Round 15 Review – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20
Bonnyrigg White Eagles claimed the scalp of premiership chasing Blacktown City last Sunday and repeated the feat again in round fifteen after shocking APIA Leichhardt at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Elsewhere in round fifteen there were wins for Sutherland Sharks and Sydney FC while Parramatta slumped to their eighth consecutive defeat.
Match of the Round
Bonnyrigg White Eagles v APIA Leichhardt Tigers, Saturday 5.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles continued their mid-season revival after coming from behind to defeat APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3-2 for their fifth consecutive win in an entertaining round fifteen contest at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Cameron Stephan’s goal shortly after half time put the visitors in front for the first time but a strike from Bonnyrigg defender Damian Cupac and a fine winning goal from attacker Hayden Tucker secured another fantastic victory for the White Eagles.
Bonnyrigg, who were trounced 7-0 by the Tigers in round four, are now in eighth position and are just four points away from entering the top five for the first time this season.
A disappointing defeat for APIA Leichhardt leaves the Tigers a further seven points shy of competition leaders Sutherland Sharks having beaten the competition favourites at Lambert Park a fortnight ago.
The visitors will rue their failure to capitalize on a strong start that saw Stephan spurn two golden opportunities – first heading over at the back post following Samuel Gulisano’s free kick, before spooning the ball over from close range after a goalmouth scramble minutes later.
The White Eagles scored with their first shot of the match when Nikola Kremenovic slid in a perfect ball for Milan Parenta who steered the ball underneath APIA goalkeeper Christian Theuma to give the hosts the lead.
Stephan atoned for his earlier misses to nudge the visitors in front after turning home Jordan Morfitis’ cross after a smart near post dart.
However the hosts rallied and equalized immediately through Cupac after the APIA defence were unable to clear Harrison Bagot’s free kick.
Only a desperate block from Bradley Bartels prevented Bagot from putting the White Eagles ahead soon after.
But the White Eagles eventually crowned their best spell of the encounter through a fine solo goal from Hayden Tucker who slalomed into the box from the left and curled a superb finish past Theuma and in to the bottom corner to continue a remarkable turnaround in form for Bonnyrigg.
Match Stats
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3 (Parenta 23’, Cupac 74’, Tucker 77’)
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 2 (Kyra 41’, Stephan 53’,
Saturday 17th June 2017
Bonnyrigg Sports Club, Bonnyrigg
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 36. Amar Adilovic, 22. Harrison Bagot (23. Jordan Cracknell 86’), 24. Damian Cupac, 17. Leon Faria, 25. Michael Guse (29. Dalibor Malisevic 70’), 39. Nikola Kremenovic, 28. Nikola Krljar, 75. Milan Parenta, 20. Stevan Savicic, 33. Hayden Tucker, 31. Alexander Zarafetas
Substitutes Not Used: 77. Max Rowston, 35. Francesco Terranova, 34. Abdul Khaliq Mohseni,
Yellow Cards: 33. Hayden Tucker 59’
Red Cards: N/A
APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 32. Stephan Adattini, 36. Jack Armson, 5. Bradley Bartels, 23. Matthew Cook, 38. Samuel Gulisano, 12. Dominic Cox, 25.Aedon Kyra, 28. Benjamin Mccarron (39. Samuel Paslis 76’), 31. Jordan Morfitis, 26. Christian Theuma, 21. Cameron Stephan (29. Mathew Barkho 71’)
Substitutes Not Used: 26. Tristan Michlzman, 35. Jarred Willey, 24. Shaho Ismaeel Hasan,
Yellow Cards: 5. Bradley Bartels 37’, 31. Jordan Morfitis 57’, 23. Matthew Cook 63’, 39. Samuel Paslis 82’
Red Cards: N/A
Saturday
Sutherland Sharks 3-1 Sydney United 58, 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks returned to winning ways after back to back losses to beat struggling Sydney United 58 3-1 at Seymour Shaw.
Nick Dimovski’s side powered to a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to goals from Jake Borromeo and Lachlan Everett before Daniel Krkovski secured the three points midway through the second half.
The visiting Reds managed to net a consolation through Hamish Lamberton but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fourth straight loss for United 58 who slip into seventh position ahead of next Saturday’s clash with Bonnyrigg.
Sutherland restore a three point advantage over second-placed Blacktown City with the competition leaders set to play Hakoah Sydney City East in round sixteen.
Sydney FC 4-2 Manly United, 5.45pm at Lambert Park
John Iredale’s double helped Sydney FC defeat Manly United 4-2 in a six goal thriller at Lambert Park on Saturday evening.
The Sky Blues forward notched his eleventh and twelfth strikes of the season to consign the reigning premiers to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Goals from Cooper Coskerie and Jack Stewart increased the margin of victory for David Zdrilic’s men who are four points away from leaders Sutherland ahead of a crunch match with Blacktown City next Sunday.
Manly United scored through Jamie Glover and Mitch Rooke but fall into eleventh position ahead of next week’s meeting with bottom-placed Parramatta.
Sunday
Sydney Olympic 3-1 Parramatta, 12.45pm at Belmore Sports Ground
Sydney Olympic came from behind to defeat Parramatta 3-1 with three second half goals consigning the visitors to their eighth consecutive defeat.
The beleaguered Melita Stadium outfit entered the sheds 1-0 up courtesy of a Joshua Littlefield goal but a rampant second half performance from the Blues saw a Charbel Haddad brace and Fikret Berisha strike lead Olympic to victory.
The result consolidates a top five position for the Blues who face Rockdale City Suns at home next weekend.
Parramatta will look to avoid a ninth straight loss when they travel to fellow strugglers Manly United.
Wollongong Wolves 0-2 Blacktown City, 1.00pm at WIN Stadium
Blacktown City navigated a tricky examination of their premiership credentials to defeat Wollongong Wolves 2-0 at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
John Carnevale’s side missed the chance to go level on points with Sutherland in last weekend’s defeat to Bonnyrigg but bounced back here with first half goals from Jarrod Dodds and Yuta Konagaya leaving City three points away from the Sharks at full time.
Blacktown host third-placed Sydney FC in a mouth-watering encounter next Sunday afternoon, while Wollongong face APIA Leichhardt at Lambert Park.
Rockdale City Suns 2-1 Hakoah Sydney City East, 3.00pm at Ilinden Sports Centre
Jonathan Grozdanovski’s brace helped Rockdale City Suns into ninth position after a 2-1 victory over Hakoah Sydney City East in the final match of round fifteen.
The former Blacktown City prospect struck twice to cancel out a goal from Remy Wolanski as Rockdale secured back to back victories.
Rockdale travel to Sydney Olympic next weekend looking to improve their finals chances, while Hakoah Sydney City East host leaders Sutherland at Hensley Athletic Ground.
