Round 5 Review – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s

Round 5 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues’ 2 NSW Men’s competition produced plenty of upsets, with the biggest by far being North Shore Mariners’ stunning 4-0 victory over white-hot premiership favourites, Marconi Stallions.

Bankstown Berries and St George also upset the form guide with 2-1 and 3-2 victories over Hills Brumbies and Central Coast Mariners respectively, while in other games, Spirit FC beat Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1-0 in a combative match of the round, Western Sydney Wanderers scored two late goals to end Blacktown Spartans’ unbeaten start to the season; Bankstown City Lions grabbed their first point of 2017 with a 1-1 draw against Mounties Wanderers, and Northern Tigers made short work of Macarthur Rams 3-0.

Meanwhile, in two rescheduled matches last Wednesday night, Bankstown Berries humbled local rivals Bankstown City Lions 4-0 to claim their first win of the season; while Mt Druitt Town Rangers beat Mounties Wanderers 2-0 at Popondetta Park.

Match of the Round

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0 Spirit FC 1, Popondetta Park

Spirit FC ended Mt Druitt’s unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 victory in a tightly contested match of the round at Popondetta Park on Saturday night.

Striker Christopher Godoy Bascur scored the only goal of the match in the 12th minute and with his nifty footwork and skill proved to be a constant menace to the Rangers’ defence. While the brilliant Number 9 shone for Spirit, Lachlan Roberts was a standout for Mt Druitt, creating havoc from start to finish with his lightning pace and ability on the ball.

Spirit travelled to Popondetta Park expecting a tough encounter against a well-organised and well-structured side, with coach David Perkovic stressing that his backline needed to be on the money against a team that had the ability to control the midfield. Mt Druitt turned in a gritty display but played a more direct style than the Spirit coach expected. A style that, in the end, wasn’t quite good enough.

Spirit had the better of the early exchanges, with Tim Porter, Louis Bozanic and Godoy Bascur providing some useful touches. Porter rifled a great long range volley on goal after eight minutes, but as good as the shot was, it wasn’t enough to trouble Mt Druitt goalkeeper Carlos Saliadarre. 

Four minutes later, Saliadarre had no hope stopping what proved to be the match-winner, when Bradley Gibson floated an inch-perfect cross for Godoy Bascur, who nodded home from close range.

Spirit’s confidence rose after the opener and they continued to create chances. Midway through the half, Godoy Bascur was at it again, this time caressing a curling shot towards the right-hand corner of the goal, only to see Saliadarre tip the ball away magnificently. Had it not been for the keeper’s heroics, this would most certainly have been one of the goals of the season. But it wasn’t to be.

Mt Druitt never gave up and kept chipping away. Roberts seemed to be a one-man attacking machine and on three successive occasions he created half-chances on the right-hand side, only to see his efforts come to nothing. Another Roberts run from the left almost caught the Spirit defence napping. The slippery Number 23 broke away and fired across the six-yard box, beating Spirit keeper Murray Nelson, but unfortunately, no yellow shirts were on hand to tap home the opportunity.

Nathan Ralph had a half-chance to equalise in injury time but his header flashed into the side netting. With Spirit holding a tenuous 1-0 lead, referee Samuel Grasso blew the whistle for half time.

The second half continued in similar vein as the first, with Spirit’s front third creating opportunities and applying pressure on the home side’s defence. But as the game went on and the second goal didn’t materialize, Spirit became more protective of their lead, allowing Rangers to creep back into the game.

A dangerous Rangers corner was swept from the box after 61 minutes and eight minutes later, Scott Goodwin unleashed a ferocious free kick from just beyond 25 yards, only to see his effort fly wide. Meanwhile, Lachlan Roberts continued to play out of his skin, pressing and harassing the Spirit defence with his pace and skill. But the Spirit defence, led by skipper Grant Cornwell, held firm and somehow survived the onslaught.

In the 73rd minute Godoy Bascur turned his man inside the box but his shot was blocked and the chance went begging. Three minutes later, the diminutive Number 9 again showed his class when he narrowly missed with a superb volley from a Louis Bozanic cross. Superb technique, superb effort.

Rangers continued to press for the equaliser and again it was that man Roberts who led the charge. Six minutes out from fulltime he broke through the Spirit defence, only to be denied by goalkeeper Nelson, who put his body on the line to skillfully block Roberts’ effort.

Seeking a second goal, Spirit’s Louis Bozanic launched a counter-attack of his own and embarked on a great solo run only to see his shot sail over the crossbar.

With 87 minutes gone, a casual Mt Druitt keeper Carlos Saliadarre almost conceded an unlikely goal to the lurking Godoy Bascur but in the end, it wasn’t to be and the visitor’s held on to take the spoils by a single goal.

For Spirit, Godoy Bascur was the standout, his diminutive physique and skillset a reminder of Melbourne City’s Uruguayan ace Bruno Fornaroli. Grant Cornwell was solid at the back, while Louis Bozanic and Tim Porter also impressed.

For Mt Druitt, Roberts stole the show, not just for his pace and skill, but also his toughness as he had to contend with a Spirit defence that came in hard and tackled with a ruthless edge.

Spirit coach David Perkovic was happy with his side’s performance and praised their efforts in the final third. 

"We definitely dominated early proceedings and were rewarded by a very nice goal to Chris Godoy," Perkovic told Football NSW. " We definitely created more goalscoring opportunities than them. So I think our final third was probably a little more evident and that’s probably what the difference was between the two teams. 

"Mt Druitt’s a very good side but I think they played a little more directly than I expected. But maybe that was because of the way we set up against them. We expected them to work the ball a little more through midfield than they did tonight. But credit to my back four, they withstood most of it. Credit also to Mt Druitt, they stayed in the game. But I think we deserved to win the game in the end."

Mt Druitt coach Aidan Desmond was disappointed with the loss but praised Spirt for being well-organised and better than his side on the night.

"Spirit were better than us tonight but we took about an hour to get going, and when we started to maintain a bit of possession we looked dangerous," Desmond told Football NSW. "But we couldn’t do the business in the end so full credit to Spirit."

When asked if his side’s midweek fixture against Mounties Wanderers had an impact on his side’s defeat, Desmond replied: "I’m not going to use it as an excuse, but the humidity on Wednesday night was terrible. We prepared as best we could and we’re not making excuses. Spirit got a goal and there weren’t too many more chances about. They took that chance and probably held the ball a little bit more than we did."

Match Stats

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0

Spirit FC 1 (Christopher Godoy Bascur 12′)

Popondetta Park

Saturday 1 April 2017

Referee: Samuel Grasso

Assistant Referees: Joon Park, Brandon Lovric

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 1. Carlos Saliadarre (GK), 2. Hiten Satoh (6. Alexander Vlismas), 3. Brian Griffin-Colls, 8. Matthew Clowes, 9. Mitchell Mclintock (5. David Mavisa 64′), 10. Nathan Ralph (13. Darkoh Lord 66′), 12. Nicholas Trimble, 14. Daniel Mccann, 15. Andre Guzman, 16. Scott Goodwin, 23. Lachlan Roberts

Unused Subs: 21. Joel Tinker, 7. Sylvester Roberts

Yellow Cards: Matthew Clowes 42′

Coach: Aidan Desmond

Spirit FC: 1. Murray Nelson (GK), 3. Jack Musgrave, 4. Michael Streeter (Sidhya Malhotra 80′), 5. Andy Robertson, 8. Grant Cornwell (C), 9. Christopher Godoy Bascur, 12. Louis Bozanic, 14. Andre Carle (15. Adrian Epifanino), 17. Yuya Samba, 18. Bradley Gibson (7. Jacob Harris), 20. Tim Porter

Unused Subs: 21. Zoran Kolundzic, 26. James Webb

Yellow Cards: Yuya Samba 42′, Louis Bozanic 58′, Adrian Epifanino 92′

Coach: David Perkovic

Central Coast Mariners 2 St George 3, Pluim Park

St George rebounded from last week’s unlucky last-gasp defeat to Mounties Wanderers with a commanding 3-2 victory over Central Coast Mariners at Pluim Park.

Daniel Loe scored twice and Spanish import Juan Carlos Romero scored the other for St George, while Yerasimakis Petratos and Charles William grabbed one each for the Mariners 

Loe scored his brace within the first 15 minutes and St George led 2-1 at the break, before Romero extended his side’s lead to 3-1 with 10 minutes to play. The Mariners pulled one back three minutes into injury time but it was a case of too little, too late as the Saints held on to claim the spoils.

Central Coast last week celebrated their first win of the season against Northern Tigers and a delighted Mariners coach Ben Cahn was looking for consecutive wins when his young side took on St George at Pluim Park.

With defence being his side’s Achilles heel in 2017, Cahn was impressed that his side kept a clean sheet against the Tigers and had competed tenaciously on defence across the park. But the Mariners’ gaffer wouldn’t have been too impressed then when his side conceded twice in the first quarter of an hour and then trailed 3-1 with 10 minutes to play.

Meanwhile, Saints’ coach Terry Palapanis was very happy with his side’s performance, one that he considered to be their best so far this season.

"We were quite good, I’m very happy with our performance," Palapanis told Football NSW. "I thought we dominated most of the game in possession and chances created and I actually think the scoreline flattered the Mariners. The boys were up for the challenge."

Palapanis expected a "tricky" assignment against the academy side and while he conceded that the opposition were "good", he praised his own team for preventing them from playing to their usual high standards.

"The Mariners were good and they’re young, but we didn’t allow them to play the game that they’re probably capable of playing," Palapanis said. "I thought all our boys were quite good, but JC (Juan Carlos Romero) and Ali Nasreddine were outstanding."

Match Stats

Central Coast Mariners 2 (Yerasimakis Petratos, Charles William)

St George 3 (Daniel Loe 6′, 15′, Juan Carlos Romero 79′)

Pluim Park,

Saturday 1 April 2017

Central Coast Mariners: 1. Adam Pearce, 2. Shelford Dais, 16. Gianni Stensness, 18. Steve Whyte, 19. Jordan Lane, 6. James Enticknap, 15. Yerasimakis Petratos, 8. Tom Lyons, 7. Lachlan Wales, 10. Duncan Stewart, 11. Peter Kekeris, 5. Charles William, 20. Aidan Munford (GK), 14. Sean Pratt, 9. Brenton Fox, 4. Reece Papas

Yellow Cards: 4. Reece Papas, 11. Peter Kekeris

Coach: Ben Cahn

St George: 1. Andrew Depta (GK), 3. Ali Nasreddine, 4. Jonathan Kontalis, 5. Jayden Mcleod, 6. Zac Ribeiro, 7. Robbie Deasy, 8. Tarik Ercan (C), 9. Stevan Ilic, 10. Nicholas Paras, 11. Orman Okunaiya, 14. Jacob Bandur, 16. Daniel Loe, 17. Antony Barca, 18. David ilic, 20. Juan Carlos Romero, 21. Matthew Williamson

Yellow Cards: 8. Tarik Ercan, 10. Nicholas Paras

Coach: Terry Palapanis

Bankstown City Lions 1 Mounties Wanderers 1, Jensen Park

Bankstown City Lions claimed their first point of the season with a gutsy one-all draw with Mounties Wanderers at Jensen Park on Saturday night.

Bruno Pivato scored for the Lions while Mounties had to settle for a late own goal by Bankstown’s Billy Darwich.

Both sides lost midweek catchup games but the Lions showed tremendous courage to rebound from a 4-0 defeat to Bankstown Berries on Wednesday night to snatch a point from a well-coached Mounties side with high expectations.

Bankstown’s struggles both on and off the pitch are well known, but all of that was set aside as the bottom-placed side battled bravely against a Mounties team that again created enough opportunities to win comfortably.

"Our front third are just killing us," Mounties coach Lee Sterrey told Football NSW. "We had three one-on-ones with the keeper inside the first 15 minutes but couldn’t convert. There’s a lot of good football content leading up to the front third but we just aren’t finishing and we’ve got to take responsibility for that. It’s disappointing."

Sterrey added that while his side had full control of the match and created numerous goal-scoring opportunities in the first half, his side just couldn’t put the nail in the coffin.

"Bankstown were there to be taken, but then we found ourselves behind and chasing a game we should never have been chasing," Sterrey said. "And then we got an own goal but we had another four or five chances in the second half but we’re just not finishing.

"We’ve got to start converting. The competition from about round seven or round eight starts to break open and we’ve got some tough matches coming up so we’ve got to start winning. We’ve got all the big ones to come and we’ve got to start getting on a roll. Bankstown are going to get better but on yesterday’s performance we should’ve got the three points."

Meanwhile, new Lions’ coach Mile Todoroski, who has only been in the job for a fortnight, made changes to the side that played the Berries midweek, bringing in two teenagers from the under 20s, a decision that worked a treat.

"It was a good performance," Todoroski told Football NSW. "Is big difference to last game (against the Berries). I put couple of youngsters in from second grade and I’m very happy for them. I can’t tell you their names because I don’t know their names because I’ve only been here for two weeks.

"The two youngsters were excellent, one a midfielder is 17-years-old and another, is 18, a fullback. I’m very happy to see young players to produce straight away in first grade, they respond well. It was a positive surprise for me."

When asked what the difference was between the Berries’ setback and Saturday night’s game, Todoroski replied: "We didn’t score goals and football is all about goals. Also, against Mounties we put on big resistance in defence. We created chances and so did Mounties so to be honest a draw is an honest result for us and a positive result too. But we have a very hard job ahead of us to find the right formula to win some games."

Match Stats

Bankstown City Lions 1 (Bruno Pivato 55′)

Mounties Wanderers 1 (Billy Darwich O.G. 83′)

Jensen Park,

Saturday 1 April 2017

Bankstown City: S. Tarazona, 1. Dion Shaw (GK), 3. Alexander Becerra, 4. Billy Darwich, 5. Jeffrey Issa, 6. Aaron D’Mello, 7. Bruno Pivato, 8. David McMurray, 9. N. Todoroski, 11. Huseyin Jasli, 12. Steven Veleski, 14. Mate Lucic, 15. A. Tolomeo, 17. Adem Kir, 21. H. Timms (GK), 27. A. Gauci, 31. M Edmunds.

Yellow Cards: M Edmunds

Coach: Mile Todorovski

Mounties Wanderers: 1. Jair Fernandez, 4. Todd Halloran, 6. Anthony Schmidt, 7. Neftali Gonzalez, 9. Michael Gaitatzis, 11. Mitchell Davidson, 13. Pasqualino Cappuccio, 14. Noah Chianese, 15. Taewoo Jung,18. Michael Cklamovski, 20. Reid Taylor, 22. Mitchell Walker, 23. Abanoub Mickael, 29. Jake Ingle, 33. Zac Zfiligoi.

Yellow Cards: Todd Halloran

Coach: Lee Sterrey

Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Blacktown Spartans 0, Sydney United Sports Centre

In one of the most anticipated matches of the season, unbeaten Western Sydney Wanderers beat league leaders Blacktown Spartans 2-0 at Sydney United Sports Centre, inflicting the first loss on the Spartans this season.

Substitute Kyle Cimenti scored both goals for the Wanderers, but the young guns couldn’t penetrate the Spartans’ resolute defence until the 78th minute, before snatching another three minutes into injury time.

Western Sydney coach Trevor Morgan was pleased his side’s efforts and delighted to come away with a clean sheet, but he also heaped praise on the Spartans, who now lead the competition by a point from the Wanderers.  

"To beat the team that had gone four games unbeaten, I think this was a decent performance from us," Morgan told Football NSW. "But we can see why Spartans are still top of the table. They really play hard for each other and don’t give anything away without a fight. They’re very well organised and they work hard for each other, so you really have to earn your chances."

Morgan’s band of young men were very patient throughout the match, knowing that opportunities against the Spartans’ water-tight defence would be few and far between.

"We aimed to keep a clean sheet because if you can do that, you obviously have a better chance of winning," Morgan said. "That was a big objective, to try to defend better.

"Two boys also came back from injury – Kyle Cimenti and Cameron Devlin – and they got some game time. Kyle came on to score two goals, which was a fantastic effort."

While Blacktown Spartans’ lead at the head of the competition has been cut to one point, Morgan expects them to learn from the loss and he’s confident they’ll bounce back.

"They’re a very good team and one loss from five games is a tremendous effort. They were dangerous on the counter, they were dangerous at set pieces, they defended with great team effort. We made quite a few chances but there was always someone there to block it." 

The Wanderers had to do the job without experienced campaigners Liam Youlley and Tariq Maia but Morgan said the return of Cimenti and Devlin would strengthen his side for the tough campaign that lies ahead.

"Overall it was good performance against a very good team," Morgan said. "I’m very pleased with the effort."

Meanwhile, Spartans coach Luis Contigiani said that while he was disappointed to lose, he wasn’t disappointed with the way his team of brave young men lost.

"It was great game, which played out the way we knew it would," Contigiani told Football NSW. "We knew they’d have a lot of possession, keeping the ball. We held our defensive shape and hit them on the counter, and to be quite honest we had some golden opportunities and even hit the post.

"But we just couldn’t capitalise and eventually, a lapse in concentration allowed them to get in behind us and they scored their first goal. Then in stoppage time they scored their second with virtually the last kick of the ball. I’m very proud of my boys, they put up a tremendous fight against a very good team."

Contigiani acknowledged the youth of the Wanderers side but stated that his side too, were young and inexperienced.

"We’re not far off the Wanderers’ age," he said. "We’re a young squad as well. I give Western Sydney credit but in saying that I thought we offered them good resistance and we attacked them well when we knew we had to. But unfortunately, at the end, one lapse in concentration was all it took for them to punish us."

Match Stats

Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Kyle Cimenti 78′, 90+3)

Blacktown Spartans 0, Sydney United Sports Centre

Saturday 1 April 2017

Western Sydney Wanderers: 40. Nick Suman (GK), 2. Lachlan Campbell, 4. Henry Davies, 6. Cameron Devlin, 8. Charles Abou Serhal, 9. Kyle Cimenti, 10. Emmanuel Gonzalez, 11. Kosta Grozos, 18. Oliver Puflett, 20. D Axford, 21. Mario Shabow, 22. Matthew Lecce, 24. T Rusell, 25. Liam Youlley, 26. Jackson Bandiera, 42. Keanu Baccus, 49. Abraham Majok, 50. Tariq Maia

Coach: Trevor Morgan

Blacktown Spartans: 1. Domenic Nascimben (GK), 2. Daisan Kim, 3. Emanuel Elali, 4. Tiano Boutoubia, 6. Mohamad Rahimi, 7. Michael Konestabo, 8. Aaron White, 9. Garang Awac, 10. Kojiro Hori, 11. Alex Boyadijan, 13. Brendon Bezzina, 16. Alessandro Pecora, 17. Mitchell Cross, 23. Ogun Dullak, 42. J Forster

Coach: Luis Contigiani

Macarthur Rams 0 Northern Tigers 3, Lynwood Park

Northern Tigers travelled to Sydney’s deep southwest and came away with a 3-0 victory over the struggling Macarthur Rams, with goals to Josh Ward and Max Glanville, plus an own goal enough to claim the spoils.

The Tigers arrived at Lynwood Park hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat to the Central Coast Mariners and after an even first half, their persistence was rewarded with three goals in the second 45.  

Ward grabbed the first from a set piece; the Rams defence faltered under pressure to concede an own goal, while Glanville tapped home the third for a solid victory.

Tigers coach Mark McCormick was delighted with the win and praised his young team’s determination at what is one of the toughest grounds to get a result.

"We showed a lot of grit," McCormick told Football NSW. "Macarthur’s never an easy place to visit. We’re a really young side and we knew that we had to go up there and match them in intensity and physicality as well as quality on the ball. We done that."

When asked what the difference was between the teams, McCormick replied: "I think we were better on the ball but off the bench we had a little bit of depth. We were able to give a first grade debut to Jordan Smilie, who is only 16 or 17-years-old, and he came on and played with energy and ran tirelessly. He really stretched them and was involved in a couple of goals, so it was really exciting for him and for the club."

Meanwhile, Macarthur coach Eddie Briscoe again rued the fact that his young side couldn’t compete for the full 90 minutes.

"We were the better team in the first half to be fair," Briscoe told Football NSW. "We both had chances but we had better chances. But again, like previous weeks, we couldn’t capitalise."

Briscoe said that after his side’s impressive first half, the Tigers came out with a bit more endeavour and pushed with a little more aggression and vigour.

"I could see our boys had switched off and we conceded the first goal," he said. "From that point our heads went down and our confidence dropped. Theirs went up and then they caught us on the break and suddenly we were 2-0 down and before long, it was 3-0."

Briscoe said his side just doesn’t have the quality of depth to be competitive, a serious issue that’s costing the Rams. But despite his concerns, he did concede that the Tigers were a decent side. 

"The Tigers are a decent, workmanlike team and they give 150 per cent, so all credit to them. They stuck to their game plan, they were very direct when they had to be and they tried to play when they could play. So you’ve got to respect that, they’re a decent team. 

"At the end of the day, we switched off and they didn’t. They stuck to their game plan and we didn’t. We fell asleep at certain critical times. I told you a couple of weeks ago that we struggle from dead ball situations and set plays, and we did again yesterday. We competed really well in the first half and at halftime I told them not to switch off but they did. I told them what would happen and it did happen and that’s where we need that experience."

Match Stats

Macarthur Rams 0

Northern Tigers 3 (Josh Ward, Max Glanville, Own Goal)

Lynwood Park,

Saturday 1 April

Macarthur Rams: 1. Nikodin Matic, 2. Craig Cooley, 3. D. Lazarevski, 4. Simon Valastro, 5. Regan Suters, 7. Frank Martey, 8. Matthew Trotter, 10. Ben Cornish, 13. Ben Aguilar, 14. Kurdy Abduljabbar, 15. Mason Versi, 16. Mitch Di Pietro, 17. Sho Arakawa, 19. J. Ward, 20. B. Needham, 23. George Codrea, James Rolston.

Yellow Cards: Dean Lazarevski, Simon Valastro, Ben Cornish, George Codrea

Northern Tigers: 1. Harrison Devenish-Meares, 10. Lucas Dawson, 2. Josh Ward, 6. Jordan Ferrier, 18. Joshua Tanner, 3. Jamie Craig, 13. Paul Turrin, 11. Lachlan Hughes, 7. Joel Hardwick, 9. Liam Mcconaghy, 19. Ryan Peterson, 20. Ben Taylor (GK), 27. Karim Moursi, 5. Ally Brown, 8. Max Glanville

Yellow Cards: Jamie Craig, Liam Mcconaghy, Paul Turrin

Coach: Mark McCormick

Bankstown Berries 2 Hills Brumbies 1, The Crest Athletic Centre

Player coach Perry Moustakas scored twice to lead the Bankstown Berries to their second win in three days, a 2-1 result over Hills Brumbies at The Crest Athletic Centre.

Hills took the lead in the ninth minute but the Berries showed tremendous character to strike back in the second half.

"It was a game of two halves and in the first half Hills Brumbies were much better than us," Moustakas told Football NSW. "We weren’t really in the game but then the character of my boys came out in the second half and I’m proud of their efforts."

Moustakas is a fan of the Brumbies and he considers them to be a great team. He loves their speed, their energy and their organisation. So why, if they’re such a great outfit, did the Berries claim the spoils?

"We were lucky enough to score two goals and not them," Moustakas replied.

"In the second half everyone really put in, including the subs. It’s a lesson for us and showed what character is all about. It wasn’t there in the first half but in the second half everyone put in an effort and that was the difference between the two sides."

Meanwhile, Brumbies coach Dan Sheppard faced a dilemma with several players out through injury and unavailability.

"We’re down to the bare bones," Sheppard told Football NSW last week. "And playing a team that’s desperate to get their season back on track probably isn’t ideal for us because we’re missing so many players. But there’s nothing we can do about that and we’re just going to worry about what we need to do. I think the Berries are going to be fired up to get their season back on track while the gap’s still closeable. If anything they’re probably one of the tougher sides to play."

Turns out Dan Sheppard was absolutely right.

Match Stats

Bankstown Berries 2 (Perry Moustakas 57′, 90+2)

Hills Brumbies 1 (N Dimitriadis)

Bankstown Berries: 1. Chad Taylor (GK), 2. Domenico Tripodi, 3. Daniel Di Ruocco,  5. James Combes, 6. Mitchell Farmer, 7. Kyle Ewart, 8. Dominic Hudap, 9. Gavin Forbes, 10. Vincent Giannini, 11. Andreas Vais, 12. Jake Bradshaw, 15. Perry Moustakas, 17. Daniel Fornito, 19. Hyams Tomohiro, 20. Nicholas Mouzourakis, 21. John Dimitrakis

Yellow Cards: Kyle Ewart, Gavin Forbes, Vincent Giannini, Domenico Tripodi

Player Coach: Perry Moustakas

Hills Brumbies: 1. J. Stancic, 3 N. Pradenas Meza, 6 B. Robertson, 7. Wade Giovenali, 9. Sean Mitchell, 10. Jordan Parfait, 11. Daine Merrin (C), 14. V. Anyimba, 15. Matias Toro Suazo, 16 Greg Giovenali, 17.B. Hoyer, 19. G. Kelshaw, 24. Nathan Rayner, 34. J. Franich, 35. M. Glenfield, 91. Peter Cejka, N Dimitriadis.

Yellow Cards: V Anyimba, M Vieral

Red Cards: B Robertson

Coach: Dan Sheppard

North Shore Mariners 4 Marconi Stallions 0, Blacktown Football Park

North Shore Mariners pulled off the upset of the season with a comprehensive 4-0 drubbing of Marconi Stallions at Blacktown Football Park on Saturday night.

Freddy Ankumah-Sey, Chris Lindsay, James Scott and Mitch Smith bagged the goals in a remarkable performance that sent the competition into overdrive around the league.

In the leadup, Mariners coach Joe Haywood was confident his side could cause the sky blues a few problems. But nobody outside the Mariners’ inner circle would have believed the Northbridge club had a chance.

Sure, Marconi entered the fray without the likes of Sean Rooney, Peter Triantis, Theo Kofinas, Christopher Nunes and Judah Cleur, but such is the depth at Bossley Park that the Mariners still had to face a lineup more experienced and more expensive than any other in the league.

Indeed, to most outsiders, keeping the score at a respectable margin would have been an achievement for the Mariners, a club that last season struggled to avoid relegation.

But as we all know, matches are won on the park and not on paper and that’s what proved to be the difference between Joe Haywood’s band of merry men and a Marconi outfit that was out of sorts, and to be honest, completely outplayed on the night.

The Mariners trained well during the week, they were focused and they stuck to their game plan. And when the final whistle blew, they’d somehow kept a clean sheet and rattled the Marconi net four times.

When asked how his side did the unthinkable, Haywood replied: "We just took our chances to be honest, that was the main thing. We’ve been creating chances all season but not taking them. We didn’t necessarily control the game but whatever chances we got we took ’em."

The Mariners’ defensive structure and mindset throughout the game was impressive. The players knew exactly what their roles were and regardless of the pressure created by the opposition, they stuck to their guns and ultimately came away with the spoils.

"We’ve been working on our style since preseason and finally it all clicked last night and we got what we deserved," Haywood added.

"This was a team performance, we had four different goal scorers on the night and everybody played their part, including the boys who came off the bench. They played their part and they played it well."

While "massively happy with the win" Haywood said he had no time to celebrate but was instead focused on a busy upcoming week that includes a Wednesday night FFA Cup game at Ashcroft and a bumper clash against league leaders Blacktown Spartans on Sunday.

No doubt the Spartans will be wary of the giant killers from Northbridge.

North Shore Mariners: 3. Chris Lindsay, 4. James Scott, 6. Ricky Woodward, 10. Braden Cheng, 11. Freddy Ankumah-Sey, 13. Marquin Smith, 18. Mitch Smith, 21. Aaron Davis, 28. Michael Stojanovski (37. William Smith), 33. Tadhg Purcell (23. Chris Desa), 36. Stefan Giglio (GK) 

Unused Subs: 1. Dominic Maunder, 20. Josh Mbakwe

Coach: Joe Haywood

Marconi Stallions: 1. Nenad Vekic, 4. Dhari Alsaad, 5. Michael Beauchamp, 6. Raimond Coletta, 7. Mirjan Pavlovic, 10. Marko Jesic, 11. Sam Perre, 14. Peter Pelekanos, 19. Eros Bergamin, 22. Brandon Vella, 25. Samuel Burfoot

Subs: 21. Kristian Sekutkoski, 24. Richard Darko, 26. Fabian Monge, 41. Adrian Valenti, 48. Mohamed Adam

Coach: Tony Candy

-By Derek Royal, Football NSW Reporter