Mens State League 1 Round 14 Review
Some close games rounded off Week 14, with most games providing tight encounters and plenty of drama and only league leaders Hakoah able to grab a thumping win.
Balmain Tigers v Hawkesbury City
Late drama ensued at Wentworth Park on Sunday afternoon with Balmain and Hawkesbury City playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw.
With both sides still in the hunt for finals football, the opening stages saw both teams cautious in their approach as they looked to keep the ball and settle into the match.
Balmain’s two-pronged attack of Scott Tonkin and Rosario Occhipinti looked to get involved early, and it was some nice one touch play by the Balmain midfield that lead to Occhipinti putting the first attempt on the Hawkesbury goal, but his strike was straight into the arms of Hawkesbury keeper Daniel Schwarzer.
Hawkesbury meanwhile looked for in-form striker James Mawein to lead the line, but it was Balmain who was moving the ball more fluently in the midfield as the half wore on.
Balmain striker Rosario Occhipinti then had another good chance from a free kick just outside the Hawkesbury box, but his powerful shot was hit straight at the Hawkesbury keeper.
A match defining moment then occurred in the 30th minute when Occhipinti was given a straight red card for what looked to be dissent after a strong tackle against him. With the home side now down to ten men, the game became a real battle of the midfield as Balmain looked to squeeze the ball in the middle and link up with the now lone striker Tonkin.
As the half drew to a close, Hawkesbury weren’t able to make the one man advantage count and were nearly caught napping with a Balmain counter attack seeing Domenic Di Mento provide a nice ball over the top to Josh Karpes, but the defender blazed over from outside the box.
The second half commenced and both teams made an energetic start, with neither side sitting back. Hawkesbury striker Mawein saw his attempt at goal blocked by the Balmain defence after finding some space during a goal mouth scramble, meanwhile Balmain winger Domenic Di Mento kept the Hawkesbury defence alert with his pace on the counter attack.
The game came to life soon after with Hawkesbury opening the scoring in the 52nd minute from the penalty spot, when a counter attack for the Hawks saw Mawein play in strike partner Todd Macrae, who was bundled over in the Balmain penalty box. Midfielder Cooper stepped up and kept his cool to give the away side the lead. It was a good response from Hawkesbury after being a little flat in the first half.
Balmain would need to dig deep to get something from the game and only a few minutes later the spirited Tigers managed to claw level. A free kick whipped in the from the right hand side of the box by Jacob Di Mento was not dealt with properly by the Hawkesbury defence, and Balmain defender Josh Karpes slammed the ball home to make the score 1-1, providing a great response for the ten men Tigers.
The frantic start to the second half continued as within a few minutes Hawkesbury were back in front courtesy of Todd Macrae. A great ball in behind the Balmain defence by Hawkesbury midfielder Evan Daglis saw striker Todd Macrae beat Balmain keeper Lachlan Kerr to the ball and slot the ball home into an empty net.
With three goals in ten minutes, the high octane action continued as Balmain nearly struck again when midfielder Domenic Di Mento beat the offside trap and attempted to chip the keeper from outside the box, but keeper Schwarzer got back in time to snuff out the danger.
A tactical switch by Balmain coach Joe Di Giulio saw Dominc Di Mento switch into the forward line, and it was Di Mento who went close again for Balmain in the 70th minute with an indirect free kick from inside the Hawkesbury box crashing against the defensive wall on the Hawkesbury goal line.
The game now turned into a real end to end encounter as Balmain looked to get back on level terms and Hawkesbury looked for the killer blow the other end. The 80th minute saw Hawkesbury waste a big chance to seal the points with second half substitute Dane Smith blasting over the goal after being left alone at the back post from a Ryan Wilson cross.
With time ticking away, tension filled the air for the last few minutes of the match and it was Hawkesbury again who nearly sealed the game in the 88th minute. With Balmain pushing numbers forward, a swift counter attack saw Dane Smith charge up the field and cross the ball across the face of the goal into the path of James Mawein, but the strikers attempted back heel was well saved by Balmain keeper Lachlan Kerr and the resulting rebound was blasted over by Evan Daglis.
With the game now deep into stoppage time there was one last twist to come as Balmain pushed forward in search of a late equaliser. Midfielder Jacob Di Mento picked up the ball on the half way line and surged forward down the right hand side, before delivering a cross into the Hawkesbury box. The cross was met by Domenic Arcella who volleyed the ball back across the face of the goal and past the stranded Schwarzer, to send Balmain and their fans into raptures as the Tigers claimed a point with what turned out to be the last kick of the game.
It was a hard earned point for the ten men of Balmain, who despite being a man down showed plenty of determination and fighting spirit to snatch a late draw. Good performances for the Tigers came from the ever-present Domenic Di Mento, who caused problems for the Hawkesbury defence all afternoon with his pace and footwork, in particular when the side went down to ten men. In the midfield Domenic Arcella also had a strong game, shielding his defence expertly and providing good distribution throughout the game. Finally, defender Josh Karpes was a rock in the heart of the Balmain defence, winning his aerial battles and inspiring his troops the entire 90 minutes.
Balmain Joe De Giulio was proud of his players efforts, “I think we were on top before the red card, but I’m really happy with the boys. I thought we did well with the ten men, we didn’t panic and we kept pushing”.
For Hawkesbury, it was a cruel way to end a game that looked like it would be ending with three points in the bag, with the late goal seeing them miss a chance to overtake Balmain on the ladder. Good performances from Hawkesbury came from veteran striker Todd Macrae, who used all his skill and experience to get on the scoresheet and win a penalty for his team. Midfielder Evan Daglis continued his good form with a polished display in the midfield, and makeshift centre back Robert Carle made some timely interceptions in defence and read the game well all afternoon.
Coach Hugh McCrory thought it was a hard fought game, “I think we deserved to win it in the end with the chances we had, but full credit to Balmain, they kept battling away and got a result in the end”.
Match Stats
Balmain FC 2 (J.Karpes, D.Arcela)
Hawkesbury City 2 (P. Cooper, M.McCrory)
Sunday, 29th of June, 2014
Wentworth Park, Ultimo
Referee: Thomas Diakos
Assistant Referees: Stephen Ellsmore, Muhammad Johari
Balmain FC: 9.Scott Tonkin (Costas Fiakos), 21.Gavin Wenyon, 27. Domenic Di Mento, 10.Jacob Di Mento, 8.Joel Cook (29.Valentin Broehl), 6.Danny Noor, 16.Josh Karpes, 14.Lachlan Kerr, 24.Yaw Billy, 7.Rosario Occhipinti, 23.Dominic Arcella
Substitutes Not Used: 11. Martin Kerr, 1.Craig Whitehouse, 19.James Kiosidis
Yellow Cards: J. Karpes, Y.Billy
Red Cards: 7.R Occhipinti
Hawkesbury City: 37.R Carle, 13.P Cooper, 15.E Daglis, 18.T Macrae (Dane Smith), 26.J Mawein, 16. Timothy Harrington, 36.J. Palmer-Brown, 1.D Schwarzer, 8.R Wilson, 7. Nathan Cooper,
Substitutes Not Used: 11.J Mccrae, 33.R. Morley, 22.A Luttronger
Yellow Cards: D. Schwarzer, E. Daglis, R. Carle
Red Cards: Nil
Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Granville Rage
Hakoah flexed their muscles on Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 demolition of Granville Rage.
Nathan Bowden-Haase opened the scoring for the league leaders before an own goal gave Hakoah a 2-0 half time lead.
Jordan Mundell then made it 3-0 in the second half before Lloyd Owusu and Jarrod Basger rounded off the scoring.
Hakoah Sydney City East FC 5 (N. Bowden-Haase, L. Owusu , J. Basger , J. Mundell ) Granville Rage 0
Western NSW Mariners FC v Inter Lions
Western NSW Mariners grabbed their second win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Inter Lions on Saturday night.
With both teams having plenty to play for, neither side could break the deadlock in the first half.
But the Mariners took charge when Adam Scimone opened the scoring in the 55th minute before Chris New-Tolley sealed the win 15 minutes later.
Western NSW Mariners FC 2 (A,Scimone, C.New-Tolley) Inter Lions 0
Nepean FC v Northbridge FC
Northbridge claimed a hard earned 1-0 victory over Nepean FC in a controversial match that saw two players sent off inside the first 15 minutes for the home side.
With Nepean down to 9 men so early, the complexion of the game changed as the home side got behind the ball and tried hold Northbridge at bay.
Despite a courageous effort from the home side, Northbridge finally got the go ahead goal in the 80th minute with Captain Ricky Woodward finding the back of the net with a deflected shot.
Nepean FC 0 Northbridge FC 1 (R.Woodward)
Stanmore Hawks v Camden Tigers
Stanmore claimed three points with a come from behind 2-1 victory over Camden Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
Camden hit the front inside the first 5 minutes with Callum Rogers opening the scoring.
Stanmore battled back into the game and Thibault Marchal made the score 1-1. The winner arrived with 15 minutes to go when hitman Neil Philippou struck to seal the points for Stanmore.
Stanmore Hawks 2 (T. Marchal, N. Philippou) Camden Tigers 1 (C. Rogers)
Dulwich Hill FC v Gladesville Ryde Magic
Gladesville accounted for Dulwich Hill with a 1-0 victory on Sunday afternoon.
The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, when Gladesville striker Majid Eslami was brought down in the box.
Midfileder John Martinez then stepped up to convert the match winning goal, with the win seeing Gladesville move up to 3rd on the ladder.
Dulwich Hill FC 0 Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (J.Martinez)
-By Diego Munoz
