Round 16 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Some interesting results eventuated following the completion of Round Sixteen of the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, with no less than five away wins registered across the six matches.
Inter Lions made it six points in four days with a narrow victory at Bathurst against the Mariners, Hawkesbury continued their run by overcoming Granville at Garside, Rydalmere Lions overcame a stubborn Gladesville Ryde Magic to climb in to second spot on the ladder, Sydney University beat Dunbar Rovers by the solitary goal, whilst Balmain Tigers and Stanmore Hawks shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.
Our feature match between a determined Dulwich Hill and a clinical Hills Brumbies was full of goal mouth action and kept the fans entertained on Saturday night.
Dulwich Hill started enthusiastically in the opening quarter of an hour on Saturday night, eager to get on the front foot against the league leaders and not allow Hills time to settle in to the match.
Dully were pressing across the middle of the park, working hard in closing the ball carrier, and could’ve even taken the lead on 6 minutes when Hayden Pronin cracked an angled effort on goal, only for Hills keeper, Joshus Stancic, to save comfortably down low.
But Hills Brumbies weathered the early storm, and slowly started to make their own inroads in to the match, especially down the right flank. A number of swift passing movements found them in space in the right channel, but Dully were working hard to restrict the balls in to the box.
Hills did break through on 24 minutes, despite the brave efforts of Dully keeper, Domenic Badolato. A loose ball across the penalty area was scooped towards goal by Daine Merrin, Badolato diving to his left to parry the shot. Hills’ Donyong Heo was quickest to react to the rebound, but Badolato parried once again, only this time, the ball ricocheted off Heo and trickled over the line and in to the net.
Heo was causing all sorts of problems in the right channel with his quick feet, and he almost found the net again in the 32nd minute, letting fly from fully 25 yards, his rifle diverted by the ever alert Badolato in the Dully goal.
Dulwich Hill responded on 36 minutes with a run started and almost ended by Aaron Pessego. The midfielder intercepted the ball on the halfway line before continuing his run in to the box, where he received a return ball and fired a shot on goal that was well saved by Hills keeper, Joshua Stancic.
Hills then made it 2-0 on 38 minutes with an exquisite goal, Jordan Parfait exchanging passes with Peter Cejkaa before running on to the ball straight down the middle of the penalty area, stroking it past the onrushing Badolato without a hand laid on him.
Hills had some wind in their sails at this point, and were pushing the ball around with precision and speed.
Glen Kelshaw should’ve extended the lead in the 39th minute, heading straight in to the arms of Dully keeper, Badolato, after a great cross by Heo, before Heo did in fact just that, making it 3-0 with a deft flick at the near post following a dangerous near post free kick from Sean Mitchell.
Hills Brumbies looked to be cruising at this stage with a few minutes to go in the first half, but as has been the case this season, they have a tendency to switch off at times, and could easily have conceded two goals before the break.
They did concede one, in the 44th minute – Dully striker Hayden Pronin smacked home the rebound after his initial shot came back off the post when he was through on goal.
Pronin had a great chance to score again in first half injury time, again finding himself through on goal, but this time Hills keeper, Stancic, parried well to retain his side’s two goal advantage.
The second half was just as entertaining as the first, with Dully trying valiantly to get themselves back in to the match, full knowing of the strength in Hills’ counter attacking play.
Just before the hour mark, Dully’s James Duvcevski, needlessly brought down Hills striker, Peter Cejkaa, near the corner of the penalty area, conceding a penalty. Cejkaa dusted himself off before slotting home the spot kick for his 26th goal of the campaign, putting the Brumbies 4-1 up.
Dulwich Hill kept at it, and were almost rewarded in the 61st minute but for a brilliant double save from Hills keeper, Joshua Stancic.
Dully’s Aaron Pessego connected firmly with a far post cross, only for Stancic to react brilliantly, getting down low to parry the effort, before diverting the follow up shot from Tobias Elliott-Orr.
Dulwich Hill did make it 4-2 in the 70th minute with the strike of the match. Left back, Mitchell Lensink, was hovering some 5 metres outside the box, when a Dully corner found its way through a crowd of players. Lensink steadied himself before firing a superb left foot bullet inside the far post side netting, almost tearing the net off the goalposts.
Realising their lead was now in real danger of being reduced further, Hills Brumbies simply turned up the switches and finished the match with a real flurry of activity in the attacking third.
Glen Kelshaw went through on goal on 74 minutes, but Dully custodian, Domenic Badolato, saved well in a one-on-one, whilst Hills’ team mate, Jordan Parfait, sliced an effort wide from a few yards when he too got in behind the square Dully defence a minute later.
Hills did make it 5-2 in the 84th minute, Peter Cejkaa this time racing in to face Badolato before squaring unselfishly for Parfait to slam in to an open net.
Five became six in the 89th minute, Sean Mitchell playing a one-two with Cejkaa before stabbing his shot past Badolato, just as he fell to the ground under pressure from a challenge.
Referee, Tim Danaskos, who had allowed the game to flow with minimal stoppages and plenty of advantage play, brought a halt to proceedings shortly afterwards, much to the delight of the travelling contingent.
Dulwich Hill have had a tough time of it lately, but despite the end result, showed enough in this match to suggest they will not succumb easily, with plenty of effort and work across the park. Mitchell Lensink was again a force down the left, strong in defence, supportive in attack with some telling left foot crosses, and scored a bomb of a goal to boot; Shivan Swamy played an effective link role in centre midfield, showing himself in support for his team mates, and displaying some neat close ball skills; keeper Domenic Badolato made some great saves in a beaten side, and without his efforts the score line would’ve been a lot bigger.
Hills Brumbies would be content with the night’s work, turning it on when needed and coming away with three points and six goals. Striker Peter Cejkaa played a very effective number nine, using his strength to hold the ball up well, assisting in three goals and scoring one himself after he was brought down for a penalty; Dongyong Heo was a menace all night on the flank, sharp with his runs, tricky with the ball at his feet, and rewarded with a brace of goals; captain Tom Brandon was solid in central defence, composed on the ball and marshalled his defensive line well in the face of Dully’s attacks.
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Sixteen
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Referee – Tim Danaskos
Assistant Referees – Stephen Ellsmore and Darrin Richards
DULWICH HILL 2 (Pronin 44’, Lensink 70’)
HILLS BRUMBIES 6 (Heo 24’/42’, Parfait 38’/84’, Cejkaa 58’, Mitchell 89’)
DULWICH HILL; 1.D.Badolato, 4.V.Koutsoufis (3.J.Maruca 62’), 6.A.Pessego, 8.A.Yin, 11.H.Pronin (31.H.Bamba 62’), 16.T.Elliott-Orr, 17.J.Duvcevski (capt), 18.M.Lensink, 19.J.Townsend, 21.S.Swamy, 22.N.Lopino (2.H.Brown 72’).
Substitutes Not Used – 25.L.Maniakas, 26.M.Trinco.
Yellow Cards – 4.V.Koutsoufis 53’, 22.N.Lopino 64’.
Red Cards – Nil
HILLS BRUMBIES; 20.J.Stancic, 4.R.Faulkner, 5.T.Brandon (capt), 58.D.Heo (37.N.Dimitriadis 82’), 17.B.Hoyer, 19.G.Kelshaw (7.W.Giovenali 78’), 9.S.Mitchell, 11.D.Merrin, 18.P.Cejkaa, 53.J.Parfait, 56.M.Zarantonello.
Substitutes Not Used –1.K.Wallace, 10.D.Morsillo, 33.B.Rodriguez.
Yellow Cards – 56.M.Zarantonello 71’, 5.T.Brandon 75’, 19.G.Kelshaw 78’, 37.N.Dimitriadis 85’.
Red Cards – Nil
WESTERN NSW MARINERS FC – INTER LIONS SC 1-2
Saturday, July 16
Proctor Park @ 5-00pm
Inter Lions have catapulted themselves well and truly in to the semi-final mix following their 2-1 away victory over the Western NSW Mariners in Bathurst on Saturday afternoon.
Inter were coming in to this match on the back of their 2-1 win on Wednesday night in a rescheduled match against Hawkesbury City, and made it six points across four days with this triumph.
Inter started the more sprightly and took an early two goal lead courtesy of Adam Funari, and skipper, Lachlan Wright. The goal was Wright’s sixth of the season, and he is having a stellar season in the centre of the park for Inter, combining the challenges of coaching with playing and still having plenty to offer on the park.
The Mariners regrouped and began to make a fist of proceedings, but found it difficult to penetrate a determined Inter backline, riding their own luck at the other end as Inter tried to put the game to bed on the counter attack.
Mariners’ captain, Adam Scimone, did eventually score for the home side, converting a cut back from Nathan Davis in the final minutes, but that was all she wrote, and the visitors grabbed the spoils.
The three points sees Inter Lions climb to 22, still in 7th position, but they are now well in what promises to be a real arm wrestle with both Gladesville Ryde Magic and Sydney University for a finals position.
GRANVILLE RAGE – HAWKESBURY CITY SC 0-2
Saturday, July 16
Garside Park @ 7-00pm
Hawkesbury City continued their positive run of form in the second round of the NPL3 competition with a workmanlike 2-0 away victory over Granville Rage on Saturday night.
Players took a while to adjust to the tricky surface, but the Rage settled the better, with Daniel Bittar and Alistair McKie having an early impact for the home side.
Granville looked to have taken the lead midway through the half, with Hawkesbury keeper, Daniel Schwarzer, diverting a Jess Casey effort on to the cross bar to keep his goal intact.
The visitors held firm and in fact took the lead five minutes before the break, the burly figure of Michael McCrory getting just rewards for his efforts with a clinical goal.
Granville increased the ante after the break, pushing harder, especially towards the end of the ninety minutes, but the Hawks won a penalty near the end, with Terry Pannowitz converting to seal the points.
The win and subsequent three points sees Hawkesbury City climb above Granville Rage and in to 8th spot, and with six games remaining, can now start to consider the distinct possibility of semi-final football if they keep this sort of focus up until the end of the season.
DUNBAR ROVERS FC – SYDNEY UNIVERSITY SFC 0-1
Sunday, July 17
Hensley Athletic Field @ 3-00pm
Sydney University completed the double over Dunbar Rovers when they grabbed the spoils in a narrow win at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday afternoon.
But it was Dunbar who had the better of the first period, almost scoring on a number of occasions, including a Michael Sealy effort which was deflected onto the cross bar by Uni skipper, Tommy Hyde, who was guarding on the goal line.
Sydney Uni keeper, Carl McMahon, was called in to action a few times to repel the Dunbar attack, thwarting long range shots from David Desmond, Robbie Deasy and Sean Burke as the home side kept their foot on the pedal.
The ‘students’ came in to the match moreso towards the half time break, firstly when Scott Tonkin got in behind the defence, drew Dunbar’s keeper, Stephen Deasy, and squared for Rosario Occhipinti, whose shot on goal was desperately cleared from a retreating Dunbar defender.
On the stroke of half time Sydney University got the solitary goal that eventually won them the match.
Johnny Gowdy sent in a free kick to the back stick, where Domenic Di Mento was waiting, cutting it back for the lurking Scott Tonkin who smacked it home from a few yards.
Dunbar Rovers threw everything at Sydney University in the second half, but the students were happy to sit back and absorb the pressure. The closest Dunbar came to scoring was from a Robbie Deasy free kick which struck the woodwork, but the clock wound down and the visitors held on for the win.
The loss sees Dunbar slip from second to fourth, whilst the three points were welcome for Sydney University, climbing back in to the top five at the expense of Gladesville Ryde Magic.
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC – RYDALMERE LIONS SC 1-3
Sunday, July 17
Magdala Park @ 3-00pm
Rydalmere Lions continued their recent form by grabbing another three points on Sunday afternoon at the expense of Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Amaury Gauthier got things under way for the Lions, finding space on three minutes to shoot low past Magic custodian, Kyriakos Tohouroglou.
But Gladesville Ryde Magic were back on level terms in the 15th minute, when they were awarded a penalty after Chris Tomaras got his heels clipped after being put in to space by Joel Carter. Captain Chris Gaitatzis converted from the spot with his 12th goal of the season.
Gauthier restored Rydalmere’s lead on the half hour with an expert execution. Finding space on the left hand side of the penalty area, Gauthier cut the ball back on to his right foot before shooting past Tohouroglou to edge the Lions 2-1 in front.
It took Rydalmere the entire second half to put the game to bed, and it was that man Gauthier, who was the catalyst, passing for Lloyd Owusu to make it 3-1.
Their first loss in six games sees Gladesville Ryde Magic drop out the top five, whilst Rydalmere’s resurgence continues, the win seeing the Lions hurdle both Dunbar Rovers and Stanmore Hawks in to second place on the competition ladder, with a game in hand on both clubs.
BALMAIN TIGERS FC – STANMORE HAWKS FC 2-2
Sunday, July 17
Wentworth Park @ 3-00pm
Balmain Tigers upset the applecart somewhat when they managed to hold the high flying Stanmore Hawks to a 2-2 draw at Wentworth Park on Sunday afternoon.
Furthermore, Balmain in fact took a 2-0 lead in the first half after a blistering opening to the game, taking the game to the visitors and eager to grab a long overdue victory.
But Stanmore came storming out of the sheds after the break, reducing the deficit via Neil Philippou on 65 minutes, before Steve Liavas had his effort tipped over the crossbar moments later.
Heo Wookbum equalised by converting a penalty for Stanmore on 75 minutes after Michael Toscano was brought down, and the Hawks almost stole it in the final minute, Peter Yannopoulos’ effort crashing back off the cross bar.
The point sees Balmain climb to 10 points, equal with Dulwich Hill, whilst Stanmore move to 33 points, behind Rydalmere in second but climbing above Dunbar Rovers.
