Round 22 Review – State League Men’s

This final round of State League Men’s typified the rest of the year, with high scoring games full of exciting football.

Match of the Round – Hurstville City Minotaurs vs. Nepean FC: 3-0.

Hurstville City concluded their strong finish to the season with a commanding victory over Nepean FC this weekend.

A spirited second half performance saw Hurstville run away with bragging rights, thanks to goals from Ram, Ibar and Holmes.

Despite neither side having anything to lose, the first half was a cagey, physical battle over the centre of the park. The condition of the pitch made such a strategy difficult, with passing along the ground near impossible.

Both sides had their chances, with Nepean almost opening the scoring in the first five minutes after Charles Williams burst through the middle of the park and thread the needle to put Kagisho Pitso one on one with the Minotaurs’ goalkeeper. Pitso fired disappointingly wide.

Such was the story of the first period, with neither side controlling the game and each unable to provide any form in front of goal when their few chances arose. Nepean had the better of the half but were unable to capitalise.

The second half saw the game open up dramatically, with both sides looking to play more direct football to combat the condition of the pitch.

The Minotaurs were the beneficiaries of this change in style, and scored fifteen minutes into the second period thanks to a well taken goal from striker Kush Ram.

Ram received the ball on the edge of the box after a miss-pass from Nepean, controlling it well with his first touch before slotting it home inside the right post.

Eight minutes later, Ram was again instrumental in the Minotaur’s second goal of the match. The young striker pounced on the ball after loose play in defence from Nepean and set up Felipe Ibar for a cool finish in the bottom left corner.

Nepean looked rattled, having not conceded for four matches prior; they could not break through a dogged Minotaurs back four led by captain Anthony Holmes.

Williams and Waoci came the closest to getting the visitors back into contention, with a strike from Williams hitting the post and deflecting to Waoci. Waoci had an open goal to aim for, but skied his shot well over.

Just before full time, the Minotaurs put the nail in the coffin thanks to a calmly taken penalty kick from captain Anthony Holmes, received after Esoghume Dominic was fouled in the box.

The Minotaurs fell short of Finals football this season, but can take great delight in their strong end to the season, where they’ve finished undefeated in five games.

Coach Peter Sarikakis was delighted with his team’s performance in the second half, which saw them run over the top of Nepean.

“We lifted our intensity in order to finish the season on a good note… I am very happy with the performance of all of my players, and the last five or six weeks have shown enough positive signs for next year.”

Nepean coach Magdy Andrawes believes that his side could have earned an entirely different result if they had been more clinical in front of goal.

“We didn’t take our chances in the first half… we should have punished Hurstville for the chances they allowed us to create but we failed to do so, and that is the risk you run when you don’t take what should be yours.”

“Not the best way to end the season after our four game winning streak, but all in all we have to look back at the season and admire the incredible turn around the boys have made and have given a little warning for the rest of the league for next season.”

With Nepean narrowly missing out on Finals football, Andrawes says that he is looking forward to building an even stronger squad for next season.

“The fact that we will have a preseason together to better implement certain philosophies and strategies is also very exciting.”

Match Stats

Hurstvile City Minotaurs 3 (Ram 60’, Ibar 68’, Holmes 89’)

Nepean FC 0

Saturday, 27 August 2016

ES Marks Field

Hurstville City Minotaurs: 115. N. Avgerinos, 7. E. Dominic, 1. J. Drahalivas, 21. J. Gonzalez, 9. A. Holmes, 5. J. Kay, 2. P. Kirtley, 15. S. Mehana, 6. K. Ram,17. A. Vagenas

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Nepean FC: 18. A. Agyei, 22. J. Egberts,19. M. Fakiye, 5. M. Gane, 14. W. Jajaw, 20. D. Kanaley, 12. S. Ly, 9. K. Machut, 8. B. Owusu, 6. K. Pitso, 11. R. Polistina, 1. J. Senior, 7. C. Waoci, 10. C. William.

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Round Summaries

SD Raiders FC vs. St. George FA: 2-0.

The Raiders will be delighted to have beaten Premiers St. George FA this weekend, in a result that is bound to boost their confidence heading into the Finals.

Mark Symington’s nineteenth goal of the season, as well as a strike from Nicolas Colantonio saw the Raiders take down a rotated St. George outfit.

St. George coach Manny Spanoudakis says that the club’s focus was on their U20s this weekend, with four overage players used in securing an emphatic 6-0 victory and the Premiership.

“With respect to First Grade, we rested some senior players and decided to play youngsters Mark Kamara and Kallie Bangura. We also started players that we felt were short of a run and would benefit by playing a game before Finals.”

“We treated this match as a practice match, with one eye on the week off… that said, I don’t want to take anything away from Southern Districts, who put in a solid performance in a tight game – with their goalkeeper making some fine saves to keep the game in the balance.”

Camden Tigers FC vs. University of NSW: 4-3.

The Camden Tigers were pushed to the very end this Sunday, in an exciting clash against the University of NSW.

The Tigers will be happy to have won in the lead up to the Finals, but also disappointed to have conceded so many goals against one of the league’s worst performing sides.

An action packed first half saw Camden finish 3-2 ahead, thanks to goals from Sean Doherty, Brody Page and Callum Rogers. Jayden Russell scored the winning goal for the Tigers in the second half, having backed up from a goalscoring performance in the U20s.

Camden coach Dean Bradley says, “The performance was as good as it could be as our pitch let us down due to the earlier floods this year.”

“Having made multiple changes to the team to give some people a chance, it was a great result.”

Bradley admits that nevertheless, they will have to tighten up their defending before next week’s Finals clash.

Bankstown United FC vs. Gazy Auburn FC: 2-1.

A heavily rotated Bankstown United squad did enough to topple Gazy Auburn this Sunday, with a tight game preparing them for the Finals ahead.

Rod Mongan and Tom Markovski found the back of the net, in a performance that Bankstown coach Petar Finka admits was scrappy but ultimately effective.

“We had the opportunity to rest a couple of players and give a couple of younger players good time on the park… in the end three points in the bag and fourth spot on the table… now the next challenge begins.”

Finka gave special mention to young Hamzey Kamaleddine, who played for the U18s, scored for the U20s and then came off the bench for First Grade in the final twenty minutes.

Prospect United vs. Hurstville FC: 0-1.

Hurstville performed strongly against an in-form Propsect United, as they prepare for the Finals.

United have been scoring rampantly in their past few fixtures, so Hurstville will be happy to have kept a clean sheet despite resting numerous players.

A first half strike from Michael Janov, his second for the season, was enough for the visitors to sit on until the final whistle.

Prospect coach John Caruana asserts that despite the result, his boys played well and created plenty of chances against a strong Hurstville squad.

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