SUPA IGA NSW NPL Mens 2 Round 11 Review
Round 11 was the week of the stalemate in the SUPA IGA NSW NPL Mens 2, with four matches, including the match of the round between Bankstown City and Macarthur Rams, ending in a draw.
Hills and Mounties were the only winners of the round, with wins over Northern Tigers and Spirit FC respectively doing their chances of playing finals football a great service.
Match of the round
Bankstown City v Macarthur Rams
Competition heavyweights Bankstown City and Macarthur Rams played out a 1-1 draw at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
In a result reflective of the balance of play, both sides headed home content with a solitary point, which maintained their respective positive runs.
Adam Wither’s opener inside three minutes for the visitors was cancelled out by Dominic Hudap’s strike in the 33rd minute, with Bankstown’s stretching their unbeaten run to six matches and Macarthur remaining atop the SUPA IGA NSW NPL Mens 2 ladder.
The omissions of Grant Lynch, Shane Webb (suspended) and Adam Biddle (long term injury) left Bill Pilovski thin on personnel, while Rams had their own notable absentee in the form of the injured Neftali Gonzalez.
But that wasn’t reflected from the outset as the match clicked into gear at a high tempo.
It didn’t take long for Rams to find a breakthrough, albeit in fortuitous circumstances. James O’Rourke’s poorly timed back pass was picked up by midfielder Adam Wither who had just Matt Nemes to beat and made no mistake, tucking his effort past the goalkeeper from outside the area to give his side an early 1-0 lead.
The goal sparked Bankstown City into action and their first chance came just five minutes later when Huseyin Jasli’s cross found Todd Halloran in the centre of the box but Rams ‘keeper Chad Taylor plucked the right-back’s header out of the air.
Claudio Canosa has employed a back three for much of this season in a move many would consider risky, but one that has proved incredibly fruitful.
Kyohei Kimura and Craig Cooley were the key vehicles down the left and right flanks respectively, with the former going close to doubling his side’s tally after 11 minutes. Louis Duchesne lofted a perfectly weighted ball down the line and Kimura produced a sensational first time touch to move inside his defender and unleash a shot that stung the palms of Matt Nemes.
The visiting side had their fair share of chances on goal and Adam Wither was again in the thick of it on the 17 minute mark when he connected with Daniel Ramirez’s free kick, only to have his effort sail over the crossbar.
Bankstown City looked to be struggling with their final execution but settled into the match completely with 25 minutes gone on the clock as Jasli offered up a dipping free kick 30 yards from goal which had the height but not the direction and breezed past the post.
The two camps continued to exchange opportunities, with Macarthur looking destined to grab a decisive goal when Adam Wither played a precise ball through for Gerard Ouffoue who carved out a one-on-one opportunity and saw his curling shot rebound off the post for a goal kick.
Bankstown went up the other end almost immediately and would have their account had it not been for the overwhelming presence of Rams shot stopper Chad Taylor.
Stefan de Jesus’ flick on allowed Todd Halloran to unleash a bullet at the far post, but Taylor parried the shot away from goal.
The Rams resistance was soon broken down, though, in a move straight from the Lions training ground. De Jesus and Dominic Hudap exchanged passes on the edge of the box before the latter nestled his shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-1 after 33 minutes.
Adam Wither picked up a pair of chances in an attempt to restore Macarthur’s lead heading into the break, while Halloran blasted one over for the Lions late on in the half. But both sides returned to the sheds with plenty to play for with scores locked.
Bankstown’s transitional play improved significantly at the resumption with the likes of Jasli, De Jesus and Halloran using the wings effectively to provide some worries for Macarthur. The distribution of midfield pairing Ivan Bosnar and Aaron D’Mello spurred the Lions final and they looked determined to snatch maximum points.
In fact, they found the net on the hour mark, only to have the goal disallowed. Jason Naidovski’s through ball was picked up by Jasli who rounded Chad Taylor and tapped home before being pulled back for offside.
Just moments later, Taylor almost handed City the lead with his scuffed clearance falling to Dominic Hudap around the halfway line, but the skipper’s chip didn’t have enough pace and allowed the Rams keeper to get back and recover in time.
The second stanza was characterised by a number of half chances and physical challenges, with the stakes becoming evident in the final 10 minutes.
It seemed both coaches were happy to settle for a point, although Macarthur did their best to pinch a second goal on the break.
Their best shot at doing so came when Naoyuki Nomura had his back to goal in the centre of the box and laid it off to Joel Craig who had a clear sight on goal but couldn’t direct his attempt on target.
Gerard Ouffoue had one last chance to grab the lead in injury time but his header was goal shy as the full-time whistle sounded to the dispute of no one.
While Macarthur have now picked up three draws on the trot, coach Claudio Canosa has no concerns over the efforts of his charges and believes the competition frontrunners can step it up a gear in the second half of the season.
Bankstown City’s Bill Pilovski was full of praise for his depleted side, who can establish some breathing space in the top five for the first time this season should they win their game in hand against Sydney University.
Bankstown City 1 (Dominic Hudap 33′)
Macarthur Rams 1 (Adam Wither 3′)
Saturday May 31, 2014
At Jensen Park
Referee: Michael Weiner
Assistant referees: Mitchell Clark, David Haslett
Bankstown City: 7. Ivan Bosnar, 15. Aaron D’Mello, 21. Stefan De Jesus (6. Ruban Lagos 65′), 2. Todd Halloran, 24. Dominic Hudap, 19. Huseyin Jasli (13. Sam Salameh 81′), 22. Jason Naidovski, 1. Matt Nemes, 17. James O’Rourke, 16. Anthony Schmidt, 4. Peter Vassilis
Subs not used: 44. Jason Najdovski, 70. Nick Carosi, 50. Steven Morris
Yellow cards: James O’Rourke
Red cards: Nil
Macarthur Rams: 2. Craig Cooley, 18. Louis Duchesne, 9. Shannon Hankin (3. Naoyuki Nomura 85′), 7. Kyohei Kimura, 12. David Mcmurray (19. Alvaro Malmierca 78′), 11. Gerard Ouffoue, 16. Daniel Ramirez, 10. Benjamin Simpson (15. Joel Craig 69′), 1. Chad Taylor, 8. Simon Valastro, 17. Adam Wither
Subs not used: 14. Reuben Agyei Danso, 20. Harrick Sinpraseuth
Yellow cards: David Mcmurray, Adam Wither
Red cards: Nil
Central Coast Mariners Academy v Bankstown Berries
A second half goal to Berries’ Jun Kato was enough to earn the visitors a 1-1 draw with Central Coast Mariners Academy at Pluim Park on Saturday evening.
Steve Whyte handed the hosts a 1-0 advantage heading into the break, but Kato pounced in the second half in a result that meant Berries claimed points in consecutive matches for just the first time this season.
The draw has been a recognisable feature of Mariners’ season, with Jason van Blerk’s side playing in six stalemates thus far.
Next week’s task against Mounties Wanderers will be a bit more difficult after Josh Bingham picked up his fifth yellow card of 2014 and Dean Caletti was sent off, meaning the will be suspended for at least one week.
Central Coast Mariners Academy 1 (Steve Whyte)
Bankstown Berries 1 (Jun Kato)
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Parramatta FC
Parramatta missed the chance to leap Macarthur into first place after conceding a late goal to draw 2-2 with a plucky Mt Druitt outfit.
Captain Pat Gatt handed the Eagles a 1-0 lead shortly before the interval when he flicked home a set piece and Parramatta maintained their fluid style of play for much of the match.
But Rangers refused to wilt and turned it up a notch in the final stages, with their pressure culminating in a penalty just two minutes from time.
Shiyar Cakal stepped up to the spot and had his effort saved but buried the rebound to hand the hosts a valuable point.
Parramatta remain unbeaten from their last six matches and sit in second place, just two points behind Macarthur.
Mt Druitt hold 10th spot but have been boosted by a few changes in personnel, including new recruit goalkeeper Thomas Manos who impressed on his debut for the club.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Shiyar Cakal)
Parramatta FC 1 (Pat Gatt)
Fraser Park v Sydney University
Fraser Park and Sydney Uni also shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at The Crest on Saturday.
Both teams cancelled each other out in either half, with Paulo Oliveira and Hussein Akil scoring for Fraser Park while Gavin Forbes’ brace send Sydney Uni home with a point.
Uni sit solo in ninth but have a game in hand, while Fraser Park remain rooted to the bottom of the ladder, only one win away from eighth placed Spirit.
The night was more sobering for University after Niram Kanoun and Isaac Lee both received red cards and will await the verdict on their suspensions.
Fraser Park 2 (Paulo Oliveira, Hussein Akil)
Sydney University 2 (Gavin Forbes 2)
Hills Brumbies v Northern Tigers
Hills produced the upset of the round with a 3-0 win over Northern Tigers.
While Brumbies have been hot and cold in patches this season, they stepped up to the mark at Lilys Football Centre and received just reward for their impressive attack.
Kodai Hayashi, Greg Giovenali and Jake Bradshaw provided the goals for Nestor Meneses’ side to give Hills a four point buffer in sixth place.
The key for Brumbies is to develop some consistency. They’ve now proven they can mix it with the best but will need to replicate their home form (five wins, one loss) on the road to move strongly into finals contention.
Tigers could have kept the pressure on the top two with a win but instead dropped to fourth after Mounties’ win on Sunday.
Hills Brumbies 3 (Kodai Hayashi, Greg Giovenali, Jake Bradshaw)
Northern Tigers 0
Spirit FC v Mounties Wanderers
Mounties’ impressive surge up the Mens 2 ladder has continued, with Steve Appleby’s men moving into third place courtesy of a 4-2 win over Spirit FC on Sunday.
Spirit once again proved their own worst enemy for a large portion of the match, conceding a soft opener before giving away a penalty for an off the ball challenge to hand Mounties a 2-0 lead at the break.
The hosts pulled a goal back early on in the second half, but Mounties proved you’re most vulnerable after you score, restoring their advantage just a minute later.
When Spirit made it 3-2 via Tim Simpson, they had plenty of hope of salvaging something from the match but Wanderers moved the result beyond doubt almost immediately again to take all three points and leap Northern Tigers into third.
Gosue Sama made an impressive debut for Spirit, but their stocks took a hit when goalscorer Tim Simpson received a straight red.
Spirit FC 2 (Tim Simpson, Nicholas Trimble)
Mounties Wanderers 4 (Steven Veleski 2, Daniel Severino, Alvin Singh)
– By Mitchell Grima
