Round 2 Finals Series Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s
The PlayStation4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s Grand Final will be contested by Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers after both claimed wins in their respective semis against Mount Druitt Town Rangers and Mounties Wanderers.
Semi Final
Western Sydney Wanderers v Mounties Wanderers
A much changed Western Sydney Wanderers survived a late onslaught from Mounties Wanderers to move into next weekend’s Grand Final after a hard fought 2-1 win.
With players missing due to youth international duty, others with the A-League squad in Japan, and yet more injured, there were only three starters who had also played in the final Round 26 game against Sydney FC. Henry Davies, Abdelrahman Kuku and Charles Abou Serhal were those three, so it was a new look Wanderers who took the field against Mounties, only missing Tayfun Devrimol.
Mounties hit the ground running, putting some early pressure on the Wanderers but without being able to break through, so despite having much of the ball in the opening stages, it was somewhat of a surprise then that it was Western Sydney Wanderers who gained the early advantage.
Jordan Morfitis it was, who put the Wanderers in front, a lob from outside the box clearing all and sundry, and looping over both the Mounties defence and Luke Kairies, and sneaking under the bar.
Mounties set to work to overcome that initial shock, and had two decent chances inside two minutes. The first fell to Pat Cappuccio who shot a firm header wide from a Milorad Simonovic cross, before Matthew West, newly crowned the Playstation 4 NPL2 Player of the Year the night before, was just wide with a neat attempt, a minute later.
The Wanderers, while maybe not having as much possession, were a threat any time they charged forward, which was at every opportunity. Their pace was always a concern, but a propensity to get caught offside caused their undoing on more than one occasion, indeed a likely second goal was called back for such an indiscretion.
But it was a dazzling run by Matthew Lecce which put Mounties even further behind the eight ball. A charge forward which began inside his own half, couldn’t be stopped by the Mounties midfield, and a pass on to Kosta Grozos saw the lead doubled. With just over thirty minutes gone, it was looking good for the Wanderers, but not so good for Mounties.
Neftali Gonzalez tried to bring one back before half time, a shot from distance more in hope than anything else, but it was always rising and never tested debutant keeper Daniel Axford.
After the break, it was more of the same with Mounties trying hard to get back into the game, but having to be wary of a fast counter, which the Wanderers were always ready to test. Kairies did well more than once to deny the Wanderers who could have increased their lead with these sharp incursions upfield.
For Mounties, Taylor hit the side netting, Simonovic was close with a volley and Mitchell Davidson shot a low drive which was safely collected. There was no lack of effort, but the roll of the ball was just not going their way.
That all seemed to change with seven minutes to go. David Perkovic made his final sub of the game, maybe a last throw of the dice. And what an ending it almost turned out to be for Michael Cklamovski.
Within two minutes of coming on, Cklamovski had put Mounties right back into the game. A shot from the left cannoned in off the post before swinging into the other corner. It was the goal that Mounties needed and it lifted them no end.
They had seven minutes of normal time remaining and they threw everything they could at the Wanderers. And it was Cklamovski who almost made it 2-2. A flashing header as time ticked down was on its way to goal without any doubt, but Axford with a superb diving save, tipped the ball away to safety.
It was the closest that Mounties would come, and as close as could be without scoring, but it was not quite enough.
Saturday 10 September 2016
at Blacktown Football Park
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Jordan Morfitis 11’, Kosta Grozos 33’) v Mounties Wanderers 1 (Michael Cklamovski 83’)
Referee: Michael Weiner
Assistants: Joon Park and Janush Adabjou
Western Sydney Wanderers: 1. Daniel Axford 3. Henry Davies 4. Abdelrahman Kuku 11. Richard Stewart 16. Jordan Morfitis (9. Oliver Purflett 80’) 20. Charles Abou Serhal 24. Tacettin Kumsuz 25. Kosta Grozos 33. Moudi Najjar 35. Lachlan Campbell 42. Matthew Lecce (19. Malcolm Ward 88’).
Subs not used: 8. Brodie Clarkson 14. Brendan Stojcevski 18. Jack Groeneveld
Coach: Trevor Morgan
Mounties Wanderers: 21. Luke Kairies 6. Aleksandar Tomic 7. Neftali Gonzalez 9. Matthew West 11. Mitchell Davidson (18. Michael Cklamovski 81’) 13. Pat Cappuccio 17. Milorad Simonovic (34. Joshua Viera 63’) 20. Reid Taylor 22. Wade Oostendorp 28. George Codrea (19. Ben Ansah 54’) 29. Jake Ingle.
Subs not used: 26. Alessandreo Tolomeo 30. Daniel Sadaka
Coach: David Perkovic
Semi Final
Sydney FC v Mount Druitt Town Rangers
Premiers Sydney FC moved into the Grand Final with a 3-0 win over Mount Druitt Town Rangers, giving rise to the Sky Blues having the chance to collect all three trophies on offer for the season.
Played at the largely heritage listed Arlington Oval, an early goal to Juan Zapata set the stage for Sydney FC, who, while missing a number of regulars, were still able to call on a core group of players who had seen out a large part of the NPL2 season.
That included the competition’s Golden Boot winner Charles Lokolingoy, who didn’t miss the chance to add to his season’s tally with his 26th goal of the season, to put Sydney FC 2-0 up.
Sydney FC’s third, and the second to Juan Zapata, came with ten minutes left on the clock, and eased the Premiers to a three goal victory.
Despite the loss, coach Aidan Desmond can be well satisfied with his Mount Druitt Town squad’s efforts this year, an eighth place finish last season having progressed to being one game away from a Grand Final.
Sydney FC 3 (Juan Zapata 12’, 80’, Charles Lokolingoy 72’) v Mount Druitt Town Rangers 0
– by Peter Rowney, Play Station 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s Reporter
