Mens State League Two Round 11 Review
Football NSW Men’s State League 2 round 11 has Prospect on top following a 7-0 blip of nine-man University of NSW, ahead of Southern Bulls after their 3-0 defeat of Western Condors, Rydalmere Lions beating Southern Branch 3-0, while Hurstville City Minotaurs and Enfield Rovers had their game washed out at St George Soccer Stadium. Hurstville FC had the bye.
The ladder shows Prospect (22), Bulls (20) and Hurstville FC (19) with a jump on Lions (15), Minotaurs (15) and Condors (14); lagging behind are Rovers (7), Uni (6) and Branch (3).
There’s a distinct top-four in Grade-20 with Lions (22), Prospect (20), Uni (20) and Bulls (17) in front of Condors (12), Rovers (11) and Branch (10); leaving the Hurstville sides FC (4) and Minotaurs (4) out of the finals picture.
Round 11
Southern Bulls 3 (Ninos Filips, Joe Mesah, Nathan Niski) Western Condors 0
Prospect United 7 (Chris Camilleri 6, Ben Lam) University of NSW 0
Southern Branch 0 Rydalmere Lions 3 (Amoury Gauthier, Diego Andrade, Kingsley Williams)
Hurstville City Minotaurs Enfield Rovers washed out
Grade 20
Southern Bulls 2 Western Condors 1
Prospect United 0 University of NSW 1
Southern Branch 0 Rydalmere Lions 5
Hurstville City Minotaurs Enfield Rovers washed out
Prospect pummel Uni
Prospect United cemented first place in the first grade race following a 7-0 romp of University of NSW at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening.
It was Prospect’s fourth win on the trot and though the scoreline was high, Chris Camilleri’s six-goal haul (Ben Lam scored the other one) was overshadowed by the fact Uni finished with nine men on the paddock, although it was 4-0 late in the game when they happened.
United coach Tony Caruso didn’t want to inflate the difference between the sides. “The damage had been done before the send-offs and everyone had done their job well,” he said. “[Camilleri] did his job very well and the players around him obliged him. It was a good scoreline to have but we take a lesson of being humble and not being arrogant about things [when it comes to football].”
Uni’s 1-0 win in grade-20 allowed Rydalmere to leapfrog Prospect and Uni to draw level to make it very close at the top.
Bulls barge Condors
An opening 10-minute blitz was enough for Southern Bulls to hold Western Condors 3-0 at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday evening and move into second place on the competition ladder.
A brilliant full-field movement resulted in Ninos Filips flying in for an unbelievable volley to lift Bulls 1-0 in front two minutes into the match, team-mate Joe Mesah adding another from a corner minutes later and a third Nathan Niski strike putting Bulls in charge at 3-0 in front, a position they never relented to move into second place, two points behind leaders Prospect.
Bulls coach Ramsin Shamon was pleased. “We weren’t really pressured and it was another clean sheet [their sixth in 10 games]; I’ve always believed that goals win you games and defence wins you championships, and that’s I think that’s really getting through to the players. Our goal difference is excellent and that’s put us in a very good position,” he said.
Condors coach Erick Anabalon paid tribute to his players’ dedication. “I take my hat off to the boys I do have available,” he said. “They are all heart and showing great commitment to the club.”
A 2-1 win in grade-20 has also put a gap in the youth premiership race, Southern taking fourth spot by a long five-point hop to Western on the points table.
Lions leave it late
Rydalmere Lions scored three goals in the last 10 minutes to beat Southern Branch 3-0 at South Nowra Football Complex on Sunday afternoon.
With the game in the balance less than 10 minutes from time Branch were on the attack when Lions grabbed the ball, went down the other end and an Amoury Gauthier strike wrestled the lead – even later goals to Diego Andrade and Kingsley Williams confirming Rydalmere’s win.
Lions coach Tony Caruso praised his opponents for a good match. “Branch were very good, especially in the first half. They got a bit tired in the second half and we made a few changes and got our goals,” he said.
“Both grades for us were brilliant today – they played some very good football… once we got into our rhythm we looked good.”
Branch coach Brod Crighton applauded both sides for a good game of football. “Credit to the Rydalmere boys, they played strong. They had chances like us but their possession play was better than ours – after good lead-up play we passed to the opposition and they didn’t do that,” he said. “The boys played vey well, we just weren’t good enough to beat them.”
A 5-0 Lions victory in grade-20 took them to the top of the table.
Next week’s games
Football NSW Men’s State League 2 round 12 starts is another Saturday fiesta with Hurstville FC versus University of NSW at St George Soccer Stadium on Saturday evening (5pm kickoff) followed by Saturday night games between Prospect United and Hurstville City Minotaurs at William Lawson Reserve and Southern Bulls against Enfield Rovers at Ernie Smith Reserve (both at 7pm). On Sunday afternoon Western Condors host Rydalmere Lions at Calabria Sports Ground (3pm). Southern Branch have the bye.
