Round 4 Review – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s
Four rounds in to the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 2017 season and five teams remain undefeated.
Blacktown City FC, Rockdale City Suns, Manly United FC, Sydney Olympic FC and APIA Leichhardt Tigers have enjoyed near flawless starts to the year and were once again impressive during this weekend’s match action.
Rockdale held out a fast finishing Hakoah Sydney City East, Blacktown City got the better of Wollongong Wolves, Manly United outscored Sydney FC, APIA were too good for Bonnyrigg while Sydney Olympic FC had to settle for a draw against Parramatta FC.
Sydney United 58 wrapped up a torrid week for the club with a victory against Sutherland Sharks.
Parramatta FC put on a dogged defensive performance against Sydney Olympic in this week’s Match of the Round.
Parramatta FC 0 – Sydney Olympic 0 at Melita Stadium
Parramatta FC has clung on to snatch a 0-0 draw with Sydney Olympic FC during their PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Melita Stadium on Sunday.
It was a gritty performance from the home side who held on despite the visitors having the most of the possession and the best of the chances.
While it was a frustrating result for Olympic, the Belmore Sports Ground based side remain undefeated after four rounds.
Hakoah Sydney City East 2 – Rockdale City Suns 3 at Hensley Athletic Field
Rockdale City Suns maintained their impeccable record with a 3-2 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s victory against Hakoah Sydney City East.
The home side had the better of the first half chances but didn’t capitalise on them and this allowed Rockdale City Suns to go into the break a goal up thanks to a strike from Aleks Canak.
Goals to Harris Gaitatzis and Jordan early in the second half stretched Rockdale’s lead to three by the 65th minute.
Hakoah mounted a spirited fight back with two late goals to Bradley Walker and Paul Orgad but it wouldn’t to be for the Gavin Rae coached side as Rockdale clung on for all three points.
Blacktown City FC 2 – Wollongong Wolves 0 at Lily’s Football Stadium
A late Joey Gibbs penalty has helped Blacktown City edge 10-man Wollongong Wolves 2-0 in their Round 4 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Lilys Football Centre.
The lively encounter appeared destined for stalemate until City substitute James Andrew won a penalty with fifteen minutes remaining under the challenge of Wolves skipper Christopher Price.
The Wolves defender saw red and Joey Gibbs made no mistake from the spot to put Blacktown in front.
Andrew secured the three points 10 minutes later after slotting past Justin Pasfield with a tidy finish at the near post for his second goal in as many weeks to ensure Blacktown City remained undefeated after their first four matches.
Manly United FC 3 – Sydney FC 2 at Cromer Park
Manly United’s unbeaten status after four rounds remains intact following Sunday’s thrilling 3-2 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition win over Sydney FC at Cromer Park.
In what was a high tempo encounter, a second half goal from evergreen striker Dylan Macallister proved to be the difference.
Manly set the tempo with Scott Balderson claiming a double inside the first ten minutes
However, Sydney FC weren’t going to be easy beats and levelled the scores thanks to strikes from Chris Zuvela and Cristian Gonzalez.
Macallister wasn’t going to let his team leave with anything less than three competition points, scoring the winner in the 54th minute.
Sydney United 58 FC 2 – Sutherland Sharks 1 at Sydney United Sports Centre
A magical strike from Panny Nikas helped Sydney United 58 FC to their first win of the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season with a 2-1 victory against Sutherland Sharks 2-1.
Goals in either half from Nikas were the difference as Sydney United 58 FC looked more like the side that dominated the 2016 season.
Josh Da Silva gave Sutherland hope in the 62nd minute when he tied the scores up at 1-1, but it was always going to be hard to stop United 58 in front of the vocal home support from the BOKA Stand.
The victory capped off a turbulent week for the Reds on a good note and should hopefully set the tone for a return to winning ways for the remainder of the season.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC 4 – Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0 at Lambert Park
The APIA Leichhardt Tigers continued their flawless start to the season in the first leg of the Robbie Younis Annual Challenge Cup, defeating the Bonnyrigg White Eagles 4-0 in their Round 4 fixture of the PlayStation®4 National Premier League NSW Men’s competition.
Celebrating the most prolific goal scorer in the history of the competition, and a former player of both clubs, APIA Leichhardt earned the honour of being the first to etch their name in the trophy with an emphatic victory at Lambert Park on Sunday night.
First-half goals from Themba Muata-Marlow (31’) and Sean Symons (45’) got the home side off to a strong start, before new signing Joshua Symons (51’) joined his brother on the score sheet with a classy second-half effort. Japanese playmaker Tasuku Sekiya (66’) put the cherry on top of a decisive win.
The Tigers dominated from start to finish as the White Eagles struggled to maintain possession through the midfield, and rued missed opportunities in front of goal.