Mens State League 1 Round 9 Review
In what was a high scoring round of Men’s State League 1 action, Hakoah increased their lead at the top of the ladder to five points after defeating Balmain.
Northbridge have now moved up to second place after an important win against Granville Rage, while elsewhere Inter Lions claimed a much needed win at Hawkesbury.
Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Balmain Tigers FC
Two second half goals gave Hakoah a 2-0 victory against a gallant Balmain on Sunday evening. It was Lopes and Mundell that did the damage as Hakoah put in a professional display to remain at the top of the ladder.
In a cagey opening to the game both teams worked their way slowly into the match, with Hakoah’s slick passing evident from the start, while Balmain looked to get behind the ball and keep things tight at the back.
Hakoah have been getting off to fast starts at home this year but that wasn’t the case in this encounter. Though Captain Jabalonski made sure the home side moved the ball around well, they were lacking their usual ball speed and didn’t create too many chances in the opening stages.
The first real chance of the game fell to Balmain with the Hakoah defence uncharacteristically turning the ball over, leaving Will Donato advancing towards to the Hakoah goal, but the speedy winger’s low and hard shot was saved well by Hakoah keeper Dal Broi.
Balmain grew in confidence as the minutes wore on while Hakoah looked a little bit off pace after their midweek Waratah Cup match, with a few wayward passes creeping into their game.
As the half hour mark approached Balmain had another chance at goal when some good work in the middle by Liam Cole saw the ball played down the right for Dominic Di Mento. The winger then put in a teasing cross which went over the head of the Hakoah keeper but just evaded the lurking Occhipinti.
Despite not being able to find the final ball, Hakoah still looked threatening with Owusu and Gilmartin keeping the Balmain defence on their toes.
And it was Gilmartin who created the next chance of the game with a good cross from the left hand side causing confusion in the Balmain box, resulting with the ball falling kindly to Mark Mcalpine, who saw his shot go just wide of the post.
After another half chance fell to Hakoah, the two teams went into half time at 0-0 in a very closely contested opening period.
The second half commenced with Hakoah going on the attack right from the kick off, and an early corner provided a great chance for an opening goal, but centre-back Bradley Walker saw his powerful header just miss the target.
They didn’t have to wait long for the goal to arrive as the 53rd minute saw Kevin Lopes open the scoring for the home side. The play started with Balmain taking a free-kick in the Hakoah half, only to see Hakoah break swiftly on the counter with half-time substitute Joe Dingwar racing down the left hand side and providing a perfect cross into the path of Kevin Lopes, who took a touch, rounded the keeper and slotted it home.
The home side nearly doubled their advantage a few minutes later when Lopes cut the ball across the middle and Lloyd Owusu drew in the defence, before letting the ball run between his legs and into the path of unmarked substitute Justin Kosmina, whose powerful shot crashed off the crossbar.
Hakoah were definitely on top at this stage with midfielder Jordan Mundell starting to have a greater impact on the game and Lloyd Owusu troubling the Balmain defence with his strength and nice touches.
The game picked up in intensity as Balmain tried to match the home side and searched for an equaliser.
But it was Hakoah who threatened again in the 65th minute with Owusu providing a great flick-on to Kosmina straight from a goal kick, but Kosmina’s shot flashed just wide.
The half wore on with Hakoah in control of the game but not able to land the killer blow, while for Balmain Jacob and Dominic Di Mento tried to push the side forward, but the Hakoah defence were able to handle everything thrown at them.
With the match drawing to a close and Balmain pushing men forward, Hakoah finally put the game to bed in the 90th minute. Kosmina was able to attract the Balmain defence before squaring the ball back to Jordan Mundell, who unleashed a thunderous shot into the top right hand corner.
Moments later the full time whistle sounded and Hakoah were able to get their eighth straight victory.
Best on ground for Hakoah were centre-back Bradley Walker, who had an excellent game in defence and was able to keep top goal scorer Rosario Occhipinti quiet for the entire game. Jordan Mundell showed his class in the midfield with his passing and movement a feature on the night, and he capped off a fine display with his wonder strike at the end. Finally the ever present Lloyd Owusu continued his great form with an assured display up front.
Coach Mark Robinson was pleased with the victory after a slow start, “To be honest we were pretty sloppy in the first half. I let the boys know I wasn’t happy at half time and credit to them they came out the second half and did really well, and deserved to win”.
Balmain’s better performers on the night included defender Josh Karpes, who made numerous interceptions and timely tackles throughout the game. Domenic Di Mento caused problems with his pace and trickery on the right wing, while Domenic Arcella got through plenty of work in the middle of the park against a quality opposition.
Balmain Coach Joe Di Giulio shared his thoughts on the game, “I think we played well in the first half. We matched it with them but we didn’t create as many chances as they did, and their first goal was clinical. But overall I’m happy with the performance”.
Match Stats
Hakoah Sydney City East: 2 (Kevin Lopes, Jordan Mundell)
Balmain: 0
Sunady 25th May, 2014
Hensley Athletics Field, Pagewood
Referee: Terry Goodwin
Assistant Referees: L. Villarroel, Gareth Hamel
Hakoah Sydney City East: 1.Terry da Broi 4. Bradley Walker 36. Nathan Bowden-Haase 7. Daan Ranshjijsen (17. Joe Dingwar) 2. Remy Wolanski 16. Mark McAlane (12. Justin Kosmina), 10. Deklan Gilmartin 8. Jordan Mundell 11. Neil Jablonski, 33. Kevin Lopes (6. Nathan Kosmina), 9.Lloyd Owusu
Substitutes not used: 40. Nicholas Bouhoutsos, 3.Joseph Dingwall
Yellow Cards: D.Gilmartin
Red Cards: Nil
Balmain FC: 17.Liam Cole (James Kiosidis), 27. Domenic Di Mento, 10.Jacob Di Mento, 22. Leonardo Digiulio (5.Andrew Casali)11.William Donato (Joel Cook), 6.Danny Noor, 16.Josh Karpes, 14.Lachlan Kerr, 4.Jeppe Madsen, 7.Rosario Occhipinti, 23.Dominic Arcella
Substitutes not used: 99. Amal Chand, 9.Scott Tomkin
Yellow Cards: D. Di Mento
Red Cards: Nil
Granville Rage v Northbridge FC
Northbridge kept up their hot streak with a 3-2 victory over Granville Rage on Saturday afternoon.
Northbridge grabbed the first goal of the game before Rage hit back with Manut Yel levelling the scores to make it 1-1 at half time.
The ‘Bridge’ then grabbed control of the game in the second half scoring two goals to take a 3-1 lead.
David Harding grabbed a late consolation for Rage as Northbridge now climb into equal second on the ladder.
Granville Rage 2 (M.Yel, D.Harding) 3 Northbridge FC (M. Cole, O. Babington, L. Walker)
Hawkesbury City SC v Inter Lions SC
Inter Lions grabbed a much needed three points by defeating Hawkesbury 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
It was Anthony Fotti who opened the scoring for the away side, before James Mawein levelled the scores for Hawkesbury.
Inter took the lead again when Clayton Musumeci hit the back of the net, but the scores were level yet again when Michael McCrory made it 2-2 going into the half time break.
Martinez scored the game winning goal 10 minutes into the second half as Inter held on for a vital 3 points.
Hawkesbury City SC 2 (J. Mawein, M. McCrory) v Inter Lions SC 3 (A. Foti, C. Musumeci, Martinez)
Nepean FC v Dulwich Hill FC
Dulwich Hill were 3-2 winners against Nepean FC on Saturday night.
Dulwich Hill got off to a good start with Chris Pinto and Frank Calcagno giving the away side a 2-0 lead at halftime, but Nepean came out strong in the second half and pulled a goal back with a Rafid Hermiz volley.
Pedro Campos then made it 3-1 to give Dulwich Hill a two goal cushion.
Nepean grabbed a late consolation goal at the end with Terry Pannowitz converting a penalty to make the final score 3-2.
Nepean FC 2 (Rafid Hermiz, Terry Pannowitz) v Dulwich Hill FC 3 (C.Pinto, F.Calcagno, P.Campos)
Western NSW Mariners v Stanmore Hawks
Western NSW Mariners and Stanmore Hawks played out an entertaining 3-3 draw on Saturday night.
The Mariners started fast and scored two goals inside the first 20 minutes, with James Christie and Chris New-Tolley giving the home side a 2-0 lead at half time.
Stanmore fought back in the second half with hitman Neil Philippou grabbing a goal back for the Hawks, before an Andrew Heath rocket levelled the scores at 2-2.
The Mariners then took back the lead with Andrew Christie edging the home side back in front in the 75th minute, but Stanmore ensured a share of the spoils with Jamal Boutkabout levelling again for Stanmore.
Western NSW Mariners 3 (J.Christie,C New-Tolley, A.Christie) v Stanmore Hawks 3 (N.Philippou, A. Heath, J.Boutkabout)
Camden Tigers v Gladesville Ryde Magic
Gladesville returned to the winners circle with a 3-0 victory over Camden Tigers over the weekend.
In a game much tighter game than what the score line suggests, Majid Eslami gave Gladesville a 1-0 halftime lead.
Two quick fire goals in the 70th and 72nd minute put the game out of reach with Majid Eslami grabbing his second of the game and Chris Gaitatzis rounded out the scoring for Gladesville.
Gladesville keeper Kiriakos Tohouroglou was instrumental in the victory, making a string of excellent saves to keep Camden at bay.
Camden Tigers 0 v Gladesville Ryde Magic 3 (M.Eslami x2, C. Gaitatzis)
-By Diego Munoz
