Round 22 Review – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Round Twenty Two of the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition produced its usual caper of outcomes, including four big away wins, an intense Portuguese derby, an entertaining score draw, as well as floodlight failure causing the abandonment of one match.
St George City FA moved ominously into third position with a 3-0 away triumph over Stanmore Hawks at Arlington Oval; Dunbar Rovers and Balmain Tigers shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Hensley Athletic Field; floodlight failure caused the 52nd minute abandonment of the Granville Rage-Sydney University match at Garside Park with the scores locked at 0-0; Rydalmere Lions recovered from a goal down at Magdala Park to beat Gladesville Ryde Magic 4-2; SD Raiders continued their impressive second round form by thumping Western NSW Mariners 4-0 in Orange; whilst Hawkesbury City grabbed the points in the late game on Sunday night by trouncing Inter Lions 5-0 at Fraser Park.
FRASER PARK – DULWICH HILL 4-1
The date was different, the venue was different, and even the line ups and goal scorers were different, but it was very much a case of déjà vu on Saturday night in Marrickville, as Fraser Park replicated their first round 4-1 win over Dulwich Hill with a similar result this time around.
Even though Fraser Park were missing key personnel in the front third such as Peter Crevani and Ben Vidaic, they raced to an early 3-0 lead with some clinical finishing, before winning comfortably in the end.
Following on from two successive defeats over the past fortnight, you expected Fraser Park to come out firing, and they did so, taking the lead in just the 3rd minute.
A diagonal pass found Chris Hatfield on the right side of the box, and he showed electrifying feet to shift sideways towards his left past two Dully defenders before thrashing the ball past Michael Frost in the Dully goal.
Dulwich Hill were stunned, but soon settled and looked good for an equaliser.
In form Dully striker, Tommy Bentham, tried to catch Fraser Park keeper, Anthony Costa, off his line with an audacious effort from half way in the 9th minute, but the custodian retreated quickly to gather the lob.
A minute later it was Bentham again, this time manoeuvring his way past two defenders along the left touchline before sending over a superb cross into the penalty area.
Right winger, Henry Wells, came flying in to crack a sweetly struck first time volley, only for Anthony Costa, the Fraser Park keeper, to brilliantly parry the shot from close range.
Costa was injured early in the season, and has had to recover, and then bide his time with Chris Becerra doing a wonderful job for Fraser in the meantime, but he showed he has lost none of his acrobatics with a sterling performance on the night.
Dully kept at it and almost scored in the 16th minute. A skied half clearance was lined up by Luke Giverin on the edge of the Fraser Park penalty area, and he unleashed a fierce left foot volley that Costa did well to stop by dropping low to gather.
After weathering that flurry of activity, Fraser Park then made it 2-0 in the 19th minute following a spot kick that was awarded to the home side.
The ever alert Michael Gaitatzis stole possession of a Dully defender on the edge of their penalty area, and was brought down as he took a touch inside the box. Gaitatzis dusted himself off to send Michael Frost, the Dully keeper, the wrong way to make it 2-0.
Dulwich Hill themselves were without their towering central defender, Nathan Bowden-Haase, and they felt his absence on the night as Fraser kept running at them in the front third.
It became 3-0 in the 26th minute, and it all started with another diagonal pass, this time from Alvaro Malmeirca, from left to right, finding Chris Hatfield on the right flank.
Hatfield showed some quick feet once again to get past his man, before driving a low cross across the face of goal. Michael Gaitatzis showed calm and technique to divert the ball home with a deft touch from a few yards out to make it 3-0.
Hatfield went close again on 33 minutes, slaloming his way through the Dully defence before playing a neat one-two with Gaitatzis, the run ending with an angled lob over Michael Frost that also cleared the cross bar and ended up dropping onto the roof of the net.
The half time whistle brought a halt to proceedings, with the scoreboard a reflection of the home side’s clinical finishing more than anything else. Dulwich Hill played their part in a very competitive first half, creating numerous chances, but simply couldn’t find a way past Fraser keeper, Anthony Costa, who produced some telling saves at crucial times.
Both teams started the second half with vigour, with Dully desperate to get back into the match, but Fraser Park keen to put the match to bed.
Fraser went agonisingly close in the 50th minute, after a sweeping passing movement. Alvaro Malmierca ran at the Dully defence before playing a neat one-two with Michael Gaitatzis and shooting as he entered the Dully penalty area. Dully keeper, Michael Frost, advanced off his line to brilliantly block the effort, only for the ball to pop up to Gaitatzis, whose volley from the edge of the box missed the upright by a matter of inches.
Dulwich Hill did not heed the warning, and Fraser went one better just sixty seconds later. It as Malmierca again who advanced on goal, drawing the Dully defence before slipping Chris Hatfield into space in the right channel. Hatfield took a touch before cracking a low grass cutter that raced inside the far post to put Fraser Park 4-0 up.
Dulwich Hill’s endeavours deserved a goal and they eventually pulled a goal back in the 54th minute. The deceptive Luke Giverin pounced on a back pass to Anthony Costa in the Fraser Park goal, with the ball squirming loose for Tommy Bentham to strike home from an acute angle.
Dully had their tails up, and both Giverin and Bentham fired long range efforts at goal as they valiantly tried to reduce the deficit further.
But it was Fraser who continued to threaten down the other end, and Gaitatzis should’ve had his hatrick on 62 minutes when played into space by Malmierca, only for Michael Frost to deny him with yet another excellent block.
Goncalo Paradanta then missed from point blank in the 67th minute following a great cross from the right flank by Chris Hatfield as Fraser Park looked to close off the match early.
But Jason Culina rang the changes late on, and the fresh legs played out the remainder of the match to the coach’s orders to register in the end what was a comfortable win.
It hasn’t been a fruitful three weeks for Dulwich Hill with two losses and a draw, seeing them drop back to the rest of the field, with St George City FA in fact overtaking them on the ladder. Worrying more so is the fact they have conceded 12 goals over these three games, and whilst they have scored 8, they will need to clog up their defence if they are to worry the opposition in the final weeks of this campaign.
Michael Frost showed his talents with some great saves throughout the match, including a couple of one-on-ones, whilst Sean Burke worked tirelessly from box to box to try and win his team some possession.
For Fraser Park it was a refreshing return to the winner’s circle after a couple of successive defeats, and what better way to do it than a 4-1 win in a local derby. Missing two key attackers in Crevani and Vidaic may have worried other sides, but Fraser Park showed they have depth and quality at their disposal, and went close to scoring every time they ventured forward.
Chris Hatfield was a menace all night on the right wing, beating men at will on the way to scoring a brace and setting up another, whilst Michael Gaitatzis also grabbed a brace and played his part as an effective target man, holding the ball up well and playing in his team mates. Alvaro Malmierca was the pick of the midfield, showing great technique and support in his team’s attacking forays, whilst Anthony Costa returned to the first team with some brilliant saves at crucial times of the game.
PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Twenty Two
Saturday, August 5, 2017
FRASER PARK 4 (Hatfield 3’ / 51’, Gaitatzis 19’ pen / 26’)
DULWICH HILL 1 (Bentham 54’)
Fraser Park, Marrickville
Referee – Michael Weiner
Assistant Referees – Jarryd McFarlane and Nick Farmer
FRASER PARK; 21.A.Costa, 22.L.Burke, 5.N.Dimitropoulos (capt), 17.M.Gaitatzis, 20.C.Hatfield, 6.M.Kokubo, 8.A.Malmierca (10.J.Simpson 82’), 19.G.Paradanta (23.F.Aoun 77’), 13.Z.Ribeiro, 3.J.Roberts, 16.S.Salameh (18.N.Lopino 82’).
Substitutes Not Used – 1.C.Becerra, 12.J.Spinola.
Yellow Cards – 16.S.Salameh 82’, 20.C.Hatfield 90’ + 2’.
Red Cards – Nil
DULWICH HILL; 1.M.Frost (capt), 28.E.Bardsley (26.K.Riggs 77’), 9.T.Bentham, 13.S.Burke, 36.A.Chance (20.M.Trimboli 70’), 10.L.Giverin, 15.D.Han, 32.D.Krideras (48.Z.Coulson 46’), 12.N.Stanojevic, 22.A.Vitucci, 17.H.Wells.
Substitutes Not Used – 39.D.Filipe, 23.B.Needham.
Yellow Cards – 15.D.Han 67’.
Red Cards – Nil
Granville Rage – Sydney University 0-0 (match abandoned)
The match between Granville Rage and Sydney University on Saturday night was abandoned in the 52ndminute of the second half due to flood light failure at Garside Park.
The result at the time of the abandonment was 0-0 after an even showing from both sides with limited opportunities to that point.
Stay tuned to Football NSW for updates and a decision on the outcome of this match.
Stanmore Hawks – St George City FA 0-3
St George City FA have climbed into outright third position on the competition ladder following a 3-0 triumph over Stanmore Hawks on Saturday evening at Arlington Oval.
St George City started the match full of energy and were rewarded after just six minutes when Sean Richardson came inside from the right flank to strike a low shot that found its mark.
St George City were struck a blow, however, when in the 41st minute they had Sam Messam sent from the field for a rash challenge. The extra man advantage didn’t last long, though, when Stanmore skipper, Ian Hillier, made it ten on ten, receiving his second yellow card – and subsequent red – in first half injury time.
St George City FA coach, Manny Spanoudakis, made a master stroke after the break, bringing on Peter Yannopoulos, whom was signed in the transfer window from the Hawks, and the youngster responded by finishing off two well worked moves with goals in the 63rd and 73rd minutes to wrap up proceedings for the visitors.
The loss sees Stanmore all but kiss their finals hopes goodbye, remaining in 9th spot on 23 points, 12 points outside the top six with just four matches remaining.
The win and subsequent three points for St George City FA has moved them to 39 points, and they are now in outright 3rd position following a run of 4 wins on the trot.
Dunbar Rovers – Balmain Tigers 2-2
Dunbar Rovers and Balmain Tigers shared four goals on Saturday night in an entertaining clash at Hensley Athletic Field.
Balmain edged themselves in front early on when Rentaro Osa played in Rosario Occhipinti whose cutback deflected off a Dunbar defender into the net.
The Tigers nearly doubled their advantage moments later when Occhipinti;s low drive flashed past the Dunbar upright following great kead up play from Gavin Wenyon and Liam Cole.
Occhipinti in fact had a great chance to double the visitors’ advantage when Balmain were awarded an indirect free kick inside the Dunbar penalty area, however his blast cleared the Dunbar cross bar.
Dunbar Rovers worked themselves back into the match and restored parity soon afterwards when Ricardo Meneses found the net following a Dunbar corner.
But Balmain replied before the break with a well worked goal to take the lead into half time.
Andrew Casali’s long throw was seized upon by Rosario Occhipinti, who drove goalwards before cutting the ball back across goal. Liam Cole thrashed the ball first time into the top corner from near the penalty spot to give Balmain a 2-1 lead.
Balmain had opportunities in the second half to close out the match, but Calcagno and Occhipinti were unable to find the net, and the Tigers were made to rue those chances when they conceded a late equaliser.
A foul inside the penalty area gave Dunbar the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot, and Cristian Garces made no mistake, earning the Rovers a point in a 2-2 draw.
The point moves Dunbar to 22 points, remaining in 10th spot, whilst Balmain’s third 2-2 draw in four weeks moves them to 11 points on the ladder.
Western NSW Mariners – SD Raiders 0-4
SD Raiders made light work of the Western NSW Mariners at Sir Jack Brabham Park in Orange, taking home the spoils with a resounding 4-0 victory.
The win continues the Raiders’ undefeated second round form where they have now won six and drawn three of the nine matches after the halfway point of the season.
The goals for the Raiders were scored by Mitchell Mclintock, Mark Symington, Joh Fahmi and Tyrone Gatt.
The win and three points sees the Raiders move in to 5th spot on the ladder on 37 points, whilst the Mariners remain on 16 points in 12th position.
Gladesville Ryde Magic – Rydalmere Lions 2-4
Rydalmere Lions came from a goal down at half time to record a 4-2 victory over Gladesville Ryde Magic at Magdala Park on Sunday afternoon.
Magic started on the front foot, and went close on 6 minutes when Sergio Tarazona headed wide after good lead up play from Ben Kerr and Johnny Martinez.
Martinez then went direct himself on 13 minutes after spotting Rydalmere keeper, Harrick Sinpraseuth, off his line, but his shot cleared the cross bar.
Zac Watters responded with a good effort in the 18th minute, but his shot was gobbled up by Kyriakos Tohouroglou in the Gladesville goal.
The home side took the lead in the 25th minute following some good lead up play by Chris Tomaras, who slipped Nick Ioannides in to space. The youngster’s shot was parried by Sinpraseuth in the Rydalmere goal, but Aaron Khan was first to react, slotting home the rebound to give Gladesville Ryde Magic a 1-0 lead.
In fact Chris Tomaras has a great opportunity to double their advantage in the 44th minute, but Sinpraseuth saved when facing the Gladesville attacker in a one on one.
Magic came out after the break eager to extend their lead, and two minutes in Nick Ioannides’ effort was pushed away by Rydalmere’s keeper, Harrick Sinpraseuth, after Chris Tomaras had beaten a couple of Lions’ defenders to set up the striker.
But Rydalmere were not about to roll over, and the Lions equalised on 60 minutes, when Amaury Gauthier headed home from a corner to make it 1-1.
Rydalmere had their ends up and went in front on 74 minutes when Zac Watters cracked home a long range left foot strike to give the Lions a 2-1 lead.
Gauthier made it 3-1 to the visitors shortly afterwards, but Magic reduced the deficit when they were awarded a penalty, and keeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, netted his second of the season to make it 2-3.
Just when the home fans were praying for an equaliser, Zac Watters popped up with a left foot volley to nail Rydalmere’s fourth goal, and give his team all three points.
Rydalmere Lions retain their five point lead at the summit of the competition, whilst Gladesville Ryde Magic drop to 7th spot as a result of the loss.
Inter Lions – Hawkesbury City 0-5
Hawkesbury City grabbed the spoils on Sunday night, easily accounting for Inter Lions 5-0 at Fraser Park.
Santiago Pallares Palomeque managed a brace of goals, as did Luke Miskovich, whilst James Mawein rounded off proceedings for the visitors.
Inter Lions remain in penultimate place on the ladder on 16 points, just five ahead of Balmain Tigers, whilst Hawkesbury City move into 6th spot on 35 points.
