State League One – Round 21 Preview
Rescheduled Midweek Match – Round 12
Inter Lions – Hakoah Sydney City East 3-2
Hakoah Sydney City East missed a great opportunity to seal a semi final spot with two rounds remaining when they came unstuck at Pratten Park on Wednesday night, losing 2-3 to a gritty Inter Lions.
The Lions took an early lead through Miguel Martinez after 8 minutes, doubling their advantage in the 20th via the burly figure of Kachi Enyi.
Hakoah managed to storm back into the match and restored parity before the break, with Remy Wolanski netting just after the half hour, and Matthew Hoenig equalising in the 41st.
But Inter edged back into the lead just before half time with a goal to youngster, Anthony Foti, and they held on during a scoreless second period to register a victory.
Hakoah remain equal 4th on the ladder on 33 points, whilst Inter Lions hurdle Camden Tigers with the three points, moving to 10th on the ladder on 20 points.
Round Twenty One Preview
The race is on to sow up a finals spot with just two rounds remaining as we approach the penultimate round of fixtures in the State League One competition.
Round 21 is split between three matches on Saturday afternoon, all kicking off at 5-00pm, whilst the remaining games are all scheduled for 3-00pm starts on Sunday afternoon.
There’s plenty riding on the Hawkesbury City-Balmain encounter at Bensons Lane on Saturday, with the Hawks sitting 6th on the ladder on 29 points, four points behind 5th spot. With two rounds remaining, the Hawks need the win and hope that either Hakoah or Granville slip up to give themselves any chance of playing finals footy in a few weeks time.
Before they travel west for Saturday’s game, Balmain have a fixture against Dulwich Hill on Thursday night that can well determine where the Premiership will end up in 2013, a win to either placing them at the head of a three way pack with two games to go.
The outcome of the match could well rest on the boot of two of the strikers on show, with Balmain’s Rosario Occhipinti looking to extend his lead at the top of the scorers charts, whilst last week’s two goal veteran, Todd Macrae, has seen it all before and his experience in the penalty area could give the Hawks the edge they desperately need.
In Saturday’s other matches, Western NSW Mariners and Nepean will be playing for pride in their battle at Glen Willow Stadium, whilst Gladesville Ryde Magic will be searching for all three points at William Lawson Park against Prospect, knowing they still have a slim mathematical chance of making the five, albeit needing other results to go their way.
Camden Tigers and Inter Lions have swapped places between 10th and 11th spots at the foot of the ladder for a while now, having changed coaches midyear and managing to get themselves off the bottom of the ladder as a result. They will no doubt go hammer and tongs on Sunday at Ron Dine with 10th spot up for grabs, with Inter Lions needing to recuperate quickly following their 3-2 win over Hakoah on Wednesday night.
Two teams with a similar style of flowing attacking football meet at Arlington Oval on Sunday, with Dulwich Hill meeting Granville Rage.
Both teams have been in good form of late, consolidating their spots in the top five in the process, and more, in Dully’s case.
Anthony Musumeci has taken the bull by the horns in the Dully midfield, his two goals last week against Inter seeing him reach 8 for the season, a healthy return for a midfielder. The Rage have their own leader in the centre of the park, with skipper Dave Harding leading by example, and the Rage have made a real fist of it in the second round as a result, becoming a force to be reckoned with as the season nears the business end of the year.
Wentworth Park will host a real battle for honours on Sunday as Northbridge welcome Hakoah Sydney City East.
The Bridge have title aspirations on their mind with just two matches to go, and in Tom Bentham and Ry Hardy, they have a couple of very handy strikers who compliment each other in the attacking third of the park.
Bentham strength and sheer physical size works well with Hardy’s nose for goals and speed off the mark, so Hakoah will be stretched at the back to try and keep them in check.
Wentworth Park is a very emotional venue for Hakoah teams of the past, so they will be up for a positive return to the venue, hoping Mark McAlpine continues his rich vein of form in front of goal.
Please click on the following link to access all the details of the full round of Round 20 fixtures (all matches may be subject to late changes so please refer to the Football NSW website prior to kick off to confirm match details)
http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&round=21&client=1-9353-138477-253810-0&pool=1
State League One
Top Goalscorers – Round 20
It will take a big effort to wrestle the Golden boot from Balmain’s Rosario Occhipinti, with just two rounds remaining. Occhipinti scored a goal in the 3-1 win over Granville to move to 15 goals for the season, 4 ahead of Rage striker, Zac Watters, who scored in the same match to sneak into second spot on 11 goals.
15 – Rosario OCCHIPINTI (Balmain Tigers)
11 – Zac WATTERS (Granville Rage)
10 – Scott TONKIN (Gladesville Ryde Magic)
9 – Mark McALPINE (Hakoah), Ry HARDY (Northbridge), Kachi ENYI (Inter Lions)
8 – Carlos VILLAZON (Dulwich Hill), Justin KOSMINA (Hakoah), Gustavo Orcajo (Prospect Utd), Nick RUTHERFORD (Western NSW), Anthony MUSUMECI (Dulwich Hill), Terry PANNOWITZ (Nepean), Michael COLE (Northbridge), Miguel MARTINEZ (Inter Lions)
7 – Ethan SIMONE (Hawkesbury City), James CHRISTIE (Western NSW), Evan DAGLIS (Hawkesbury City), Sebastian CAMACHO (Nepean)
6 – Will DONATO (Balmain Tigers), Mitchell SMITH (Gladesville Ryde Magic), Frank CALCAGNO (Dulwich Hill), Paul COOPER (Hawkesbury City), Majid ESLAMI (Gladesville Ryde Magic), James VILLAZON (Dulwich Hill), Todd MACRAE (Hawkesbury City)
5 – Chris CAMILLERI (Prospect Utd), Paul ORGAD (Northbridge), Lee JONES (Northbridge), Michael MCCRORY (Hawkesbury City), Samir ESHANI (Gladesville Ryde Magic), Yavuz EKINCI (Gladesville Ryde Magic)
