Round 8 – National Premier League NSW Men’s 2 Review
A nine-goal thriller and one of the greatest upsets this league has ever seen.
Round 8 of the NPL 2 NSW Men’s will remain in the memory of football fans for years to come.
Match of the Round:
Mt Druitt Town Rangers vs Blacktown Spartans
The Mount Druitt Town Rangers gave the Blacktown Spartans a lesson in finishing, as the leaders continued their stranglehold on the NPL 2 NSW Men’s competition with a 3-nil win in Saturday night’s Western Sydney derby.
Football can be a cruel game.
Blacktown Spartans dominated the shot count, but it was the clinical finishing of the Town Rangers that stretched their advantage to six at the summit.
The goals came through Hiten Satoh, Emmanuel Gonzalez and a second half tally from Nicholas Trimble, which continued Mount Druitt’s unbeaten start to the season.
Sadly for Blacktown, it is another blow to their chances of survival, as the race at the bottom continues to heat up.
Coach Luis Contigiani believes if they replicate tonight’s form with some end product, they can climb out of this.
Coming into tonight, off three straight victories, Mount Druitt quickly sent about making that four.
Satoh, inspired by the Commonwealth games, tried an acrobatic effort that sailed over quickly followed by Spartan’s keeper, Domenic Nascimben tipping over Brian Griffin-Colls’ drive.
The Spartans weren’t backing down though, Alex Boyadjian latched onto a smooth pass from Dau Akol but he fluffed his lines in front of goal.
Next, it was Peter Crevani that forced Town Rangers’ custodian, Carlos Saliadarre – against his former team – to punch over.
For all the early effort from the Spartans, it was the home side who struck first, in unlikely circumstances.
A direct corner from Sitoh sailed through the area and nestled into the goal, making it 1-nil.
The Spartans tried to respond as Crevani tried his luck from range again in the 24th minute, before a pair of efforts from Boyadjian and Akol. Their profligacy in front of goal brought their undoing in a contest that was closer than the score-line and ladder position suggested.
Mount Druitt showed the poise and cold finishing of a top side. Emmanuel Gonzalez scoring his side’s second of the game, striding into the area before cushioning an effort off the left post, into the net.
Frustrated by their concession, the Spartans turned to long range efforts from Crevani and Boyadjian to possibly catch out Saliadarre. However the Town Rangers’ keeper remained up to the task and the home side took the two-goal advantage to the break.
Three minutes after the restart, Mount Druitt put the game to bed. A wicked free-kick soared through the crisp night sky and Nicholas Trimble reacted quickest to turn the ball home for 3-nil.
Despite the contest being out of reach, the Spartans continued to thrust forward. Kout Maliet cut inside and slashed wide before Vincent Caccavale’s cutback was fired straight ahead by Boyadjian.
The chances piled up as Spartans’ sub Gawang Awac’s travelling shot needed saving from Saliadarre while Crevani tried to arrow home in a frustrating night for the visitors.
By contrast, the home side showed their appetite for goals.
Lord Darkoh tried to flick home a header before substitute Daniel Rezo forced Nascimben into a diving stop from his drive as the game edged towards full-time.
After the match, Mount Druitt coach Aiden Desmond was happy to secure all three points continuing their impressive start to the season.
“They came out and pressed us. We were resilient in defence; we forced them into long shots and were clinical with our chances in attack. I’ll take the three-nil win” exclaimed Desmond.
For Spartans’ Technical Director Raul Blanco, tonight’s result could’ve been much different with some polish on their chances.
“We had our chances. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t put them away. It could’ve been anything tonight, I feel we could’ve got a draw against such a good side,”
“We’re changing a few things in our game. I can see some improvements in our game and it should continue for us in the next few weeks,” finished Blanco.
By Justin Davies
MATCH STATS
Saturday 21st April 2018
Popondetta Park, Emerton
Referee: Craig Fisher
Assistant Referees: Chris Hughes & John Lalic
Mount Druitt Town Rangers 3
Blacktown Spartans 0
Mount Druitt Town Rangers: 1. SALIADERRE Carlos, 2. SATOH Hiten (10. REZO ’68), 3. GRIFFIN-COLLS Brian, 6. GULLO Daniel, 8. CLOWES Matthew, 11. VLISMAS Alexander, 12. TRIMBLE Nicholas, 13. DARKOH Lord, 17. O’LEARY David (4.Sierra ’79), 19. GONZALEZ Emmanuel, 20. SINGH Alvin
Subs not used: 5. VLISMAS Kristopher, 21. ZANELLA Franco, 22. MAMONE Jake
Yellow cards: nil
Red cards: nil
Blacktown Spartans: 1. NASCIMBEN Domenic, 4. CREVANI Peter, 5. LETTA James, 6. BOYADJIAN Alex, 7. PRESS Jack (14. TORRELLI ’79), 8. AKOL Dau, 11. BOUTOUBIA Tiano, 12. BLANCO Richard, 16. SANSOM Nathan, 20. CACCAVALE Vincent (13. PECORA ’71), 21. MALIET Kuot (17. AWAC ’65)
Subs not used: 3. EL ALI Emanuel 40. BROWN Hugh
Yellow cards: Blanco ‘8 Press ’47
Red cards: nil
St George FC 0 vs Rydalmere Lions 4
In undoubtedly the greatest upset since David took on Goliath, Rydalmere Lions have stunned St George FC by four goals to nil.
Yes, you read that right.
St George FC 0 Rydalmere Lions 4.
Rydalmere are a team that feed off emotion. When the Lions have momentum, there are few teams that can stand in their way.
After a tight opening 45 minutes, Rydalmere came out in the second period with an insatiable determination.
The Lions were rewarded for their positive start to the second half when Amaury Gauthier, fresh off his intelligence test victory over Addison Sayan in midweek, pounced to guide the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Encourage by their opening goal, Rydalmere surged.
The wave of momentum was with the Lions and star-man Zak Elrich doubled his side’s tally just two minutes later.
St George looked on in disbelief.
Rydalmere, by contrast, were overflowing with confidence and self-belief.
There looked to be no way back into the match for a shocked St George outfit.
The special Juan tried to weave his magic wand but the Lions defence were immune to any spell he tried to conjure.
Late in the match Rydalmere added two final goals through the Japanese Kanté, Futoshi Kondo and Dillan Kahale, much to the delight of the capacity Rydalmere crowd who had made the trek to the Ilinden Sports Centre.
Technical director, Lloyd Owusu’s Instagram story best captured the emotions of the Rydalmere players at full-time as the team song was belted out with a mixture of jubilation and astonishment as the significance of their achievements began to sink in.
An incredible victory for Rydalmere that reminds all football fans just why we love this game so much.
North Shore Mariners 5 vs Mounties Wanderers 4
“Where were you when North Shore beat Mounties with the last kick of the game?”
It’s a question that will be asked by football fans for the remainder of the 2018 season.
And for those fans lucky enough to bear witness to this jewell in the crown of NPL football, the answer will always be,
“I was there”.
A nine-goal thriller at Northbridge Oval that see-sawed furiously in momentum and drama.
Mounties’ striker Matthew West emerged with the match ball but I’m sure he would have traded it for all three points as his individual effort wasn’t enough to seal all three points.
The opening period of this match gave fans a glimpse of what was to come with the Mariners taking the lead in the 17th minute before Mounties fired back less than 60 seconds later.
Whilst the two traded blows for large parts of the opening half, it was the Mariners who scored late in stoppage time to take a slender lead to the break.
Incredibly, the second half began much like the first.
The Mariners scored first, but again the Mounties responded straight away, scoring almost immediately after conceding.
With such drama swaying so dramatically from end to end, fans at Northbridge Oval could sense something spectacular brewing.
As the game ticked closer towards full-time, they were right.
The Mariners scored again in the 76th minute to take their lead to 4-2 but everyone in the ground knew there was more to come.
The Mounties pulled a goal back on 88 minutes and their players charged into the net, plucked the ball out of its grasp and raced back to halfway.
Mariners’ fans shuffled nervously to the edge of their seat whilst Mounties fans seemed to move closer and closer to the pitch, to the point where it felt as though they were standing alongside their inspired heroes.
The Mounties players looked tireless as they pressed the Mariners relentlessly.
Each mistake or misplaced pass drew a cheer from the home fans but the loudest cheer was reserved for what seemed like the final goal of the match as the Mounties drew level in the 90th minute.
Although, scoring goals immediately after conceding seemed to be a theme of this match and this time it was the Mariners to return the favour.
In the 3rd minute of stoppage time, the Mariners scored the winner.
The jubilation Mounties players felt just minutes before turned dramatically to despair.
The Mariners players jumped all over each other, overcome with joy in the realisation that they had just won perhaps the best game of football the NPL 2 NSW Men’s will see all season.
Goals:
North Shore Mariners:
James Scott x 2
Claudio Rosano x 2
Mitchell Smith
Mounties Wanderers:
Matthew West x 3
Reid Taylor
Hills United 1 vs Macarthur Rams 0
There’s the easy way and then there’s the Hills United way.
A comfortable three points looked on offer for Hills as they hosted a struggling Rams’ side on Sunday evening.
Although in reality, the match proved to be anything but comfort as a glut of wasted chances, a red card and 9 minutes of stoppage time looked to derail the Hills United train.
The match got off to the ideal start for Luke McGuire’s men as Greg Giovenali converted from the spot on 19 minutes.
Brumbies’ fans who had braved the Autumnal chill at Lily Homes Stadium seemed to relax after the goal, expecting to see their side assert total dominance over the match.
However what followed was anything but what the home fans, and Football NSW fan-favourite, Tony Tannous, expected.
“Turnbull redundant” – was the tweet from Tannous at half-time, and whilst that was true for the first half, Turnbull certainly proved his necessity in the second period.
Immediately after the break, Turnbull pulled off a miracle save to deny the Rams an equaliser.
Moments later Turnbull was at it again, preventing what looked like a guaranteed Macarthur goal.
Whilst Turnbull was doing his best to stave off the Macarthur attacks, his own attackers were doing their best to keep the Rams in the game.
Wade Giovenali had a great chance when the Rams’ keeper kicked the ball straight to him, but with the keeper off his line and a vacant net eagerly waiting for the ball to nestle within it, Giovenali couldn’t direct his effort on target.
Minutes from full-time, it was Pete Cejka’s turn to give the Rams’ a helping hand, fluffing his lines in front of goal before colliding with the keeper and receiving a red card.
Hills United had sent the invitation but Macarthur were struggling to find the quality needed to answer it.
They almost found the answer late in stoppage time however when Mark Symington found himself in front of goal, knowing an accurate shot could steal a point for his side, Symington fired a desperate effort that sailed frustratingly into the grateful arms of Turnbull in goals.
A lucky escape for Hills from a match that almost, and probably should have, gotten away from them.
For Macarthur, another disappointing night in what has rapidly become a disappointing season. They will need to turn things around quickly when Parramatta FC come to town next weekend.
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 vs Central Coast Mariners 1
A battle of today as much as it is a battle of tomorrow.
Two of the nation’s most successful breeding grounds for Australian football talent, Western Sydney and the Central Coast, unleashed their brightest academy prospects in the search of three competitions points on Saturday evening.
The early running in this game all came from the Wanderers as Roberts, Tokich and Majok threatened with slick combination play.
It came as no surprise when Majok opened the scoring in the 36th minute.
Awarded the club’s FOXTEL Y-League player of the year midweek, Majok again showed the kind of form that has been earning him praise from some of the biggest names inside the Wanderers organisation, pouncing on a loose ball to fire into the roof of the net.
Minutes later it could have been two.
Marc Tokich saw his effort denied first by a desperate save from the keeper, and then cleared off the line by a Mariners’ defender.
The Wanderers looked in control at half time, perhaps bemoaning the fact they were only able to secure a one-goal lead for their dominance.
This frustration continued into the second half as crucial saves, narrow misses, and blocked shots continued to deny the Wanderers a second goal in the game.
Their missed chances would come back to haunt them late in the match when the Mariners found an equaliser through Amer Abdullah.
A draw flattered the Mariners who looked second best for large parts of the game but managed to secure an important point to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Parramatta FC 0 vs GHFA Spirit FC 2
It’s only Round 8 but the top 6 are slowly edging out of the clutches of the Eagles.
After a sub-standard start to the season, Parramatta FC looked to have found their groove with four points in their past two games.
However a disheartening defeat to Spirit FC has seen them drop to 11th in the league, six points off the finals.
The damage was done after just 20 minutes in this match as early goals to Louis Bozanic and Mason Ireland were enough to secure a vitally important three points for David Perkovic’s men.
The goals to Ireland and Bozanic come as welcome news for Perkovic who had become acutely aware of his side’s reliance upon Kevin Lopes.
A sharing of the burden for goals is welcome news for Spirit FC fans who hope that their sides inconsistent form at the beginning of the season subsides as they try to maintain pace with the top 6 – something Eagles’ fans could only dream of.
Canterbury Bankstown 0 vs Northern Tigers 1
Down but not out.
Defeat in this game brought the Berries’ two-game winning run to an end, but despite the defeat, Branko Culina’s men can be proud of their performance in this match.
Although for all their pride in performance, it’s the Northern Tigers who walk away with all three points.
For almost 70 minutes, this game stubbornly refused to budge from the stalemate we began with.
Both sides enjoyed large spells of possession, carving out half chances but nothing that greatly concerned either keeper.
The Berries have found their taste for goals in recent weeks and were hopeful of maintaining that streak again.
However the Tigers defence, marshalled by captain Michael Rolston, remained firm and denied Culina’s men the opening goal they craved.
The opening goal did arrive, with just 20 minutes left on the clock.
Alexander Brown delivered a deadly ball into the box that Rory Spiers latched onto and converted smartly past the keeper.
In a game of so few chances, the opening goal was always going to crucial in indicating which side would collect all three points.
And so it proved in this fixture; Canterbury Bankstown were gallant in defeat but ultimately it’s the Tigers who hold firm to their top 6 spot on the competition table.
By Ryan Latty
Next Week’s Fixtures:
Match of the Round: Mounties Wanderers vs St George FC
Central Coast Mariners vs Canterbury Bankstown
Blacktown Spartans vs North Shore Mariners
GHFA Spirit FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Macarthur Rams vs Parramatta FC
Northern Tigers vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers
Rydalmere Lions vs Hills United
