Round 3 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
With plenty of highlights from around the grounds, we unpack all the action from round three of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
As the teams begin to settle in for the 2019 campaign, round three gave a further insight as to where each side stands as they gear up for the next five months of league action.
Stanmore Hawks must wait another week to return to action after wet weather forced the postponement of their fixture against Granville Rage at Garside Park.
However the six other fixtures went ahead as scheduled, Gladesville Ryde Magic held on to record a 3-2 win against Western NSW Mariners in Lithgow; Inter Lions and Bankstown City took a point each in a tense affair at Valentine Sports Park; Dulwich Hill put three unanswered goals past Camden Tigers at home; Bankstown United tasted victory for the first time this campaign as they overcame SD Raiders 3-1 at Jensen Park while Sydney University registered the same score line at home in their triumph over Parramatta.
This week’s match of the round took place at Hensley Athletic Field with Football NSW in attendance for the clash between Dunbar Rovers and Hawkesbury City as the two sides kicked off round three on Saturday afternoon.
Dunbar Rovers 1 Hawkesbury City 1
The fixture between Dunbar and Hawkesbury ended up all square at 1-1 with neither side able to find the decisive goal in what was a warm afternoon at Hensley Athletic Field.
Dunbar Rovers had the better of the opening exchanges with the first real opportunity of the match arriving after nine minutes when Alexander Euripidou strike found the side netting after an impressive corner kick routine beginning with Aram Tayebi Derazkala.
The hosts had another opportunity to open the scoring only a minute later when Micaiah Te Rata’s glancing header flashed wide of the Hawkesbury goal.
Despite their promising start, Dunbar found themselves trailing as Hawkesbury opened the scoring in the 19th minute with Daniel Morsillo.
The pacey winger pounced on the keeper’s spill to put his side in front after an impressive strike from Danilo Cocaro.
The visitors lead lasted all but five minutes with Dunbar finding the equaliser through Te Rata. The striker bundled the ball over the line after shot stopper Daniel Schwarzer failed to deal with David Ustimenko’s cross.
Dunbar continued to cause problems down the right wing with Ustimenko, after impressive ball control saw him glide past two opponents the winger tested Schwarzer with a stinging strike.
With opportunities few and far between for Hawkesbury in the first half, it was Morsillo again who came close for the visitors with ten minutes remaining in the first half as his volley went the wrong side of the post after Majid Eslami’s cross found him in space at the far post.
With two minutes remaining in the first half it appeared as Hawks had hit the self-destruct button as centre back Kyle Walker volleyed the ball just over his goal following a mix up in communication with his keeper.
The second half took some time before it sprung into action with the first noteworthy effort on goal coming in the 70th minute as Cocaro’s header fell into the hands of Dunbar keeper Charles Samushonga after Terry Pannowitz’s free kick found the Hawks’ marksman.
Dean Bertenshaw’s men continued to pile the pressure on Dunbar and had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 77th minute when Morsillo’s effort called Samushonga into action after a thrilling counter attack from the Hawks which began with defensive midfielder Ryan Wilson who won possession in the middle of the park.
With the timer running out, it was Dunbar who were to cause the last fright as Paul Orgad’s set piece from just outside the box deflected onto the opponent’s crossbar with the hosts coming within inches of stealing it at the death.
An offside call on Kwadwo Boamah-Addai after a promising counter attack in the 91st minute stopped the Hawks in their tracks, much to the relief of Dunbar’s Jacob Sullivan after he forfeited possession in the middle of the pitch.
Hawkesbury will be more than pleased with the result while Dunbar will be ruing their lack of conviction in the final third as they continue their hunt for their first league victory.
Match Stats
National Premier League’s 3 NSW Men’s
Round Three
Saturday, March 23, 2019
DUNBAR ROVERS FC 1 (Te Rata 24’)
HAWKESBURY CITY FC 1 (Morsillo 19’)
DUNBAR ROVERS FC; 2.N.Holton, 3.M.Te Rata(9.C.Mezieres 84’), 4.G.Swartz, 6.A.Tayebi Derazkala, 7.P.Orgad, 8.A.Doddy(5.N.Mouzourakis 62’), 12.D.Ustimenko(17.J.Sullivan 57’), 14.A.Crane, 19.D.Hudap, 22.A.Euripidou, 23.C.Samushonga.
Substitutions Not Used – 16.Y.Yoshida, 15.J.Al Khulaifawi.
Yellow Cards – 17.J.Sullivan 77’.
HAWKESBURY CITY FC; 1.D.Schwarzer, 2.J.Thurtell, 4.K.Walker, 5.J.Ekehov(19.J.Macrae 76’), 7.D.Morsillo, 8.R.Wilson, 11.R.Fahey, 12.M.Eslami(13.K.Boamah-Addai), 15.D.Cocaro, 16.B.Gibson(9.T.Pannowitz 45’), 17.R.Faulkner.
Substitutions Not Used – 18.T.Berg, 30.C.Morley.
Yellow Cards – 9.T.Pannowitz 50’, 8.R.Wilson 80’.
Western NSW Mariners – Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-3
Western NSW Mariners pushed top of the table Gladesville Ryde Magic until the final whistle with the visitors recording a close fought 3-2 win in Lithgow on Saturday afternoon.
Gladesville Ryde Magic opened the scoring in the eight minute with Chris Triantis as his headed effort found the back of the net following a well worked corner routine.
The visitors soon doubled their lead with Rosario Occhipinti, the veteran striker capitalised from another corner kick routine to give his side some breathing space in the contest.
The hosts closed out the first half well and were unlucky not to get on the score sheet with the Magic defence ensuring that the score stayed at 2-0 heading into the break.
Christos Tomaras converted a penalty shortly after the break to extend the visitors lead to 3-0.
However, the hosts were gifted an opportunity to turn the game around when Magic scored an unfortunate own goal.
Following a heated exchange in the 58th minute, Magic were reduced to 10 men however the Mariners failed to take advantage and they too had one of their own given his marching orders only minutes later.
The home side continued to frustrate the opposition and they claimed their second goal of the encounter to make it 3-2 and ensure a nervy finish for Magic as they looked to hold on to all three points.
A late chance from Western Mariners almost saw them record their first points of the season however it was the away side who ended up on top when the final whistle blew.
Inter Lions FC – Bankstown City FC 1-1
Inter Lions recorded a 1-1 draw in their match up with Bankstown City on Saturday night in what was a tense encounter at Valentine Sports Park.
It took some time for Inter to find their feet in this fixture with Bankstown dominating possession for the opening 20 minutes.
However, it was the hosts who struck first with Domenico Tripodi. The striker put his team in the lead with a well struck volley midway through the first half.
Bankstown pushed forward in the second half as they went in search of the equaliser and they found the all-important goal in the 70th minute as Lawrence Hanna finished off an impressive attacking move for his side.
Inter ended the game the stronger of the two sides and were unlucky not to claim all three points as they piled the pressure on Bankstown in the closing stages.
Dulwich Hill FC – Camden Tigers FC 3-0
Arlington Oval has proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for Camden Tigers with the visitors recording a successive 3-0 defeat at the venue, this time at the hands of Dulwich Hill.
Dulwich Hill were quick off the blocks in this encounter and they opened the scoring after just three minutes with a well-crafted free kick from Peter Crevani.
They doubled their lead in the 17th minute with Henry Wells after he was played in by Josh Sama.
Camden fought their way back into the contest in the second half and had the upper hand for most of the half however it was Dully who were able to find the back of the net again with Andreas Gomes rounding off the scoring in the 83rd minute. The first goal for his new club, Gomes’ volley secured the victory for Dulwich Hill.
Bankstown United FC – SD Raiders FC 3-1
Bankstown United secured an unlikely 3-1 victory in their match against SD Raiders at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
Bankstown’s first goal arrived in the 32nd minute with Kallie Bangara however that lead was short lived as Raiders converted from the penalty spot only five minutes later
A dominant second half display saw the hosts close out the game with Mitch Cross grabbing a brace. He struck the back of the net in the 47th minute and then again 30 minutes later as he secured his side’s first league victory of the season.
Sydney University SFC – Parramatta FC 3-1
A momentous display from Sydney University saw them brush aside Parramatta 3-1 at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday night.
Sydney University opened the scoring early in the first half with Scott Tonkin and were able to maintain that lead heading into the break despite Parramatta laying on the pressure.
The visitors did find an equaliser in the 55th minute as Mortaza Safdari’s long range effort made it one a piece.
Parramatta were unable to hold on to that score line for long as Tonkin scored his second of the night from the kick off to restore the lead for Uni.
Tonkin capped it off in the 76th minute as he secured his hat trick in spectacular fashion with a screamer from 45 yards out.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
