Finals Series Round 1 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
After a gruelling and emotion charged ending to the season proper, the finals series of the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition is upon us.
Congratulations to Rydalmere Lions, with Tony Basha’s team securing both the 1st Grade Premiership, as well as the coveted Club Championship, in what has been a stellar season for the club.
Rydalmere Lions have very much been the entertainers this season, scoring 95 goals over 26 matches as part of a very fluent attacking philosophy. Even though they had a couple of losses late on, and were denied the services of inspirational skipper, Matthew Mayora, through injury, they stayed focussed on the task and got over the line. Testament to the club’s approach and success is the fact that their U20s and U18s both finished as runners-up in their respective leagues, and as a result, all three teams will enjoy a week off as they prepare for the grand final qualifier next week.
Holding Rydalmere accountable all season were Fraser Park, who finished runners-up by the narrowest of margins – 2 points behind in the 1st Grade ladder, and second only on goal difference in the Club Championship.
The Culinas – Branko, Jason and Dean – brought with them a steely consistency to the club, and a disciplined brand of football that brought the club to the brink of the ultimate prize. Plenty to be proud about, and a successful season on many fronts nevertheless, although I’m sure it would be difficult to convince the Culinas of that.
Just like Rydalmere Lions, Fraser Park qualified for the Finals Series across all three grades, with the club’s U20s team finishing runaway Premiers, whilst the U18s squeezed into the semi’s in sixth position. Fraser Park will also have the first week of the finals to rest and recoup courtesy of their runner-up placing, as they await their opponent in the grand final qualifier the week after.
Dulwich Hill – SD Raiders
Elimination Final 1 – Saturday, September 9
Arlington Oval @ 6-00pm
Our first Elimination Final of the weekend brings together Dulwich Hill and SD Raiders, the match kicking off at 6-00pm on Saturday evening.
Dulwich Hill finished the competition proper in 4th position on 48 points, one spot ahead of SD Raiders who finished on 41 points, and hence earn the home ground advantage.
Dulwich Hill on their day have been devastating, scoring 70 goals – third behind the top two sides – and can score from many parts of the attack. Dully can lay claim to fame for being the only side to defeat the Premiers, Rydalmere Lions, not once, but twice, being two of the Lions’ three losses this year, producing 2-1 and 5-1 results to showcase their talents.
Luke Giverin has topped the scoring with 16 goals, a healthy return for an attacking midfielder, and is often the catalyst behind many of his team’s forward runs. Big striker, Tom Bentham, is one who has benefitted from Giverin’s service, chiming in with 14 goals of his own, whilst speedy flanker, Henry Wells, has managed 10 goals himself. Gosue Sama has added technique and a calm composure inside the box since his signing mid-season, whilst skipper, Michael Frost, continues to be one of the competition’s best shot stoppers, and will no doubt play a big part if his team are to progress on Saturday.
By all accounts, SD Raiders have had a very successful season in finishing 5th, given it was their maiden season in the PlayStation NPL 3 competition following their promotion from the State League.
Not only did they make the Finals, the Raiders also produced a fantastic Cup run that brought them to within a whisker of making the prestigious Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32, losing to the PlayStation NPL Premiers, APIA Leichhardt, 1-2 in extra time after conceding goals in the final minutes of both regulation and extra time.
The Raiders lost captain and skipper, Tomi Romic, following a mid-season transfer to PlayStation NPL top tier side, Blacktown City, but regrouped to surge into the semi-final series.
In Mark D’Alessandro, they have a central defender of the traditional tough tackling pedigree, and a player who has seen it all before, so his experience will be invaluable in this week’s elimination match. Daniel Bittar and Daniel Martinez provide the speed and wizardry on the flanks, whilst John Fahmi, Mitchell Mclintock and Mark Symington can all score goals, sharing 26 amongst them this season.
The teams have clashed twice this season, with both matches producing big wins for Dulwich Hill.
Dully won 5-0 back in Round 13 at Arlington, with a brace from Tommy Bentham, whilst the return fixture, just last week at Sydney United Sports Centre, produced a 4-1 for Dully, with goals to Gosue Sama, Shane Ardle, Angus Chance and Henry Wells. Dylan Stivala replied for Raiders with a cracking effort.
Dulwich Hill will no doubt be confident of securing a third consecutive win, playing at home and on the back of completing the double during the competition, whilst SD Raiders will have a chance to exact revenge in the biggest of the three meetings between the clubs. The winner will progress to semi-final the week after to play off for a spot in this season’s Grand Final, whilst it’ll be the end of the 2017 road for the loser – get out to Arlington Oval to see which team will win through.
St George City FA – Gladesville Ryde Magic
Elimination Final 2 – Saturday, September 9
Fraser Park @ 8-00pm
Our second Elimination Final will take place at Fraser Park, and pits together St George City FA and Gladesville Ryde Magic.
St George City FA finished the season in 3rd position on 49 points, earning them home ground advantage over Gladesville Ryde Magic, who finished in 6th spot on 39 points.
St George City FA have had a remarkable season, given they were promoted from the State League into their first exposure of the PlayStation NPL 3 competition.
In fact, credit to all at the St George City FA club who have managed to produce semi-finalists across all three grades – the 1sts finishing 3rd, the U20 s 4th, and the U18s 5th, with all the sides littered with locally based players.
Towards the back end of the competition proper, there was a real flurry of activity as teams jostled and scrapped for points to make the semi-final series. St George City were the most consistent of the sides in the quagmire, winning 7 and drawing 1 of the last 8 matches to steamroll into outright third spot.
The team has had two ever presents, playing all 26 matches. Skipper, Bill Tsanidis, has been a tower of strength in central defence, whilst James Spanoudakis, has showed silky technical skills in the front third to drive the team’s attacking forays.
The huge figure of Sam Messam has terrorised defences on the flank, and he top scored for the team with 12 goals in just 16 games, ably supported by the experienced Juan Chavez (11), Spanoudakis (9) and Aleksander Jovovic (9), who has been out for half of the season.
Gladesville Ryde Magic scraped through on the last day of the season, snaring the sixth and final semi-final position by finishing above Hawkesbury City on goal difference alone, with both clubs locked on 39 points.
Magic did finish the season with the league’s third best defensive record, conceding 34 goals – only behind the top two sides – on the back of some sterling performances from the experienced goal keeper, Kyriakos Tohouroglou, and his defence, including centre back, Lachlan Harte.
But a struggle to find the net during the first half of the campaign saw them regroup mid-season, and go on a run of 8 wins and 5 draws prior to last week’s game that helped them reach a semi-final spot.
Chris Tomaras has had the ball on a string with some superb skills in the front third, scoring 12 goals and setting up many others. Captain Chris Gaitatzis was missing for a chunk of the mid-season, but still managed 9 goals in 18 matches, whilst Aaron Khan has had a season to remember returning 8 goals, including a few crucial strikes. Magic have also unearthed some promising youngsters with their philosophy to give youth a go, namely Peter Voukidis (25 games) and Nick Ioannides, who showed some deft touches on the wing.
Both games between the sides this season have produced goals.
The match back in Round 13 at Fraser Park finished 3-3, with Chris Tomaras (Magic) and Nicholas Napoli (St George) bagging a double, whilst the Round 26 fixture just last weekend produced five goals, with St George City winning 3-2. Aaron Khan bagged a double for Magic, whilst Sam Messam produced the winner for St George City FA late on.
It’ll be the end of the road for the loser, whilst the winner will progress to the grand final qualifier the week after, so get out to Fraser Park on Saturday night to see how the match unravels.
Footnote
In order to provide accurate details of results, goal scorers, and incidents, this reporter relies on accessing a range of resources other than being able to attend one match per weekend, including online and social media sources. I have been able to utilise a range of individuals in my PlayStation NPL 3 network who have been reliable and honest in providing me with accurate and prompt data which has enabled me to construct weekly reports full of detail and context. I simply cannot have eyes across seven venues, so without them, I could not have produced the thorough reports on a weekly basis, so a huge amount of gratitude to each of you – and you all know who you are – thank you for putting your club on the map, and on a bigger picture, continuing to support this exciting PlayStation4 NPL 3 competition.
