Round 5 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
A full round of football in the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition this weekend produced 32 goals, as well as a number of red cards, as most clubs fought fiercely for the respective three points on offer.
Dulwich Hill kicked off the round with a 3-1 home victory over Inter Lions, despite being reduced to nine men for a big part of the game, St George City FA finished with a wet sail to beat Hawkesbury City 5-2 after the match was 2-2 at one stage, Fraser Park won comfortably in Bathurst against the Western NSW Mariners by 3-0, Rydalmere Lions flexed their muscles as they easily accounted for Stanmore Hawks by 5-0, whilst the SD Raiders – Granville Rage and Gladesville Ryde Magic – Dunbar Rovers matches finished all square.
Match of the Round
Balmain Tigers v Sydney University
Football NSW visited one of the historic homes of football – Wentworth Park – to see how the Balmain Tigers – Sydney University match would unfold.
Sydney University made their fans sweat for the victory on Sunday afternoon at Wentworth Park, taking a 2-0 lead against Balmain Tigers before being pegged back to 2-2 in the second half, then weathering a storm of sorts before snatching a winner in a nail biter of a tussle.
The ‘students’ came in to the match without the Di Mento brothers – Jacob was married the day prior, whilst in-form Domenic, who can’t stop scoring, was out with a groin injury.
It took a while for all the players to find their feet at Wentworth Park, with the bumpy surface not conducive to good football.
Both Peter Kardasis (12th) and Adrian Porcu (14th) fired the first shots of the match in anger for Sydney University, stinging the fingers of Balmain’s goalkeeper, Pat Ferrara, before the shot stopper regained possession on both occasions.
Balmain did not heed the warning, and Sydney University duly opened the scoring on 19 minutes.
The ‘students’ put together a neat passing movement upfield, and when Josh Karpes low cross was half cleared to Jovan Blagojevic, the skilful attacker took a touch before smacking the ball inside the near post to give Sydney University the lead.
Two minutes later and Ferrara was at it again, the Balmain keeper brilliantly saving a point blank shot from Jacob Blundell, who had controlled a far post cross by Karpes.
Sydney University kept their foot on the pedal, and Blagojevic blasted over with a left foot strike on 22 minutes, after the clever striker had created a yard for himself outside the box.
Next it was Adrian Porcu to get in on the act, making a bursting run at the near post to meet yet another Karpes cross from the right, with Porcu’s flick bouncing off the bar and out, with Ferrara stranded.
Balmain simply could not contain the Uni onslaught, and it was inevitable the ‘students’ would score again.
Adrian Porcu was first to retrieve the ball in the 29th minute in the middle of the park, before putting Blagojevic in to space behind the Balmain defence. The striker stayed composed to calmly slip the ball under Ferrara in the Balmain goal, and it was 2-0 to the visitors.
To be fair, Balmain had been non-combative up until this point, but a goal before half time awoke them from their slumber.
Just before the goal came, Balmain’s best player on the day, Raffaele Moniaci, tried a delightful chipped shot from fully 30 yards, but Uni keeper, Carl McMahon, finger tipped the 44th minute effort over the bar.
From the ensuing corner, Sydney Uni skipper, Josh Karpes, handled the ball whilst trying to clear, and referee, Mr Brandon Lovric, awarded the home side a spot kick.
Balmain skipper, Giustino Silvestro, converted confidently to reduce the deficit to 1-2.
Balmain were a different side after the break, and made it 2-2 on 53 minutes with a superb 20 yard rifle from Andrew Casali that flew in to the roof of the net, after the Uni defence had allowed him too much space and time to pick his spot.
Balmain had their tails up, and Frank Calcagno almost put the Tigers in front in the 56th minute, meeting a Casali cross at the far post, but the ever-alert Carl McMahon did so well to divert the effort.
Sixty seconds later and Mohammad Qunber Ali slipped Rosario Occhipinti in to space on the left-hand side of the penalty area, but his fierce drive flashed centimetres wide of the near upright.
Moniaci this time went on a weaving run in the 59th minute, putting Calcagno in to a gap, and his strong shot was again saved by the sprawling McMahon in the Uni goal.
With about 25 minutes left to play, you would’ve been prepared to put your money on Balmain scoring again to snatch the three points, but it was Sydney University who instead found a third and winning goal against the run of the second half play.
Jacob Blundell made a superb cross field pass from left to right and found Matthew Akehurst, who cut inside a defender before slamming the ball at goal.
Balmain’s keeper, Pat Ferrara, did so well to parry the shot, but Blagojevic was ever alert, and he pounced to head the rebound in to an empty net, in the process bring up his hat trick.
Both teams were careless in their hurried attempts at goal in the final minutes, resulting in no further change to the scoreboard, and a 3-2 victory for Sydney University, bringing a most welcome three points.
For Balmain Tigers, they did enough in the second half to show they can trouble teams when they focus collectively on the job at hand, but they will need to do that for 90 minutes if they are to take home any points.
Sydney University would’ve been delighted to see the back of Raffaele Moniaci when he was substituted in the 71st minute, the diminutive attacker was a menace all afternoon with his purposeful work rate off the ball, and his effective distribution on it. Skipper Giustino Silvestre lead by example in the centre of the park with some fierce tackling, whilst keeper, Pat Ferrara, kept his team in the match for as long as possible with some timely interventions.
Sydney University settled ever so well in the first forty minutes or so, and looked at one stage like they were going to run away with the match after leading 2-0 at the half hour mark. In the end, they were rather fortunate to take all three points on the back of Balmain’s second half revival.
Jovan Blagojevic was a standout in attack for the ‘students’, showing great technique when on the ball, and composure in front of goal, netting a hat trick in a masterful display of finishing. Adrian Porcu was a willing and effective ball winner in the middle of the park, and was often the architect of many attacking forays for the ‘students’, whilst Josh Karpes spent much of his time running the flank from a right back position, and contributed many telling crosses throughout the match.
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Five
Sunday, April 9, 2017
BALMAIN TIGERS 2 (Silvestro pen 45’, Casali 53’)
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY 3 (Blagojevic 19’ / 29’ / 66’)
Wentworth Park, Glebe
Referee – Brandon Lovric
Assistant Referees – Valerio Bertuccioli and Khodr Yaghi
BALMAIN TIGERS; 1.P.Ferrara, 2.D.Grasso (15.N.Ballad 67’), 5.H.Brown, 8.F.Calcagno (20.M.Angelopolous 76’), 10.A.Casali, 6.N.Lopino, 7.R.Moniaci (16.O.Rentano 71’), 9.R.Occhipinti, 12.S.Hrysanthos, 19.M.Qunber Ali, 21.G.Silvestro (capt).
Substitutes Not Used – 3.M.Paras, 40.J.Speers.
Yellow Cards – 6.N.Lopino 37’.
Red Cards – Nil
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY; 20.C.McMahon, 2.J.Karpes (capt), 4,M.Jonjic, 6.P.Kardasis (31.C.Quilligan 90’ + 4’), 13.C.Calderan, 9.N.Preston, 6.D.Mifsud, 12.M.Akehurst, 22.J.Blundell (5.F.Worrall 77’), 16.A.Porcu (15.J.Butnaru 83’), 7.J.Blagojevic.
Substitutes Not Used – 1.O.Gibson, 34.N.Makridopolus.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
Dulwich Hill – Inter Lions 3-1
Continuing issues with the lighting at Arlington Oval saw the Dulwich Hill – Inter Lions match brought forward to a 3-00pm kick off on Saturday afternoon, but it made no difference to Dully, who managed to grab their fourth consecutive victory of the season from as many matches.
But Dully did not have it their own way, finishing the match with nine men, no less, following a couple of red cards that threatened to derail their match day objective.
Luke Giverin got things going for Dulwich Hill early on, retrieving a clearance on the edge of the box, before beating two defenders and slotting past Inter goalkeeper, David Plowright.
Dully doubled their advantage when Henry Wells raced in to space from the halfway line, unselfishly squaring the ball to Luke Giverin to tap in to an empty net to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
Dulwich Hill defender, David Han, let his team mates down when he was sent from the field before the break following a reaction to a tackle, and things got worse in the second half when Sean Burke followed Han in to the sheds for an early shower after a reckless challenge.
Inter Lions predictably started to dominate proceedings at this stage with two extra players on the field, throwing men forward, and eventually pulling a goal back from Daniel Fogarty. Inter continued to create opportunity after opportunity, leaving themselves exposed at the back in search for that elusive equaliser.
Dulwich Hill weathered the storm and got Inter with a sucker punch on the break, substitute Vic Koutsoufis hitting a shot after a quick counter attack that deflected past the helpless Inter goal keeper, David Plowright, to finish off the match at 3-1.
SD Raiders – Granville Rage 1-1
SD Raiders and Granville Rage shared the spoils following a fiercely contested battle at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday night.
Following a defensive miscommunication, it was Granville who snuck in front early on after Stephen Homer took advantage and slotted home for a 1-0 lead to the visitors.
Things got worse for Raiders when central defender, Mark D’Alessandro, was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge, sending the home side in at the break a man and a goal down.
SD Raiders are becoming known for their second half exploits, and didn’t disappoint this time around. Daniel Bittar was especially effective for the Raiders against his old club, and despite having less personnel on the park, the home side went at the Rage until they drew level midway through the second half.
A speculator inside the box hit the arm of a Rage defender, and the referee pointed to the spot. The experienced Mark Symington stepped up and converted for 1-1.
Despite both sides pushing hard for the three points, and the woodwork coming to the rescue on a number of occasions, a draw seemed a fair result on the night and the two clubs shared the points.
St George City FA – Hawkesbury City 5-2
St George City didn’t find it easy against Hawkesbury City at Fraser Park on Saturday night, being level at one point in the second half before eventually running over the top of their opponents to register a comprehensive result.
St George City lead 2-0 at one stage, before a Hawkesbury revival saw them peg it back to 2-2 just after half time with goals by Ben Gray and Michael Noro.
The Hawks have always been a stern defensive unit, but injuries affected their personnel this time, and they finished the battle with ten men on the park.
St George lifted the tempo and were ruthless in their approach, finishing 5-2 winners, with their goals coming from midfielder Nicholas Napoli – a long range bomb – target man John Tsironis, and a hat trick to Alex Jovovic.
Western NSW Mariners – Fraser Park 0-3
Fraser Park strolled to a 3-0 victory over Western NSW Mariners at Proctor Park in Bathurst on Saturday night to make it four wins from four matches this season.
The deadlock was broken on the half hour mark when Fraser defender, Musashi Kokubo, got a touch to a wicked, near post Peter Crevani corner to edge the visitors in front.
Jordan Roberts made it 2-0 after half time, controlling a cross shot that landed at his feet before calmly slotting home.
Nathan Sansom clinched the victory for Fraser Park with a quarter of an hour remaining, running on to a through ball before smashing home goal number three.
Jordan Simpson was influential throughout for Fraser Park, pulling the strings in midfield, and even though they continued to create opportunities towards the end, Fraser Park couldn’t add to the scoreboard and the match ended 0-3 to the visitors.
Rydalmere Lions – Stanmore Hawks 5-0
After what seemed like an eternity without the regular, week to week league football, the Rydalmere Lions were finally unleashed on Saturday night and took out their frustrations on a hapless Stanmore Hawks, recording a 5-0 victory in a dominating display.
Once Rydalmere Park was deemed unplayable on Friday, some quick-thinking officialdom managed to have the game switched to the Sydney United Sports Centre, and the artificial surface played right in to the hands of Rydalmere’s swift attacking style of football.
In a testament to the depth of the squad, Rydalmere were without the services of Zac Elrich and Amaury Gauthier, two of their more prolific attackers in recent seasons, but the replacements came in and did a wonderful job in a seamless performance.
Skipper Matthew Mayora went back to his old customary attacker’s role for this match, and managed to open the scoring early on, whilst Ahmad Elrich doubled Rydalmere’s advantage shortly afterwards. Yoel Silvestre grabbed a brace of goals either side of half time, before Mitchell Gibbs rounded off the goal scoring on the night with an 86th minute effort.
The win gives Rydalmere Lions a perfect three wins from three matches as they continue the battle at the top end with a couple of other clubs.
Gladesville Ryde Magic – Dunbar Rovers 3-3
Dunbar Rovers came from 3-1 behind at Magdala Park on Sunday afternoon to snare a 3-3 draw with Gladesville Ryde Magic.
But it was actually the Rovers who lead at half time courtesy of Tod Bamber’s 10th minute penalty, although they seemingly fell apart during a 20 minute spell after the break.
Aaron Khan equalised with a low shot on 49 minutes, Chris Gaitatzis edged Magic in front in the 55th minute, and remarkably, Heo Wookbum made it 3-1 to Gladesville Ryde Magic with a clinical finish in the 69th minute.
But everyone knows Dunbar do not give in easily, and they stormed back to snatch a point, scoring two goals within five minutes of falling 1-3 behind.
Alexander Nicolosi was the Dunbar hero, a neat dummy setting up his first goal which went in off the post in the 71st minute, before he stroke home the equaliser with a measured effort in the 74th minute.
