Round 14 Review – State League Men’s

St. George FA and Hurstville FC continue to surge ahead, in what is proving an extremely tight competition atop the table.

Meanwhile, Gazy Auburn FC pulled off the shock of Round 14 with a win away to the Wagga City Wanderers.

Match of the Round – Hurstville FC vs. Bankstown United FC: 3-1.

Second placed Hurstville FC took on fourth placed Bankstown United this weekend, in a scintillating clash which saw Hurstville come from behind to claim a vital three points.

The chilly afternoon air did not stop either side from racing out of the blocks, with quick end-to-end football characterising the opening fifteen minutes.

The visitors were the first to capitalise on the open nature of play, striking from a quick counter attack which saw Andrede Dogo finish superbly.

Hurstville responded positively and began to dictate the pace of play, holding on to the ball more collectedly. Before halftime, they found an equaliser thanks to a well timed header from Marko Banic. Paul Gagro added to his impressive assists tally this season, finding Banic’s head from a corner.

The home side carried momentum into half-time and came out firing in the second period; they established a firm grip on the centre of midfield, distributing forwards along the wings. Bankstown sat deeper and more compact in response, looking to defend as resolutely as they have become renowned for this season.

They could not resist Hurstville’s pressure however, chopping down Denis Cutura in the box and conceding a penalty. Cutura stepped up to the spot and made no mistake in putting his team ahead.

It would be Cutura and Gagro to step up once more to finish off Bankstown United. Cutura picked up the ball in the middle of the park and burst forward, weaving through multiple United players before cutting the ball across to Gagro for a regulation finish.

The win sees Hurstville maintain parity with St. George for points atop the table, in a neck-to-neck race that shows no signs of slowing down.

Match Stats

Hurstville FC                                        3 (Banic, Cutura and Gagro)

Bankstown United                               1 (Dogo)

Saturday, 2 July

Heffron Park

Hurstville FC: 11. M. Abaid, 4. M. Banic, 8. D. Borovickic,16. R. Bronev, 9. D. Cutura, 10. P. Gagro, 6. A. Harb, 5. M. Harding, 12. A. Livio, 13. S. Malinverno, 7. D. Marjanovic, 1. M. Rutherford.

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Bankstown United FC: D. Andrade, S. Belgre, A. Biernat, K. Elborough, M. Harrison K. Hayashi, L. Jones, T. Markovski, D. Mercuri, J. Miladinovic, R. Mongan, H. Morhi, T. Naruse, R. Orahim, M. Pedras.

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Round Summaries

University of NSW vs. St. George FA: 1-6.

St. George FA have continued their unstoppable form, with a huge win over the University of NSW away from home this weekend.

Nevertheless, the utterly one-sided scoreline was not entirely representative of the game – which was actually tied 1-1 at half time. A completely dominant second half performance saw St. George score five goals.

Coach Manny Spanoudakis says that his team started very poorly and were sluggish, despite a very good goal from James Spanoudakis, who thundered the ball in from the edge of the box.

“We gave them a very soft equaliser due to poor concentration and an individual error… I had a very frank chat with the boys at half time and thankfully they responded and dominated the second half.”

“It was a very good win at the end of the day, however the start and the soft goal was disappointing.”

If their tight competition with Hurstville FC continues, then this result may well provide some essential positive goal difference for St. George. 

Wagga City Wanderers FC vs. Gazy Auburn FC: 1-2.

The Wagga City Wanderers have been shocked this weekend, beaten by a previously last placed Gazy Auburn FC.

The home side will have seen this fixture as a massive opportunity to push for the top six, and will be devastated with the result.

It was a feisty affair, which saw ten yellow cards and two red cards between the two sides; the Wanderers finished the game with nine players, following the dismissal of Kai Wilson and Scott Dunn.

The game was levelled for most of the ninety minutes, thanks to goals from Gazy’s André Sebastiani and Wagga’s Scott Dunn. A late strike from Gabriel Zihori saw Auburn come away with a morale-boosting victory.

Wagga City Wanderers coach Andrew Douglas says that his side can’t use the red cards as an excuse, believing his boys should have still won.

“We created plenty of opportunities in front of goal, but failed to capitalise. We will go back to the drawing board this week and refocus.”

Nepean FC vs. Western Condors FC: 3-4.

Two of the competition’s dark horses provided a spectacle worthy of their potential this weekend, ultimately seeing the Western Condors narrowly overcome Nepean FC.

The Western Condors are a team known for their steely defence, but Nepean FC were well up to the challenge of breaking them down. The visitors, however, were able to dig deep and more than match Nepean’s attacking efforts.

Nepean scored thanks to strikes from Clement Waoci, Akwasi Agyei and Charles William; however, were not aided by the latter’s sending off after collecting two yellow cards.

Mauricio Navarrete was the hero for the Western Condors, scoring a game winning hat trick that was complemented by a goal from Hugo Coronel.

SD Raiders FC vs. Prospect United: 3-1.

The SD Raiders FC continue their winning streak with an important win over Prospect United this weekend.

The victory was not as routine as the scoreline suggests however, as the Raiders had Mark D’Alessandro and Mirza Sehic each given straight red cards in the first half. Prospect went into the break with a 1-0 lead against a nine man Raiders.

It was attacking duo Mark Symington and Mitchell Mclintock who continued to produce the goods for Southern Districts, with the league’s best attacking combination scoring three goals in the second half to salvage a win out of seemingly nowhere.

Prospect coach John Caruana laments what was a “very poor” second half, where his team did not show up to the races. Caruana says that they have to “just keep being positive”, as this result gets added to a long list of disappointments this season.

Hurstville City Minotaurs vs. Camden Tigers FC: 0-3.

The Camden Tigers pulled no punches against a weak Hurstville City Minotaurs, convincingly coming away with all three points from a must-win game.

Camden’s three goals came by way of Jayden Russell, Alex Bullow and Joey Mandous; the side’s free-flowing attacking football was complemented by resolute defending and a well deserved clean sheet.

The Tigers will no doubt see this game as an important turning point, as they look to build a run of form into the Finals. They’ve now leap frogged Wagga City into sixth place, and won’t want to let the Wanderers back into contention.

-by Daniel Palmer, Football NSW State League Men’s Reporter