Mens State League 1 Round 10 Review
The big guns came out to play this weekend, with the top three all winning their respective games. Balmain has moved up a few spots with an important win against Dulwich Hill, while draws in the remaining two games has left much of the mid table unchanged.
Northbridge FC v Inter Lions
Northbridge FC outlined their title credentials with a stirring 3-1 victory over Inter Lions on Sunday afternoon.
Northbridge were sharp right from the get go, moving the ball well around the field and looking to attack. The combination of Lee Jones and Michael Cole on the right hand side looked particularly threatening in the opening stages.
Meanwhile Inter struggled to find their feet, with their passes failing to stick and having to rely mainly on the counter attack.
Northbridge had the lion’s share of possession, with striker Oliver Babington trying his luck from distance to no avail. But Northbridge’s bright start to the game was rewarded in the 20th minute when they grabbed the opening goal of the match.
Not surprisingly the play was constructed on the right hand side when right back Lee Jones played the ball down the line for Michael Cole, the midfielder beat his man and put in a great cross to the six yard box and into the path of charging Marquin Smith, who slammed home from close range.
Northbridge were clearly on top at this stage and continued to pepper the Inter goal.
The next big chance on goal once again came for the ‘Bridge’ when left back Mitchell Lensink played a beautiful switch across the field to attacking midfielder Paul Orgad, who beat the Inter defender and played the ball across for Oliver Babington, only for his shot to bounce back off the left post.
There was no respite for the Inter defence as Northbridge threatened again, this time via a more direct avenue when a long ball up field was flicked on by Babington and left Orgad clear on goal. But the lively midfielder, with only the keeper to beat, blasted his shot over the bar.
As the minutes ticked away, Inter star Miguel Martinez tried to influence the game by getting on the ball and looking to get some combination play going with his strikers, but the Northbridge back line remained composed and snuffed out any potential chances.
With the half coming to a close, Northbridge striker Oliver Babington had a host of chances, firstly failing to get a touch on a good Lee Jones cross with the goal at his mercy, and then flashing his shot just wide after being played in by Paul Orgad.
The second half commenced with Inter looking to get back into the game, and Captain Adrian Vizzari stepped into midfield to give Inter a calming influence in the middle of the park.
The Lions had a chance early on in the half from a corner, with some poor marking leaving an Inter player unmarked in the box, but the header flashed over the bar.
A few minutes later it was Northbridge who had a big chance at the other end, when Marquin Smith gained possession with a crunching tackle and played Captain Ricky Woodward in on goal, but his shot was well saved by Inter keeper Roberto Maiorana.
The next few minutes saw the tackles really start flying in from both sides, but it was Northbridge midfielder Smith who was stamping his authority, with some powerful play in the middle of the park.
The second goal of the game arrived in the 60th minute, when Paul Orgad skipped past one defender and was then brought down in the box to earn Northbridge a penalty. Lee jones stepped up and made no mistake, drilling the ball low and hard to the left hand corner for a 2-0 lead.
With tensions rising and Inter down two goals, Captain Vizzari moved even further up field to try and help get one back.
But it was Northbridge who struck the killer blow in the 73rd minute, when some great interchange passing between Ricky Woodward and Paul Orgad resulted in the latter receiving the ball on the edge of the box and striking an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner of the goal.
With the game seemingly out of reach and time running out, Vizzari looked to make a nuisance of himself upfront, and the Captain was able to get one back for Inter when a one-two with Yusuke Tanaka saw him brought down in the penalty box. The initial spot kick was well saved by Northbridge keeper Jack Rushworth, but Vizzari was on hand to slam home the rebound and make the score 3-1.
The goal proved to be just a consolation as Northbridge remained composed and finished strongly to claim another victory in their march to the finals.
It was a dominant performance for the ‘Bridge’ with slick passing from their mobile midfielders troubling Inter all afternoon. In addition, the quality of the crosses of their wide men were a feature of the game and led to plenty of threats on goal.
Best on ground for the home team was Marquin Smith, the midfielder was unstoppable in the middle of the park and his quality passing game was also matched by his ball winning abilities. Other strong performances came from Paul Orgad, who continually found space with intelligent runs and whose stunning strike sealed the game. Right back Lee Jones was a willing runner all afternoon and was at the heart of numerous attacking plays with his pace and quality deliveries.
Northbridge Coach Joe Haywood was pleased with his side’s win, “I thought the first half we started quite strong, and then the game went into a little bit of a lull and we started to try and do the difficult things. But then we went back to our game plan and overall we are happy with the result”.
Inter never really hit their heights in this contest and will be disappointed in the result. Strong performances came from their Captain Adrian Vizzari, who continually tried to inspire his troops and was full of determination for the entire 90 minutes. Midfielder Yusuke Tanaka also had a strong game, displaying a good passing range and battling hard the whole match.
Inter Coach Matteo Maiorana reflected on the game, “It was disappointing, we tried to implement some things during training for this matchup but unfortunately they didn’t come off. Northbridge were exceptional today and full credit to them, they deserved the three points”.
Match Stats
Northbridge FC 3 (M.Smith, L.Jones, P.Orgad)
Inter Lions 1 (A.Vizzari)
Sunday, 1st of June, 2014
Northbridge Oval, Northbridge
Referee: Jerry Bitas
Assistant Referees: Christopher Abela, Luke Morgan
Northbridge FC: 8.Michael Cole (12.Kieran Hall), Raymond Lee, 2.Lee Jones, 10.Mitchell Lensink, 14.Paul Orgad, 20.Oliver Babington(9.Ry Hardy), 32.Jack Rushworth, 13.Marquin Smith(5.James Collins), 19.Lewis Walker (21.Thierry Hoet), 6.Ricky Woodward, 11.Jay Wynter
Substitutes Not Used: 5.James Collins, 26 Alexander .Hatzinilkolaou,
Yellow Cards: Smith
Red Cards: Nil
Inter Lions: 6. Dario Espejel, 18.Anthony Foti(8.Marino Musumeci), 1.Roberto Maiorana, 14.Dylan Maloney, 17.Daniel Martinez, 9.Miguel Martinez, 13.Stephen Roda, 10.Nicolas Rouda, 16.Yusuke Tanaka, 4.Adrian Vizzari, 3.Nathan Walker(2.Michael Sidoti), 22.N Scichitano
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Luis Soto, Daniel Martinez
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Granville Rage v Camden Tigers
Granville Rage returned to the winners list with a 2-0 victory over Camden Tigers on Saturday afternoon.
Two first half goals from Ahmed Chandab and Daniel Bortolazzo gave the home side control of the match as they ran away with another home victory to stop a two game slide.
Granville Rage 2 (A. Chandab, D. Bortolazzo) Camden 0
Hawkesbury v Stanmore Hawks
The battle of the Hawks ended all square with a thrilling 3-3 draw on Saturday evening, however the game was marred with a serious injury to Stanmore defender Muhammed Asad right at the end.
Stanmore started brighter with Thibault Marchal and Reo Morinaga giving the away side a 2-0 lead. Hawkesbury hit back before the break with good work from Todd Macrae seeing Evan Daglis head home.
Hawkesbury drew level in the second half with a Dave Gardiner pile driver making it 2-2, before Captain Lachlan Wright restored the lead for Stanmore.
Robert Carle ensured a share of the spoils for Hawkesbury with a late strike, but the game was halted with a few minutes to go as Muhammad Asad suffered a serious injury, with everyone at the ground showing immediate concern for the player. We all wish Muhammad a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the pitch soon.
Hawkesbury 3 (D. Gardiner, E. Daglis, R. Carle) Stanmore 3 (L. Wright, R. Morinaga, T. Marchal)
Gladesville Ryde Magic v Nepean FC
Nepean FC scored in the dying stages to claim 1-1 against Gladesville Ryde Magic.
In a close first half, both teams created chances but couldn’t find the breakthrough goal, going in 0-0 at half time.
Gladesville struck first in the second half, with Lloyd giving the home side the lead, but Nepean kept pushing all the way to the end and a goal mouth scramble in the 90th minute saw Jason Brown fire home an equaliser.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Lloyd) Nepean FC 1 (J.Brown)
Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Western NSW Mariners FC
Hakoah continued their streak with another dominant performance on Sunday night against the Western NSW Mariners.
In a strong first half, the homes side took a commanding 3-0 lead into the break, before a second half strike made the final score 4-0.
Captain Jablonski grabbed a double, while Bowden-Haase and Wolanski also got on the scoresheet.
Hakoah Sydney City East FC 4 (N. Jablonski x 2, N. Bowden-Haase, R. Wolanski) Western NSW Mariners FC 0
Dulwich Hill v Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers claimed a hard earned 1-0 victory over Dulwich Hill on Sunday night.
Balmain displayed a strong performance in the first half and were rewarded when Rosario Occhipinti converted from the penalty spot to grab the only goal of the game.
Dulwich Hill fought back in the second half, but were unable to convert a spot kick of their own to equal the score.
Dulwich Hill 0 Balmain Tigers 1 (R.Occhipinti)
-By Diego Munoz
