Round 2 Review – State League Men’s
Following an Easter break and a couple washouts, every team has now posted a result on the board and it is the two Hurstville sides leading the way following consecutive victories.
Hurstville City Minotaurs were the big winners this weekend following a 5-0 demolition of Western Condors FC, while their neighbours fought hard to take all the spoils against FC Gazy Auburn. Elsewhere, Nepean FC were very strong against UNSW FC, while Wagga City Wanderers fell off their pedestal into the jaws of the Camden Tigers.
That last result we talked about was this weekend’s match of the round, and it was filled with goals and drama, as well as some exceptionally good football despite the one-sided score line.
UNSW FC vs Nepean FC
Following a positive start to their season last week against Camden Tigers, UNSW FC were hit with a roadblock in the shape of a 2-0 loss to Nepean FC which turns that positive into a bit of a negative as FC are now two games without a victory.
There was a lot of hype surrounding Magdy Andrawes, Nepean, and they delivered with goals from Roberto Polistina and Shomari Sabatho. They also got an extra helping hand when UNSW’s captain, Lenox Tweneboa was red carded.
“I’m happy to finally get our season underway, not having played our first round and with Easter, I was concerned we might be a little rusty. But our boys did well to control the game our way. I’m proud of them,” said Andrawes.
Following a washout on the opening weekend of football and the Easter break, this was the perfect start for Nepean FC, while UNSW FC may have to head back to the drawing board and address a few things to recapture that opening round form.
Match of the Round
Wagga City Wanderers vs Camden Tigers FC
Wagga City were top of the world after the first round and Camden were also quite happy after scoring four times despite sharing the spoils. This one was set to be a thriller, and it didn’t disappoint as Camden ran out 4-1 victors after three quick fire goals jut after the break.
League leaders, Wagga were looking good heading into halftime, however they came out a tad sloppy and that gave Camden the chance to pounce. It took two free-kicks and a defensive error, and the Tiger were off into the sunset.
Goals came from Mitchel Green, Dean Mugridge, Brody Page and Jayden Russel who added to his tally after a goal against UNSW FC two weeks ago. Camden Tigers have now scored eight goals in two games, while Wagga did add another to their tally through Lachlan Davis.
An obviously disappointed Ben Schmid said that his side became too predictable and couldn’t fight back despite the confidence around the dressing room at the interval.
“Pretty disappointing for our boys, we came in at half time happy with the game feeling confident we could take the three points,” said Schmid.
“Second half I thought we started on top but conceded three goals in 15 minutes, two from set pieces and the other from a defensive error.”
“We ran out of creativity going forward as they adapted to the way we were playing, so that’s something for us to work on.”
“All in all, I thought it was fairly even match that was closer than the scoreboard reflected.”
Despite relinquishing top spot on the ladder, Wagga City still look very competitive and are in a strong position early on. Camden Tigers on the other hand, launched themselves inside the top three and are looking lethal with their goal scoring ability.
Match Stats
Wagga City Wanderers 1 (Lachlan Davis)
Camden Tigers FC 4 (Mitchell, Dean Mugridge, Brody Page, Jayden Russel)
Saturday April 22, 2017
Rawlings Park
Wagga City Wanderers: 11. T. Allen, 8. C Arinze, 6. C. Barber, 9. L. Davis, 7. L. Flanagan, 1. R. Fry, 3. S. Jenkins, 10. A. Jolly, 2. S. Jones, 5. A. Millour, 4. B. Schmid, 18. L. Dedini, 13. D. Okot, 14. H. Toole, 15. K. Yeates
Camden Tigers FC: B. Brooker, M. Clarke, S. Doherty, M. Green, D. Harris, L. Hastie, R. Hastie, M. Johnston, S. Lloyd, D. Mugridge, N. Mugridge, B. Page, J. Russel, M. Serone, B. Simpson, B. Szumski
Prospect United vs Bankstown United FC
Despite losing their opening fixture, there was plenty to like about Bankstown FC and all that potential came to the forefront in a convincing 4-1 victory over Prospect United, who will open their 2017 account with defeat after the first-round washout.
The lack of football may have been Prospect’s downfall as they were left chasing a 3-0 deficit at halftime, following a rampant showing from Bankstown’s attackers in the final nine minutes of the opening half.
Prospect United bounced back in half, but were unfortunate to miss a penalty and have a goal disallowed, which then gave Bankstown the chance to seal the match, which they took without hesitation.
After a tough loss, Bankstown United coach, Claudio Canosa was pleased with the three points.
“The team showed a lot of character and good football to get the result. I feel we have great team performance overall, and we must stay focused and working hard for out next game,” said Canosa.
Prospect United coach, Darren Camilleri, was happy with the desire his side showed.
“Our guys tried to play our brand of football and never threw in the towel and created enough chances overall to get a result,” said Camilleri.
Hurstville City Minotaurs vs Western Condors FC
If you were impressed with Hurstville City Minotaurs last round, then you may have to fire those plaudits up once more as they churned out another quality performance and dismantled a fragile Western Condors 5-0.
If you aren’t doing the math, that’s seven goals in two games for Peter Sarikakas’ side, and a clear message to the rest of the competition that they are serious contenders. Although the boss wasn’t too pleased with their first stanza of football.
“We were much better in the second half,” said Sarikakas.
Hurstville Minotaurs are now leading the way, closely followed by Camden Tigers and their Hurstville neighbours. Unfortunately, Western Condors are now two games without victory and are anchored to the bottom of the ladder after conceding 10 goals in the opening two rounds.
Hurstville FC vs FC Gazy Auburn
Hurstville FC were a little slow to get the ball rolling against Bankstown FC two weeks ago, and it was a similar story versus FC Gazy Auburn, however, they pushed through to claim a 1-0 victory and remain at the top of the ladder alongside Hurstville City.
Going into the match Hurstville knew it would be tough and they were met with a brick wall like defence set up by FC Gazy. That scenario was made harder following a controversial straight red handed to Hurstville star, German Cabrera.
However, Hurstville managed to fight on and were rewarded when Michael Karagiannis scored the winner with just 15 minutes left on the clock.
State League manager, Jack Bulic, was disappointed with the sloppy refereeing but was pleased Hurstville came up with the goods when it mattered.
“There was no excuse for Cabrera who received a straight red in the first minute of the second half for retaliation. This situation was festering and the officials should have been more proactive,” said Bulic.
“In the end, we scored and still played football with 10-men. It was a great effort by the team.”
-By Jake O’Brien
