Round 1 Review – State League Men’s
The Football NSW State League Men’s season kicked off this weekend, with Wagga City finishing the round atop the table.
A spectacular bicycle-kick goal from Gazy Auburn’s Gabriel Zihori headlined this week’s Match of the Round.
MATCH OF THE ROUND – Gazy Auburn FC vs. UNSW Lions: 1-0.
You could not have asked for more perfect conditions, as Gazy Auburn FC hosted the UNSW Lions at Progress Park. This fixture was predicted to be extremely tight, and lived up to expectations.
UNSW saw the better of the opening ten minutes, with their midfield on top thanks in particular to collected play from central midfielders Hezio Silva Neto and Dean Zouroudis.
That being said, the first major chance came by way of Gazy Auburn. Yusuf Orfali showed incredible pace down the right wing to edge his fullback to the ball. Orfali chipped the ball into the centre of the park with his first touch, where Friday Jeremiah headed narrowly wide.
In the nineteenth minute, UNSW won a penalty after Luiz Lobo was shoved inside the box. Lobo stepped up to the spot, and fired towards the bottom left. His shot was saved superbly by Zain Brown, who dropped quickly and pushed the ball out for a corner.
UNSW dominated the last fifteen minutes of the first half and littered the Gazy goal with shot after shot. Their midfield diamond found space against the Auburn 4-4-2 with only two central midfielders.
Fortunately for the home side, Brown continued to demonstrate his excellent shot keeping skills and was their stand out performer.
Despite struggling for possession, Gazy were menacing through swift, direct counters; leveraging the physical presence of striker Jeremiah and the pace of wingers Orfali and Gabriel Zihori. The first half ended with the deadlock still in place, and both sides thinking they could be ahead.
Gazy were quickest off the mark in the second half, and came close to scoring on numerous occasions in the opening minutes. A powerful freekick from Jeremiah and then a curling long distance strike from Zihori forced UNSW’s goalkeeper into crucial diving saves.
UNSW should have taken the lead in the fifty first minute, after Sean Miller danced past two defenders into the Gazy goalbox, only to fire his shot into the hands of the goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Matthew Newton whipped a low cross into the box but a lunging Silva Neto struck the ball narrowly over the crossbar.
Straight down the other end, Gazy’s Mohamad Jirjnaji found the ball on the left hand side of the UNSW goalbox and looped a cross towards the penalty spot. Orfali lept high and powered a header agonizingly into the crossbar.
Zain Brown was again the hero for the home side in the seventy second minute, after Luiz Lobo was played through one-on-one with plenty of time. The Lions’ striker placed his shot from point blank, but was denied by a quickly outstretched leg from Brown.
Gazy right winger Yusuf Orfali will feel he had three clear chances to give his team the lead in the next fifteen minutes, finding himself with three one on ones which he was unable to convert.
But in the eighty second minute, the home side took the lead in the most outrageous of fashions – an incredible bicycle kick from Zihori. Perhaps a once in a lifetime goal, the creative midfielder could not have executed his overhead kick in any more spectacular fashion, smashing the ball viciously into the top corner after connecting with a well directed cross from the right wing.
The lone goal would prove decisive, with Gazy Auburn claiming all three points from their opening fixture of the season in what was an impressive overall performance. UNSW will feel like they could have just as easily come away with the victory, but were punished for their lack of composure in front of goal.
Match Stats
Gazy Auburn FC 1 (Gabriel Zihori 82’)
UNSW Lions 0
Sunday, 3rd of April, 2016
Progress Park, Auburn
Gazy Auburn FC: 22. Zane Brown, 15. Matthew Cabrera, 4. Nathan Gotsoulias, 8. Elvis Ibric, 10. Friday Jeremiah, 7. Mohamad Jirjnazi (11. Felipe Orjuela), 2. Jamie Jones, 3. Kynan Mathew, 9. Yusuf Orfali, 17. Ertan Uzel (6. Yerson Muchaypina Altamirano), 5. Nathan Walker.
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Nabil Akkouche, 12. Mathias Desouza.
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
UNSW Lions: 4. Mate Balazs, 9. Luiz Lobo, 14. Hajime Maki, 7. Sean Miller, 11. Matthew Newton (18. Ruben Viglino), 20. Rodrigo Ortega Urra, 1. Matthew Porch (5. David Richardson), 10. Hezio Silva Neto, 8. Sylvain Sommacal, 6. Dean Zouroudis (19. Florim Binakaj), 2. Samuel Zouroudis.
Substitutes Not Used: 3. Tellier Jubea.
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
Round Summaries
Wagga City Wanderers vs. Prospect United: 4-3.
It was a seven goal thriller against Wagga City and Prospect United, that ended in heartbreak for the visiting team.
Wagga City began the game in dominant fashion, storming their way to a 2-0 lead at half-time, against a Prospect outfit that looked slow off the mark.
The lead was made 3-0 after the break and the game looked well put away. The visitors, however, dramatically pulled the game back to level terms thanks to goals from Ben Mccann, Jonathan Green and Adrian Jennings.
A well deserved point looked on the cards for the resurging Prospect, but the Wanderers demonstrated great resilience to find a winner, where many teams would have been rattled.
The visitors were not helped by the sending off of Matthew Viera, who collected two yellow cards.
Wagga will be delighted to have already equalled their quantity of wins from last season, but must now set their sights firmly on the year ahead.
Nepean FC vs. SD Raiders FC: 1-1.
A ten man Nepean FC navigated a point over the visiting SD Raiders FC, in what was a nervy start to the season from both teams.
Nepean would have been looking to begin their campaign strongly at home, but were set back by the dismissal of Alen Lajin.
After scores were levelled thanks to strikes from Nepean’s Martin Kerr and Southern Districts’ Mitchell Mclintock, the Raiders looked to dominate the final ten minutes with their man advantage. Nevertheless, brave defending from the home side held them out.
Western Condors FC vs. Hurstville City Minotaurs: 1-1.
The Western Condors and Hurstville City Minotaurs shared the points at Stanwell Oval this Sunday, with both sides easing their way into the new season.
The Condors will be frustrated with the result, as they’d have been determined to win their opening fixture in front of friends and family.
The Minotaurs will see this draw as a solid foundation to build upon in Round 2, as they look to be more competitive than last season’s disappointing performance.
Camden Tigers FC vs. Hurstville FC: 2-3.
In an exciting opening clash, Hurstville FC edged the Camden Tigers away from home to get their season off to the best possible start.
A brace for Hurstville’s Henry Kamleitner was supported by a goal from Michael Karagiannis, edging the away side over the Tigers despite strikes from Blake Armstrong and Brody Page.
There were plenty of positives going forward from both outfits, however neither will be satisfied with their defending in the second half, conceding two goals apiece.
Bankstown United FC vs. St. George FA: 1-1.
The two newcomers to State League football faced off at the Crest Athletic Centre this Sunday, and shared the points in what was a momentous occasion for both clubs.
Bankstown and St. George will be happy with collecting their first ever points, although it was a game to forget for St. George’s Kallie Bangura who received a straight red.
-by Daniel Palmer, State League Men’s Reporter
