Round 4 – FFA Cup Review
Given the final results of the matches played in Round Four of the FFA Cup, we are left with an even spread of teams from across many tiers of football in NSW.
Eleven NPL NSW Men’s teams remain in the draw, along with five from the NPL 2, five from NPL 3, six from the State League, four from the Illawarra Premier League, and no less than nine clubs from a number of local Associations across the State.
Before we take a look at how Round 4 unravelled, let’s review the featured ‘Match of the Round’, which pitted NPL NSW Men’s side, Sydney Olympic, and Emu Plains, a local outfit that plies its trade in the Nepean Football Association.
MATCH OF THE ROUND
Sydney Olympic – Emu Plains 7-0
The giant killing run of Emu Plains came to a shuddering halt in the 4th Round of the FFA Cup when the side from the Nepean Football Association were soundly beaten by NPL Men’s side, Sydney Olympic.
Spirits were high in the Emu Plains camp, following the Round 3 2-1 victory over NPL 3 Men’s side, Stanmore Hawks. But Sydney Olympic put paid to any hopes for the side from the Nepean Association, racing to a 4-0 lead by half time before going on with it after the break to register a 7-0 triumph.
Sydney Olympic rested a few of their regular starters, and provided game time to a range of budding youngsters at Peter Moore Reserve on the outskirts of Belmore Sports Ground, all who were out to show coach, Abbas Saad, that they could handle the step up.
But it was Olympic’s experienced brigade who got things going early, with Nick Tsattalios the first to test Emu Plains after just three minutes, his stinging left foot drive from outside the box brilliantly parried by Emu Plains custodian, Leigh Hewlett, who would have a busy night.
Jason Madonis then broke the deadlock on 9 minutes, dribbling solo across the edge of the penalty area before hitting a low left foot drive that found the bottom corner, edging Olympic in to the lead.
Madonis doubled his and Olympic’s tally in the 21st minute. Emu Plains keeper, Leigh Hewlett, got his finger tips to Madonis’ cracking left foot half volley, but couldn’t keep it out of the net.
Olympic sensed the kill and kept their foot on the pedal, extending their lead in the 23rd minute on the back of a clinical team move. Billy Patramanis played it out of central defence to Rylie Woodcock, who in turn found Nick Tsattalios in space down the flank. Tsattalios slipped a ball in to Radovan Pavicevic who was brought down inside the Emu Plains penalty box. Pavicevic dusted himself off to convert the spot kick and make it 3-0.
Emu Plains were energetic if not anything else, but with an upset always on the cards in these type of games, Olympic kept at it and wanted to put the match to bed as early as possible.
Pavicevic went close in the 26th minute after latching on to a long through ball by Stephen Athanaseris, cracking an angled drive that was well stopped by Hewlett in the Emu Plains goal.
Emu Plains then went close themselves after constructing a couple of opportunities after the half hour mark.
Joel Atkins made space inside the Olympic penalty area on 35 minutes before hitting an angled shot that was well saved down low by Olympic’s young keeper, Ezequiel Consoni.
Two minutes before the break Emu Plains went even closer, with Bryan Campbell connecting with Aiden Payer’s long throw in, but his header was again well saved by Olympic custodian, Ezequiel Consoni, at the near post.
Pavicevic then ended the match as a contest on the stroke of half time, squeezing in a shot from a narrow angle to net his second and Olympic’s fourth as the teams trudged off for a half time break.
The second half started at a slower pace than the game had begun, but Pavicevic and Madonis, at the very least, were keen to score again and nab their hatricks.
And Pavicevic did just that on 58 minutes, volleying home from the edge of the area after a Billy Patramanis header had put him in to space behind a static Emu Plains defensive line.
It was soon 6-0 on the hour mark, and it as that man, Pavicevic, once again who scored, this time with a flying diving header at the back stick after some great lead up play by Benjamin Morrison.
Not to be outdone, Jason Madonis managed to get his hatrick in the 66th minute, blasting a shot in to the top corner from inside the penalty area that simply flew past a stranded Hewlett in the Emu Plains goal.
There was a little time for two of Olympic’s young defenders to almost get in on the act late on.
Stephen Athanaseris almost snapped the upright in two with a shot from outside the penalty area, whilst moments later Billy Patramanis curled an effort from outside the box that went inches wide of the post.
That was all she wrote, as the NPL Men’s heavyweight moved ominously in to Round Five, whilst Emu Plains can be proud of their efforts and will live to fight another day.
FFA Cup
Round Four
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
SYDNEY OLYMPIC 7 (Madonis 9’ / 21’ / 66’, Pavicevic 23’ pen / 45’ / 58’ / 60’)
EMU PLAINS 0
Referee – Steve Lucas
Assistant Referees – Lance Greenshields
SYDNEY OLYMPIC; 20.E.Consoni, 21.S.Athanaseris, 19.D.Burgess, 13.Y.Elhindi, 24.C.Gligor, 8.J.Madonis, 24.B.Patramanis, 9.R.Pavicevic, 33.N.Tsattalios, 2.T.Whiteside, 23.R.Woodcock.
Substitutes – 11.J.An, 7.W.Angel, 17.B.Morrison, 30.L.Watson, 14.M.Burgess.
Yellow Cards – 9.R.Pavicevic 81’.
Red Cards – Nil
EMU PLAINS; 1.L.Hewlett, 8.A.Murray, 2.J.Morris, 6.S.McBride, 3.A.Payer, 5.S.Lane, 16.J.Ruchalski, 18.B.Campbell, 19.S.Payer, 11.M.Harvey, 7.Joel Atkins.
Substitutes – 33.J.Edgecumbe, 4.M.Murawski, 13.S.McCauley, 12.D.Sulfaro, 15.B.Berwick.
Yellow Cards – 2.J.Morris 23’.
Red Cards – Nil
Best of the Rest
Round Four produced its fair share of highlights, with plenty of goals across all the matches, including a few standout individual performances. Let’s review all the action and find out who progressed in to Round Five of Australia’s premier football cup knockout tournament – the FFA Cup.
Central Coast United FC caused an upset of sorts when they gave NPL3 side Sydney University SFC a 4-0 spanking at the University Football Ground.
Central Coast captain Daniel McFarlane was rested with vice captain, Geordie Howe, taking the armband, whilst Technical Director, Dean Heffernan, stood in as acting head coach in the absence of Stu Davis, and both combined to lead their side to a dominant performance.
Central Coast found the lead early on after Josh Swadling put Adam Woodbine into space, the striker slotting home after facing the Uni keeper, Oliver Gibson, in a one-on-one.
Josh Swadling doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 36th minute, before sending over the corner for Alex Arbelo to grab the third.
Central Coast finished off proceedings with a fourth and final goal, with Nathan Blunden sending Jordon Bennett into space down the flank, before his cross was cracked home by Josh Swadling for his second of the night.
Striker Adam Woodbine was sent off late in the game, but that didn’t dampen the mood for Central Coast United who take their place in Round Five of this year’s FFA Cup.
NPL Men’s side, Wollongong Wolves, got the job done against Kellyville Kolts from the Hills Football Association with a 3-0 win at Albert Butler Oval In Kemblawarra.
The Wolves took the lead on 15 minutes, when striker Peter Simonoski connected to a Quivi Fowler free kick to make it 1-0.
Just before half time it was 2-0, Simonoski nudging it home from close range following a Takuya Nozawa corner kick to grab his and his team’s second.
With five minutes left on the clock, Darcy Madden was on deck to score his teams’ third goal, sending the Wolves in to the next round.
In an all NPL 2 Mens clash at Cook Park, Mounties Wanderers easily dispatched Rydalmere Lions by 4-0 to take their place in the next round.
Noah Chianese gave Mounties a great start with two early goals on 14 and 22 minutes, whilst Tai Smith extended the home team’s advantage to 3-0 in the 36th minute.
Smith grabbed his brace just after the hour mark to make it 4-0 and put the game to bed, sending Rydalmere Lions tumbling out of this year’s tournament.
NPL Mens 2 leaders, Mt Druitt Town Rangers, took NPL Mens side, Manly United, to extra time before bowing out 2-3 in a Cup thriller at Cromer Park.
Daniel Rezo scored a screamer for Mt Druitt from 20 yards in a match that ended at 1-1 at the end of ninety minutes, but it wasn’t enough to stop United, whose goals came from Marco Sama, and Marley Petersen, who bagged himself a double.
SD Raiders downed Granville Rage 5-0 at Ernie Smith Reserve, an exact repeat of the same scoreline when the two teams met a few days earlier in the NPL 3 Mens competition.
The Raiders blooded a few youngsters in their victory, with special mention to Ben Lang who managed a goal, as well as keeper, Joshua Glasson, who kept a clean sheet between the sticks.
St George City FA overcame Pennant Hills FC 4-1 at Pennant Hills Park to take their place in Round Five of the FFA Cup.
Peter Yannopolous scored brace and there were singles for Michael Loupis and Kallie Bangura, whilst Browne replied for Pennant Hills.
NPL Mens side, Sydney United, easily accounted for Glebe Gorillas at Sydney United Sports Centre, winning 7-0 after racing to a 3-0 lead at the break.
Matthew Sim scored a first half double before Patrick Antelmi made it 3-0 just before half time.
Substitute Matthew Bilic found the net twice on 78 and 85 minutes, whilst Petar Markovic also scored, three minutes before the end, with an own goal completing the rout.
Cody Wehmeyer and Sean Kennedy were amongst the goalscorers for Albion Park White Eagles in their 3-1 win against Randwick City FC at Terry Reserve.
Cronulla Seagulls came unstuck against State League side, Balmain Tigers, losing 1-4 at Seymour Shaw Park, whilst Bomaderry SC overcame Marayong FC 3-0 at Harvey Park.
Hills United squeezed through in a tough encounter against the Blacktown Spartans in an all NPL Mens 2 affair, Hills prevailing 2-1 at Russell Reserve No.1, whilst Wollongong Olympic made very light work of Kenthurst & District FC with a thumping 7-0 win at Ray Robinson Park.
Berkeley Vale shocked NPL Mens 3 side, the Western NSW Mariners, winning 6-0 at Mingara Athletics Centre, whilst Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC also grabbed half a dozen goals in their 6-1 victory over the Woongarrah Wildcats FC at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Bankstown United edged out the Western Condors 3-1 at Jensen Park, UNSW beat Granville Kewpie Ariana 3-0 at David Phillips Field, and NPL Mens 2 side, St George FC, overcame North Sydney United 3-1at Ilinden Sports Centre, with goals by Anthony Morabito (33’), Domenic Brischetto (43’) and Alex Lekoski (94’), whilstJonathon Robson replied for United.
Northern Tigers took Budgewoi to the cleaners at North Turramurra Recreation Centre, winning 13-0, whilst there were plenty of goals also at Middleton Park, where Gladesville Ravens trounced Bankstown Dragons 6-3.
It took extra time to separate the Henwood Park FC – St Patricks FC clash at Rawlings Park, with Henwood progressing to the next round 5-4 after the scores were locked at 3-3 at the end of ninety minutes.
Hawkesbury City overcame the Waverley Old Boys FC by 4-2 at Valentine Sports Park No.3, with Bradley Gibson, James Mawein, Daniel Morsillo and Daniel Zahra all finding the net. The Hawks had to play the second half with just ten men after the 45th minute sending off of Majid Eslami, but the Old Boys could only muster two goals in response, both scored by Thijj Jannik.
Carlton Rovers lost out to Hurstville City Minotaurs 2-3 at Peakhurst Park No.5, whilst BTH Raiders squeezed past Banksia Tigers 1-0 at Cromer Park thanks to a Lionel Glorieux goal.
Dunbar Rovers tore Abbotsford Juniors apart at Campbell Park, winning 7-2, with Ryan Shaughnessy scoring a hatrick for the NPL Mens 2 side, whilst FC Gazy Auburn celebrated their spot in the next round with a 2-1 win over South Coast Flame at Jensen Park.
Striker Adrian Vranic netted a double to steer Sutherland Sharks FC to a 3-1 win over the North Shore Mariners at Seymour Shaw , with Ryoga Suyama scoring the other goal, whilst Lee Jones replied for the Mariners.
In a classic thriller at Christie Park, GHFA Spirit FC crept past Hurstville FC 5-4 after extra time following a 3-3 stalemate at full time. Kevin Lopes and Jayden Young both bagged a brace, Lopes netting both of his in extra time, whilst Ryan Johnstone scored a single for the winners. Christian Di Meglio (2) and Jesse Gagro scored for Hurstville, along with an own goal from a Spirit player.
Jacob Fryday and Jake Morlando both scored first half goals to steer the Tarrawanna Blueys to a 2-0 win over the Macarthur Rams at Corrimal Memorial Park, whilst a brace of goals from Dylan Lewis helped Bulli FC beat Consiton FC 3-1 at JJ Kelly Park.
NPL Mens powerhouse, APIA Leichhardt Tigers, destroyed Fraser Park 9-1 at Lambert Park, with Jordan Murray managing to score a hatrick. Nathan Milgate and Franco Parisi both grabbed braces, with Sean Symons and Tariq Maia rounding off proceedings.
Fellow NPL Mens heavyweights, Blacktown City, also recorded a 9-1 thumping, knocking Blue Mountains FC out of this year’s tournament at Lily Homes Stadium.
Connor Evans, Joey Gibbs and Devante Clut all scored doubles, whilst Danny Choi and Mitch Mallia also got their names on the scoresheet, along with an own goal by a Blue Mountains defender. Keiran Dalton scored an injury time consolation for the Mountains.
Marconi came from 1-0 down to knock Parramatta out 2-1 thanks to goals from Emanuel Ponce Farias and the winner from James Andrew at Marconi Stadium, whilst Branko Culina’s Canterbury Bankstown FC were sent packing by Hakoah Sydney City East, losing 3-1 at The Crest Athletic Centre. Anthony Frangie was the star for the visitors has he notched up a brace while Connor Shaddock added his name to the scorer’s list.
Gladesville Ryde Magic easily accounted for Glenhaven 4-0 at Russell Reserve No.1 thanks to goals from Voukidis, Pearson, Tomaras and Munoz, whilst Nepean FC were beaten by Kirrawee Kangaroos 2-1 at Cook Park.
The individual performance of the round was undoubtedly that of Timothy Knight, who scored six goals in Killarney Districts 8-1 thumping of Epping Eastwood at Valentine Sports Park No.2. The star of the show was Timothy Knight who bagged an amazing six goals, a match that the attacker will never forget that’s for sure while Brendan Hall and Andrew Klijn added the rest.
Terrigal United edged past Sans Souci 3-2 at Peakhurst Park No.5 thanks to goals from Anthony Pace, Mitchell Allan and Ben Flakus, whilst Maroubra United knocked out Hurstville Glory 4-1 at Valentine Sports Park No.3. The Eastern Suburbs FA side were too strong for their opponents as Daniel Banomy, Nathaniel James, Paulo Dias Viana and Simon Aramov were enough to see off their St George FA opponents.
Rockdale City Suns gave their fans plenty to cheer about with a 12-0 annihilation of Glebe Wanderers at Ilinden Sports Centre. Young striker, Jonothon Grozdanovski was on fire, netting five goals, but he was ably supported by Harris Gaitatzis, who scored a hatrick, as well as Bai Antoniou (2), Alex Canak, and Toufic Alameddine .
Please click on the following link at FNSW For all the results and details of Round Four;
Don’t forget the Round 5 FFA Cup draw will be announced on FNSW’s Facebook page on Friday 20th of April at 1pm.
