Round 8 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s
League leaders Sydney FC scored seven goals for the second time in as many weeks, but they weren’t the only ones who rattled a few into the back of the net, with Marconi (5) and Western Sydney Wanderers, Bankstown Berries and Central Coast (4) also showing they’re quite capable in front of goal. Read on to see the latest from what is turning into an intriguing season of football.
Macarthur Rams 1 Spirit FC 0
MACARTHUR GOALKEEPER JAIR Fernandez turned on a man of the match peformance to help his side to a gripping 1-0 victory over Spirit FC at Lynwood Park on Saturday night.
Fernandez put his body on the line and showed incredible reflexes to deny the visitors time and again, especially in a frenetic second half where Spirit launched wave after wave of relentless attacks.
The Rams were hoping to redeem themselves after an uncharacteristic peformance last weekend saw them crash and burn in a 7-0 loss to Sydney FC. Coach Lee Sterrey was shocked by the display and demanded his players use the match against Spirit FC to prove that the debacle was nothing more than an anomaly.
He got his wish.
In a messy opening to the match, both sides played physically and with aggression, utilising long ball tactics that, unfortunately, failed in the final third. Indeed, it wasn’t until the 21st minute that either goalkeeper was tested, with Fernandez stopping a header from Spirit’s Grant Cornwell.
Of the two sides, it was Macarthur that tried to play with width and hold possession, with Anthony Schmidt showing composure at the back and David Mcmurray distributing the ball well; while Kevin Ly also chimed in with some nice touches.
But Spirit slowly began to wear the home side down. David Mavisa caused problems to the Rams’ defence with his pace and footwork, and in the 23rd minute had a golden opportunity to score, only to miss what should have been the opening goal. Kim Changyu blasted over the bar three minutes later; while Jayden Mcleod threaded a pass to Grant Cornwell, whose shot was blocked well by keeper Fernandez.
Mavisa continued to create his own brand of mayhem and on the half hour mark he set off on a weaving run before passing to Henry Wells, whose shot was stopped by the Rams’ custodian. At this stage, Spirit seemed to be the more dominant force, winning the 50-50 tackles, while Macarthur looked ragged and out of sorts. In the 36th minute Cornwell let loose with a long range shot that Fernandez had trouble controlling. The Rams breathed a collective sigh of relief when he regathered on his second attempt.
Spirit’s Nathan Jagelman set off on a nice weaving run in the 41st minute but again Fernandez foiled the visitors. This was becoming a one-man show and no matter what Spirit threw at him, Fernandez was up to the task.
Then in the 43rd minute and completely against the run of play, a strange thing happened. Macarthur scored. Playmaker Elsid Barhousir volleyed home from close range after great leadup work from Eli Squillacioti and David Mcmurray, giivng the home side an unlikely 1-0 lead at the break.
After the restart, the end-to-end nature of the game continued.
Spirit’s Andrew Robertson used his pace down the left byline and sent in a telling cross, only for Fernandez to snuff it out. A few minutes later, Spirit’s Mark Mcalpine sent a cracking long range shot over the bar.
But it wasn’t just the visitors who pushed the envelope.
Macarthur’s David McMurray passed to Elsid Barhousir who reached the byline and cut back a dangerous pass. But with no-one around to tuck the ball into the net, the chance went begging. A couple of minutes later, Kevin Ly sent a cross into the box, only to see Mcmurray’s header go wide.
In the 56th minute that man Fernandez was again brought into the action, saving bravely at the feet of Spirit’s Nathan Jagelman. A minute later the keeper denied a Cornwell header as it rocketed towards the target. Fernandez denied Cornwell again in the 66th minute, turning away a well-struck freekick. By this stage Cornwell would’ve been wondering what he had to do to beat the man between the sticks.
Cornwell again connected with a header in the 74th minute but a brilliant goal became a brilliant save by Fernandez. Phillip Reilly had a go in the 88th but again, to no avail.
In the 92nd minute the Rams should have sealed the match when Anthony Nicola sent in a perfect low cross for Mason Versi, who blasted over the top of an empty goal. Kevin Ly followed up with a brilliant free kick that cleared the wall, only to bounce off the uprights.
Then in the final minute of injury time, Fernandez rescued his side yet again, diving courageously at the feet of a Spirit attacker, injuring himelf in the process.
Macarthur coach Lee Sterrey was pleased with the result, if not the execution, saying his young side still had a lot to learn. “After conceding seven against Sydney FC last week we needed to bounce back and show that that performance was completely uncharacteristic of the team,” Sterrey told Football NSW. “We did that in patches, we won and we’ll take the three points but there’s still a lot I’m not happy about and a lot of room for improvement.”
Meanwhile, Spirit coach Mark McCormick was disappointed with the loss but pleased with his side’s effort. “I think we dominated that game at times but we came up against a goalkeeper who had the game of his life,” McCormick told Football NSW. “I think we at least deserved a point.”
Macarthur Rams 1 (Elsid Barkhousir 43’) Spirit FC 0
Saturday 23 April
At: Lynwood Park, St Helens Park
Referee: Adam Susz
Assistants: Peter Liaros, Matthew Howarth
Macarthur Rams FC
2. Craig Cooley (C), 3. Mitchell Thompson, 4. Ben Cornish (16. Mason Versi), 5. Elsid Barkhousir, 6. Kevin Ly, 7. Eli Squillacioti, (17. Anthony Nicola), 9. Anthony Schmidt, 12. David McMurray, 13. Daniel Carrozza, 19. Damien Travis (8. Cristian Leiva Martinez), 20. Jair Fernandez (GK)
Unused Subs: 1. Nikodin Matic (GK), 18. Lachlan Paradjik
Yellow Cards: 7. Eli Squillacioti 15’, 6. Kevin Ly 71’
Coach: Lee Sterrey
Spirit FC
3. Henry Wells, 4. Michael Streeter, 5. Andrew Robertson, 8. Grant Cornwell, 10. Kim Changyu, 11. David Mavisa (13. Philip Reilly), 14. Jayden Mcleod, 16. Mark Mcalpine, 17. Robbie George, 20. Nathan Jagelman (18. Bradley Gibson), 51. David Lowery (GK)
Unused Subs: 1. Murray Nelson, 21. Jaylon Reiher, 22. Stuart Collins
Yellow Cards: 16. Mark Mcalpine 77’, 4. Michael Streeter 85’, 5. Andrew Robertson 93’
Coach: Mark McCormick
Macarthur Rams FC
2. Craig Cooley (C), 3. Mitchell Thompson, 4. Ben Cornish (16. Mason Versi), 5. Elsid Barkhousir, 6. Kevin Ly, 7. Eli Squillacioti, (17. Anthony Nicola), 9. Anthony Schmidt, 12. David McMurray, 13. Daniel Carrozza, 19. Damien Travis (8. Cristian Leiva Martinez), 20. Jair Fernandez (GK)
Unused Subs: 1. Nikodin Matic (GK), 18. Lachlan Paradjik
Yellow Cards: 7. Eli Squillacioti 15’, 6. Kevin Ly 71’
Coach: Lee Sterrey
Central Coast Mariners 4 Marconi Stallions 5
MARCONI CONTINUED their march up the ladder with a 5-4 victory over Central Coast Mariners at Pluim Park on Saturday night, with coach Jeff Suzor praising the side’s ‘big three’ of Marko Jesic, Mirjan Pavlovic and Sean Rooney.
“How the A-League clubs aren’t watching players like Jesic, Pavlovic and Rooney is beyond me,” Suzor told Football NSW. “They should be out watching every game that Marconi plays and signing these players. It’s unbelievable, but they’re the difference. People say that we only win games because of them and they’re absolutely right. We win games because of them. But I signed them for that reason. They’re playing NPL 2, they don’t cost that much money, they’re professional, they’re winners, they’re just unbelievable players. They should be playing A-League, they’re that good.”
Jesic and Pavlovic scored two goals each in a topsy turvy battle that personified Marconi’s season so far: one punctuated by unbridled entertainment and goals.
“I told you we were the entertainers of the competition,” Suzor said. “It was a good game, they’ve got real quality, good young players so we’re happy to come here and get the points. We had a terrible start to the season, but we’re unbeaten in our last six games now. When you’re winning it’s infectious, winning becomes a habit and you start to get that belief and things start to change. I’m real happy to get the win.”
Meanwhile, Central Coast coach Ben Cahn said that his side probably dominated the early stages of the game but despite creating three golden opportunities, were unable to capitalise. “We should’ve been 3-0 up,” Cahn told Football NSW, but instead, Marconi held a slender 1-0 lead at halftime.
“Individual error cost us the first goal and we were pretty naïve in how we managed the game,” the Mariners coach added. “Once we got back on level terms, we gave them a goal straight away from kickoff, then we went 3-1 down. We came back to 3-2 and an individual error cost us for 4-2. Then it was 4-3 and we missed an absolute pearler of a chance when Trent Buhagiar missed a one-on-one and pushed the ball wide of the post. They went up 5-3 and we just couldn’t find the last one.”
So what was the major difference between the two sides? “Quite simply they created less chances than us but the front four that they’ve got are probably as good as any in the league, just ruthless and they take their chances,” Cahn said. “Every time they had the ball in the box they looked dangerous, they looked like they were going to create something.”
But regardless of Marconi’s quality, Cahn said his young side didn’t defend well. “We didn’t defend well at all. Not from the front, not from the midfield. Ultimately when you concede five goals at home, you deserve to lose the game.”
Despite the loss, Cahn his side scored some excellent goals. Former Marconi player Ryan Peterson grabbed a couple against his old club, Josh Bingham was a presence the whole match and Trent Buhagiar’s speed caused problems for the experienced Stallions. “I thought that we looked like scoring every time we went forward, but unfortunately we’re just missing the finishing touch at the moment.”
Central Coast Mariners 4 (Liam O’Dell, Reece Papadimitrios, Ryan Peterson 2) Marconi Stallions 5 (Marko Jesic 2, Mirjan Pavlovic 2, Simon Valastro)
Saturday 23 April 2016
At: Pluim Park No. 1, Lisarow
Referee: Ben Abraham
Central Coast Mariners FC
1. Andrew Pearce (GK), 2. Brian Jamba, 3. Reece Papadimitrios, 4. Cooper Boswell, 5. Daniel Tuddenham, 6. Liam O’Dell (C), 7. Lachlan Wales, 9. Josh Bingham, 10. Ryan Peterson, 11. Christopher Hurley (16. Thomas Lyons), 12. Trent Buhagiar, 15. Nathan Hundley, 18. S. White (8. Cade Mapu)
Unused Subs: 4. Cooper Boswell, 20. T. Heward-Belle (GK)
Yellow Cards: 12. Trent Buhagiar, 1. Andrew Pearce 61’
Coach: Ben Cahn
Marconi Stallions FC
1. Chad Taylor (GK), 4. Simon Valastro, 5. P Pelekanos, 6. Raimond Colletta, 7. Mirjan Pavlovic, 8. Sean Rooney, 10. Marko Jesic, 16. Noah Chianese (11. Sam Perre), 17. Steven Drewery, 18. Brandon Vella, 23. Christopher Nunes (C)
Unused Subs: 3. Ante Markovic, 21. Kristian Sekutkoski (GK), 24. Christopher Godoy Bascur, 25. Phillip Makrys
Yellow Cards: 8. Sean Rooney 80’, Sam Perre 84’
Coach: Jeff Suzor
Fraser Park 1 Western Sydney Wanderers 4
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS came from behind to defeat Fraser Park 4-1 at Marrickville on Saturday night, the visitor’s pace and swift ball movement eventually proving to be too much to handle.
Fraser Park opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Zac Ribeiro, which provided spirit and encouragement for the locals. Peter Crevani almost extended the lead to 2-0 but instead it was the Wanderers who scored next when they were awarded a penalty just before halftime, with Liam Youlley slotting home the equaliser.
“The effort in the first half was excellent,” Fraser Park coach Branko Culina told Football NSW. “But then they equalised just before halftime and before we even had a chance to sit in our seats after the break, they scored a second. We dropped off and really didn’t have a great deal to offer after that.”
Culina added that his side was missing five players, Askin Oygur, Kevin Oliveira, Daisan Kim, Jeffreu Issa, and Adem Kir, and, despite a dodgy hamstring, were forced into rushing Davide Talone back into the team. To make matters worse, defender Joe Delia copped a concussion just before halftime, forcing him out for the rest of the match.
“We don’t have the depth to cope with so many injuries, but that is not taking anything away from the opposition,” Culina said. “I think the Wanderers boys are all very very good players. I was very impressed with the way they played, they’re very mobile, very quick. I said to our players, don’t drop your heads, hold your heads high, you’re up against a very, very good side who are very fit and very quick, mobile and who can all play. That’s the challenge for us to try and get to that level. Not only get to that level for 40 minutes or 45 minutes but to play at that level for 90 minutes. That’s the difference at the moment, you can see the fitness levels, the sharpness, the touches, they were all very very good and if you’re going to play against teams like that, then you’ve got to be able to play for longer periods.”
Meanwhile, Wanderers coach Trevor Morgan said he was reasonably happy with his team’s performance.
“We moved the ball quite well and made Fraser Park shift a lot and chase a lot,” Morgan told Football NSW. “And I think we possibly could have been a couple of goals up at halftime, but things didn’t drop for us and we went in one-all at the break.
“The boys’ finishing was also very good, they didn’t just smack things at the goal, they placed the ball well into the corners and they were very hard to save. It was a good performance.”
So what was difference between the two sides? “Just the speed,” Morgan replied. “There’s experienced boys on every team we play against who know their game and what they’re going to do but we train four days a week, they’re young kids, they can move the ball quick, they can run, and I think eventually, that’s going to cause a problem for our opponents. You can be well organised and defend well but there might come a moment in the game where you just can’t do anything about someone moving the ball too quickly for you. To be fair the kids didn’t try and go solo, they kept to the gameplan and kept moving the ball, and eventually the holes opened up and the chances came.”
When asked to name the standouts in his team, Morgan said it was a real team effort. “I think overall there were a lot of people who played well. We have the advantage of having quality on the bench which helps when you want to take it up a gear. We’ve got a few boys on the bench who are very strong. No real standouts to be fair, just a good team performance.”
Fraser Park 1 (Zac Ribeiro 4’) Western Sydney Wanderers 4 (Liam Youlley 42’, Lachlan Scott 47’, Mario Shabow 67’ Ramy Najjarine 79’)
Saturday 23 April
At: Fraser Park, Marrickville
Referee: C Fisher
Assistants: J Park, C Wells
Fraser Park
1. Wayne Estevao (GK), 3. Davide Talone, 4. Peter Crevani, 5. Nicholas Dimitropoulos (C), 6. Aleksandar Todoroski, 8. Zac Ribeiro, 11. Jordan Roberts, 13. Pasqualino Cappuccio, (20. Ozah Okah), 14. Nikola Todoroski (9. Dominic Nevin), 17. Nathan Sansom, 19. Joseph Delia, (16. Nicholas Mouzourakis)
Unused Subs: 21. John Dimitrakis
Yellow Cards: 14. Nikola Todoroski 40’
Coach: Branko Culina
Western Sydney Wanderers FC
2. Lachlan Roberts, 5. Jackson Bandiera (11. Mathieu Cordier), 8. Cameron Devlin, 9. Lachlan Scott, 10. Tariq Maia, 18. Matthew Symes (GK), 23. Shayne D’Cunha, 31. Alusine Fofanah, (34. Mario Shabow), 32. Daniel Alessi, 33. Josh Macdonald (15. Ramy Najjarine), 36. Liam Youlley
Unused Subs: 1. Nicholas Suman, 7. Kyle Cimenti
Yellow Cards: 33. Josh Macdonald 38’
Coach: Trevor Morgan
St George 0 Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1
MT DRUITT TOWN Rangers lifted themselves off the bottom of the ladder with a 1-0 victory over St George at St George Stadium on Saturday night.
Abraham Majok scored the only goal of the match, connecting perfectly with a Ryan Johnstone cross in the first half.
“It’s always better waking up after a win than a loss,” Mt Druitt coach Aidan Desmond told Football NSW on Sunday morning. “The game was a fairly open sort of a game and both teams were keen to win. But in saying that the pitch was quite boggy. It copped a lot of rain and then the 18s and 20s played on it so by the time we played it was cut up and very messy.”
Desmond said his side had another couple of opportunities to score but couldn’t take advantage, while St George were unlucky to hit the bar. “We were a little bit scrappy at the back end, but then our will to win kicked in. St George put us under a bit of pressure at the end but we did well to hang on. I thought we dominated the game and deserved to come away with the points.”
So what was the difference between the two teams? “Obviously we kept a clean sheet,” Desmond said. “I said to the boys before the game, if you keep a clean sheet, you’ll win today. We went in at 1-0 at halftime and I reinforced that – ‘keep a clen sheet and you’ll win’. In the last 10 minutes we really really battled to keep the clean sheet, and it was good to see the effort their out in to achieve that.
“We’ve got a few injuiries at the moment. We pushed Matthew Clowes into centre back and he made a difference there with his talking and organisation, he was very good. I’m pleased with our attitude and pleased with the performance.”
St George 0 Mt Druitt Town Rangers (Abraham Majok 20’)
Saturday 23 April
At: St George Stadium, Kyeemagh
Referee: S Lucas
Assistants: L Davidson, A Verma
St George FC
1. George Bouropoulos (GK), 3. Ali Nasreddine, 5. Billy Darwich (16. Thomas Menton), 7. Stefan De Jesus, 8. Tarik Ercan, 10. Nicolas Rouco, 13. Peter Vassilis, 15. Nicolas Perez (11. Wassim Hijazi), 17. Bruno Pivato, 38. Jacob Sullivan (9. Stevan Ilic), 50. M. Stivic
Unused Subs: 2. Daniel Kamel, 50. Mark Stivic
Yellow Cards: 38. Jacob Sullivan 41’
Coaches: Nass Martino and Ivo De Jesus
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC
1. Justin Biega (GK), 2. Lord Darkoh, 7. Luke Clifford (13. Nathan Ralph), 8. Matthew Clowes, 10. Patrick Dixon, (6. Nicholas Trimble), 11. Abraham Majok, 12. Jamie Dib, 14. Daniel Mccann, 15. Rainer Smahel, 16. Scott Goodwin, 21. Ryan Johnstone, 23. Shayne Ardle
Unused Subs: 5. Samuel Hawthorne, 12. Brad Zavaglia, 20. Joshua Wilde
Yellow Cards: 7. Luke Clifford
Coach: Aidan Desmond
Bankstown Berries 4 Sydney FC 7
SYDNEY FC CONTINUED their amazing goal-scoring exploits in a 7-4 victory over a courageous Bankstown Berries at The Crescent on Saturday night.
The scores were level at 4-all midway through the second half before Sydney FC scored a controversial goal that many believe should have been disallowed for offside. But despite the linesman’s flag being raised, the goal stood, knocking the wind out of the hapless Berries.
The young FC side has averaged almost five-goals-a-game, but Bankstown coach Rod Williams was adamant that his side would take the game to the league leaders and play attacking football. Against all odds, they did.
“We took the game to them, there was no way I was going to sit back,” Williams told Football NSW. “I’ve gone and had a go.”
FC scored first after capitalising on a Berries error but the home side equalised through Liam McKenna before conceding two more to trail 3-1.
Then the brilliant Nicholas Paras took over, rasping a long range free kick into the bottom corner of the net for 3-2; before slotting home another before FC even had a chance to set up their wall. At 3-3 Williams said the momentum was with the Berries but against the run of play, FC scored just before halftime to lead 4-3 at the break.
“I thought their fourth goal was against the run of play,” Williams said. “But we brought it back to 4-all through Tai (Smith) after Paras found him with a beautiful ball from 30 yards. Tai saw the keeper come out and chipped him and it was 4-all. Paras was easily the man of the match, he had a sensational game. I was very impressed with the boys. Sydney FC won’t have four scored against them all year, I’m sure of that.
Williams was proud of his boys who put in an 80 minute effort. “I said to them at the end that I was very happy with them. At 4-all we had the ascendancy and the referee’s decision to award their goal broke our backs. I said to the boys before the game we might get hammered but I’m not gonna sit back here and park the bus. I said we can have a real go, even at 3-1 I kept throwing blokes forward and they got to 4-all. We were on top and I thought ‘we could win this’. But then they scored that goal, thems the breaks.”
Meanwhile Sydney FC coach Robbie Stanton said his side probably lacked focus at times but did enough to get the job done.
“It was one of those nights where I had a sneaky suspicion we might just be switched off a little bit,” Stanton told Football NSW. “During the week we just looked a little heavy at times. We got caught at set-pieces but by the same token, we scored first and every time they scored we went up a gear and scored again. At 4-all we just went bang-bang-bang, we missed a penalty as well. We always felt that we had the ability to go up a gear and while I don’t like conceding four goals, at the same time we’re capable of scoring more than four goals which is something we work really hard on.
“In the end it was a tough game, conditions were wet and heavy and we probably came off the back of a heavy week as well. I just felt like we were going to be a little bit off but the good thing is we found solutions and we found that little bit extra every time and in the end what pleased me was when we needed to we step up a gear, the players did it. I’m pleased overall, it was a good result.”
Bankstown Berries 4 (Nicholas Paras 2, Liam McKenna, Tai Smith) Sydney FC 7 (Bai Antoniou 4, Charles Lokolingoy 2, Chris Zavela)
Saturday 23 April
At: The Crest Athletic Centre, Georges Hall
Referee: Roberto Mattei
Bankstown Berries
2. Andrew Vitucci, 4. Alexander Becerra, 5. Liam Mckenna, 6. Peter Dimitropoulos (11. Tai Smith), 7. Kyle Ewart, 9. Gavin Forbes (19. Dimitrios Zakilas), 10. Nicholas Paras (14. James Ralston), 12. Garang Awac, 15. Riccardo Milano, 18. Jake Bradshaw, 40. Christopher Becerra (GK), 18. Jake Bradshaw
Unused Subs: 20. Nathan Rayner, 44. Michael Skourtis,
Yellow Cards: 5. Liam McKenna, 9. Gavin Forbes, 10. Nicholas Paras
Coach: Rod Williams
Sydney FC
1. Mitchell Evans (GK), 3. Patrick Flottmann (13. Liam McGing), 4. George Timotheou, 5. Yianni Spyrakis (C), 6. Nicola Kuleski, 7. Daniel Araujo (10. Aaron Avery), 8. Max Burgess (2. Brendan Curtis), 9. Bai Antoniou, 12. Charles Lokolingoy, 14. Cristian Gonzalez, 17. Chris Zuvela
Unused Subs: 19. Emmanuel Gonzalez, 22. Duro Dragicevic
Yellow Cards: 4. George Timotheou
Coach: Robbie Stanton
Bankstown City 0 Northern Tigers 0
BANKSTOWN CITY AND Northern Tigers shared the spoils in a scoreless draw at Jensen Park on Sunday.
“We probably had three chances but didn’t take them,” Bankstown coach Leo Carle told Football NSW. “Same storyline, people come here, sit off us and try to get us on the break.
“We would have had about 70 per cent of the game but it’s hard to break them down when they play like that. We did make the chances but our execution was a little bit off. We probably should have won the game.”
Despite being disappointed with the draw, Carle said there are some positives to emerge from the game. “We had a video session on Friday and some analysis and we decided we needed to be a bit more patient and move forward with controlled possession. We did that on Sunday. The other good thing was that after conceding six midweek (against Sydney United 58) it was good to keep a clean sheet. We’re not in the best place at the moment, but that’s part of the comp, that’s part of football and we’ve just got to get over it, keep working and we’ll come back and be better for it.
“I think the FFA Cup loss had an impact on some of the players. We tried to keep the boys up and tried to point out the positives of that match. It would have hurt their confidence but we’ve got to get over it and get back to work, and work out what’s the best way to keep them on track.
Meanwhile, Tigers coach Steve Hurd said his side played ‘to a certain gameplan’ and it went pretty much as expected.
“They probably had more of the ball than we did but we were very disciplined and very well organised,” Hurd told Football NSW. “As the game wore on, we kept them down to very limited chances and they didn’t really create very much. They had two or three chances and in the last 20 minutes we probably had the better of the game and maybe could have nicked it.
“Overall I was very happy with the performance. Given that we weren’t at full strength and playing away from home against the top of the table side that we all rate quite highly, to be as disciplined and organised as we were is pleasing. It probably would have been nice to have kept the ball a little bit better than we did but the boys’ attitude was great, and well worth a point. It would have been lovely to nick it but they’re a good side and taking a point away from home against them is pretty good.”
Bankstown City 0 Northern Tigers 0
Sunday 24 April
At: Jensen Park, Regents Park
Bankstown City FC
1. Dion Shaw (GK), 2. Todd Halloran, 3. Tayfun Buyukkopru, 5. Michael Beauchamp (C), 8. Dominic Hudap, 9. Gerard Ouffoue, 10. Christopher Gomez, 11. Huseyin Jasli, 12. Steven Veleski, 13. Dhari Alsaad, 14. Dean Bereveskos, 16. Kojiro Hori, 22. Kyohei Kimura, 23. Grant Lynch, 26. Nicholas Carosi
Coach: Leo Carle
Northern Tigers FC
1. Matt Nemes, 2. Russell Farrell, 3. W Foristal, 5. M Glanville, 7. Joel Hardwick, 9. Liam Mcconaghy, 10. Lucas Dawson (C), 11. Mitchell Smith, 13. J. Arima, 14. Julian Lim, 15. J Ward, 16. S Baveas, 17. C Rosano, 18. Z Morris, 20. Riley Keayes, (GK)
Yellow Cards: S Baveas
Coach: Steve Hurd
North Shore Mariners vs Mounties Wanderers, Sunday 24 April, 3pm, Northbridge Oval, Northbridge
NORTH SHORE MARINERS and Mounties Wanderers drew three-all at Northbridge Oval on Sunday, with the Mariners playing most of the second half a man short after the sending off of Ricky Woodward.
Mounties coach David Perkovic was very disappointed with his side’s performance.
“It’s disappointing, we didn’t play at all to be honest,” Perkovic told Football NSW. “They had a man sent off which made our performance even poorer.”
Mounties led 2-1 at halftime after Matthew West grabbed a brace and the Mariners equalised in the second half before taking advantage of some lax defending to lead 3-2. West equalised with his third goal but unfortunately for the Wanderers, they couldn’t find the winner.
“We played poorly away from home,” Perkovic said. “We’re not used to playing on such a short pitch. It wasn’t too bad in width but it’s very short. The positive was that although we played very poor at least we were able to score three goals and get a point. But I’m disappointed we didn’t take three points off ten men. To their credit, the Mariners really fought hard from the first whistle and deserved a point. We definitely had the chances but just weren’t good enough on the day.”
North Shore Mariners 3 (M Cole 2, J Mbakwe) Mounties Wanderers 3 (Matthew West 3)
North Shore Mariners
1. Anthony Zecchinati (GK), 3. Chris Lindsay, 6. Ricky Woodward, 7. Tadhg Purcell, 10. L. Everett, 12. Nicholas Chapman, 13. Marquin Smith, 14. Jake Mavin, 17. M. Cole, 19. Joseph Esposito, 20. Zac Sfiligoi, 23. J Mbakwe, 28. Gianni Fabbro
Yellow Cards: Chris Lindsay, Marquin Smith, Gianni Fabbro
Red Cards: Ricky Woodward
Coach: Joe Haywood
Mounties Wanderers FC
1. Daniel Sadaka (GK), 2. G Downey, 5. Patrick Gatt, 6. Aleksandar Tomic, 7. Neftali Gonzalez, 8. Emanuel Elali, 9. Matthew West, 11. Juan Chavez, 20. Reid Taylor, 22. Wade Oostendorp, 25. Christian Torrelli, 29. Jake Ingle, 30. James Stojcevski, 34. J Viera
Yellow Cards: Aleksandar Tomic, Emmanuel Elali, Matthew West, Wade Oostendorp, J Viera
Coach: David Perkovic
– By Derek Royal
