Round 13 – National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s Review
The completion of Round Thirteen over the weekend means we have now remarkably reached the half way point of the 2018 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW competition. 13 rounds done, with 13 to go, as the 14 teams make the turnaround for the race home, hoping to either consolidate a spot in the top half, or make an early dash towards it before it’s too late.
35 goals across the seven matches – with an average of 5 per match – shows the attacking philosophy of many teams, with only Gladesville Ryde Magic picking up points away from home given the remaining six matches all finished in home triumphs.
Stanmore Hawks held off a fast finishing Western NSW Mariners to win 4-2 at Arlington Oval with Sam Awad scoring a hatrick; Gladesville Ryde Magic picked up another three points by easily accounting for Fraser Park 4-1; St George City FA put Granville Rage to the sword winning 6-1 at Jubilee Oval to stay top of the league ladder; Inter Lions fell foul of ‘fortress Camden’, the Tigers winning 5-2 at Ron Dine Stadium with Jayden Russell helping himself to a hatrick; Sydney University kept up their upward ascent with a comprehensive 3-0 win over 10-man SD Raiders; Bankstown City inflicted Hawkesbury’s second successive defeat, winning 3-1 in the late game on Sunday night.
Football New South Wales ventured out to Hensley Athletic Field for this week’s Match of the Round between Dunbar Rovers and Dulwich Hill.
MATCH OF THE ROUND – Dunbar Rovers vs Dulwich Hill 3 – 0
Dunbar Rovers brushed aside Dulwich Hill 3-0 at a windswept Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon to move above their match day opponents into 5th spot on the competition ladder.
Saturday brought temperatures in the low teens, accompanied by some drizzle pre match, and a cutting breeze for all who braved the weather, not least the players who tried valiantly to control the leather throughout the game.
Dulwich Hill were missing some of the big name players in attack, namely Ben Vidaic and Gosue Sama, with Jovan Blagojevic recently moving to Syd Uni in the transfer window.
However Robbie Deasy moved the other way, signing from the ‘students’ to Dully recently, and was taking his place against his brother, Stephen, who was keeping goal for Dunbar Rovers.
It was a cagey opening half hour, with neither goal keeper tested.
Both sides struggled to come to terms with the conditions, through balls racing away with the breeze, whilst shots were restricted to long range, and most missed the respective targets by some distance.
The tackling was fierce enough, with no love lost between familiar foes in the centre of the park.
The game was crying out for a goal, and it arrived on 30 minutes.
A through ball in to the left channel forced Dully keeper, Michael Frost, to venture out to the right hand side of his penalty area, but his half clearance fell to Michael Sealy.
Sealy’s pass inside was seized upon by Ryan Shaughnessy, who lashed the ball home from a tight angle to put Dunbar 1-0 up, with the Dulwich Hill players and keeper failing to retreat in time.
That’s the way the scored stayed until the break, with the emphasis now on Dulwich Hill to come out and try to take the match to the home side.
In fact it was Dunbar Rovers who re-entered the field of play eager to put the game to bed, evident after just three minutes of the restart.
Ryan Shaughnessy took it upon himself to slalom his way past a number of defenders, finding his way in to the penalty area before his left foot strike – headed for the top corner – was brilliantly tipped over by Dully’s goalkeeper, Michael Frost.
Dunbar did not relent and did in fact extend their lead in the 54th minute, when a long ball down the centre was flicked on by second half substitute, Cristian Garces.
The ball dropped perfectly behind the retreating Dully backline for Yoel Silvestre to run onto, and he dispatched his shot low in to the bottom corner, leaving Michael Frost helpless for Dunbar Rovers to now lead 2-0.
Dulwich Hill struggled to conjure anything of note in reply. Skipper Sean Burke was tenacious in his midfield battles, and speedster, Henry Wells, tried valiantly to prise open the Dunbar backline, but their efforts were not enough to drag the visitors back in to the match.
Cristian Garces put the game to bed in the 67th minute with an exquisite goal.
Ryan Shaughnessy made space for himself in the right channel before finding Garces with a short crisp pass on the edge of the Dully penalty area.
Garces showed composure and confidence by flicking the ball up before smacking a volley low and hard inside the far upright, making it 3-0 to the Rovers.
Shaughnessy was in everything on the day, and he almost capped his game off with a superb effort on 69 minutes, his curling shot from the top of the box missing the top corner by a matter of centimetres.
That was all she wrote, with Dunbar Rovers collecting another three points, courtesy of their third win in their past four matches. With SD Raiders also losing on the night, Dunbar Rovers have now climbed to 23 points and sit in 5th position on the ladder, confident of consolidating their top five spot ahead of next week’s block buster against St George City FA.
The loss ends a miserable week for Dulwich Hill, who remain on 23 points but drop to 7th spot on goal differential.
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Thirteen – Saturday, June 2, 2018 Hensley Athletic Field, Eastgardens
DUNBAR ROVERS 3 (Shaughnessy 30’, Silvestre 54’, Garces 67’)
DULWICH HILL 0
Referee – Adam Susz
Assistant Referees – Oliver Lawton and Gian-Carlos Anderson
DUNBAR ROVERS;
1.S.Deasy, 14.A.Crane, 8.A.Doddy (capt) (15.L.Neville 80’), 9.N.Holton (22.E.Tomasek 72’), 12.P.Lloyd, 13.N.O’Sullivan, 23.P.Orgad (20.C.Garces 46’), 7.M.Sealy, 10.R.Shaughnessy, 17.Y.Silvestre, 4.G.Swartz.
Substitutes Not Used – 111.L.Del Vecchio, 5.H.O’Kelly.
Yellow Cards – 10.R.Shaughnessy 20’, 4.G.Swartz 38’,
Red Cards – Nil
DULWICH HILL;
1.M.Frost, 3.E.Bardsley, 22.D.Burbidge, 13.S.Burke (capt), 9.R.Deasy, 15.D.Han (32.A.Pessego 59’), 4.N.Jagelman, 36.Dean Krkovski (27.Daniel Krkovski 62’), 16.C.Musumeci, 14.N.Stanojevic (39.F.Terranova 72’), 7.H.Wells.
Substitutes Not Used – 12.D.Plowright, 25.D.Larmour.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
Stanmore Hawks – Western NSW Mariners 4 – 2
Stanmore Hawks picked up a valuable three points at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, racing away to a commanding 4-0 lead before holding off a spirited late comeback by the Western NSW Mariners, eventually winning 4-2 in an entertaining game.
Stanmore took a first half 2-0 lead in to the break, before extending it in the second half by another two goals as they upped the ante to put the game to bed.
Sam Awad was the hero for Stanmore, the experienced player netting a hatrick, whilst Harrison Brown scored the other goal for the Hawks.
But the Mariners had a kick in their tail late on. Adam Scimone reduced the deficit for the Mariners, slotting home after a great through ball by Kenny McCall, before McCall himself scored moments later, chipping the Stanmore keeper to make it 2-4. But the visitor’s efforts were to no avail, with Stanmore Hawks holding on for a 4-2 victory in front of their home fans.
Stanmore’s first win in almost two months has seen them climb to 14 points, jumping from 12th to 10th position on the ladder in the process.
St George City FA – Granville Rage 6 – 1
St George City FA must be in the vicinity of some sort of record following their 10th successive victory on the weekend, a 6-1 drubbing of Granville Rage at Jubilee Oval on Saturday night.
St George started like a house on fire, and were 5-0 up before too long, only conceding a goal in first half injury time to be 5-1 in front at the break.
Steve Kuzmanovski opened the scoring with a 30 yard bomb, his free kick killing some spiders as it flew in to the top corner.
Soon it was 2-0 when Alvaro Malmierca slipped a short free kick to James Spanoudakis out near the edge of the penalty box, and his cross was headed home by Luke Burke at the back stick.
Spanoudakis got in on the act shortly after, drilling low and hard from just inside the penalty area following some neat inter play with Steve Kuzmanovski.
It was only time before Geoffry Lino got amongst the goals, grabbing the 4th with a direct run and shot that cannoned in to goal off the inside of the upright, before notching his brace soon afterwards on the end of a neat combination.
Jamie Ortiz pulled a goal back for Granville with a sublime free kick of his own just moments before the teams entered the sheds for a rest.
There was only the one solitary addition to the score board after the break, and that came via Steve Kuzmanovski on 65 minutes, the young striker notching his second of the game to round off the scoring at 6-1 by cutting inside from the right flank before letting fly with a left foot grass cutter that flew in to the bottom corner.
The win and subsequent three points means St George City FA retain first spot on the ladder, moving to 32 points on the back of their tenth successive victory, a remarkable achievement.
Camden Tigers – Inter Lions 5 – 2
Camden Tigers made it six wins from as many matches at Ron Dine Stadium, thumping Inter Lions 5-2 on Saturday night.
However it would be the Inter Lions who started better, edging themselves in front when Sean Richardson netted after connecting with a cross.
Camden responded with two quickfire goals, taking the lead 2-1, before Inter found an equaliser via a superb Cameron Stephan free kick.
Camden took a 3-2 lead before the half time break, before finishing off the match with two further goals after the break.
Jayden Russell managed to nab a hatrick for Camden, whilst the other goals for the home side were scored by Bailey Simpson and Stephen Lloyd.
Camden remain in 8th spot despite the win, but have climbed to 19 points, and are only four points behind three clubs who are looking over their shoulders.
Fraser Park – Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 – 4
Gladesville Ryde Magic consolidated their spot in the top four with a 4-1 victory over Fraser Park on Saturday night.
Magic had an early opportunity when a cross into the box found Sergio Tarazona – but the unmarked defender shot straight at Mark Villaescusa in the Fraser goal.
Gladesville did open the scoring minutes later, starting off when Johnny Martinez found Michael Gaitatzis with a long ball. Gaitatzis crossed in to the Fraser Park penalty area for Cameron Newton to strike home and give Magic a 1-0 lead.
Aaron Khan then doubled Gladesville’s advantage to 2-0, scoring from distance with a pile driver after good lead up work from Michael Gaitatzis.
Fraser responded with a long range effort themselves, but Andrew De Brito’s shot was well saved by Kiriakos Tohouroglou in the Magic goal.
Gladesville came out after the break eager to put the game to bed, and it was Chris Tomaras who almost did just that, beating three defenders as he slid in to the box before shooting just wide of the mark.
It was in fact Fraser Park who pulled a goal back, when Daniel Fornito raced on to a through ball to beat Tohouroglou in the Gladesville goal in a one-on-one duel.
Michael Gaitatzis then restored Gladesville’s lead tow two goals minutes later, netting after neat lead up play from Aaron Khan, before brother Chris finished off proceedings at 4-1 to the visitors with the final goal of the match.
The win and subsequent three points puts Gladesville Ryde Magic in to 4th spot on the ladder on 26 points, ahead of a host of clubs just beneath them.
Sydney University – SD Raiders 3 – 0
Sydney Universty continued their recent resurgence with a comprehensive 3-0 win over SD Raiders at the University Football Ground on Saturday evening.
The opening exchanges were tight with both keepers called into action early on.
First up, Uni keeper, Charlie Fanner had to be alert to deny Daniel Bittar a goal, and at the other end of the park, Raiders keeper, Michael Rutherford, showed his agility to turn a Jovan Blagojevic drive round the post.
The match was turning into a somewhat physical battle but the score line remained tied at the half time break at 0-0.
The home side started very brightly in the second half and after absorbing some early Raiders pressure they opening the scoring.
Michael Loupis won possession of the ball in midfield, and played an intelligent through ball into the path of Samuel Mehmet. The speedy Uni youngster burst into the box and drew the foul from the Raiders defence to earn his side a spot kick.
Jovan Blagojevic stepped up to take the penalty kick, but Raiders keeper, Michael Rutherford, was up to the task, diving to his right to tip the penalty onto the post.
Fortunately for Sydney Uni, Daniel Mifsud was following in and he rolled the rebound into the empty net to make it 1-0 to the ‘students’.
The Uni were now on top and the frustration got the better of Joseph Mensah, the Raiders full back receiving his marching orders after earning himself two yellow cards, leaving the visitors down to ten men.
Shortly after the red card, Sydney Uni extended their lead. Michael Rutherford made an outstanding save in the Raiders goal to deny Scott Tonkin, but from the resultant corner, but Jovan Blagojevic atoned for his penalty miss by expertly converting a sharp volley to give Uni a 2-0 lead.
Raiders continued to battle bravely a man down, hitting the post after catching the Uni defence unawares, however the contest was over ten minutes from time when Sydney Uni netted their third.
Conor Quilligan was pulled back in the box to give the home side their second spot kick of the night, and this time Scott Tonkin stepped up, burying the ball past Rutherford to complete proceedings at 3-0.
The loss sees the Raiders remain on 23 points but drop to 6th spot on the ladder, whilst Sydney Uni move to 14 points, and are well placed to make an assault on the top half of the ladder during the upcoming second round of fixtures if their recent form continues.
Bankstown City – Hawkesbury City 3 – 1
Bankstown City bounced back from last week’s demise at the hands of SD Raiders to overcome Hawkesbury City 3-1 in the late 7-30pm Sunday night game at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Ante Tomic edged Bankstown City in to the lead on 21 minutes, slotting home after getting on the end of a cross.
It had been a fairly evenly contested affair for the best part of the encounter, and that parity became evident on the scoreboard in the 59th minute when Bradley Gibson equalised for Hawkesbury when he connected with a cross to slot home first time.
The match was then turned on its head when Bankstown managed to find the net twice within a minute on 75 minutes.
The Lions hit the lead when Nathan Lopino got his head to a near post corner to nod past Daniel Schwarzer in the Hawkesbury goal, and it was 3-1 soon after when another corner was diverted in to his own net by a Hawkesbury player.
The drama wasn’t quite over, when Joaquin Veliz Coccolo blew the chance to reduce the deficit for Hawkesbury in the 91st minute, his penalty kick expertly parried by Carl McMahon in the Bankstown City goal.
The win and subsequent three points means that Bankstown City move from 4th position overnight in to 2nd spot on 27 points, hurdling Hawkesbury City in the process, who drop to 3rd on goal difference.
