PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 Finals Week Three Review
Bankstown City will meet Northern Tigers in next week’s PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 2 Grand Final after prevailing over Spirit FC 5-3 after extra time in a classic preliminary final on Saturday.
Preliminary Final
Spirit FC v Bankstown City
If ever a game was worthy as being described as an epic, it was this one.
Eight goals, extra time and the premiers Spirit FC coming from a goal down on three occasions to draw level, before the Lions ultimately prevailed, will see this match long remembered by the large crowd in attendance.
A glorious spring afternoon set the scene for a clash which promised so much and delivered on every count. A Grand Final appearance would be the reward for the victor and, without question, neither side left anything out of this one.
Bankstown welcomed back Dean Heffernan and Domenic Hudap, which saw Reuben Lagos and Gerard Ouffoue start on the bench, while Spirit were without the suspended Tom Lovell and the still injured Kuag Reec and Abraham Majok. Still, with newly crowned Goalkeeper of the Year David Lowery and Player of the Year Gosue Sama ready for action, Spirit’s sights were on that spot in the Grand Final.
The first goal in a monumental afternoon came after just fourteen minutes, and it was one of the goals of the match, if not the season itself. Aaron d’Mello worked down the right, perhaps having a chance to shoot himself, but a mid-level cross into the area instead saw a diving header from Ko Kimura sweep past Lowery. There was little the keeper could do to keep that one out, an absolutely smashing header.
That goal was just the first of eight and it didn’t take long for Spirit to equalise. They were down for just four minutes before Sama set up Ryan Johnstone who tucked away his first of the day with eighteen minutes gone.
Chris Gomez then struck well just before the half hour in a chance for the Lions but Lowery was well up to the task with a diving save but disaster struck for Spirit just a few minutes later. A deep ball from Huseyn Jasli put some pressure on the Spirit defence and Gomez caused enough confusion between Lowery and defender Daniel Cunningham to cause the Spirit captain to toepoke over the line.
The chances kept coming for both sides in an attacking game which saw little respite. Grant Cornwell had a rising shot and d’Mello, looking lively and dangerous all day, shot just around the post. Sama too, looked to score, but Dion Shaw touched around for a corner, after Sama, maybe surprisingly, found himself in plenty of space inside the box.
But Spirit’s second equaliser of the day came a minute before half time. Sama was tackled in a crowded area but the loose ball fell out wide to Jake Harris who slammed home into the roof of the net, much to the delight of an erupting Spirit bench.
Hard to believe that the league’s two best defences had conceded four between them in forty five minutes, but that was to be just half of it.
The second half continued immediately where the first had left off. Inside the first minute, Spirit had two great chances. Brad Gibson was clear with the best opportunity inside thirty seconds but rushed his shot when he had only Shaw to beat and not a defender in sight. Then a Sama header flashed over the crossbar, thirty seconds after that.
But despite Spirit’s best efforts, it was the Lions who would take the lead yet again, for the third time. Michael Beauchamp connected well to a ball flung in to the penalty area after Bankstown’s initial attack had been cleared. Brima Kamara, influential in that attack, can take much credit for that goal.
An injury to Todd Halloran with twenty to go saw a switch in the Lions set up, with Kimura moving to right back and Lagos coming on in midfield, but it was a later injury to Spirit’s Jake Harris which was to have a large influence on the game. With twelve minutes to go, and the Lions still 3-2 up, a late tackle by Harris on Kimura resulted in the young Spirit midfielder coming off second best, with what appeared to be a fractured shoulder. A delay in the game off at least thirty minutes occurred pending the arrival of an ambulance.
It could have been expected that the lengthy delay might have caused some disruption to the feel of the game, but it continued where it left off. Tim Simpson came on up front for Spirit, and the Premiers knew that their season, as it stood, had not much more than ten minutes to last.
But the goal which they so dearly wanted, arrived with six minutes of regular time remaining.
Johnstone it was, with his second, slamming the ball in from the edge of the area after some strong Spirit pressure. A delight for Spirit, Johnstone charging into the edges of the grandstand in sheer joy, amongst a crowd of supporters, and again, a leaping Spirit bench.
3-3 and extra time.
The late Spirit equaliser lifted them to the point where they had the better of the initial exchanges in extra time and the first period was Spirit’s. Could they do the seemingly impossible and win the game after having been behind three times? It certainly seemed like they could.
That was until, extra time mark two kicked off.
It took only twenty two seconds before the Lions were in front again. Within moments of kick off, a charging Jasli down the left, a perfect low cross into the near post, and substitute Gerard Ouffoue knicked in to touch the ball past a despairing Lowery.
This time Spirit couldn’t come back. Not for a fourth time. A late send off to Cunningham, a straight red for casually throwing the ball for a free kick hitting the head of a Lions player, reduced Spirit to ten. A fifth to Lions, right at the bell, and a second to Ouffoue stretched the result out to 5-3.
A breathless encounter, a wonderful advertisement for finals football, and a game which will live long in the memory of those lucky to be there. It was shame that there had to be a loser, as neither side deserved elimination on this game. But if the Northern Tigers v Bankstown City Grand Final is half as good as this one, we are set for a treat.
Match Stats
Spirit FC 3 (Ryan Johnstone 18’, 84’, Jake Harris 44’) v Bankstown City 5 (Ko Kimura 14’, Chris Gomez 32’, Michael Beauchamp 51’, Gerard Ouffoue 106’, 120’) after extra time
Saturday 12 September 2015
at Valentine Sports Park Parklea
Referee: James Lewis
Assts: Leigh Pigram and Danny Horstead
4th official: Kris Griffith-Jones
Spirit FC: 41. David Lowery 2. Daniel Cunningham 3. Henry Wells (23. Mason Ireland 75’) 4. Nick Trimble 5. Andrew Robertson 7. Jake Harris (9. Tim Simpson 78’) 8. Grant Cornwell 12. Brad Gibson 13. Lord Darkoh 14. Ryan Johnstone 22. Gosue Sama.
Subs not used: 1. Murray Nelson 16. Ross Kethel 20. Michael Streeter
Yellow Cards: Grant Cornwell 66’, Jacob Harris 78’
Red Card: Daniel Cunningham 115’
Coach: John McLafferty
Bankstown City: 1. Dion Shaw 2. Todd Halloran (6. Reuben Lagos 70’) 3. Grant Lynch 4. Aaron d’Mello (17. Gerard Ouffoue 82’) 5. Michael Beauchamp 7. Brima Kamara (12. Steven Veleski 117’) 8. Dean Heffernan 9. Chris Gomez 10. Domenic Hudap 11. Huseyin Jasli 22. Ko Kimura.
Subs not used: 30 Nicholas Carosi 33. Jack Musgrave
Yellow Cards: Dion Shaw 78’, Dean Heffernan 101’
Coach: Leo Carle
-by Peter Rowney, PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 2 Reporter
