Round 7 Review – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20

Sydney FC and Sydney United 58 FC played out an edgy 1-1 draw in round 7’s match of the round at Lambert Park on Saturday afternoon, while Sutherland Sharks recorded a 6-1 win over Bonnyrigg White Eagles to hold onto first place of the Playstation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 20s competition. 
Elsewhere, lowly Wollongong Wolves and Rockdale City Suns picked up wins over Hakoah City Sydney East and Manly FC respectively, while Sydney Olympic fell to a heavy 6-1 defeat against Blacktown City FC at Belmore Sports Ground.
Match of the Round

Sydney FC 1-1 Sydney United 58 FC, 5.45pm Saturday at Lambert Park

Sydney FC and Sydney United 58 FC shared the spoils from a tense match at Lambert Park on Saturday night, with Alex Gollan and Andre Schroeder the goalscorers in the round 7 clash.
Both sides take a point from a game in which Sydney FC took an early lead, before being pegged back by United shortly after the halftime break. A late red card threatened to tip the balance of the match in Sydney FC’s favour, but the visitors held out for a deserved draw.
The hosts couldn’t have hoped for a better start: Alex Gollan rose highest to meet an early corner and buried a header past Luke Babic in the United goal, giving his side the lead just under a minute after kickoff.
Sydney United 58 looked to settle on the ball, with coach Antoni Zmire urging faster circulation of the ball as they probed for an equaliser. But Sydney FC didn’t sit back after taking such an early lead, and might have doubled their advantage when John Iredale wriggled free on the right and ran at the goalkeeper, but Babic did well to save from a tight angle.
The visitors had the better of the possession but were struggling to create chances, and almost found themselves behind by two when Iredale touched a bouncing ball past the onrushing goalkeeper to leave himself aiming at an empty net – albeit from a difficult angle – but smacked his volley against the far post, and the ball was cleared to safety.
United went into halftime a goal down but came out of the sheds fighting and soon had an equaliser, as Andre Schroeder darted into space and whipped a shot into the right corner from the top of a crowded box.
Level at 1-1, United now looked for a goal to go ahead, and came close when Anthony Vrlic hit a shot just wide of the upright. Shortly after, Vrlic had an entirely different impact on the match to what he might have intended, as he was shown a red card after a challenge on Sam McIllhatton.
Sydney United 58 tired when they were reduced to ten and dropped deep as Sydney FC piled on pressure in the closing stages of the match. Despite their numerical advantage, Sydney FC couldn’t break through a stoic Sydney United backline, and were held to a 1-1 draw.
"I thought it was a fantastic effort from our boys," said Sydney FC’s David Zdrilic. "We had plenty of chances in the first half after that early goal but after a while it turned into a bit of a transition game.
"We could be a bit more clinical – they had a good half in the second half, they were happy to sit back and we struggled a little bit to break them down, but on the whole it was a very good performance."
Sydney United 58 FC coach Antoni Zmire was similarly pleased with the point, having fought back from a disastrous start and held on despite having a man sent off: "We started poorly, the first thirty seconds killed us. Apart from that, we were fine. We did well to come back and equalise, and even with ten men we still gave them a little bit to think about. All in all, I’m pretty happy.
"The ref saw what he saw with the red card – they don’t have an easy job. We’ve had games where we might’ve had someone sent off and we didn’t, so it’s come back around. It evens out, so it’s no big deal."
Match Stats

Sydney FC 1 (Gollan 1′)

Sydney United 58 FC 1 (Schroeder 55′)
Saturday 22nd April 2017, Seymour Shaw
Sydney FC : 36. BLACHURA Daniel, 13. COSKERIE Cooper (28. BALLARD MCBRIDE Finn 58′), 30. EVANS Mitchell, 35. GOLLAN Alex, 7. MASKIN Daniel, 15. MCILLHATTON Sam, 33. TILIO Giuseppe (34. THOMAS Perry 66′), 24. UJDUR Nikola, 40. VAN DE SAAG Harry (26. MALFARA Leonardo), 29. VAN MEURS Ben, 19. IREDALE John
Subs: 37. HAMILTON Samuel
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A 

Sydney United 58 FC: 30. BABIC Luke, 12. BERTOLISSIO Nathan, 34. IVANCIC Liam, 41. POLJAK Anthony, 35. SCHROEDER Andre (29. ZANON Matthew 60′), 24. SESTAN Daniel (27. BRISKOSKI Joshua 73′), 39. SMITH Bradie, 38. TRIMBOLI Anthony, 28. VRLIC Anthony, 43. YANG Tony, 36. MARKOVIC Ante
Subs: 26. ABDULLAH Alex, 31. MANOS Emilio
Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: Vrlic 67′
Saturday

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 1-6 Sutherland Sharks FC, 5pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Sutherland Sharks kept up their winning run with a 6-1 win over Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday afternoon, and hold a four point lead at the top of the table heading into round 8. Bonnyrigg stay bottom of the ladder after their sixth loss of the season, now three points behind 11th-placed Wollongong Wolves. Sutherland Sharks unbeaten run goes on; a record that the competition leaders will be eager to defend when they host Wollongong at Seymour Shaw next weekend.
Parramatta FC 1-4 APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, 5pm at Melita Stadium
Parramatta FC were beaten 4-1 by APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Melita Stadium on Saturday afternoon; their second consecutive loss seeing them stay ninth on the ladder at the end of round seven. APIA just hold onto their place in the top six, level with Hakoah Sydney City East on points, but eight goals ahead on goal difference. APIA are now unbeaten in four matches, and will look to stretch that run to five when they face Sydney Olympic FC at Lambert Park next weekend; their opponents having suffered a 6-1 loss against Blacktown City in round 7. Parramatta, meanwhile, will look to get their season on track against Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday.

Sunday

Sydney Olympic FC 1-6 Blacktown City FC, 12.45pm at Belmore Sports Ground
Sydney Olympic slipped to a heavy 6-1 loss at the hands of Blacktown City FC at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon. Olympic had previously been pushing Sutherland Sharks at the top of the table, but fall five points behind the competition leaders now, and sit just a point ahead of Sydney FC and Hakoah Sydney City East in fourth place. Blacktown City, meanwhile, leapfrog Olympic and sit in third place ahead of the eighth round of fixtures – they will face a match at home against Manly United, while Olympic continue the hunt for their first win since round three when they travel to Lambert Park to take on APIA Leichhardt Tigers.
Manly United FC 1-2 Rockdale City Suns FC, 1pm at Cromer Park
Rockdale City Suns edged their second win of a tough season after defeating Manly United 2-1 at Cromer Park on Sunday afternoon. Rockdale hold their place in tenth but now sit just three points outside of the top six, and a point behind eighth-placed Manly United. Rockdale might be confident of picking up a third win when they travel to bottom-placed Bonnyrigg White Eagles next weekend, while Manly will search for their first win since the third round of matches at Lilys Football Centre, where they will face Blacktown City FC.
Wollongong Wolves FC 3-1 Hakoah Sydney City East FC, 1pm at WIN Stadium
Despite picking up just their second win of the 2017 season against Hakoah Sydney City East on Sunday afternoon, Wollongong Wolves stay second-to-last on the competition ladder after Rockdale City Suns managed a win at Cromer Park against Manly United. Hakoah slip out of the top six but sit level with APIA Leichhardt Tigers, and will harbour hopes of rocketing back up the table with a win away at Melita Stadium next weekend, when they will face Parramatta FC. Wollongong, meanwhile, face a tough trip to Seymour Shaw against Sutherland Sharks in round 8.

-Football NSW reporter Max Grieve