Men’s State League 1 Round 21 Review
Round 21 of the Men’s State League 1 competition saw Balmain finally break into the top five after a 2-1 victory over Dulwich Hill, while Western NSW Mariners were able to move off the bottom of the ladder in the lead up to final round of the regular season.
Round 18 Catch Up – Western NSW Mariners FC v Nepean FC
The Western NSW Mariners claimed a big win in Thursday night’s catch up game with a 5-1 thumping of Nepean FC.
The Mariners got away to a dream start with Adam Scimone and Matthew Corben putting the home side up 2-0, but Nepean’s Jason Bowne got his side back in the game, with the striker heading the ball home after a great cross from Nicholas Cholerton.
The Mariners took control again in the second half after Nepean’s defence turned an Adam Scimone cross into their own goal. Goals to Stuart Bromley and James Christie rounded off the victory
Western NSW Mariners FC 5 (A.Scimone, M.Corben, OG, S.Bromley, J.Christie) Nepean FC (J.Browne)
Stanmore Hawks v Hawkesbury City SC
Hawkesbury City kept their season alive for another week with a high scoring 5-2 victory against Stanmore Hawks on Sunday afternoon, when after a tight first half the flood gates opened with six goals in the second half.
The conditions were perfect for football at Arlington Oval with the wet weather steering clear, and it was easy to see that it would it would be an open game as both teams looked to attack right from the get go.
Stanmore were the first to threaten as early as the 5th minute when midfielder Stephen Stavropoulos played a delightful ball to leave Eric Tomesek with a clear sight on goal, but Hawkesbury keeper Daniel Schwarzer was up to the task and was off his line quickly to smother the ball away to safety.
The 10th minute saw Stanmore go close again, this time Thibault Marchal provided a dangerous cross into the box, but Tomesek saw his goal bound header saved sharply by Schwarzer in the Hawkesbury goal.
It was Hawkesbury’s turn to test the Stanmore goal in the 16th minute when Evan Daglis played a perfectly weighted pass down the left hand side to Paul Cooper, with the midfielder finding a yard of space and crossing the ball to Michael McCrory, but with the goal at his mercy the usually clinical McCrory miskicked his shot straight into the arms of Stanmore custodian Max Esposito.
Both teams were stringing the passes together and there were plenty of chances being created on both ends of the pitch, but the finishing was letting the sides down as chance after chance went begging.
Hawkesbury knocked on the door again when Paul Cooper delivered a fine ball that led to a scramble in the Stanmore box, but Hawkesbury striker Ahmed Khan missed the best chance of the game so far to open the scoring.
The next stage of the game saw more of the same, with plenty of chances still being created but no breakthrough being made by either side.
With the half coming to a close, the deadlock was finally broken when Robert Carle put Hawkesbury in front on the stroke of half time. A Hawkesbury corner was met well by Carle, who ghosted towards the front post and headed the ball into the back of the net to put the Hawks 1-0 up, and to set the scene for an avalanche of goals in the second period.
The second half got underway and Stanmore coach John Theodoropoulos’s halftime talk had the desired effect with Stanmore equalising only three minutes in to the second half. Not surprisingly the goal came from an end to end play, with the Stanmore defence playing a long ball to left winger Costa Bakoulis, who used nice footwork to cut inside his defender and stroke home a curling finish into the bottom right hand side of the goal.
Stanmore barely had time to settle as two minutes later, in the 50th minute, Hawkesbury managed to pinch the lead when a well struck free kick from Michael McCrory took a slight deflection from Stanmore defender Evangelos Petratos, sailing into the top right hand corner and making the score 2-1.
Looking to answer immediately, Stanmore had an opportunity to once again equalise when some good work between Tomesek and Marchal saw captain Neil Philippou find an opening in the Hawkesbury box, but the striker was foiled by keeper Schwarzer, who got down low and parried the shot clear.
With the game on a knifes edge, Hawkesbury struck a telling blow in the 57th minute when Michael McCrory intercepted a Stanmore pass and found himself on the edge of the box. The striker steadied himself and rattled the bottom left corner with an unstoppable low shot to make it 3-1 to Hawkesbury.
Despite the two goal deficit, there were plenty of goals in this Stanmore lineup, and they continued to look for a way back into the game. Another chance came minutes later when a Marchal free kick was met by Philippou, but his low header was again saved by the impressive Schwarzer.
The free flowing football continued, and the decisive goal for Hawkesbury came in the 72nd minute after livewire midfielder Evan Daglis raced in on goal and hit a firm goal-bound shot, but after being initially blocked by keeper Max Esposito, Paul Cooper was on hand to slot home the rebound from the edge of the box to make it 4-1.
With nothing to lose, Stanmore switched to three at the back and continued to push men forward in search of a goal. The goal came for them in the 82nd minute, after a great through ball by Costa Bakoulis sent Neil Philippou in the clear, and the striker was able to burst into the box and cross the ball back to Bakoulis, who tucked the ball home to get his second of the game and to make it 4-2.
However any thoughts of a late comeback for Stanmore was quickly thwarted by Hawkesbury in the 87th minute when substitute Rodney Cormack was able to get past a defender and shoot past the keeper to put the game to bed.
The contest ended shortly after in what was definitely an exciting, end to end game.
The loss sees Stanmore still caught up in the nervous battle to stay in the division, but after creating plenty of chances on the afternoon, they will be confident of gaining the points required in their next two games.
Best on ground for Stanmore was midfielder Costa Bakoulis, who grabbed a brace and always looked threatening going forward, but also looked solid in his defensive duties. Eric Tomesek also had a good game for Stanmore, with the midfielder battling all afternoon and continually getting into goal scoring positions.
Stanmore coach John Theodoropoulos was disappointed in the result, “I think in the end the scoreline didn’t reflect the game, but credit to Hawkesbury, they took their chances and we didn’t”.
For Hawkesbury, the win still sees their slim hopes of finals football intact as they will need to win their last game and hope other results go their way. Best on ground was striker Michael McCrory, who was lively up front and grabbed a crucial double when the game was in the balance. Goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer was also instrumental on the afternoon, making a number of impressive saves and always exuding confidence in goal.
Match Stats
Stanmore Hawks 2 (C.Bakoulis x2)
Hawkesbury City SC 5 (R.Carle, M Mccrory x2, P Cooper, R Cormack)
Sunday, 17th of August, 2014
Arlington Oval, Dulwich Hill
Referee: Wayne Crabb
Assistant Referees: Alex Goodhew, John Garcia
Stanmore Hawks: 5.Evangelos Petratos, 9.Neil Phillipou, 21.Max Esposito, 2. Harvey Ashley-Nark, 62.Neil O’Sullivan, 47. Thibault Marchal, 83. Reo Moringa, 12.Vincent Leto (Yorgi Mavrou 70’), 75.Stephen Stavropoulos (15.Anthony Papadopoulos 55’) 13.Costa Bakoulis, 86.Erik Tomesik (Aleksander Gruevski 79’)
Substitutes Not Used: 71. James Adams, 10.Jamal Boutkabout,
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Hawkesbury City SC: 37.R Carle, 13.P Cooper, 15.E Daglis, 28. J.Palmer-Brown, 1.D Schwarzer, 8.R Wilson (T Douglass 86’), 5.David Gardiner, 19.Ahmed Khan (33. R Cormack 78’), 25.Prasheel Sharma, 9.M Mccrory, 17.B Morley,
Substitutes Not Used: 20.R. Morley, 3.D Smith
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Balmain Tigers FC v Dulwich Hill FC
Balmain has moved into pole position for a finals spot after a 2-1 victory over Dulwich Hill on Saturday afternoon.
Dulwich Hill made a bright start to the game with Pedro Campos putting Dully up 1-0 in the 10th minute, but the Tigers clawed their way back into the contest and were on level terms in the 30th minute when defender Josh Karpes found the back of the net from a Balmain corner.
With everything to play for both teams had chances to take the lead in the second half, but it was Balmain who found the winner in the 75th minute after some nice team work was finished off by striker Rosario Occhipinti, who hit a screamer from outside the box to seal the points.
The win sees Balmain leapfrog Dulwich Hill into 5th spot, and the Tigers can now seal their place in the finals with a win in their mid-week catch up game against Stanmore Hawks.
Balmain Tigers FC 2 (J.Karpes, R.Occhipinti) Dulwich Hill FC 1 (P.Campos)
Western NSW Mariners FC v Hakoah Sydney City East FC
Saturday night action saw the Western NSW Mariners and Hakoah play out a 0-0 draw.
With the Mariners backing up after Thursday night’s catch up and Hakoah with one eye on the FFA tie this week, the contest was a tight defensive game and neither team managed to find a breakthrough on the night.
It was an important point for the Mariners however, with four points in three days moving them off the bottom of the ladder.
Western NSW Mariners FC 0 Hakoah Sydney City East FC 0
Nepean FC v Gladesville Ryde Magic
Nepean bounced back from their mid-week loss to claim a crucial 1-0 victory against Gladesville Ryde Magic on Saturday night.
Played under horrendous conditions due to the wet weather, the winning goal arrived in the 80th minute from Jason Browne. In his first game back in weeks, influential midfielder Terry Pannowitz set up the goal for the in-form Browne, whose left foot strike sealed the match.
Nepean keeper Ryan Trussell was a standout for the home side, producing some important saves on the night.
Nepean FC 1 (J.Browne) Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Camden Tigers v Granville Rage
Camden claimed another point in their fight to stay in the division with a 1-1 draw against Granville Rage on Saturday night.
It was Granville Rage who struck first with a mix up at the back by Camden in the 15th minute, allowing Daniel Bortolazzo to put the away side in front.
Camden captain Daniel Semann got his side back in the game in the 60th minute, with a shot from just inside the box leveling the scores 1-1.
The momentum swung further towards Camden in the 70th after Rage were reduced to ten men, but despite some late pressure from Camden the scores finished 1-1 at fulltime.
Camden Tigers 1 (D.Semaan) Granville Rage 1 (D.Bortolazzo)
Inter Lions SC v Northbridge FC – WASHED OUT
– By Diego Munoz
