SUPA IGA NSW NPL Mens 2 Round 3 Review

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Things are a tad clearer after round 3 of the SUPA IGA NSW NPL Men’s 2, with the favourites surging to the top while a couple of strugglers emerge.

Bansktown City and Central Coast Mariners were the big winners of the round, while Hills Brumbies, Bankstown Berries and Sydney University remain winless.

Macarthur were held by Northern Tigers, with both sides still among the undefeated sides. Midweek, the Lions and Mt Druitt Town Rangers played out a 2-2 draw.

Match of the Round

Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Hills Brumbies

Mt Druitt narrowly fought off a plucky 10-man Hills Brumbies on Saturday night, to claim their first victory of the 2014 season.

The 2-1 result gave Rangers further momentum following on from the midweek draw against Bankstown City, while Brumbies remain winless from their opening three matches.

Goals to Glenn McPherson and Thomas Spencer for the hosts, either side of Eros Bergamin’s crafty finish ensured all three points for the hosts, but Hills will feel things could have been quite different if not for a penalty miss and red card shortly before the interval.

In a somewhat cagey opening five minutes, it was Rangers who looked to control the tempo, moving the ball around well and biding their time.

The first real chance on goal fell to Hills’ Kuag Reec who latched onto a Jovan Miladinovic through ball, but Peter Hubbard slid in with a well-timed tackle to deny the striker.

It was then the hosts who moved into opposition territory via the left wing of Hosyar Cakal – a passage regularly exploited throughout the match. Cakal pounced on a miscontrol from the Brumbies defender and was put through one on one but scuffed his shot wide.

Rangers soon made amends with the opening goal as Paul Davies’ pinpoint cross was met on the head by an unmarked Glenn McPherson, who tucked the ball into the bottom corner.

Much of the play for the next ten minutes was situated in the Hills half, with successive chances – the first to Cakal, who had his shot blocked by Jordan Caporale, and then to Peter Hubbard who blasted a header onto the crossbar.

It took some time for Hills to find their rhythm, but Kodai Hayashi’s right side looked most likely to provide the breakthrough.

Reec registered a shot on goal for the visitors when he gathered a loose ball, but his resulting shot was well high.

A series of raids on the Rangers goal soon provided something tangible for Brumbies when Eros Bergamin was clipped by James Thurtell in the area.

Captain Russell Farrell stepped up to the spot but was given the “don’t argue” by Rangers keeper Conway who parried away the shot and was on hand to clear the rebound.

Rangers looked set to make Hills rue the penalty miss just minutes as Daniel McCann’s hopeful through ball, which appeared to be hit with too much weight, was miscontrolled by goalkeeper Hayden Browne. Cakal raced towards the goal bound ball and was about to let fly, only for Browne to recover brilliantly with a diving save.

The potential game changer came on 43 minutes when Reec was adjudged to have gone in studs up on Rangers’ Luke Boyd, with the referee giving the big number 9 his marching orders immediately. The challenge didn’t appear too sinister at first glance and Boyd escaped uninjured.

The half-time talk in both dressing rooms revolved around the red card, with Brumbies determined to continue pressing despite the man disadvantage.

It seemed the sendoff benefitted the visitors more than Rangers, who played deeper than they did in the first half. That invited Hills to search for an equaliser and it appeared a matter of if, not when.

Following consecutive attempts on goal via Peter Day, followed by a stinging Eros Bergamin strike from distance, Brumbies fired a serious warning sign.

Bergamin ensured his next shot was even more emphatic as he controlled the ball in a crowded box and fired low past Daniel Conway to make things 1-1 with 15 minutes on the clock.

It was a just reward for Hills and the game was jarred wide open with both sides fighting tooth and nail for the winner.

Bergamin’s quality cross field ball found Damian Brosque, who attempted to chip Conway and was only denied by a matter of inches.

But Hills’ attempts were in vain as Rangers turned on the pressure and Thomas Spencer found the winner via another mistake at the back. Paul Davies’ long ball missed the target but goalkeeper Browne’s misguided clearance sent the ball into the left corner and from a tight angle, Spencer buried the ball into an open net.

Despite late rallies from both attacks, the match finished 2-1 to Rangers, with plenty of positives for both sides to take into round 4.

Mt Druitt coach Nick Verdos admitted the red card was the worst thing that could have happened to his side but highlighted his pleasure at the resilience of the home side, following on from the encouraging draw against the Lions.

While one point from a possible nine is not ideal for Brumbies, visiting coach Nestor Meneses has identified the key areas for his charges to improve and is confident recent performances will soon turn into positive results.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2 (Glenn McPherson 9’, Thomas Spencer 83’) v Hills Brumbies 1 (Eros Bergamin 76’)

Saturday 5 April 2014

At Popondetta Park, Emerton

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 5. Luke Boyd, 10. Hosyar Cakal, 1. Daniel Conway, 6. Paul Davies, 17. Peter Hubbard, 13. Daniel McCann, 11. Glenn McPherson (12. Mitchell King 81’), 14. Brendan Salameh (7. Andy Matloub 65’), 9. Thomas Spencer, 2. James Thurtell, 19. Simon Zahra (3. Glen Downey 72’)

Subs not used: 16. Christopher Prothero, 24. Joel Tinker

Yellow Cards: Daniel McCann, Simon Zahra

Coach: Nick Verdos

Hills Brumbies: 8. Alexander Arbelo (6. Damian Brosque 45’), 10. Eros Bergamin, 17. Jake Bradshaw (18. Alejandro Arregin 63’), 20. Hayden Browne, 14. Jordan Caporale (15. Ibrahim Kamara 72’), 4. Peter Day, 5. Russell Farrell, 13. Kodai Hayashi, 7. Jovan Miladinovic, 9. Kuag Reec, 2. Adam Savetta

Subs not used: 1. Daniel Sadaka, 22. Ben Rodrigues

Yellow Cards: Jovan Miladinovic

Red Card: Kuag Reec

Coach: Nestor Meneses

Mounties Wanderers v Bankstown Berries

Mounties recovered well from last week’s narrow defeat to Macarthur, this time with a 1-0 victory of their own over a winless Bankstown Berries.

There were plenty of positives to take from the first half for the visitors, with scores locked at 0-0 at the break.

Red cards to Mounties’ Matthew Viera and Berries’ Omar Saadi changed the tempo of the match but the hosts found a breakthrough in the second half via the boot of Scott Goodwin, who opened his account for 2014.

The win helped Mounties keep pace with the competition’s frontrunners, while Berries are rooted to the bottom of the ladder after slumping to three defeats from as many games.

Mounties Wanderers 1 (Scott Goodwin) v Bankstown Berries 0

Sydney University v Central Coast Mariners Academy

Central Coast Mariners Academy put on a clinic to claim their first win of the season with a convincing 4-1 victory over Sydney University on Saturday night.

The signs were there for Jason van Blerk’s side in the opening two rounds and the Mariners’ young guns were rewarded for their exciting brand of attacking football.

Goals to Uni’s Patrick Dixon and Mariners’ Dean Caletti made the game evenly poised at half time, but the visitors turned it up a notch, with Steve Whyte, Liam O’Dell and Joshua Swadling getting on the scoresheet to fire a warning to the rest of the competition.

Sydney University 1 (Patrick Dixon) v Central Coast Mariners Academy 4 (Dean Caletti, Steve Whyte, Liam O’Dell, Joshua Swadling)

Bankstown City v Fraser Park

Bankstown City made a powerful statement of their intentions in 2014 with a 5-0 rout of Fraser Park.

The Lions looked in good touch in their first two matches but looked determined to bounce back from the midweek draw against Mt Druitt.

They did so in style, with an Adam Biddle brace and goals to Shane Webb, Dominic Hudap and Huseyin Jasli rounding out the win.

City temporarily moved to the top of the ladder and will have a point to prove against fellow title challengers Mounties in round 4.

Bankstown City 5 (Adam Biddle 2, Shane Webb, Dominic Hudap, Huseyin Jasli v Fraser Park 0

Parramatta FC v Spirit FC

Parramatta FC moved into the top five with an encouraging 2-0 win over Spirit FC in soggy conditions on Sunday afternoon.

Two second half goals – one via the penalty spot and another through open play – made it two wins from three for Frank Cosentino’s side, who have been one of the surprise packets in the early rounds.

The Eagles picked up from where they left off against Hills last week, but didn’t have it all their own way as Spirit made a fist of things, only to be undone by two defensive slip ups.

Spirit coach Robert de Ceglie was left somewhat deflated after his side failed to capitalize on some solid chances in front of goal.

“I would have been happy with a 0-0 draw to be honest,” he said. “Not many teams will go there and get points.

“It just came down to inexperience… it’s something we need to be patient with and nurture. We’ll continue to work hard to change defining moments that sway the game our way, especially against more experienced teams in our league.”

Cosentino had modest predictions for Parramatta this season but it seems their mixture of youth and experience has provided some serious flair and the Eagles are a far different outfit to last year.

Parramatta FC 2 v Spirit FC 0

Northern Tigers v Macarthur Rams

Northern Tigers and Macarthur Rams battled out a 1-1 draw at Mills Park on Sunday to make for an interesting battle at the top three rounds into the competition.

All the action came in the second half, with Macarthur taking a well-deserved lead, only for Tigers to respond quickly through the boot of substitute Liam McConaghy.

There are plenty of positives from both camps with undefeated starts to the season for Jason Eagar and Claudio Canosa’s sides.

Rams sit in second, separated from Bankstown only on goal difference, while Eagar’s men are comfortable in fifth courtesy of two draws and a win to open their campaign.

Eagar concedes the Tigers have not yet reached their potential but was pleased with his side’s resilience.

Northern Tigers 1 v Macarthur Rams 1

–         –By Mitchell Grima