Men’s State League Two Round 5 Review
Hurstville FC have picked up their second win of the season after downing the Camden Tigers 4-0 at St George Football Stadium. The Tigers on the other hand, have lost their second match in as many games after winning the first three rounds of the competition.
Match of the Round
Hurstville FC v Camden Tigers
The match began at a frantic pace as both teams looked to shift the ball early.
It only took three minutes for the home side to get their first chance when a header attempt on goal fell just wide of the left goalpost.
Camden quickly responded and asked questions of the Hurstville defence when Daniel Semaan found Adam Smutek with a near post cross, only to be smothered by a terrific save from the Hurstville goalie.
Uncharacteristic mistakes by Camden in crucial areas resulted in counter attacks to the home side. The Tigers built pressure of their own however, and were rewarded with corners in which they almost scored on multiple occasions, through the head of Stephen Tomasic.
It was Hurstville FC however who broke the deadlock in the 14th minute, making the the most of their chances when given a corner of their own.
A terrific save by Matthew Johnston deflected the ball into the path of Denis Cutura who struck the ball on the half volley.
Johnston again stopped the shot, however, this deflection was even more unforgiving than the last as the ball found the side netting.
They made it 2-0 only a few minutes later after an attempted shot by Henry Kamleitner deflected again to Cutura, who just so happened to be in the right place at the right time for him to stroke it through.
Hurstville grew in confidence and could’ve easily made it three goals within a ten minute period after a rare mistake from Stephen Tomasic gifted Cutura a one-on-one opportunity with Johnston.
However, he skied the ball over the bar, narrowly missing out on a first half hat-trick. Tomasic replied again through his strong attacking headers off corners and managed to connect on three occasions only to just miss the mark on each opportunity.
As a result, the score remained at 2-0 to Hurstville at the break.
Camden began the second half with a lot of enthusiasm, however, their lapses in concentration proved costly again when a poor pass in the midfield put Hurstville on the attack.
Left-winger Paul Gagro combined with Denis Cutura for their third goal, which came only six minutes into the second half.
The Camden defence were left scratching their heads when they were sliced straight down the middle by Cutura. He then provided a simple draw-and-pass goal to Gagro who calmly finished first-time into the left side-netting.
The frustration of their situation resulted in Camden Captain, Daniel Semaan receiving a straight red card for dissent. This deflated not only their defence, but also the spark with the ball that Semaan was providing for the Tigers in the midfield. Despite this, Matt Johnston stood solid in goal and denied Cutura yet again – who could have easily had up to four goals next to his name.
They were guilty of not playing to the whistle and despite the Camden defence assuming that Sebastian Bell was offside, before they knew it, he had tucked the ball into the back of the net for their fourth goal.
Despite this setback for the Tigers, they still find themselves inside the top four.
They will now need to regroup before facing off against first placed Dunbar away next week. These two played each other in the Westfield FFA Cup earlier this year at Ron Dine Reserve and saw Dunbar come out 3-1 victors.
Hurstville FC will also have a tough opponent in Wagga Wagga who always lift another gear in front of their home fans.
Match Stats
Hurstville FC 4 Denis Cutura (14’, 16’), Paul Cagro (51’), Sebastian Bell (73’)
Camden Tigers 0
Saturday 9th of May, 2015
St George Football Stadium
Referee: Mr. Paul Lawwell
Hurstville FC: 3. Marko Banic, 8. Sebastian Bell, 9. Denis Cutura, 2. Steven Flatt, 10. Paul Cagro, 4. James Galic, 14. Andrew Harb, 6. Michael Janov, 11. Henry Kamleitner, 5. Thomas Kasunic 16. Michael Rutherford
Substitutions: 7. Mudrek Abaid (used), 13. Ruben Viglino (used), 15. Rohan Jerrems, 12. Michael Karagiannis, 22. Matthew Mulroney
Yellow Cards: 3. Mark Banic (57’), Ruben Viglino (76’)
Red Cards: Nil
Camden Tigers: 20. Matthew Johnston, 8. Daniel Borg, 15. Mitchell Green, 17. John McPhillips, 2. Geoff Norton, 16. Jayden Russell, 7. Daniel Semaan, 14. Adam Smutek, 6. Blake Szumski, 4. Stephen Tomasic, 3. Jake Watson
Substitutions: 21. Abel Queipo, 5. Callum Rogers
Yellow Cards: Adam Smutek (45’)
Red Cards: Daniel Semaan (56’)
University of NSW 1 vs Southern Districts Association Club 1
University of NSW and Southern Districts have shared the points after they drew 1-1 and David Philips Field on Saturday.
The visitors had to play with 10 men for 80 minutes of the match when goalkeeper, Tomislav Romic, collected a player who was denied a goal-scoring opportunity. The penalty was awarded along with a red card which forced them to reshuffle their squad. They fought valiantly however and managed to rally for an equaliser, after they too were awarded a penalty.
A Southern Districts player was knocked down in the box during a set piece and Rocco Luca made no mistake from the spot.
Southern Districts head coach, Ramson Shamon, said that the “The match could’ve gone either way.”
Wagga City Wanderers 2 vs Hurstville City Minotaurs 3
The Hurstville City Minotaurs have picked up their first win of the season while the Wagga City Wanderers edge closer and closer to theirs.
The Wanderers had a new look roster after head coach, Blaise Fagan was forced to change their personnel due to suspensions.
The Minotaurs made the most of their opportunities despite having fewer chances on goal. State League Two debutant, Tyler Allen scored his first goal for the Wanderers, while Carl Pideski scored a spectacular header as well.
Next week the Wanderers will stay in Wagga Wagga when they host Hurstville FC, while the Minotaurs come against FC Gazy Lansvale with the venue of the match to be confirmed within the week.
Prospect United 1 vs Dunbar Rovers 4
Dunbar continue their perfect run in State League Two as the defeated Prospect United, who were coming off a strong win over the Camden Tigers last week.
Dunbar head coach, William Cullen was pleased with the 90 minute performance they put in despite missing key players such as their club captain, Ali Simpson.
Young gun Alex Euripidou, starred and was voted best on ground.
Despite playing out of position at right-back, the 21-year old provided non-stop energy in both attack and defence.
For Prospect, David Mavisa backed up his five star performance from last week by continuing to cause havoc down the right wing for United.
Despite being in sixth position, Prospect still only lie one win outside of the top four.
They will have a tough task next week when they come up against Southern Districts, who are yet to be defeated.
This match comes after their Westfield FFA Cup Round 7 Preliminary Final match against PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 high flyers Sydney United 58 FC at Edensor Park this Wednesday evening.
Western Condors 2 vs FC Gazy Lansvale 2
FC Gazy Lansvale grabbed their first point of the season with their draw against the Western Condors at Calabria Sportsground.
The Western Condors set the tone early by scoring first, however, Lansvale quickly responded through Alaa Ali Khan.
The scores were level at the break and despite the Condors searching for a breakthrough, Pablo Meza pulled off a few spectacular saves for Lansvale.
The pressure that had built eventually took its toll and the home side retook the lead.
Both sides played a more open style of attacking football and as a result, Lansvale were rewarded with an equaliser through a spectacular long shot on goal.
The mood was tense when Lansvale was awarded a penalty in injury time, however, the shot on goal hit the cross bar and sailed wide which left the final score at 2-2.
-by Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter
