Round 11 Review – PS4 NPL NSW U20

Both Blacktown City and Sydney United 58 have lost ground on competition leaders Sutherland Sharks thanks to a scoreless draw in Seven Hills between City and the Reds, while Sutherland took full advantage of the stalemate with an excellent 2-0 win at Belmore Sports Ground.

Match of the Round

Sydney Olympic v Sutherland Sharks

Sutherland Sharks extended their lead at the top of the competition ladder to six points thanks to a hard-fought victory over Sydney Olympic in their round 11 clash at Belmore Sports Ground.

It was at times a testing examination for the competition frontrunners but one they ultimately passed thanks to a streetwise and workman-like performance that saw Matias Da Silva Santos net his seventh of the season from the penalty spot and substitute Deren O’Brien seal the three points with a late strike.

Olympic enjoyed several chances in the second half but a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal combined with Sutherland’s danger on the transition meant Kerim Baba’s side were unable to worry the visitors.

There were plenty of positives for the Blues to take however with Olympic remaining steadfast and disciplined up until the concession of a 67th minute penalty. The hosts offered several promising signs and managed to work the ball in behind the Sutherland backline but struggled with their final delivery in the first half and were unable to compose themselves in the second which saw two golden chances for attackers Luca Kmet and Emmanuel Koumis go begging.

The best of these fell to the Olympic frontman Koumis who was picked out superbly by Kmet’s low delivery from the right but with the forward lurking on the penalty spot he failed to connect properly and let Sutherland off the hook.

Kmet then enjoyed a big chance himself after the visitors backline momentarily switched off from a long throw but the Blues winger was unable to find the right connection on the half volley after escaping the clutches of the Sharks defence.

Olympic were eventually made to pay dearly for their misses when they conceded a penalty midway through the second half. A surging run from Sutherland fullback Adam Massoud was halted inches inside the box by the challenge of Ericson Ehiozee with Da Silva Santos coolly converting the resulting spot kick to put the visitors in the lead.

It was a cruel blow for the home side and goalkeeper Emmanuel Consoni, who had been relatively untroubled prior apart from a fine save from a Kevin Lopes header at the beginning of the half.   Sutherland had shown flashes of their class with some intricate touches on the flanks where Jake Borromeo and Matias Da Silva Santos made in roads with their trickery but were unable to pick out a killer pass in the final third.

But Sutherland doubled their lead fifteen minutes later when substitute Deren O’Brien pounced on a loose ball at the back post before unleashing a low strike that was valiantly palmed onto the bar by Consoni before trickling over the line to give the visitors an unassailable 2-0 advantage.

Sutherland manager Nick Dimovski praised a professional performance from his side following the match.

“We showed our quality today, it was a real tradesman-like performance. We have goals from all over the pitch in this team so I was always confident we could make the breakthrough”, he said.

“Olympic are a tough, physical side and they could have gone ahead in the second half, so this was probably our best result of the season.”

The ladder-leaders travel to Cromer Park in round twelve to face local rivals Manly, while Olympic will look to bounce back to winning ways when they welcome Bonnyrigg to Belmore Sports Ground.

Match Stats

Sydney Olympic 0

Sutherland Sharks 2 (Da Silva Santos 67’, O’Brien 82’)

Sunday 21 May, 2017

Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore

Sydney Olympic: 29. Amar Adilovic, 31. George Antoniou (30. Michael Hatzon 63’), 21. Stephen Athanaseris, 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 6. Ericson Ehiozee, 13. Yahya Ethindi, 10. Luca Kmet, 88. Emmanuel Koumis (9. Jordan Makridopolus 79’), 26. Billy Patramanis, 25. Mark Rodic, 26. Aidan Taouil

Substitutes Not Used: 11. Ali Dulleh, 34. Liam Flack, 18. Gabriel Koliomihos

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Sutherland Sharks: 19. Callum Fitzpatrick (27. Harrison Quirk 63’), 34. Jake Borromeo (29. Daniel Krilovski 84’), 5. Matias Da Silva Santos (37. Christian Torrelli 81’), 17. Claudio Fabiano (26. Harry Sutherland 30’), 24. Adam Massoud, 33. Thomas Papa, 22. Gerard Roebuck, 36. Matthew Stewart, 31. Robert Watson, 30. Lachlan Everett, 15. Kevin Lopes (23. Deren O’Brien 71’)

Substitutes Not Used: N/A

Yellow Cards: N/A

Red Cards: N/A

Saturday

Manly United 3-0 Hakoah Sydney City East

Manly United returned to winning ways with a comfortable 3-0 win over Hakoah Sydney City East at Cromer Park on Saturday.

The visitors were unbeaten in their last three heading into the encounter but Manly proved far too strong for Hakoah on the night with goals from Mitchell Rooke, Jamie Glover and Kye Conna securing a much-needed three points for the reigning premiers.

The win pushes Manly into sixth position on the table while Hakoah slip into seventh.

Hakoah face a difficult away venture to Lilys Football Centre to face Blacktown City in round 12 while Manly will eagerly await the arrival of competition leaders Sutherland Sharks on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday

Blacktown City 0-0 Sydney United 58

The spoils were shared between second and third at Lilys Football Centre where neither Blacktown City nor Sydney United 58 could make a breakthrough.

Both outfits arrived into the fixture with almost nothing to separate the two on the competition ladder and it proved to be that way on the field.

The result means both sides lose ground on competition leaders Sutherland who are now six points clear.

Blacktown City will welcome Hakoah Sydney City East to Lily’s in round twelve while Sydney United 58 head to Lambert Park to face APIA Leichhardt Tigers.

Rockdale City Suns 0-1 APIA Leichhardt Tigers

A lone Jordan Morfitis goal was enough for APIA Leichhardt Tigers to leave Rockdale with a crucial three points in their clash at Ilinden Sports Centre.

The win moves the Tigers into fourth position ahead of a crunch match against Sydney United 58 next weekend.

The result will be a particularly frustrating one for the Suns who were threatening a top five position coming into the match on a four-match unbeaten run.

But Rockdale have a good opportunity to avenge the 1-0 defeat to APIA when they host Sydney FC at home next Sunday.

Postponed fixtures:

Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Parramatta

Sydney FC v Wollongong Wolves

-By Jacob Windon