Round 4 Review – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20
Sutherland Sharks remain the only undefeated side after four rounds in the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20 competition after their 4-1 victory over Sydney United 58.
Meanwhile, there were huge wins for Hakoah Sydney City East and Sydney FC, while Sydney Olympic were finally defeated in stunning fashion by Parramatta.
The Match of the Round saw Blacktown City host Wollongong Wolves at Lilys Football Centre.
Match of the Round
Blacktown City 3-2 Wollongong Wolves, Saturday 5.00pm at Lilys Football Centre
Blacktown City needed a late goal from captain Mason Ireland to see of a spirited Wollongong Wolves outfit 3-2 in a topsy-turvy round four clash at Lilys Football Centre.
John Carnevale’s side had gone behind in the ninth minute after a wonderful acrobatic effort from Wolves forward Peter Simonoski before goals from Lachlan Rose and Benjamin Parkinson gave the hosts a 2-1 lead at half time.
It looked like the visitors would punish Blacktown for failing to take full advantage of their first half dominance when Ricardo Bernardinho equalized with twenty minutes remaining, but City rallied again through Ireland and despite the late sending off of Dan Machara managed to cling on to a vital three points.
Although Wollongong took the lead early on thanks to Simonoski’s fantastic strike, the first half was nearly all one way traffic for Blacktown who might’ve taken a greater advantage in at the interval but for some wayward finishing.
The visitors caught City off-guard in the early stages with an energetic pressing game but the Wolves tired quickly and found themselves on the back foot when Lachlan Rose tucked away John Azar’s floated delivery at the back post for the equalizer.
Blacktown were soon in the lead when Parkinson beat Wolves keeper Daniel Arcaba to Ireland’s corner to nod home. The Wollongong shot stopper was certainly the busier of the keepers and made several fine saves to thwart Rose, who was causing the Wolves backline all sorts of problems with his pace until his withdrawal early in the second half.
However the momentum switched in the second half with the visitors starting the second stanza aggressively. Stefan Dimoski flicked a header onto the roof of the net while the linesman’s flag denied Simonoski his second of the contest.
Eventually Wollongong received the equalizer they deserved when substitute Bernardinho robbed Isaac Dandan of possession and slotted the ball past City gloveman Matthew Symes.
Having restored parity the visitors were nearly punished for switching off immediately from kick off but Machara, who had been played in behind by Ireland, saw his clipped effort dribble agonizingly wide of the post.
It was then Blackown’s turn to breathe two huge sighs of relief when Jake Trew fired over the bar after a bullocking run, before Dimoski was denied a superb instinctive effort from range by the underside of the post.
They would prove crucial misses for the Wolves, with Ireland netting the winner for Blacktown seconds later following a miscommunication between the Wollongong defence on the edge of the area. Ireland seized the ball and clipped it over Arcaba to put Blacktown back in front.
Although the hosts saw Machara sent off for a second bookable offence with ten minutes remaining, Wollongong were not able to muster a second comeback and lie eleventh on the competition ladder after four rounds of action.
Blacktown City go sixth as a result of the win ahead of a crunch match against Sydney FC at Lambert Park next Saturday evening.
Match Stats
Blacktown City (Rose 16’, Parkinson 21’)
Wollongong Wolves (Simonoski 8’, Bernardino 72’)
Saturday 1st April 2017
Lilys Football Centre, Seven Hills
Blacktown City: 32. John Azar, 28. Mason Ingram, 26. Mason Ireland (35. Anthony Gallo 81’), 27. Yuta Konagaya (36. Isaac Dandan 63’), 39. Grant Lynch, 37. Dan Machara, 24. Jake Mamone, 25. Benjamin Parkinson, 38. Evan Patramanis, 31. Lachlan Rose (30. Adolph Koudakpo 47’), 20. Matthew Symes (GK)
Substitutes Not Used: 34. Jarrod Dodds, 1. Dylan Niski
Yellow Cards: 37. Dan Machara 69’, 79’
Red Cards: 37. Dan Machara 79’
Wollongong Wolves: 1. Daniel Arcaba (GK), 9. Stefan Dimoski, 14. Mitchell Ferraro, 16. Luke Foster (2. Ricardo Bernardino 45’), 6. Steven Hristovski, 5. Ethan Kambisios, 7. Jack Lombo, 8. James Markovic, 15. Peter Simonoski, 27. Jake Trew, 11. Brett Wilson
Substitutes Not Used: 11. Tory Musumeci, 12. Dion Sterjovski, 10. Harrison Taranto, 17. Marcus Bimbiloski
Yellow Cards: 9. Stefan Dimoski 24’, 8. James Markovic 58’
Red Cards: N/A
Saturday
Hakoah Sydney City East 2-0 Rockdale City Suns, 5.00pm at Hensley Athletic Field
Hakoah Sydney City East returned to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Rockdale City Suns at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday evening.
Connor Eldridge put Hakoah in front with his second goal of the season before Finley Hayhurst secured the three points for the home side and consigned Rockdale to their second defeat of the campaign.
The win moves Hakoah into seventh position, while Rockdale remain tenth.
Hakoah face a daunting trip to Seymour Shaw to take on flying Sutherland Sharks next weekend, while Rockdale welcome second-placed Sydney Olympic to Ilinden Sports Centre.
Sunday
Manly United 1-3 Sydney FC, 1.00pm at Cromer Park
John Iredale’s fourth goal in as many matches inspired Sydney to a vital 3-1 away win to Manly United with the Sky Blues leapfrogging the Cromer Park outfit on the competition ladder.
Goals from Nikola Ujdur and Giuseppe Tilio guided David Zdrillic’s side to their third win of the season ahead of a big clash at home to Blacktown City next weekend.
George Firth was on the scoresheet again for Manly United, who travel to Melita Stadium to face Parramatta on Sunday looking for a response.
Parramatta 2-0 Sydney Olympic, 1.00pm at Melita Stadium
Sydney Olympic suffered their first defeat in eleven matches after the reigning champions went down 2-0 to Parramatta at Melita Stadium.
Goals from Gino Cerasoli and Mubarak Saeed saw the Eagles claim their first win and huge scalp of the season.
Parramatta jump ahead of Rockdale and Wollongong to move into ninth on the ladder, while Sydney Olympic drop three points behind league leaders Sutherland.
The Eagles will aim for consecutive victories when they host Manly United at Melita Stadium next weekend. Olympic will look to recover their scintillating form when they take on Rockdale at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Sydney United 58 1-4 Sutherland Sharks, 2.00pm at Sydney United Sports Centre
Sutherland Sharks extended their lead at the top of the table with a resounding 4-1 win over Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre.
Christian Torrelli opened the scoring for Nick Dimovski’s side before Chris McStay put the Sharks 2-0 up at half time.
Torrelli completed his brace into the second half and Jack Press ran in Sutherland’s fourth unanswered strike to underline an emphatic away victory for the visitors, who have opened the season with fifteen goals in four matches.
Sydney United netted a late consolation through Matt Zanon but were unable to string back to back wins together and will be hoping for a response against Bonnyrigg White Eagles next week.
Sutherland will look to make it five wins in a row when they welcome Hakoah Sydney City East to Seymour Shaw on Saturday.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 7-0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles, 2.30pm at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt Tigers broke their three-match losing streak and put Bonnyrigg White Eagles to the sword at Lambert Park with the Tigers lifting themselves off the foot of the table with a 7-0 hammering.
A Jordan Morfitis hattrick stole the show for APIA Leichhardt, while there was also a brace for Aedon Kyra and goals from Dominic Cox and Samuel Paslis.
Not even a red card for Shaho Ismaeel Hasan, who received his marching orders for two bookable offences, could put a dampener on a massive day for APIA Leichhardt who lift themselves into eighth position on the ladder ahead of their trip to Wollongong Wolves.
Bonnyrigg remain rooted to the bottom of the table with a big clash against Sydney United 58 to come in round five.
-Jacob Windon, Football NSW U20’s Reporter
