Round 3 Review – State League Men’s

Camden Tigers FC were able to overcome Hurstville City Minotaurs in a tough game, however, Hurstville FC stole the spotlight with a convincing performance against Western Condors FC.

After three rounds of action Hurstville FC lead the way, closely followed by Camden Tigers FC and Hurstville City Minotaurs.

Nepean FC remain undefeated with a game in hand, and Bankstown United FC are also lurking just beneath the surface.

There was more disappointment for the Condors and FC Gazy Auburn, but if you are looking for thrills check out our match of the round fixture, between Camden Tigers and Hurstville City.

UNSW FC vs Prospect United

After missing the first week of football and stumbling last weekend, Prospect United were finally able to get some points on the board, while UNSW FC succumbed to another defeat after an impressive performance in the opening weekend.

Prospect United went into the break 1-0 up, however they had to deal with a formidable UNSW side in the second stanza, as Ruben Pestana scored a brace. However, goals from Joel Bayubahe, Jordan O’Keefe and Nicholas Valjak were enough to see were enough to see Prospect run out 3-2 victors.

Head coach, Darren Camilleri, was very pleased to finally get three points under their belt.

“It was good to get that first win under our belt! Our players attitude and intent away from home against a much-improved UNSW team from previous seasons was exceptional,” said Camilleri.

“We thoroughly deserved the three points but Uni did make it interesting by playing very direct and long ball as were playing into the sun into the second half.”

Wagga City Wanderers vs Nepean FC

It was another tough blow for Wagga City after they fell short to Nepean FC, who have now recorded back-to-back wins following a washout in the opening weekend.

The fixture was a very evenly matched contest, and it took a spot kick with 20 minutes left on the clock from the boot of Roberto Polistina, who doubled his season tally after a goal last weekend.

Ben Schmid was disappointed with the result, especially after Wagga City started the season so strongly.

“I thought it was fairly evenly matched game with both teams creating opportunities, the pitch was quite long and thick which forced both team to play a more direct style of football,” said Schmid.

“Well done to Nepean for getting the job done and we are keen to see them later in the season.”

Match of the Round

Camden Tigers FC vs Hurstville City Minotaurs

Easily the fixture of the round, and perhaps the most enticing game of the season thus far, was Camden versus the Minotaurs. It was a match that lived up to expectation, and it saw Camden Tigers come out on top in a thriller.

The Tigers took the imitative early taking a 2-1 lead into halftime, helped after the Minotaurs were reduced to 10-men. The second half saw Camden grab a third goal, however the Minotaurs bounced back to make it 3-2 from the spot after Billy Luate was put through on goal.

Luate was taken out and the referee had initially sent off Camden’s shot-stopper, however, the card was rescinded and left Minotaurs to fight for a point, still down a player.

Camden switched to a three-player backline in the second half and that helped Hurstville pile on the pressure after Gerbe Magela converted the penalty. With just 20 minutes remaining the Minotaurs threw caution to the wind and went all out attack on Camden’s goal, but were unable to penetrate a resilient Tiger’s backline.

Camden boss, Dean Bradley, praised the Minotaurs tenacity, which should give you an indication on just how hard Hurstville pushed Camden in the closing stages.

“Tough game. Hurstville battled hard and made things very difficult for us so full praise for the general [Peter Sarikakas] and his boys,” said Bradley.

“I’m always proud of my boys, though they didn’t play to their potential and didn’t capitalise on the opportunity to go on with the game.” 

Peter Sarikakas had nothing but praise for the Minotaurs’ demanding work and fight, despite losing to Camden.

“I praised the boys at the end for the effort they put in,” said Sarikakas.

“I told them to hold their heads high, and we will regroup now for next week’s match at home.”

“We had wave after wave of attack, and created several good chances but the goal did not come.”

Next week’s match is very important for the Minotaurs, as they will be facing an undefeated Nepean FC. While, Camden Tigers also have another huge battle, when they meet Hurstville FC.

Match Stats

Camden Tigers FC: (Brody Page, Jack Russel x2)

Hurstville City Minotaurs: (Luate, Magela)

Saturday April 29, 2017

Ron Dine Reserve

Camden Tigers FC: B. Brooker, C. Cevenini, M. Clarke, S. Doherty, M. Green, D. Harris, L. Hastie, R. Hastie, M, Johnstone, D. Mugridge, N, Mugridge, B. Page, C, Rogers, J. Russel, M. Serone, B. Simpson

Hurstville City Minotaurs: E. Dominic, J, Drahalivas, L. Fatica, J. Kay, B. Luate, G. Magela, Z. Majkic, M. Mostapha, N. Nisbet, C. Theodosiou, A. Vagenas, D. Vagenas, R. Viglino, M. Zezovski

FC Gazy Auburn vs Bankstown United FC

After a convincing victory last weekend, Bankstown were able to follow that up with another strong victory against FC Gazy Auburn, who are now three games without victory and beginning to fall off the pace.

Bankstown were dominant and assertive, and racked up 4-1 victory over another resilient Gazy backline. Unfortunately for Gazy FC, they didn’t ignite the spark required up front to test out Bankstown often enough.

Claudio Canosa was pleased with Bankstown performance on a difficult pitch at Progress Park.

“We were focussed from the start of the game to get a good result at a difficult ground and we achieved that playing with good intensity and desire, all the players involved in the game did a good job,” said Canosa.

The result sees Bankstown lurking just underneath the top sides, Hurstville FC and Camden Tigers. Whereas, FC Gazy Auburn are yet to post any points on the board but remain above Western Condors FC on goal difference.

Western Condors FC vs Hurstville FC

It was another torrid day for everyone involved at Western Condors FC, whereas Hurstville FC flexed their muscles and moved to the top of the league ladder with a comfortable 5-0 victory.

Hurstville struggled to penetrate the Condors in the opening half, but after a few tweaks it clicked and they bagged two goals early in the second stanza. From there, they never looked back and ran away with the game easily.

Marko Banic, Henry Kamleitner, Michael Karagiannis, Daniel Kocina and Adrian Livio were the goal getters.

As mentioned earlier, the result sees Hurstville take top spot after three games, and the fact they are yet to concede makes that even better. Western Condors, on the other hand, have now conceded 15 goals in the same period.

Jack Bulic was pleased with the result.

“The players were patient and kept their composure in the opening half and were rewarded with a comfortable victory,” said Bulic.

“Three from three and no goals conceded is very pleasing.”

 -By Jake O’Brien