Round 21 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s
Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC have maintained their positions at the head of the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition with strong wins over Fraser Park and Bankstown Berries respectively.
Hatricks were the order of the night too with Kyle Cimenti and Brenton Fox each scoring three times in the Wanderers’ 6-3 win while Bai Antoniou did likewise for Sydney FC.
Marconi weren’t going to miss out on any of the action either, with Mirjan Pavlovic also scoring three in a 5-0 defeat of Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
Match of the Round
Marconi v Central Coast Mariners
Marconi could not have wished for a better performance and result heading into next week’s Westfield FFA Cup clash, with a 5-0 victory over a young Central Coast Mariners.
The Stallions dominated the proceedings for much of the match and almost had the perfect start inside thirty seconds when Sam Perre was on the end of a quick buildup, and neat passing. But his shot lacked sufficient power to beat Adam Pearce and the Mariners were saved some initial blushes.
The Mariners, somewhat reduced with regular players such as Nathan Verity, Adam Berry, Joshua Forbes, Cade Mapu and Trent Buhagiar all absent for varying reasons, settled after that opening scare and defended sharply against a hotshot Marconi who created a fair few opening chances but didn’t finish. Perre had another header which flashed over midway through the first half while Sean Rooney tried an audacious strike from distance, attempting to score over an advanced Pearce and wasn’t too far away from doing so.
But try as they might, Marconi couldn’t break through a solid Mariners defence and just when it looked like the visitors may go into the sheds even stevens, Mirjan Pavlovic had other ideas. With literally the last touch of the half, Pavlovic got the better of his defender, turned and created sufficient space to choose his spot. Pearce had no chance from such close range.
Within just a couple of minutes of the resumption, Cooper Buswell almost got the Mariners on level terms, finding himself unmarked inside the area, with a deep freekick perfectly struck. But his first time effort flew over the bar.
It might have proven to be a warning for Marconi who quickly got back into stride, with Raimond Colletta testing Pearce with a well driven shot, drawing an equally impressive save. Four minutes after that, Matthew Lee bore down on Chad Taylor, again a chance for the Mariners, but his strike crashed against Taylor’s legs.
That was pretty much it from Central Coast, who after going a second goal down to a Pavlovic penalty, awarded after Rooney was fouled in the box, rarely tested Taylor from then on.
It became 3-0 after Pavlovic scored his hatrick, working his way into space once more, before striking past Pearce, the ball seemingly hitting a divot at an inopportune time for the keeper.
Marconi continued to dominate for the rest of the game, and threaten with each attack. Pavlovic turned provided for Rooney, using his strength to win the ball deep in the Mariners half before finding Rooney in space on the far side. Rooney had time to control before striking past Pearce, for 4-0.
The comfortable lead allowed recently appointed coach Tony Candy to utilise his bench, bringing on Noah Chianese for Perre, and Chianese didn’t waste his opportunity. With four minutes to go, Rooney chipped neatly to the near post, where the substitute swiftly headed in for goal number five.
The Stallions, with a strong victory under their belts, now look forward to Hume City on Wednesday.
Marconi 5 (Mirjan Pavlovic 45’, 61’ pen, 66’, Sean Rooney 77’, Noah Chianese 86’) v Central Coast Mariners 0
Sunday 24 July 2016
at Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park
Referee: Adrian Arndt
Assts: Cameron Wright and Toby Plastro
Marconi: 1. Chad Taylor 2. Jarrod Ross 4. Simon Valastro (18. Brandon Vella 65’) 5. Peter Pelekanos 6. Raimond Coletta 7. Mirjan Pavlovic 8. Sean Rooney 10. Marko Jesic (9. Kenta Hasegawa 79’) 11. Sam Perre (16. Noah Chianese 71’) 17. Steven Drewery 23. Christopher Nunes (c).
Subs not used: 21. Kristian Setkukoski 24. Christopher Godoy-Boscur
Yellow cards: Nil
Coach: Tony Candy
Central Coast Mariners: 1. Adam Pearce 3. Reece Papadimitrios 4. Zachary Thomas 5. Matthew Lee 7. Lachlan Wales (14. Sean Pratt 84’) 8. Thomas Lyons (13. Peter Kekeris 66’) 9. Shelford Dais 10. Ryan Peterson (c) 11. Chris Hurley (12. Jordan Lane 79’) 15. Cooper Buswell 18. Steve Whyte.
Subs not used: 20. Thomas Heward-Belle 2. Jordan Bennett
Yellow Cards: Ryan Peterson
Coach: Ben Cahn
Western Sydney Wanderers v Fraser Park
The league leaders maintained their position at the top of the ladder, but not before being given a fright by Fraser Park, in a tempestuous match at Blacktown Football Park.
Two goals inside sixty seconds put the Wanderers into an early lead after a quarter of an hour, the first after Kyle Cimenti slotted away a pass from Tariq Maia, before Brenton Fox doubled the lead moments later.
But any thoughts that the Wanderers may have had that this might be a “run of the mill” result were extinguished when Fraser Park turned that two goal deficit into a 3-2 lead before the half was out.
Nikola Todoroski brought Fraser back into it in the 22nd minute and then Peter Crevani drew the visitors level just four minutes later. The goals didn’t stop there either as Nathan Sansom struck superbly to put Fraser in front five minutes before half time.
But the Wanderers earned an equaliser of their own after Remy Najjarine was fouled in the area, with Cimenti converting for a 3-3 half time score.
Despite their best efforts, and without doubt the form team of the competition, Fraser were unable to go on with it in the second period, with the Wanderers running in a further three goals, with Cimenti and Fox each ending with a hatrick. Fox put the Wanderers back in front in the 57th, before Cimenti notched his third, again from the spot, a minute later.
Fox then completed his hatrick four minutes from time.
Western Sydney Wanderers 6 (Kyle Cimenti 12’, pen 44’, pen 58’, Brenton Fox 13’, 57’, 86’) v Fraser Park 3 (Nikola Todoroski 22’, Peter Crevani 26’, Nathan Sansom 40’)
Sydney FC v Bankstown Berries
Sydney FC has maintained the pressure on the Wanderers putting behind them the shock of last week’s defeat, to comprehensively defeat Bankstown Berries 5-1 at Lambert Park.
The Sky Blues hit a couple before half time with Bai Antoniou getting the first, and Juan Zapata doubling the lead three minutes before the break.
Unlike last week however, where Sydney FC gave up a similar lead, this time there was no such collapse. Zapata continued where he left off, scoring his second of the night four minutes after the restart, sliding home a William Mutch cross, before Antoniou did likewise, stretching the scoreline out to 4-0 before the hour, again after a Mutch assist.
Yianni Spyrakis received a second yellow a few moments later, reducing the home side to ten but it had little effect on play. While the Berries did bring one goal back through Tai Smith, the four goal buffer was restored when Antoniou completed his hatrick with three minutes to go.
Sydney FC 5 (Bai Antoniou 31’, 57’, 87’, Juan Zapata 42’, 49’) v Bankstown Berries 1 (Tai Smith 85’)
Mount Druitt Town Rangers v St George
St George returned to form in emphatic fashion with a 3-1 win at Popondetta Park, taking an early lead through Jayden McLeod and then never looking back.
McLeod rose highest to head the Saints into the lead from a corner after nine minutes, and while Abraham Majok drew a good save from George Bouropoulos soon after, this was a game in which St George looked comfortable throughout.
Yuta Konagaya had a header tipped over by Justin Biega, a fine diving save keeping the score to the minimum at half time, but while the Saints continued to create chances after the break, they couldn’t quite get a second.
Mount Druitt then surprised Bouropoulos with a long range strike which struck the post, after seemingly going wide, but with fifteen minutes to go, St George finally doubled their lead. A Stefan de Jesus corner found its way to Thomas Menton who angled his header superbly into the bottom corner of the net.
Rangers hit the woodwork once more, from a freekick, but the game was effectively put beyond doubt after Dimitri Zakilas was pulled back in the box, and de Jesus coolly put away the resultant penalty, with ten minutes to go.
Mount Druitt did reduce the arrears when Luke Clifford found himself in plenty of space, and struck home with seven minutes remaining, but it was too little too late.
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 1 (Luke Clifford 83’) v St George 3 (Jayden McLeod 9’, Thomas Menton 75’, Stefan de Jesus 80’ pen)
Referee: Katie Patterson
Mount Druitt Town Rangers: 1. Justin Biega 6. Nick Trimble 7. Luke Clifford 8. Matthew Clowes 9. Kuag Reec (3. Brian Griffin-Colls 73’) 10. Goncalo Paradanta (13. Nathan Ralph 60’) 11. Abraham Majok 12. Nuno Soares Gomes (23. Frank Martey 60’) 14. Daniel McCann 15. Rainer Smahel 16. Scott Goodwin.
St George: 1. George Bouropoulos 3. Ali Nasreddine 4. Johnathan Kontalis 5. Billy Darwich 7. Stefan de Jesus (9. Stevan Ilic 81’) 10. Bruno Pivato (26. Tayfun Buyukkopru 90’) 13. Peter Vassilis 16. Thomas Menton (12. Rino Zenari 88’) 18. Yuta Konagaya 19. Dimitri Zakilas 20. Jayden McLeod.
Northern Tigers v Bankstown City
Northern Tigers heaped further pain onto Bankstown City with a 3-2 win on Saturday night, the victory moving the Tigers into outright sixth spot on the ladder.
All goals came in a vibrant first half with Chris Gomez opening the night’s account in the 18th minute, before the Tigers drew level through Lucas Dawson on the half hour.
The Tigers didn’t give the Lions much time to respond, taking the lead three minutes later via Joel Hardwick before Gomez notched his brace, four minutes before half time.
But again, Northern Tigers responded quickly, retaking the lead through Josh Ward moments before the whistle blew.
Bankstown might have felt hard done by after finding the net on two occasions in the second half, but both were disallowed due to offside calls. They won’t have too long to seek amends when Spirit FC visit on Wednesday.
Northern Tigers 3 (Lucas Dawson 30’, Joel Hardwick 33’, Josh Ward 45’) v Bankstown City 2 (Chris Gomez 18’, 41’)
Referee: Jerry Bitas
Northern Tigers: 1. Matt Nemes 2. Russell Farrell 4. Michael Rolston 6. Paul Davies 7. Joel Hardwick 10. Lucas Dawson 11. Mitchell Smith (9. Liam McConaghy) 12. Braden Cheng (17. Harry McAllister) 15. Josh Ward 16. Steven Baveas (18. Diren Kartal) 19. Alexander Brown.
Bankstown City: 1. Dion Shaw (41. Samuel Benton) 2. Todd Halloran 5. Michael Beauchamp 8. Domenic Hudap 9. Gerard Ouffoue (22. Kyohei Kimura) 10. Chris Gomez 13. Dhari Alsaad 16. Kojiro Hori 20. Jack Musgrave 23. Grant Lynch 25. Shayne Ardle (14. Dean Bereveskos).
Spirit FC v Macarthur Rams
Spirit FC are certainly playing themselves into form, with their fourth win in a row moving them well away from the wooden spoon, a position they held just a month ago.
A first half Daniel Cunningham penalty was sufficient for Spirit to take the points, and with the first of their rescheduled fixtures at Jensen Park on Wednesday, a further rise up the ladder is not out of the question.
Spirit FC 1 (Daniel Cunningham 25’ pen) v Macarthur Rams 0
Referee: Stephen Lucas
Spirit FC: 51. David Lowery 2. Daniel Cunningham 5. Andrew Robertson 7. Jake Harris (3. Henry Wells) 8. Grant Cornwell 10. Kim Changyu 11. David Mavisa 13. Phillip Reilly 16. Mark McAlpine (15. Alexander Doyle) 19. Tom Lovell 21. Reuben Agyei-Danso (18. Brad Gibson).
Macarthur Rams: 1. Nikodin Matic 2. Craig Cooley 4. Ben Cornish 6. Kevin Ly 7. Eli Squillacioti (3. Mitchell Thompson) 9. Anthony Schmidt 10. Eros Bergamin 13. Jordan Cracknell 16. Mason Versi (15. Yotaro Hagiwara) 17. James Ralston 19. Damien Travis (11. Anthony Haddad).
Mounties Wanderers v North Shore Mariners
Mounties Wanderers have looked to put themselves in a prime position for the finals challenge with a 3-0 win over North Shore Mariners, their fourth victory in a row.
They still have a game up their sleeve too, giving themselves a good chance to finish as high as third, should results favour them over the coming month.
Against North Shore, it was left to leading scorer Matthew West, with two, and Mitchell Davidson to get amongst the goals, a 2-0 half time lead setting up Mounties for an ultimately comfortable victory.
Mounties Wanderers 3 (Matthew West 2, Mitchell Davidson) v North Shore Mariners 0
Referee: Adam Susz
Mounties Wanderers: 21. Luke Kairies 6. Aleksander Tomic 7. Neftali Gonzalez 8. Emmanuel Elali (2. Ben Ansah) 9. Matthew West 11. Mitchell Davidson 13. Pat Cappuccio (32. Tayfun Devrimol) 17. Milorad Simonovic 20. Reid Taylor 22. Wade Oostendorp 29. Jake Ingle (28. George Codrea).
North Shore Mariners: 1. Anthony Zecchinati 3. Chris Lindsay 6. Ricky Woodward 7. Tadhg Purcell 10. Julian Aguirre (4. Jack Grant) 13. Marquin Smith 15. Jordan Mbakwe 20. Zac Sfiligoi 37. James Scott 38. Addison Sayyan (23. Joshua Mbakwe) 49. Gianni Stensness (26. Christian Desa).
– by Peter Rowney, Play Station 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s Reporter
