Round 6 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition continues to provide drama of all extremes with the completion of Round Six over the weekend.
Firstly, taking precedence over any football, on behalf of everyone involved in the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 3 competition and wider football community, we wish for the speedy recovery of Inter Lions goal keeper, Roberto Maiorana, who was injured in a collision in the 62nd minute of the match against Dunbar Rovers.
Eslewhere, Stanmore Hawks edged out Dulwich Hill at their dual home ground at Arlington, Rydalmere Lions accounted for Hawkesbury City on the back of a Matthew Mayora hatrick, Gladesville Ryde Magic beat Western NSW Mariners with a Chris Gaitatzis hatrick, whilst Scott Tonkin had the historians reaching for the record books at Wentworth Park after netting a remarkable six goals against his former club, the Balmain Tigers.
Garside Park was the venue for our featured match, late on Saturday afternoon, between Granville Rage and Hills Brumbies.
Granville Rage v Hills Brumbies
Hills Brumbies continued to live up to their tag as the NPL 3 entertainers when they overcame Granville Rage 5-4 in a goal fest at Garside Park on Saturday afternoon.
But it was the home side who started the brighter, and on 4 minutes, Tony Nadjovski got on the end of an Alistair McKie free kick at the far post, controlling well before smacking a half volley in to the roof of the Brumbies’ net to put the Rage in front.
Hills reacted vigorously, mounting numerous sweeping attacking movements, but the final decision was either lacking or it was thwarted by the Granville defence.
Parity was restored in the 11th minute, when Jordan Parfait whipped over a teasing far post cross that dipped over the head of keepr, Carl McMahon. Under extreme pressure from Hills’ flanker, Dongyong Heo, Rage defender, Stefan Vrankovic, could only divert the ball in to his own net from a yard out.
Granville were back in front in the 18th minute as the pendulum swung back in favour of the home side.
Alistair McKie beat a defender and made a flying run down in to space down the right wing. McKie sent over a brilliant cross for Daniel Bittar to head towards goal, only for Hills keeper, Kain Wallace to somehow parry from point blank range. Luke Mesiti was quickest to the rebound to stab home from a few yards and edge the Rage back in front.
Hills responded like only Hills know how, by throwing men forward in to attack. Another sweeping passing movement from right to left resulted in an alleged foul by Granville’s Daniel Bittar on Hills winger, Jordan Parfait, and amidst the cries of the home fans, the referee awarded a penalty to the visitors. Sean Mitchell stepped up confidently, dinking the ball down the middle to make the score 2-2 after 23 minutes.
The type of football being played was a credit to both sides, with some energetic tackling resulting in swift passing movements at both ends of the field.
Hills Brumbies weren’t quite finished yet in the first half, taking the lead in the 38th minute.
A cross by Heo ricocheted in to the path of Wade Giovenali, and he cracked a downward volley on the turn from inside the penalty area, the ball bouncing past Rage keeper, Carl McMahon, before nestling in the side netting inside the far post.
The second half started a lot more cautiously, the match being bogged down a little in a midfield battle as both teams tried to contain the opposition.
Granville Rage defender, Stefan Vrankovic, didn’t help his team’s plight, earning himself two yellow card cautions within six minutes either side of the hour mark, and Hills took advantage of the extra man and space.
Hills extended their lead in the 74th minute following a forceful run in to space by Sean Mitchell. Getting in and around the Granville defensive line, Mitchell hit a low ball across the face of goal where Peter Cejkaa was able to bundle the ball over the line from a few yards out.
It was Cejkaa’s seventh goal of the campaign, and was just reward for his role on the night as target man.
Granville pushed men forward to salvage something from the game, and Hills kept exploiting the extra space in the front third.
Jordan Parfait showed some neat footwork to get in behind down the left on 80 minutes, squaring an enticing ball across goal, only for hills substitute to somehow miss the target at the back stick.
Two minutes later Sean Mitchell was at it again, receiving and controlling the ball some 20 yards from goal, and unleashing a drive that flew past Granville keeper, Carl McMahon, to put Hills Brumbies 5-2 up.
To their credit, Granville Rage far from threw in the towel, and reduced the deficit twice in the closing stages.
Alistair McKie received the ball out on the left touchline, near the halfway, before slicing in field and slipping a superb pass in to space for Daniel Bortolazzo to run on to.
Bortolazzo rained in on goal, clipping an excellent shot over Hills keeper, Kane Wallace, to make it 3-5.
Hills went close to scoring a few minutes later when Mitchell put Morsillo into space and he returned the favour to Parfait, who’s point blank shot cracked against the post and out to safety.
Rage pulled yet another goal back two minutes in to injury time. Daniel Bittar whipped over a cross that had the Hills defence at sixes and sevens, and Dylan Stivala pounced on the loose ball to score from a few yards.
Alas, it was too little too late, and the match finished shortly afterwards, the fans certainly not disappointed with the entertainment dished up by the players.
Granville Rage showed plenty of spirit and played some good football, but need to display this over ninety minutes to be able to take home the spoils. The loss sees the Rage remain in 9th spot on the ladder on 5 points.
Alistair McKie was instrumental in attack, showing speed and skill to set up opportunities for his team mates, and delivered some effective set pieces; Daniel Bittar used his pace to effect on the right flank, his crossing especially dangerous for the Hills defence; Dylan Stivala showed some great touches in the centre of the park as he linked up with both defence and attack.
Hills Brumbies were a powerful force when on the front foot. Their transition from defence to attack as soon as they won possession was swift and effective, and they looked like scoring every time they ventured forward. The win puts them temporarily in second spot on the ladder, reflecting 15 points from 5 wins in the first six matches.
Sean Mitchell was best on ground, displaying a great vision to find a team mate early with some telling passes, always supporting the play in attack, and scored a brace of goals as rewards for his efforts.
Match Stats
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Six
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Garside Park, Granville
Referee – R.Nieuwanhuis
Assistant Referees – D.Zautsen and O.Lawton
GRANVILLE RAGE (2) 4 (Najdovski 4’, Mesiti 18’, Bortolazzo D. 84’, Stivala 90’ + 2’)
HILLS BRUMBIES (3) 5 (Vrankovic 11’ own goal, Mitchell 23’, W.Giovenali 38’, Cejkaa 74’, Mitchell 82’)
GRANVILLE RAGE; 1.C.McMahon, 7.D.Bittar, 10.J.Casey, 17.T.Kasunic (capt), 6.M.Luc, 8.A.McKie, 12.L.Mesiti, 4.S.Morris, 9.T.Najdovski, 18.D.Stivala, 5.S.Vrankovic.
Substitutes – 16.R.Abrahim, 11.D.Bortolazzo, 21.S.Bortolazzo, 15.D.Nelson.
Yellow Cards – 5.S.Vrankovic 57’ and 63’, 10.J.Casey 79’.
Red Cards – 5.S.Vrankovic 63’.
HILLS BRUMBIES; 1.K.Wallace, 7.W.Giovenali (2.P.Down 81’), 9.S.Mitchell, 11.D.Merrin (capt), 13.J.Maguire, 16.G.Giovenali, 18.P.Cejkaa, 19.G.Kelshaw, 53.J.Parfait, 56.M.Zarantonello, 58.D.Heo(10.D.Morsillo 79’), 6.B.Robertson, 21.P.Ferrara, 4.R.Faulkner.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
DULWICH HILL FC – STANMORE HAWKS FC 1-2
Saturday, May 7
Arlington Oval @ 7-00pm
Stanmore Hawks made it two wins on the bounce on Saturday night when they overcame Dulwich Hill at Arlington Oval in a tight encounter.
The goals for the Hawks came via Heo Wookbum and Michael Toscano, the youngster continuing his good form in recent weeks with yet another goal, his third of the season.
Tom Bentham replied for Dully, also his third goal in as many games, but it was to no avail as Stanmore took home the points.
Dulwich Hill remain in 10th spot on the ladder on 4 points, whilst Stanmore consolidate 5th spot by moving on to 12 points with 4 wins from six matches.
RYDALMERE LIONS SC – HAWKESBURY CITY SC 3-1
Saturday, May 7
Rydalmere Park @ 7-00pm
Rydalmere Lions keep on, keeping on as they made it six wins from as many matches on Saturday night at home to Hawkesbury City.
The star of the show for Rydalmere was burly striker, Matthew Mayora, who celebrated the birth of his child the day prior to the game in style.
Mayora and Hawkesbury’s Rodney Cormack traded goals in the first half to send both teams in at the break at 1-1.
But Mayora went on with it in the second half, scoring two more goals to grab a remarkable hatrick, his first goals of the season, and what a time to do it.
Hawkesbury remain in 11th spot on the ladder after the loss, whilst Rydalmere move to 18 points, three points ahead of their nearest rivals.
BALMAIN TIGERS FC – SYDNEY UNIVERSITY SFC 0-6
Sunday, May 8
Wentworth Park @ 3-00pm
Sydney University took Balmain Tigers to the cleaners on Sunday afternoon, kicking on in the second half to register a 6-0 victory.
I do not have access to all of the historical data for this level of football, but you would be hard pressed to locate a better personal performance than that of Sydney University’s striker, Scott Tonkin, who remarkably scored all six goals to register a unique double hatrick.
The opening goal of the match arrived on 20 minutes, involving a passing movement that finished with Domenic Di Mento squaring the ball across goal for Tonkin to tap in from a few yards.
The match was fairly evenly balanced during the opening stanza, although Balmain custodian, Gareth Jamieson, kept the Tigers in the contest with some expert saves, including a couple of goal bound headers from Uni defenders, Jay Wynter and Josh Karpes.
Once Balmain captain Andrew Casali received his marching orders early in the second half following his second caution of the match, Balmain lost their way and the ‘students’ took advantage of the extra personnel.
The second goal arrived on the hour mark, with Di Mento cutting it back for Rosario Occhipinti, who had the presence of mind to tee up Tonkin inside the box, his low left foot strike whistling in to the net.
Tonkin’s hatrick arrived moments later when he diverted a Johnny Gowdy shot away from Jamieson in the Balmain goal, again the initial work coming from a Di Mento pass.
Domenic Di Mento had a mortgage on the right wing all day, setting up goal number four on 72 minutes. Picking up a long punt from Uni’s goal keeper, Dan Conway, Di Mento reached the goal line before crossing to the far post where Tonkin was lurking, clinically despatching the ball to make it 4-0.
Sydney University were by now spreading the ball with aplomb, constructing team passing movements at will and showing unselfishness in the attacking third.
It was 5-0 with about ten minutes remaining, Tonkin blasting a left foot rifle from the edge of the box in to the roof of the net after Balmain half cleared a Will Donato cross.
Sydney University and Scott Tonkin brought up an even half dozen minutes later. Domenic Di Mento once again got around his man and reached the goal line, and with Occhipinti making a run to the near post to attract defenders, Di Mento cut the ball back to Tonkin, who slammed it home from the penalty spot.
The loss leaves Balmain Tigers in 8th spot on the ladder, whilst Sydney University have been catapulted in to 4th position with their fourth win of the season. The plaudits however must go to Scott Tonkin, his six goals in one game a truly memorable individual performance, capping off a resounding team display from Sydney University.
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC – WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC 4-1
Sunday, May 8
Magdala Park @ 4-30pm
Gladesville Ryde Magic accounted for Western NSW Mariners 4-1 late on Saturday afternoon at Magdala Park.
The Mariners had the better of the early exchanges, but couldn’t find a way past Magic keeper, Kyriakou Tohouroglou.
Somewhat against the run of play, Gladesville opened the scoring on 22 minutes, with Majid Eslami netting from an Adrian Cocaro cross.
The match remained evenly poised until the 52nd minute, at which point the first goal of four was scored within a ten minute spell.
Firstly it was Magic who doubled their lead. This time Eslami controlled the ball before laying it back to Cocaro, and his expert cross was headed in by Chris Gaitatzis for Cocaro’s second assist of the match.
The Mariners pulled a goal back with a long range strike from Lachlan Thomas on 56 minutes, but Gladesville responded almost immediately, with Gaitatzis latching on to a pass from Eslami to make it 3-1 in the 58th minute.
The same two players combined for Gladesville’s fourth goal on 61 minutes.
Majid Eslami was having a whale of a game and was involved in all the goals. This time he raced down the left flank before crossing for Gaitatzis to convert once more, the Magic skipper scoring his third goal of the game.
Despite a short floodlight failure in the 70th minute, the match resumed without any further action, and Magic hung on for a comfortable victory.
DUNBAR ROVERS FC – INTER LIONS SC 4-1 (match abandoned after 62 minutes)
Sunday, May 8
Hensley Athletic Field @ 7-00pm
The match between Dunbar Rovers and Inter Lions was abandoned on 62 minutes when Inter goal keeper, Roberto Maiorana, fell awkwardly in a collision and was taken to hospital.
On behalf of everyone involved in the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, Football NSW, and the wider football community, we would like to wish Roberto a speedy recovery to full health, and hope to see his goalkeeping prowess back on the pitch in the very near future.
SIDENOTE: With full respect to Roberto Maiorana, the much prior to the incident saw Dunbar Rovers lead 4-1 after the teams were locked at 1-1 at half time. James Hems scored for Dunbar on debut after just 6 minutes, whilst Clayton Musumeci responded for Inter just five minutes later with a long range drive.
Two goals to Andrew Green in the 47th and 51st minutes and a fourth goal to Alexander Nicolosi gave Dunbar a commanding lead before the match was abandoned.
Stay tuned to Football NSW for details about the outcome of the match.
