Men’s State League 1 Round Six Review
A sumptuous Saturday full of goals kept the tussle tight at the top of the table, as Hills made it four straight while North Shore Mariners and Western NSW had impressive wins to keep pace, all the action reviewed below.
MATCH OF THE ROUND:
A blustery afternoon full of frustration, led to a dull first half which exploded into life with Michael Cole and Marquin Smith goals helping North Shore to a 2-1 victory to keep pace with Hills.
The frustration was evident early, with the first of eight cards for the match doled out to Ricky Woodward to set the tone for the afternoon.
Once the two sides were able to play football Tadgh Purcell led the line well for the home side having two chances in the opening ten minutes.
Purcell blazed over in the 4th minute before a superb goal-line clearance prevented him from opening the scoring the second time. North Shore used their right flank well, finding the tall striker often for no reward early.
Balmain was up for the fight, following their 3-1 win mid-week against Bankstown City and disrupted the usually fluid passing of the home side. Serjei Kunst was a rock at the back, intercepting several key passes and directing the flow of play for his side.
Ahmed Chandab was keen to add to his two goals thus far, when in the 25th minute, his effort was strong but straight at the keeper. Both teams were playing between the two boxes and resulted in a heated stalemate at the break.
The visitors came out strong after the break almost prising an opening after a knock down from Scott Tonkin found Liam Cole to blaze wide.
They got their reward in the 60th minute, as Kunst was brought down from a free-kick in the box. Jonathan Gowdy stepped up and nestled the ball in the left hand corner to give Balmain the lead.
This goal shocked Joe Haywood’s men into action, as they equalised four minutes later. Lee Jones earned a foul from his energetic run, curled the ball into the box and found Michael Cole to prod home the ball.
North Shore showed their mettle, turning up the intensity and it showed in the celebrations when Marquin Smith headed home in the 87th minute to secure the points.
Victorious coach Joe Haywood was delighted with his squad in a testing time.
He praised the squad depth after their mid-week Westfield FFA cup win and now face PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 high flyers Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre this Wednesday with kick off scheduled for 7:30pm. The winner of this match will advance to the Round 7 of the Preliminary Finals where Prospect United will be awaiting them.
Match Stats
North Shore Mariners 2 (Cole ’64, Smith ’87)
Yellow Cards: Cole, Grant, Jones, Smith, Walker and Woodward
Balmain Tigers FC 1 (Gowdy ’60)
Yellow Cards: Donato, Gowdy and Kunst
Dulwich Hill 2 (Hrysanthos, Johnston) v Hawkesbury City SC 2 (Camacho 2)
Hawkesbury battled in wild conditions Saturday but secured their first points in a draw against disappointed Dully. The home side had a perfect start after Stephen Hrysanthos scored his fourth of the season to give them a 1-nil lead going into the break.
An understrength City side showed a steely resolve after the break with Sebastian Comacho bagging a double to give them a shock 2-1 lead. It wasn’t to be a happy ending for the visitors as Adam Johnston equalised from a late free-kick to share the spoils in a game where Dully were disappointed to drop more points.
Hills Brumbies 6 (Morsillo 2, Kakoschke, Lawler, Maralit and Pivato) v Nepean FC 1 (Goday)
The impressive start for the promoted Brumbies continued as they hit a downbeat Nepean FC for six on Saturday night.
Daniel Morsillo continued his form adding a brace to move to the top of the charts while Keunike Maralit got on the sheet in the second half glut.
Bruno Pivato, Liam Lawler and Josh Kakoschke were the other scorers in the rout against a Nepean team who were injury depleted. Christopher Godoy Bascur, a former Premier League player at Sydney Olympic, was the sole bright spot for the visitors who scored their lone goal.
It’s been a tough week for the Nepean FC club after they were dumped out of the Westfield FFA Cup Preliminary stages courtesy of a 12-1 thumping at the hands of PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 side Blacktown City FC.
Western NSW Mariners FC 4 (Corben 2, Scimone 2) v Gladesville Ryde Magic 3 (Lloyd, Gaitatzis and Paradisis)
A seven goal thrilled welcomed the Mariners back to Proctor Park after a sojourn to Mudgee.
The Magic opened the scoring with Stephen Lloyd before the Mariners controlled the ball, which resulted in a three goal swing before the half – Stephen Corben headed home twice then Adam Scimone sent home the third.
The Magic showed their tenacity which had them undefeated heading into this weekend – Nicholas Paradisis clawed one back before Chris Gaitatzis put his crossbar woes from last week behind him for 3-3. Mariners lifted afterwards and broke down the left with five to go, Scimone forced the ball home to end the Magic’s undefeated start.
Stanmore Hawks 3 (Awad, Huet and Theodosi) v Inter Lions 2 (Occhipinto 2)
A good crowd out at Arlington saw an entertaining five goal game highlighted by the experienced and enthusiasm for the home side. Inter once again leaked too many goals making it seven conceded in two weeks.
The Lions were purring early after Roberto Maiorana saved an early penalty but weren’t able to convert their chances.
Goals to Thierry Huet, Peter Theodosi and Sam Awad put them to the sword delighting coach Sotiris Mavrou.
Livewire ace marksman Rosario Occhipinto pulled two back for the visitors who will be practicing shooting in the coming week.
Washed out: Rydalmere Lions vs Granville Rage
-By Justin Davies, Men’s State League 1 reporter
