Men’s State League 2 Round 16 Review
Round 16 of the competition kicked-off over the weekend and featured brilliant individual efforts. Firstly, by Hurstville City Minotaurs, Leonardo Pinto and Wagga City Wanderers, Scott Dunn who both scored hat-tricks for their clubs.
The much-anticipated Match of the Round provided exactly what was expected – a close game of football and plenty of highlights, with an end result which could not be split.
Match of the Round
Dunbar Rovers 0-0 Hurstville FC, Saturday 1 August, Hensley Athletic Field
Top of the league Dunbar Rovers have drawn nil-all against second-placed Hurstville FC in a match which both teams could have won.
Despite the scoreline the match featured jam-packed action and plenty of drama right until the final whistle.
Hurstville FC began with plenty of enthusiasm and within the first three minutes already had two shots on goal from the boot of Denis Cutura.
A great one-two passing movement between Cutura and Paul Gagro, allowed the striker enough space to get a shot away first time, however Rovers’ goalkeeper Stephen Deasy was up to the task.
Cutura’s second attempt had a better connection than his first, after he squared up Dunbar defender Ali Simpson. Despite a good attempt on goal the ball skidded across the face, without challenging Stephen Deasy at the back.
Dunbar clawed their way into the match after an early onslaught and found success with their lobbed, through-ball passes from inside their own half.
Andrew Doddy and Paul O’Shaughnessy in particular found their striker René Mrva in space on multiple occasions.
As a result, Dunbar managed to get their first shot on target in the ninth minute after a Paul O’Shaughnessy cross found the head of René Mrva. Hurstville goalkeeper, Michael Rutherford passed his first test of the day with his relatively easy save.
For the majority of the first half, Dunbar controlled possession with their calm, patient style of passing.
The shifts from sideline to sideline resulted in a stretched Hurstville defence, who as a result, were vulnerable in the middle of the field. It was here where Dunbar built pressure and asked questions of Rutherford in goals.
The best chance of the first half came in the 36th minute when a great tackle by Malcolm Miller won possession just outside of Hurstville’s box.
Dunbar’s Craig Mooney took possession of the ball and managed to slice through an almost non-existent gap before being one-on-one with Rutherford.
A brilliant save by the Hurstville goalkeeper denied Dunbar an opening goal and the scores remained even at half time.
Dunbar began the second half in a dominating fashion and managed to get five shots away in the ten minutes following the break.
Solid defence by Hurstville’s backline, led by Steven Flatt saved the day for his side. That along with some much-needed luck after Malcolm Miller hit the left post from inside of the six yard box.
Hurstville replied with audacious attempts on goal in the hope of burying a speculator. The match did turn to their favour when Adam Smith received his second yellow card in the 78th minute, which left Dunbar with ten men.
For the last ten minutes of the match, Hurstville FC dominated possession and continued to press Dunbar’s defence, who were forced to park the bus.
They produced four counter attacks, each of which lacked the polish to convert, whether from a poor last pass or an unnecessary shot.
The final play of the game produced a corner for Hurstville FC who miraculously could not score, despite having three shots in succession. Dunbar withstood the pressure and the final score remained 0-0.
Match Stats
Dunbar Rovers 0
Hurstville FC 0
Hensley Athletic Field
Referee: Mr. Dale Fuda
Assistant Referees: Mr. Jin Kuan and Mr. James Barnes
Dunbar Rovers: 1. Stephen Deasy, 13. Sean Burke, 4. Ali Simpson (5. Clive Delaney), 2. Adam Smith, 6. Ian Clayton, 8. Andrew Doddy, 11. Malcolm Miller, 16. Craig Mooney, 22. René Mrva, 83. Paul O’Shaughnessy, 12. Michael Sealy,
Substitutions not used: 19. Juan Arcila Lopez, 70. Dylan Deep-Jones, 17. Stephen Liu
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: 2. Adam Smith (78’)
Hurstville FC: 69. Michael Rutherford, 13. Mudrek Abaid (11. Henry Kamleitner), 2. Steven Flatt, 5. Thomas Kasunic, 8. Marko Filipovic, 4. James Galic, 12. Michael Karagiannis, 6. Nicholas Kougious, 14. Thomas O’Neill, 10. Paul Gagro, 9. Denis Cutura
Substitutions not used: 7. Daniel Kocina, 99, Matthew Mulroney, 15. Vedram Jaganjac
Yellow Cards: 13. Mudrek Abaid (51’), 8. Marko Filipovic (67’), 9. Denis Cutura (70’), 4. James Galic (73’)
Red Cards: Nil
Rest of the Round
Hurstville City Minotaurs 5-1 University of NSW, Saturday 1 August, David Phillips Field
The Hurstville City Minotaurs have picked up a convincing 5-1 victory away against University of NSW (UNSW).
UNSW were down to 10 men for 70 minutes of the match after their goalkeeper, Ivan Lloret picked up a straight red card and a penalty to go with it when he took down a Minotaur who was on goal.
From there on the visitors made use of the extra man.
Leonardo Pinto scored three, while Modar Sultan and Hezio Silva Neto also found the back of the net.
The sole goal scorer for UNSW was Marcelo Turdera, who made a good run down the left and showed composure when finding the bottom corner.
Wagga City Wanderers 5-2 FC Gazy Lansvale, Saturday 1 August, Gissing Oval
The Wagga City Wanderers have lodged their first ever win in Men’s State League 2 (First Grade) and have done so in brilliant fashion, with a strong 5-2 performance against FC Gazy Lansvale at Gissing Oval.
There is no doubt the Wanderers have been knocking on the door of a maiden win, even against the top tier teams so it was certainly a well-deserved reward for their patience and persistence.
Scott Dunn continued his brilliant goalscoring form through his hat-trick while Adrien Jolly and Carl Pideski also joined him on the score sheet.
For FC Gazy Lansvale, Mitchell Bozzetto and James Keane picked up their goals.
Southern Districts SFA 2-0 Camden Tigers, Saturday 1 August, Ernie Smith Reserve
Southern Districts have found themselves back in the winning circle after defeating the travelling Camden Tigers 2-0 on Saturday.
Despite missing six regular members of their starting 11, Southern Districts displayed the depth they have as a club, by calling up under 20s players who all did their job.
Nathan Niski played a part in both goals scored, firstly through his assist to Mitchel Mclintock, which got the striker one-on-one with Camden’s goalkeeper. Mclintock did the rest by finding the bottom corner.
Similarly, the last pass to second goal scorer, Rocco Luca came from Nathan Niski.
Luca had only been on the field for a matter of minutes before cutting back onto his right foot to stroke the ball past the goalkeeper, leaving the final score at 2-0.
Western Condors FC 2-1 Prospect United, Saturday 1 August, Calabria Sports Ground
The Western Condors have ground out a 2-1 victory against Prospect United in the only Sunday match of the round.
This match was a must-win for the Condors, which still gives them a glimmer of hope in making the top four with only two matches remaining.
All three goals came from free-kick set pieces. The Condors opened the scoring after a free-kick attempt by Mauricio Navarrete was saved by the Prospect goalkeeper, only for the ball to be deflected into the path of Giuseppe Zampogna who calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.
The score remained 1-0 at the break in favour of the Condors. Prospect did however, hit back in the 55th minute when they found the back of the net through Matthew Viera.
With the scores locked at 1-1, Roberto Sanchez stood up to take a free-kick for the Condors. Similarly to their first goal, the shot was saved by the Prospect goalkeeper, but fell straight into the path of Giuseppe Zampogna who picked up his double with 15 minutes remaining.
Zampogna’s second goal was the last scoring play of the match, leaving the final score at 2-1 to the Condors.
-by Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter
