Mens State League 1 Round 16 Review
Some big upsets highlighted Round 16 of the Mens State League 1 Competition, with Western NSW Mariners and Camden Tigers claiming vital victories.
At the other end of the ladder Hakoah has extended their lead at the top to 8 points.
Gladesville Ryde Magic v Granville Rage
Granville Rage bounced back to form with a 3-2 away victory against Gladesville Ryde Magic on Sunday afternoon, with a hat trick to Rage striker Almir Dizdaric proving the difference.
On a windy day at Magdala Park the game got off to a fast paced start with both teams settling on the ball right from the get go and looking to play forward.
Gladesville had to contend with an early reshuffle to the backline as an injury to Samuel Alexander Powell saw Stephen Speirs come on as the first substitute in the 8th minute of the match.
With both sides playing an attacking brand of football, the first 15 minutes flew past as both teams looked to land an early blow. Recent Gladesville signing Lachlan Wright looked to find an opening with some nice balls forward, but the Rage defence snuffed out any danger early on.
The first chance of the game fell to Granville Rage, with centre back Michael Ruzic pouncing on a loose ball inside the Gladesville half and skipping past a defender before unleashing a stinging left foot shot from outside the box. But the shot crashed off the left hand post and was cleared to safety.
The next chance fell to Gladesville in the 22nd minute when a long throw in bobbled around the Rage penalty area before falling to Lachlan Wright. The attacking midfielder swivelled past his defender towards the left, before cutting the ball back to Gladesville striker Majid Eslami, but the striker was denied with his shot hitting the crossbar.
Granville Rage then went close to opening the scoring when Alessandro Pecora made his way into the Gladesville box after a one-two with David Harding, but Pecora’s well placed shot was brilliantly saved by Gladesville keeper Tohouroglou.
The breakthrough arrived in the 29th minute, and it was Gladesville who opened the scoring with Majid Eslami giving the home side the lead. A nice passing sequence saw the ball end up with Chris Gaitatzis on the right wing, the skilful midfielder crossing in a delightful ball in behind the Granville defence, which was then poked home from close range by Eslami to put Gladesville up 1-0.
Gladesville looked the better of the two sides at this stage with the midfield combination of Johnny Martinez and Chris Gaitatzis controlling the game from the centre of the park.
Captain David Harding and midfielder Ahmed Chandab tried to spark the Rage into life, but it was an unlikely source that set up a Granville Rage equaliser just before half time. Defender Michael Ruzic made an interception and charged down the left hand side before standing up his defender and delivering a pinpoint cross towards Rage striker Almir Dizdaric, who headed past the keeper and tied the game 1-1.
The second half saw an early chance for Gladesville when Lachlan Wright played a through ball to Majid Eslami, but the striker failed to connect properly with his shot.
With the game evenly poised, both teams looked to up the intensity with some hard challenges flying in from both sides, resulting in the next stages of the game turning into a dogged affair.
The 64th minute saw the game turned on its head with Granville taking the lead. A long throw-in fell to Dizdaric, and the striker held off and beat his defender before his goal bound shot took a deflection and sailed into the net to put the Rage up 2-1.
Gladesville looked to answer, and it was Lachlan Wright providing a through ball to leave Majid Eslami with a goal scoring chance, but Granville keeper Carl McMahon was sharp off his line and parried the ball away to safety just in time.
The game became an end to end affair as Gladesville looked for an equaliser, but the Rage had wrestled back the ascendency in the midfield as Gladesville’s passing game lost some the fluency from the first half.
With 10 minutes to go and Gladesville pushing men forward, Granville saw a half chance on the counter attack fall to Ahmed Chandab, but the midfielders shot was straight at the keeper.
But the Rage were able to strike a blow with 5 minutes to go as Dizdaric grabbed his hat trick to put Granville up 3-1. The assist was provided from second half substitute Kurdvan Abduljabbar, who delivered a great ball into the box, and the lethal Dizdaric did the rest with the striker heading the ball back across the goal and past the keeper.
With the game seemingly in the bag for Granville, there was one last twist with Chris Gaitatzis grabbing a late goal in injury time to make the score 3-2. A long ball forward was allowed to bounce by the Granville defence and Gaitatzis gained possession in the box and struck a powerful shot into the top left corner and past the keeper.
The goal turned out to be the last action of the game as the referee called fulltime from the resulting kick off, allowing Granville to claim a valuable three points.
The win sees Granville further cement their position in the top five after a frustrating few weeks. Best on ground for the team was striker Almir Dizdaric, who was clinical on the afternoon and showed all his goal scoring prowess to get his hat-trick. Defender Michael Ruzic was also a standout in the heart of the defence, making numerous timely tackles and continually reading the play to get to the ball first before his opponent.
Granville coach Mauricio Islas was pleased with the three points, “I thought the boys battled hard under pretty tough conditions. Overall I’m really happy to get the win”.
Gladesville missed an opportunity to make ground on second placed Northbridge and will be disappointed with the result after a strong first half. Better performances came from midfielder Chris Gaitatzis, who bossed his side around the park with his passing range and vision, as well as proving an assist and getting on the scoresheet. Upfront, goal scorer Majid Eslami was a constant threat, making smart runs in between the lines and using his pace to stretch the Granville defence.
Gladesville coach George Ganiatsas shared his thoughts after the game, “The boys tried hard, but in the final third especially, we just couldn’t find the right pass. And Granville were just too good for us in the second half”.
Match Stats
Gladesville Ryde Magic 2 (M.Eslami, C. Gaitatzis)
Granville Rage 3 (A.Dizdaric x 3)
Sunday, 13th of July, 2014
Magdala Park, Ryde
Referee: O Ferguson
Assistant Referees: G Hadden, J Adabjou
Gladesville Ryde Magic: 5. Alexander Morris, 33. K Tohouroglou, 6. C Gaitatzis, 3.Cameron Newton (Andrew Mckie 85’), 7. M Eslami, 15.Stephen Lloyd, 10. Lachlan Wright, 4. Samuel Alexander Powell (12. Stephen Speirs 8’), 8.John Martinez 2. Brett Townley-Jones (Stuart Kempson 86’) 13.Benjamin Kerr
Substitutes Not Used: 1.A. Frecious
Yellow Cards: Lachlan Wright
Red Cards: Nil
Granville Rage: 1.Carl McMahon, 4.Cristian Bottalico, 8.Daniel Bortoloazzo 14.Alessandro Pecora (18.Kurdvan Abduljabbar 71’) 9. Ahmed Chandab, 19. Almir Dizdaric, 5.Mitchell Luc, 7.David Harding, 20. Michael Ruzic, 13.Zachery Watters 2.Jonathan Ekehov
Substitutes Not Used: 21.Adam Green, 10.Kushaba Kushaba, 16.Oscar Angeloni, 3.R Smahel
Yellow Cards: Ahmed Chandab
Red Cards: Nil
Dulwich Hill FC v Inter Lions SC
A Malik Belouch hat trick helped Dulwich Hill came away with a 5-3 victory over Inter Lions in a high scoring contest.
Belouch opened the scoring for the home side in the opening half, before an equaliser for Inter Lions sent the sides level at half time.
Inter went ahead in the second half, but it was Belouch again who levelled the scores for Dulwich Hill. Belouch then completed his hat trick soon after to put Dulwich Hill back in front 3-2.
A Carlos Villazon goal then gave Dulwich Hill a two goal cushion, but Inter wouldn’t lie down and struck next to make it 4-3, but Pedro Campos made sure of the points with a late strike sealing the 5-3 victory.
Dulwich Hill FC 5 (M.Belouch x 3, C.Villazon, P.Campos) Inter Lions SC 3 (D. Borg, A. Vizzari, Y. Tanaka)
Western NSW Mariners FC v Northbridge FC
One of the upsets of the season took place on Saturday night with the Western NSW Mariners defeating Northbridge FC 2-0 at Proctor Park.
In their best performance of the year, the Mariners took the lead in the first half with Kenny McCall opening the scoring for the home side.
The second half saw the Mariners soak up more pressure but a James Christie strike sealed the win for home side.
Western NSW Mariners FC 2 (K.Mccall, J.Christie) Northbridge FC 0
Stanmore Hawks v Nepean FC
A Jason Browne double fired an undermanned Nepean FC to a 2-1 victory over Stanmore Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
Stanmore took the lead with Costa Bakoulis opening the scoring for the home side inside the first ten minutes, a lead they kept until half time.
But the second half saw Nepean FC mount a comeback, with Jason Browne levelling the scores with 15 minutes to go, the striker heading home from a Lachlan Jobson cross. With 5 minutes to go Browne turned match winner for Nepean FC when he held off a defender and found the back of the net after a Ryan Colborne assist to give Nepean a much needed 3 points.
Stanmore Hawks 1 (Costa Bakoulis) Nepean FC 2 (Jason Browne x2)
Balmain Tigers FC v Camden Tigers
Camden claimed back to back victories with a 1-0 win over Balmain Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
In a tightly contested encounter the only goal of the game arrived in the 60th minute with Captain Daniel Semaan grabbing the match winner for Camden Tigers.
Balmain Tigers FC 0 Camden Tigers 1 (D. Seeman)
Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Hawkesbury City SC
Hakoah kept up their hot streak with 4-1 victory over Hawkesbury City on Sunday evening.
Goals to Justin Kosmina and Mark McAlpine put the home side in control with a 2-0 lead at half time.
Hawkesbury got themselves back into the match with Michael McCrory making the score 2-1 in the 60th minute, but Hakoah proved too strong in the end and late goals to Kevin Lopes and Lloyd Owusu sealed the 3 points.
Hakoah Sydney City East FC 4 (J.Kosmina, M.Mcalpine, K.Lopes, L.Owsu) Hawkesbury City SC 1 (M.Mccrory)
-By Diego Munoz
