Round 16 Review – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20
Big victories for Rockdale City Suns and Hakoah Sydney City East highlight round sixteen of the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s U20 competition while there was more misery for Parramatta.
The Match of the Round was in Seven Hills where second-placed Blacktown City entertained third-placed Sydney FC.
Match of the Round
Blacktown City 1-1 Sydney FC, Sunday 1.00pm at Lilys Football Centre
John Iredale’s thirteenth goal of the season ensured points were shared between Blacktown City and Sydney FC as the two premiership contenders played out an entertaining 1-1 stalemate at Lily’s Football Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Blacktown led at half time thanks to Mason Ireland’s smart finish midway through the first half but the competition golden boot leader hammered in an equalizer at the start of the second stanza to restore parity for the visitors.
After a tight opening half both sides enjoyed a series of chances to grab a winner in a high-quality contest but an excellent display of goalkeeping from Blacktown’s Tomislav Rodic and Sydney’s Duro Dragicevic kept the scores level.
Sutherland’s surprise defeat to Hakoah Sydney City East means both outfits remain in touching distance of the competition leaders with second-placed Blacktown trailing the Sharks by two points, while David Zdrilic’s Sky Blues remain three behind.
The visitors enjoyed a strong start to the match with Romic called into action early to deny Paolo Bonnani’s header and Cooper Coskerie’s close range attempt, while at the other end Dragicevic made a superb reflex save to parry Ireland’s header.
The Blacktown skipper caused problems for the Sydney defence all afternoon with his darts in behind the defence and opened the scoring on twenty-five minutes after controlling a quick release from Romic before sliding the ball through the legs of Dragicevic for his ninth goal of the campaign.
Sydney attacked with renewed purpose after the interval and equalized ten minutes into the second half following a needless turnover on the edge of the Blacktown box.
Iredale seized possession before combining with Coskerie and forcing Romic into a good low save, but the forward smashed in the rebound from the tightest of angles to draw the visitors level.
Both sides adopted a more careful approach with the scores level but there would still be a flurry of late chances, with the best opportunity falling to Iredale who slalomed into the box and drew Romic out but couldn’t turn the ball home.
Dragicevic pulled off arguably the save of the match to deny a goal bound effort from late substitute John Azar, while Romic offered another piece of goalkeeping excellence at the other end to acrobatically palm away a deflected free kick from Coskerie.
Sydney FC face another premiership contender next weekend when they host APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lambert Park on Saturday, while Blacktown visit struggling Parramatta on Sunday at Melita Stadium.
Match Stats
Blacktown City 1 (Ireland 25’)
Sydney FC 1 (Iredale 55’)
Sunday 25th of June 2017
Lilys Football Centre, Seven Hills
Blacktown City: 33. Isaac Dandan, 29. Lewis Fraser, 23. Samuel Hamilton (32. John Azar 85’), 39. Mason Ingram, 26. Mason Ireland, 28. Yuta Konagaya (31. Lachlan Rose 69’), 27. Dan Machara, 24. Jake Mamone, 25. Benjamin Parkinson, 38. Evan Patramanis, 20. Tomislav Romic, 31. Lachlan Rose
Substitutes Not Used: 35. Anthony Gallo, 1. Dylan Niski, 36. Robert Sudzum
Yellow Cards: Parkinson 47’, Patramanis 60’
Red Cards: N/A
Sydney FC: 40. Christopher Arditti, 36. Daniel Blachura, 31. Paolo Bonnani, 27. Cooper Coskerie, 30. Duro Dragicevic, 35. Alex Gollan, 19. John Iredale, 26. Leonardo Malfara (28. Finn Ballard-Mcbride 45’), 25. Jerry Skotadis, 24. Jack Stewart (33. Giuseppe Tilio 72’), 34. Perry Thomas
Substitutes Not Used: 32. Aaron Avery, 51. David Malishev, 84. Thomas Fay
Yellow Cards: Malfara 30’
Red Cards: N/A
Saturday
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2-1 Sydney United 58, 5.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles furthered their prospects as championship dark horses after claiming a sixth consecutive victory to defeat Sydney United 58 2-1 at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Asmir Kadric and Harrison Bagot led the charge for the flying White Eagles who held a 2-0 lead at half time.
A second half effort from Adrian Vranic was not enough for the visiting Reds to avoid a fifth straight defeat.
Bonnyrigg leapfrog their rivals into seventh position as a result of the triumph, while Sydney United 58 slip down a position to eighth.
The competition’s in form team take on a Hakoah Sydney City East side fresh from a 2-1 upset win over competition leaders Sutherland next week, while Sydney United 58 face Wollongong Wolves at WIN Stadium on Sunday.
Manly United 2-0 Parramatta, 5.00pm at Cromer Park
Manly United consigned Parramatta to tenth consecutive defeat after accounting for the struggling Melita Stadium outfit 2-0 at Cromer Park.
Jamie Glover and Sheldon Tweedie were the familiar goal scorers for the reigning premiers who extend their advantage over bottom placed Parramatta to ten points.
Manly’s finals hopes remain slim but will be improved if they can defeat Sydney Olympic in Belmore next Sunday.
Parramatta are out to avoid eleven straight defeats when competition heavyweights Blacktown City arrive at Melita Stadium on the same day.
Sunday
Sydney Olympic 1-2 Rockdale City Suns, 12.45pm at Belmore Sports Ground
Rockdale City Suns continue to climb the ladder following an impressive 2-1 defeat of Sydney Olympic at Belmore Sports Ground.
The visitors raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from James Temelkovski and Alex Malfara and despite an excellent strike from Olympic’s Charbel Haddad were able to hold on for their third consecutive victory.
The win brings Rockdale onto eighteen points and into a cluster of sides baying outside the finals positions, while Sydney Olympic hold on to fifth position.
Rockdale face a true test of their finals credentials next Sunday when they entertain leaders Sutherland at home.
Sydney Olympic could find their position in the top five in jeopardy should they fail to beat Manly United next Sunday lunchtime.
Hakoah Sydney City East 2-1 Sutherland Sharks, 1.00pm at Hensley Athletic Field
Competition leaders Sutherland Sharks suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Hakoah Sydney City East at Hensley Athletic Field.
Goals from Connor Eldridge and Michael Kouta saw the hosts take a 2-0 lead at half time and while Jake Borromeo pulled a goal back for the Sharks in the second half they were unable to avoid their third defeat in four games.
Blacktown City’s 1-1 draw with Sydney FC in Sunday’s other fixture means Sutherland’s lead is trimmed to two points ahead of the visit of Rockdale next weekend.
Hakoah Sydney City East could re-enter the top five should they beat in form Bonnyrigg on Saturday.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1-1 Wollongong Wolves, 2.30pm at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt Tigers lost further ground in the premiership race after a 1-1 stalemate with ten-man Wollongong Wolves at Lambert Park.
Wollongong’s Jack Lombo’s eighth strike of the season cancelled out a strike from Samuel Gulisano and salvaged a point for the visitors who saw Sean Eve sent off.
The result leaves the Tigers six points adrift of the top and with just one win from their last four the Lambert Park outfit need to turn their form around to remain in the premiership hunt.
APIA have the perfect opportunity to do exactly that next weekend when they clash with Sydney FC, while Wollongong Wolves could move ahead of opponents Sydney United 58 with a win.
