Round 10 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Mother Nature had the biggest impact on the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition over the weekend, with excessive rain causing the postponement of no less than four of the six scheduled matches.
The four games that were postponed were;
HAWKESBURY CITY – STANMORE HAWKS @ David Bertenshaw Field
RYDALMERE LIONS – INTER LIONS @ Rydalmere Park
GRANVILLE RAGE – DUNBAR ROVERS @ Garside Park
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC – SYDNEY UNIVERSITY @ Magdala Park
Stay tuned to the following Football NSW website link for details of the rescheduled fixtures.
http://www.foxsportspulse.com/comp_info.cgi?c=1-10179-0-401882-0&pool=0&round=0&a=ROUND
In the two remaining matches that went ahead, Hills Brumbies grabbed all the points on the road by trouncing Western NSW Mariners in Mudgee, whilst the artificial surface at Arlington Oval was the scene of our feature match as Dulwich Hill welcomed the visit of the Balmain Tigers.
Balmain Tigers produced a performance full of desire and energy on Saturday night to dominate Dulwich Hill all over the park, on their way to a resounding 4-1 victory at Arlington Oval.
It was a blistery, cold evening with a fluctuating wind making it difficult for either team to put their foot on the ball, but it was evident that the Tigers had come to play given their energy and effort in the early stages of the game.
Balmain started to make inroads in the attacking third, and in fact, you would be forgiven if you thought the match was turning into a duel between Dulwich Hill goal keeper, Michael Frost, and Balmain’s central striker, Marcelo Turdera, given the amount of times the Dully shot stopper thwarted the Italian number nine.
Turdera’s first chance came on 11 minutes, and he would’ve been disappointed to head over from point blank range given Frank Calcagno had managed to whip over a superb cross from the left flank.
Swaray Kamara made a great run down the left wing for Balmain in the 16th minute before finding Turdera with a low cross in to the box. The Balmain striker controlled and turned in one motion before cracking a low shot that was gobbled up by Dully keeper, Michael Frost.
Dulwich Hill finally responded with their first real attempt at goal on 19 minutes.
James Townsend made a run down the right wing before knocking over a cross that eluded everyone. Left back, Mitchell Lensink, continued his run in the left channel and met the ball just inside the penalty area, his first time angled blast ending inches wide as it hit the near post side-netting.
Turdera and Frost resumed their battle in the 25th minute, the Dully keeper reacting brilliantly to divert a low shot with his finger tips, just as Turdera was starting to wonder whether it was going to be his day or not.
He needn’t worry much longer, however, when he latched on to a loose ball in the penalty area on 28 minutes to tap in to an empty net. The opportunity came about following Michael Frost’s collision with a group of players as he attempted to clear a dangerous free kick sent in from Balmain’s Abdul Khaliq Mohseni.
Dulwich Hill responded with some increased activity, but failed to penetrate the Balmain backline. The Tigers, in fact, weathered the mild storm, and doubled their advantage in the 38th minute with a brilliantly executed counter attack.
Marcelo Turdera was released just past the half way line in the right channel, and holding it up for a few seconds, managed to slip a ball in to space for Frank Calcagno to run on to behind the Dully defence.
As Calcagno angled in on goal, no one would’ve blamed him if he tried a shot, but instead, the midfielder had the presence of mind to clip the ball over the on rushing Michael Frost and square in to the path of Richard Stirrup.
With the goal at his mercy and no Dully player in sight, Stirrup simply couldn’t miss, and he stroked it home to give the Tigers a valuable 2-0 lead going in to the break.
Hayden Pronin entered the fray off the Dully bench at half time, and the big striker almost reduced the arrears in the 61st minute, heading firmly and low from a curling George Lagoudakis cross. Balmain’s substitute keeper, Liam McClosky, got down low to clasp the ball firmly in his hands on the goal line.
Only sixty seconds later and Balmain virtually wrapped up proceedings with the best goal of the match.
Raffaele Moniaci had entered the arena on 49 minutes for the unfortunate Swaray Kamara, who had been having a brilliant game in midfield for the visitors.
Moniaci received the ball outside the left corner of the penalty area in the 62nd minute, before he cut inside a couple of defenders and unleashed a drive that flew in to the far top left hand corner of Michael Frost’s net, extending Balmain’s lead to 3-0.
It really had become a frantic few minutes of football, as Dulwich Hill responded themselves almost immediately to reduce the deficit.
Hayden Pronin latched on to a ball played in to the box, clipping past the onrushing Balmain substitute keeper, Liam McClosky, before lifting the ball in to the net as he fended off the challenge of a defender.
The substitute striker had to work hard for the goal, but at 1-3, had seemingly given his side a life line.
That lifeline went out the window in the 78th minute, when Richard Stirrup lofted the ball over Michael Frost in the Dully goal from inside the penalty area, having received and controlled a great cross from Abdul Khaliq Mohseni without a Dully defender in sight.
Dully’s Tom Bentham, who had scored in the club’s previous six matches in succession, almost made it seven on the trot in the 85th minute, blasting a volley from the edge of the box inches wide of the upright after a corner was half cleared to him.
But that was all the home team could muster, and Balmain took home a well-deserved three points.
It was a disappointing day all round for Dulwich Hill, having lost the earlier grades, and they simply didn’t show up at the races in first grade. They were out enthused for the best part of the match, and when they did attack, found it difficult to penetrate and muster any real danger to the Balmain goal. Mitchell Lensink was Dully’s best until he was substituted, his strength in the tackle and in the air evident throughout, and he often linked up well down the left side whenever his team were on the attack; Michael Frost showed why he is a highly regarded goal keeper at this level, repelling many Balmain attacks, and keeping his side in the game for long spells in the first half; skipper George Lagoudakis tried valiantly to get his team moving, tenacious in the tackle and linking well in attack, but most of his efforts were in vain.
Balmain Tigers were good value for their win, and displayed a real desire to do the small things consistently well. They were first to the second ball, they were sharp to provide options for the ball carrier, and were quick to release before Dully could pinch the ball. The win and subsequent three points lifts Balmain Tigers above Dulwich Hill on the competition ladder to 9th spot, climbing to 9 points.
Best for Balmain in an all round solid team performance were; Abdul Khaliq Mohseni showed quick feet and nice technique in the left mid position, ably supporting in attack and quick to help out in defence; Swaray Kamara was sharp when in and also out of possession, only succumbing to an injury before being substituted early in the second half but by then he had contributed to helping his team gain a solid lead; Frank Calcagno was busy throughout, working hard to make the most of every attack as he offered support and linked well with the ball carrier.
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Ten
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Arlington Oval
Referee – D.Horstead
Assistant Referees – A.Beckett and M.Johari
DULWICH HILL FC (0) 1 (Pronin 63’)
BALMAIN TIGERS FC (2) 4 (Turdera 28’, Stirrup 38’ / 73’, Moniaci 62’)
DULWICH HILL; 1.M.Frost, 9.T.Bentham, 2.H.Brown, 27.A.Chance, 16.T.Elliott-Orr (23.J.Radas 76’), 7.G.Lagoudakis (capt), 18.M.Lensink (10.S.Hrysanthos 72’), 22.N.Lopino (11.H.Pronin 46’), 8.A.Pessego, 15.A.Savetta, 19.J.Townsend.
Substitutes Not Used – 25.L.Maniakas
Yellow Cards – 2.H.Brown 26’.
Red Cards – Nil
BALMAIN TIGERS; 1.G.Jamieson (45.L.McClosky 57’), 15.F.Calcagno (19.M.Wada 72’), 20.H.Carvalho (capt), 6.D.Grasso, 26.S.Kamara (7.R.Moniaci 49’), 5.T.Kamon, 12.A.Kosoko, 21.T.Machisa, 23.A.Mohseni, 22.R.Stirrup, 9.M.Turdera.
Substitutes Not Used – 4.Y.Takayashi, 14.J.Di Biase.
Yellow Cards – 6.D.Grasso 45’, 22.Stirrup 90’.
Red Cards – Nil
WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC – HILLS BRUMBIES SC 0-8
Saturday, June 4
Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee @ 5-00pm
Hills Brumbies made light work of the Western NSW Mariners on Saturday afternoon, picking up the three points in a canter courtesy of an 8-0 whitewash.
The superb surface of the Glen Willow Stadium was conducive to the swift, sweeping football played by the Brumbies, and they took the Mariners apart, scoring five goals by half time, and another three after the break.
Greg Giovenali and Sean Mitchell snared a brace of goals each, whilst the other scorers on the night were Bradley Robertson, Peter Cejkaa, Dongyong Heo and Nikolas Dimitriadis.
With none of the chasing pack taking the field this weekend because of the waterlogged pitches elsewhere, Hills have extended their lead at the summit to 4 points, and have now racked up an impressive 43 goals in the ten matches played, an average of over 4 goals per match.
