Robert Bruno, Neil Philippou)
Belmore United 0 Fairfield City Lions 1 (Christian Ekwerike)
Hurstville City Minotaurs 1 (Haisam Morhi) Hurstville FC 1(James Galic)
Enfield Rovers 4 (Adrian Castro, Steve Urosevski, Adel Ahmed, Matthew Picone) Southern Bulls 0
Schofields Scorpions 0 Southern Branch 1 (Jordan Harrow)
Grade 20:
University of NSW 1 Stanmore Hawks 0
Belmore United 1 Fairfield City Lions 6
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 Hurstville FC 0
Enfield Rovers FC 3 Southern Bulls 1
Schofields Scorpions 1 Southern Branch 5
Stanmore edge Uni
State League 2 leaders Stanmore Hawks were made to sweat in a tight 2-1 win against a brave 10-man University of NSW at David Phillips Field on Saturday evening.
Stanmore burst out of the blocks and Neil Philippou’s 16th goal of the season put the visitors ahead early. Uni overcame their struggles but just when they started to get going had a player sent from the field for simulation and dissent, gifting Hawks another goal through Robbie Bruno to make it 2-0 with a half-hour still to play.
To their credit Uni stormed back into the match and despite a man down Joel Silvestre found space and passed to an unmarked Luke Ursino who made no mistake to narrow the gap even further.
The home side had another beautiful chance to draw level but missed to fall 2-1 at the final whistle, Stanmore notching up nine straight wins to head the table by seven points.
Hawks coach George Paradisis said his players were guilty of going for glory when they had Uni on the ropes, but he was thankful for the Uni challenge. “We wanted to score more and that opened up the field for Uni to get one back; in fact they were unlucky not to make it 2-2, but I still thought we deserved to win,” he said.
“Uni have only played seven games and everyone else has played 5-6 more, so they’ve had a very interrupted season. We’ve probably been doing it a bit too easy over the past few weeks this was a well-timed test for my side. It will be hard for Uni with their catch-up games but they’re a very good side and should probably still be there in the end.”
Uni coach Jorge Piatta applauded both teams, Stanmore for their excellent structure and organisation and his own side for a gallant effort despite the odds. “They have a very good team, disciplined, and they dominated the opening; but we tried to keep playing the football on the ground and that created chances for us,” he said.
“We changed tactics after the send off to reduce the space and put players behind the ball, but full credit to the players who showed determination, courage and a desire to win the game even with a player down. I’m very happy with the boys as we have shown good improved over the past few weeks; I’m proud of them.”
Hurstville stalemate
It was déjà vu as 10-man Hurstville FC grabbed points off Hurstville City Minotaurs in the Sunday afternoon derby at Punchbowl Oval.
A 10-man FC beat Minotaurs 2-1 in their round three clash and it was an eerily similar scenario as FC went a goal down and then a player down before a late equaliser shared the spoils.
Haisam Morhi shrugged off a broken toe to put Minotaurs ahead at halftime before Goran Sivric was sent off for a second booking to leave FC a player short; But the visitors stepped it up a notch and a mad goalbox scramble, which saw the ball ricochet off the post and cleared off the line before James Galic finally got it over the line to even tidings up with seven minutes to go.
The draw was enough to keep FC in second place while Minotaurs inched closer to the top-five, leaving coach Peter Sarikakis satisfied without being delighted. “I have a competitive side but at this level missed chances means missed opportunities,” he said.
“No team has completely outplayed us and despite their player sent off maybe a draw was fair today, but we had many good chances to put the ball in the back of net… we have taken a few wrong options and that keeps costing us points.”
On the other hand, FC coach Steve Zoric was thrilled. “I’m very happy with the boys. I was on the field when we had a player sent off and we just kept our shape and backed ourselves and it almost paid off,” he said.
“I am getting a bit concerned with the send-offs (five in 11 games) but to be where we are in spit of this is pretty good. We really pulled together today to get something from the match.”
Lions pip Belmore
A second-half Christian Ekwerike strike separated Fairfield City Lions from Belmore United at Blick Oval on Sunday afternoon, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 players for the final half-hour.
Belmore also had a player sent off (both for swearing) and it was a great through ball from Julian Aguirre to Ekwerike produced the Lions match-winner on 60-minutes.
Fairfield jumped Condors and Bulls into third place and coach Tony Basha was pleased to claim three points against a stern Belmore unit.
“We had a few more chances to score but Belmore are a very dangerous side and put in a great fight in what was a pretty even game,” he said.
Branch hold off Scorpions
Southern Branch have laid more eggs than a sneezy Ozzie Ostrich with an uncomfortable 1-0 win over Schofields Scorpions at the CSI Ground on Sunday afternoon earning them their sixth clean sheet in 11 games – double any other side.
It wasn’t the prettiest of contests and both sides had chances, some great build-up play from David Boscoscuro setting up Jordan Harrow for the winning goal.
Branch coach Brod Crighton wasn’t at the game but was chuffed his side got the result. “From what I’ve heard it was a scrappy game and we were lucky to get the points. But this is one of those competitions where any side can turn up and beat the other and it has come down to an element of luck,” he said. “I feel we’ve been competitive against most sides and today’s result helps us stay in contention.”
Rovers round up Bulls
A Rovers revival was bound to happen but there’s several insights into Southern Bulls’ 4-0 capitulation to a 10-man Enfield at Pratten Park on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors looked solid in the first half and had the extra bonus of playing against 10 men when Enfield had their numbers reduced before halftime.
Bulls had a fantastic chance to open the scoring in the first minute of the second half only to see Enfield scoot the rest of the field to net through Adrian Castro, following some impressive lead-up from the "hulk" Anthony Piazza who dashed outside to receive a great pass, nutmegged his defender and cut across for Castro’s sharp boot to nail into the top right corner.
A few minutes later Southern keeper did well to palm a neat freekick straight into the path of Steve Urosevski to make it 2-0 to Rovers and Stefano Malinverno’s clever dink to Adel Ahmed increased the lead in the blink of an eye.
Bulls were clearly rattled and missed a penalty that could’ve got them back into the contest, Matthew Picone taking full advantage of the slip by latching onto a Mick Barilla flick-on and rounding the Southern keeper to slot home and round out a magnificent 4-0 win.
Bulls coach Ramsin Shamon said the game changed in a minute. “We dominated the first half and were cruising without putting our chances away. Then we miss a point-blank chance to start the second half and they score up the other end. Then they got an own goal and we just had brain explosions all over the field,” he said. “The boys know they could’ve done more to win the game, but they got their tails up and held on for the win.”
A bold decision to take Enfield from a successful association level to state league seemed more challenging than first thought when Rovers suffered eight straight losses to start the season.
Football manager Joe Piazza held firm and a vibrant, spirited bunch of players backed him and the club’s desire to stamp its name further up the football ladder. Cue the “perfect timing” music as Andrew Montgomery entered the fray.
After making a name for himself by turning easybeats Luddenham United into a State League 2 title threat, Montgomery left Camden Tigers last month and turned his eye to a SL2 return with Enfield. They’ve won two in a row and there’s a buzz around the club.
“I’m really pumped for boys as this is the first steps of a long journey,” he said. “They dug deep and showed their character today, but this was definitely something that was already coming. If it wasn’t me it would’ve been someone else that built on all the work Joe’s already done, and I can see a great future for the club. Everyone’s excited.”
Next week’s games
State League 2 round 15 is an all Sunday affair (3pm first grade kickoffs). Hurstville FC welcome Enfield Rovers to Hurstville Oval, Hurstville City Minotaurs take the long ride south to face Southern Branch at Ison Park, Fairfield City Lions host Schofields Scorpions at Rydalmere Park, Western Condors play Belmore United at Calabria Sports Ground, and Southern Bulls meet University of NSW at Ernie Smith Reserve.
-By Dan De Nardi
