Mens State League One Round 5 Review
Another fine weekend of football took place in Round 5 with several of the big guns flexing their muscles, including Granville Rage taking the spoils in the top of the table match against Gladesville.
Elsewhere Northbridge were the big winners, while Hakoah kept up their impressive form.
Northbridge FC v Western NSW Mariners
The Match of the Round for week 5 took place at Northbridge Oval on Sunday afternoon under trying weather conditions, with Northbridge prevailing 7-0 over the Western NSW Mariners.
A fast paced start from both teams showed both sides were ready to play, with Northbridge pressuring the Mariners goal right from the outset, and the Mariners keeper making some good saves early on.
The first goal of the game came in the 15th minute after good link up play between Ry Hardy and Paul Orgad, when a good one-two between the pair saw Orgad send the ball across the face of the goal, with Hardy on hand to tap it in from close range.
With Northbridge in front, the Mariners looked to get their passing game going to settle into the match, but found it difficult as they were met by a Northbridge side eager to squeeze the spaces and put pressure on the ball.
The Mariners looked to hit on the counter with Rutherford providing some nice play up front, while Northbridge, despite looking likelier to get on the scoresheet again, were lacking that final ball in the front third.
The second goal of the game came five minutes before the half time break when a free kick awarded to Northbridge on the right hand side of the box was not dealt with by the Mariners. The ball rebounded back to free kick taker Michael Cole, and he delivered in a perfect second cross that was headed into the back of the net by Ry Hardy.
Down 2-0, the Mariners quickly responded and tried to hit back, almost scoring after a through ball over the top saw Rutherford hold off a defender, but his shot flashed just wide of the goal.
The second half commenced with the Mariners looking to get back in the match, while Northbridge were eager to land a decisive blow.
But it was Northbridge that found the mark by landing their third goal ten minutes into the half, when midfielder Marquin Smith put in an excellent ball into the box to meet the run of oncoming Captain Ricky Woodward, who took a touch and buried his shot into the bottom corner.
Northbridge’s fourth goal summed up the afternoon for the Mariners when a Northbridge corner took a wicked deflection off a Marnier’s defender and went straight past the helpless keeper.
The Mariners kept plugging away but Northbridge were now on a roll and their fifth goal came from energetic substitute Oliver Babington, who was on hand to tap in from close range after the Mariners keeper David Plowright had saved Mitchell Lensink’s initial drive.
Northbridge made it six when a good ball over the top saw Oliver Babington run into space and hold the ball on the byline, picking out defender Lee Jones, who made a lung busting run into the box and slotted the ball into the bottom left hander corner.
Michael Lensink wrapped up the scoring for Northbridge when he received the ball on the edge of the box, and what initially looked like a cross by the midfielder ended up sailing into the back of the net, much to the delight of the home fans.
It was a disappointing loss for the Mariners whose young squad is still looking for some consistency in this competition. Goal keeper David Plowright made some brilliant saves throughout the game and despite the scoreline, the side kept toiling away until the final whistle.
Mariner’s coach Andrew Fearnley was disappointed with the result, saying “I thought after 20 minutes when the game went into a bit of a lull we had to step up, and we didn’t. We got outplayed in the second half. They’re a good outfit and they were certainly clinical when they got their chances. We’ve got Camden next week so we need to refocus and try and get a result.”
The “Bridge” will be happy with their overall display, with some strong individual performances including Captain Ricky Woodward who marshalled his side from the centre of the park. Up front Ry Hardy was a constant menace for the Mariners defence, and his first half brace got the ball rolling for the team. Right back Lee Jones also had a fine game, constantly overlapping down the right hand side and getting on the scoresheet with a well taken goal.
Coach Haywood was pleased with his team’s effort, “The aim for today was to keep the momentum going from last week’s victory. I was pleased with the clean sheet and happy to have five different scorers find the back of the net.”
Northbridge 7 (Hardy x2, Woodward, own goal,Babington, Jones, Lensink ) Western NSW Mariners 0
Match Stats
Northbridge FC 7 (Hardy x2, Woodward, own goal, Babington, Jones, Lensink)
Western NSW Mariners 0
Sunday, 27th of April, 2014
Northbridge Oval, Northbridge
Referee: Murray Wilson
Assistant Referees: Steve Nguen, Stuart Green
Northbridge FC: 8.Michael Cole, 9.Ry Hardy, 26.Alexander Hatziinikolaou, 2.Lee Jones, 10.Mitchell Lensink, 23.Paul Orgad(Oliver Babington), 32.Jack Rushworth, 16.Marquin Smith(5.James Collins), 13.Lewis Walker, 6.Ricky Woodward, 11.Jay Wynter
Substitutes Not Used: 18. Lahini Agneesh, 23.Raymond Lee, 12.Kieran Hall
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Western NSW Mariners: 32.Stuart Bromley, 8.Andrew Christie, 9.James Christie, 6.Blake Collins, 4.Matthew Corbin, 37.Nathan Davis, 19. John Henry, 28.David Plowright, 31. Nicholas Rutherford (18.Kenny Mccall), 11.Adam Scimone, 3.Nikki Spice
Substitutes Not Used: 16.Duncan Logan, 30.Owen Short, 13.Damien Booth, 25.Bryce Deaton
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Granville Rage v Gladesville Ryde Magic
Granville Rage kept up their impressive home record with a 4-1 victory over Gladesville Ryde magic.
In a tight first half, Gladesville took the lead with Majid Eslami opening the scoring.
Granville Rage responded in the second half with four unanswered goals, with in form striker Nenos Bobo scoring a double and Samir Eshani and Ahmed Chandab also getting on the scoresheet to complete the comeback.
Granville Rage 3(Bobo x2, Eshani, Chandab) Gladesville Ryde Magic 1(Eslami)
Hawkesbury City v Hakoah Sydney City East
Hakoah have kept their title charge on track with an impressive 2-0 victory against Hawkesbury City on Saturday night.
The damage was done in the first half with Kevin Lopes grabbing a brace to put Hakoah in control of the game.
The score line remained unchanged in the second half as Hakoah claimed their 4th win a in a row.
Hawkesbury City 0 Hakoah 2 (Lopes x2)
Camden Tigers v Balmain FC
Balmain came out on top with a 4-1 victory against Camden in the battle of the tigers on Saturday night.
Balmain scored the opening goal in the first minute with Scott Tonkin pouncing on a Camden mistake, but in a tight first half Camden hit back with Blake Armstrong levelling the scores for the home side.
The second half saw Balmain reclaim the lead with Rosario Occhipinti finding the back of net, before matters got worse for Camden as Chris York was giving his marching orders.
Occhipinti then grabbed his second of the game and Yianni Kritikos finished off the scoring as Balmain halted their recent slump.
Camden 1 (Blake Armstrong) Balmain 4 (Tonkin, Occhipinti x2, Kritikos)
Nepean FC v Stanmore Hawks
Stanmore Hawks claimed their first win of the season overcoming Nepean FC 3-2 on Saturday night.
Nepean FC took the early lead with Terry Pannowitz opening the scoring for the home side, but Stanmore equalised shortly after when Christian Ekwerike found the back of the net.
Rafid Hermiz then restored the lead for Nepean FC with a fine individual goal putting the home side 2-1 in front at half time.
Nepean had some chances to increase the lead in the second half but it was Stanmore who finished the stronger of the two teams when Neil Philippou levelled the scores, and then Vincent Leto got the go ahead goal for Stanmore to claim a much needed win.
Nepean FC 2 (Pannowitz, Hermiz) Stanmore Hawks 3 (Ekwerike, Philippou, Leto)
Inter Lions v Dulwich Hill
Dulwich Hill claimed all three points in the late Sunday night game with a narrow 1-0 victory over Inter Lions.
The only goal of the game came in the second half courtesy of substitute Frank Calcagno.
Dulwich Hill were reduced to ten men towards the end of the game when Jun Kato was dismissed, but held on for a tight win.
Inter Lions 0 Dulwich Hill 1 (Calcagno)
-By Diego Munoz
