Round 1 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s

The opening round of the 2017 PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition saw goals scored by all sides on a wet weekend across Sydney, though rain only washed out one match on Sunday night, between Bankstown City and Bankstown Berries.

Blacktown Spartans sit top of the ladder at the end of the round after a high-scoring win over St George FC, joined by Marconi Stallions, Mounties Wanderers and Hills Brumbies on three points. Mounties were the winners of this week’s Match of the Round, claiming a 3-1 victory away to North Shore Mariners FC at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday afternoon.

Match of the Round

North Shore Mariners FC 1 v. Mounties Wanderers FC 3

Mounties Wanderers are off to a winning start in the new NPL 2 NSW Men’s season, coming from behind at Valentine Sports Park to defeat North Shore Mariners 3-1.

Mariners went a goal up through Tadhg Purcell on a wet afternoon in Glenwood, before three goals in ten minutes from Mounties early in the second half gave the visitors a lead that they held until the final whistle. Michael Gaitatzis scored the equalising goal from the penalty spot while North Shore goalkeeper Stefan Giglio put the ball across his own line to hand Mounties the advantage, with Reid Taylor rounding off the scoring with a goal just before the hour mark.

Neither side could hold down possession in the opening minutes on a fast surface at Valentine Sports Park, but North Shore eventually settled on the ball to have the first few efforts on goal. Purcell floated an early corner to the far post for Chris Lindsay, who headed back to the edge of the box for Braden Cheng to slice a shot high and wide of Jair Fernandez’s goal. Soon after, a long free kick launched forward by Fernandez fell to Mickael Abanoub in space on the right side of the box, and the midfielder hit a strong shot at goal which was well-saved by Stefan Giglio.

Chances continued to come for both sides, and an attempted scissor kick from Mitchell Smith was followed up by a dangerous free kick from Mounties’ winger Reid Taylor, who drove a low free kick across the face of the North Shore goal which somehow evaded everyone to run out for a goal kick.

In the 23rd minute, North Shore won a free kick on the left edge of the box, from which Purcell whipped an opportunistic shot towards goal; the ball bouncing just in front of Fernandez and skipping in at the near post to hand the home side a deserved 1-0 lead.

North Shore continued to pile on the pressure and won three corners in quick succession but were unable to add to their one-goal advantage in the closing stages of the first half. Mounties broke quickly from the third, and Todd Halloran played Michael Gaitatzis through on goal with a clever pass which split the North Shore defence, but the striker’s low shot was pushed away for a corner by Giglio, who got down well to deny the visitors an equaliser before the break.

Mounties began the second half quickly and found themselves level at 1-1 just six minutes after the restart after Frederick Ankumah-Sey was judged to have blocked a goal-bound shot with his hand, with Gaitatzis stepping up to drive a confident penalty inside Giglio’s left post.  The visitors completed their comeback three minutes later with an own goal from Giglio after the goalkeeper misjudged a clearance from a corner, only managing to deflect the ball behind him and across the North Shore goal-line.

The onslaught continued, and Mounties doubled their lead five minutes after going ahead with a well-taken goal from Reid Taylor, who skipped down the left wing before cutting inside and hitting a fierce shot into the roof of Giglio’s net. North Shore might have hit back immediately through Ankumah-Sey, but he slipped in front of Fernandez after running clean through on goal, and Mounties were able to clear the danger.

The home side continued to press for a goal to bring them back into the game, but left themselves open to quick counters from a Mounties team energised by their comeback. Jake Ingle was a dynamic presence for Mounties, occasionally moving inside from the left flank to provide impetus in his side’s attack.

Mitchell Smith had an opportunity to pull North Shore back to within a goal of Mounties with ten minutes remaining after receiving the ball from Marquin Smith on the left, but his shot was saved, spilled and quickly regathered by Fernandez. A late chance fell to Ankumah-Sey in space on the right side of the Mounties goal, but the winger over hit his cross high over the crossbar before referee Roberto Mattei sounded the final whistle, bringing to a close a frustrating afternoon for Joe Haywood’s men.

"Mounties didn’t cause us too many issues; we were just let down by a few mistakes further up the field," said Haywood. "We let ourselves lose concentration when we had the ball in their half too often in the early stages of the second half. There were a few individual errors which affected the whole team – to lose three goals in ten minutes is disappointing.

"We’re getting some new bodies back this week – there were a few suspended today and a few waiting for international clearance, including Ricky Woodward, James Scott and Aaron Davis. We had a centre back who was 17, a right back who was 18 – there were seven players missing out of the starting squad today, so we’re looking forward to having them back ahead of the game next week."

Mounties coach Lee Sterrey was less than impressed with his side’s overall performance despite the result, but praised his players’ ability to bounce back in the second half after a difficult first period.

"It was a very poor performance from us – you want to get the three points in the first game of the season, but realistically we probably played at 60% for thirty minutes out of the ninety. It was a very poor first half especially. We had to stand up after the break – when you come in at half time and there’s only two or three players in the whole dressing room, you’ve got to have everyone stand up in their own position, and that’s what they did.

"We’ve got Northern Tigers next week who are a great side – I’ve always had a lot of respect for them as a club. It’s going to be a very hard battle, and we’re going to have to go from the cellar to the penthouse pretty quickly if we want to match them."

North Shore Mariners FC 1 (Tadhg Purcell 23′) v. Mounties Wanderers FC 3 (Michael Gaitatzis 51′, Stefan Giglio (OG) 54′, Reid Taylor 59′)

Sunday 5 March 2017

at Valentine Sports Park

Referee: Roberto Mattei

North Shore Mariners FC: 36. Stefan Giglio, 11. Frederick Ankumah-Sey, 10. Braden Chang, 26. Hugo Forlico, 25. Nathan Hundley (28. Michael Stojanovski 71′), 27. Robert Kerr (20. Joshua Mbakwe 84′), 3. Chris Lindsay, 2. Lewis Miller, 33. Tadhg Purcell, 13. Marquin Smith, 18. Mitchell Smith (23. Christian Desa 84′)

Sub not used: 1. Dominic Maunder

Coach: Joe Haywood

Yellow Cards: 13. Marquin Smith 39′, 26. Hugo Forlico 42′, 11. Frederick Ankumah-Sey 50′

Mounties Wanderers FC: 1. Jair Fernandez, 13. Pasqualino Cappuccio, 11. Mitchell Davidson (15. Taewoo Jung 61′), 9. Michael Gaitatzis, 7. Neftali Gonzalez, 4. Todd Halloran, 29. Jake Ingle, 23. Mickael Abanoub (22. Mitchell Walker 73′), 6. Anthony Schmidt, 33. Zac Sfiligoi, 20. Reid Taylor (18. Michael Cklamovski 81′)

Subs not used: 19. Blake Friedich, 21. Alex Josipovic

Coach: Lee Sterrey

Bankstown City FC v. Bankstown Berries FC – WASHED OUT

Central Coast Mariners FC 1 v. Marconi Stallions FC 3

Competition favourites Marconi Stallions began 2017 on the right foot, claiming a valuable 3-1 win at Pluim Park on Sunday afternoon against Central Coast Mariners.

Sean Rooney opened the scoring for the visitors after eight minutes, before former Western Sydney Wanderers striker Brenton Fox hit back for the Mariners in the 25th minute.

Marconi pulled away in the second half and went ahead through Mirjan Pavlovic with 13 minutes left on the clock, before Samuel Burfoot sealed the win for his side with a strike in the 90th minute.

Central Coast Mariners FC 1 (Brenton Fox 25′) v. Marconi Stallions FC 3 (Sean Rooney 8′, Mirjan Pavlovic 77′, Samuel Burfoot 90′)

Macarthur Rams FC 1 v. Spirit FC 1

Macarthur Rams and Spirit FC played out a 1-1 draw at Lynwood Park on Sunday night, with Andre Carle rescuing a point for the visitors before being sent off a few minutes before full time.

Rams scored early in the second half through Matthew Trotter and Carle equalised soon after, but was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card inside the last ten minutes of the match.

Macarthur Rams FC 1 (Matthew Trotter) v. Spirit FC 1 (Andre Carle)

St George FC 3 v. Blacktown Spartans FC 5

Those who bought a ticket to the match at Seymour Shaw on Sunday night were treated to a thrilling encounter between St George FC and Blacktown Spartans, with the visitors running out 5-3 winners despite a hat trick from St George’s Stevan Ilic.

Ilic opened the scoring within ten minutes of the kick-off, before Mohamed Rahimi pulled Spartans level midway through the first half. Ilic had his second shortly after when Spartans under hit a back pass, allowing the striker to run onto the ball and put his side into the lead with 20 minutes remaining in the half, but Alex Boyadjian equalised again for Spartans five minutes before the break, before putting the visitors 3-2 ahead shortly after the restart.

Rahimi scored his second to give Spartans a 4-2 lead before Ilic completed his hat trick, bringing St George within a goal of their opponents despite being a man down through a red card to Zac Ribeiro. Spartans had the final word, however, with Kojiro Hori scoring from a corner to give his side a two-goal cushion which would prove unassailable for a spirited St George team.

St George FC 3 (Stevan Ilic 3) v. Blacktown Spartans FC 5 (Mohamed Rahimi 2, Alex Boyadjian 2, Kojiro Hori)

Western Sydney Wanderers FC 1 v. Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 1

Lachlan Roberts got one over his old side when Mt Druitt Town Rangers travelled to Sydney United Sports Centre to take on Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday night, scoring in the first half to allow Mt Druitt to take a valuable point home to Popondetta Park ahead of their match against North Shore Mariners next weekend. Roberts scored in the opening period, before the Wanderers, grand finalists in 2016, equalised midway through the second half via Jackson Bandiera to rescue a draw.

Western Sydney Wanderers FC 1 (Jackson Bandiera) v. Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 1 (Lachlan Roberts)

Hills Brumbies FC 3 v. Northern Tigers FC 1

Hills Brumbies enjoyed a winning start to life in the NPL 2 with a 3-1 victory over Northern Tigers FC; a brace from Peter Cejka sealing the win late in the match after a chaotic first half. The visitors had a goal disallowed while Brumbies missed a penalty, before Northern Tigers went ahead through Karim Moursi.

The lead was short-lived, however, and Gregory Giovenali equalised from the spot shortly before halftime when Brumbies were awarded a second penalty kick. Peter Cejka scored twice in the second half, giving Brumbies a two-goal lead with ten minutes to go to secure the three points for his side.

Hills Brumbies FC 3 (Gregory Giovenali, Peter Cejka 2) v. Northern Tigers FC 1 (Karim Moursi)

-By Max Grieve