Round 1 Review – State League Men’s
The opening weekend of the State League Men’s competition threw up some big scores and some bigger surprises, with Wagga City Wanderers leading the way after a disappointing 2016.
Wagga were the big winners on Sunday putting five past Western Condors FC, however there were still impressive results from the other big hitters like, Hurstville FC and Hurstville City Minotaurs. There were also some underwhelming results, most notably FC Gazy Auburn.
This weekend’s match of the round involved last season’s second place outfit, Hurstville FC against the newbies, Bankstown United FC. Both were looking to get off to strong starts and played most of their cards, however Hurstville drew the better hand and ran out 3-0 winners.
Match of the Round
Bankstown United FC vs Hurstville FC
Hurstville FC flexed their muscles and demonstrated why they have finished towards the top of the table consecutively the past three seasons, with a convincing 3-0 demolition of a very competitive Bankstown United FC at Jensen Park on Saturday.
Despite Hurstville coming second in 2016, it was Bankstown that started with a spring in their step, however, after weathering the storm the visitors caused some thunder of their own through German Cabrera who scored a cheeky opener and settled any early nerves inside the first half an hour.
Adrian Livio then doubled the score with an improvised finish, but Cabrera popped up late to seal the three points and open his account with a brace.
State League manager, Jack Bulic, highlighted Cabrera’s performance and believed the team demonstrated their quality and furthered their stance as a title contender this season.
“Once Cabrera opened the scoring, the tide turned and we had more to offer in attack from that point on. Once again this team displayed its championship qualities whilst under pressure.”
Paul Gagro was highlighted as player to watch this season, and the tall playmaker certainly made an impact with an impressive mix of well-timed passes and dribbles. Gagro also linked up with Henry Kamleitner, who caused all sorts of trouble every time he stretched out his legs.
Although the score-line suggests a slam dunk for Hurstville, Bankstown certainly pushed them and in the early stages were much the better team. They based a lot of their play down the flanks after some neat build up through midfield.
“Bankstown attacked with their speed men down the flanks from the outset. Our defence worked hard and held firm to repel those attacks,” said Bulic.
Despite the result, Bankstown head coach, Claudio Canosa, was pleased with his team’s performance and believes there is plenty more to come.
“This is a marathon not a race, and I am confident my players with more will become better. This a new team and our performance will improve,” said Canosa.
The lack of gel within the side was evident at times, and it led to some wastefulness in the final third, however, there were some very intricate sequences that allowed Bankstown to get beyond a tight Hurstville backline. If United build from these situations there is no doubt they will be competitive throughout 2017.
Match Stats
Bankstown United FC 0
Hurstville FC 3 (German Cabrera 21’, 70’/Adrian Livio 53’)
Saturday April 8, 2017
Jensen Park
Bankstown United FC: 19. Martin Anwia, 1. Adam Biernat, 5. Daniel Carrozza, 22. Ibal Iparraguirre, 20. Cristian Leiva Martinez, 9. Tom Markovski, 7. Jovan Mlladinovic, 37. Ryuji Miyazaki, 6. Joseph Ninnies, 16. Sean Robertson, 11. Kazuya Yamamoto
Hurstville FC: 18. German Cabrera, 17. Cristian Di Meglio, 10. Paul Gagro, 6. Andrew Harb, 11. Henry Kamleitner, 12. Michael Karagiannis, 13. Daniel Kocina, 7. Adrian Livio, 4. Thomas Oneill, 2. Benjamin Richardson, 5. Jamie Roberts, 14. Michael Rutherford
Camden Tigers vs UNSW FC
If you were at Ron Dine Reserve on Saturday, you were treated to a thrilling 4-4 draw between Camden Tigers FC and a rejuvenated UNSW FC, who managed to steal a point in the dying minutes through Sam Wrublewski.
Camden Tigers dazzled once more with their sleek attack, taking a 1-0 lead into halftime. However, it was a case of whatever you can do I can do better in the second half, as both sides traded goals.
Head coach of Camden Tigers, Dean Bradley, would have loved to take all three points but conceded that UNSW FC deserved a point for their hard-work.
“Last night was a spectacle! Our great fans got behind us and I couldn’t be prouder of the effort from my lads,” said Bradley.
“I thought we dominated the majority of the game, but lacked composure when we needed it. This will come as I’m aware we have a young squad. Credit to UNSW they kept themselves in the game and deserved a point.”
The result was also a relatively positive one for UNSW, who will be playing with a “never say die attitude” this season according to head coach and assistant head coach, Wes Fagan.
“Camden tactically were very astute, their fluidity between 3-4-3 and 5-4-1 was very difficult to break down. The gaffer made some tweaks and we fought till the last second,” said Fagan.
“We took our chances well, if this is the mark of our season, every team will be in for battle against us.”
FC Gazy Auburn vs Hurstville City Minotaurs
There was a lot of hype surrounding Hurstville City Minotaurs, and they managed to deliver on that expectation with a comfortable 3-1 victory over FC Gazy Auburn, who produced a much better performance defensively but were unable to push for the victory.
The Minotaurs wanted to play a controlling brand of football this season and they did exactly that, with a plethora of incisive passes which led to Gerbe Magela’s opening goal. Hurstville continued to apply the pressure but had to wait to the second half, when Magela steered home a second.
Gazy were resilient and stuck to their task, and that effort got them a long-range goal through Ibrahim Janneh, however, it was too little too late and the combination of an Anthony Villazon free kick and an eager Kush Ram sealed all three points for Hurstville.
Hurstville City coach, Peter Sarikakas, was very pleased with the result.
“We controlled the match from start to finish and if it wasn’t for the good defence and goalkeeper of Gazy the score would have been bigger,” said Sarikakas.
“It was a good night for the Hurstville City Minotaurs.”
Western Condors vs Wagga City Wanderers
Wagga City had recruited well over the offseason and put trust in their youth, and it paid off massively with a 5-1 away victory against Wester Condors FC. It’s safe to say the Wanderers will be resting easy on their long trip home knowing they are top of the table.
This season Wagga wanted to focus on a compact and lethal one-two combo, and it delivered on all fronts as they took the lead near the 20-minute mark, and from there, they scored four more times with two coming from the spot. Lachlan Davis managed to score a hattrick, while Adrian Jolly and Tyler Allen also got on the scoresheet.
Ben Schmid could not be happier with the team’s performance, and who could blame him.
“Very happy with a 5-1 win, 2-0 up at halftime. Our boys started quite slow from a 4:30 start and five-hour bus trip but managed to score around the 20th minute to give our boys a lift,” said Schmid.
“We moved the ball really well between the lines scoring another three goals, but ran out of legs in the last 15 and conceded in the last two minutes.”
“Overall still a lot of work to do for a full 90 minutes of quality football, but happy for a first hit out.”
Prospect United vs Nepean FC
Unfortunately, the opening weekend of the State League Men’s competition didn’t go completely smoothly, as the matchup between Prospect and Nepean was washed out due to the torrential Sydney weather over the past couple weeks.
-By Jake O’Brien
