Round 4 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition continues to deliver an exciting and stylish brand of football and the fourth round was no exception as we summarise everything that transpired last weekend.
The latest instalment of NPL 3 football saw four clubs get the all important three points with only one stalemate from the five fixtures that went ahead.
Dulwich Hill registered a 2-0 victory away to Sydney University on Friday night; Bankstown City and Hawkesbury City played out a 1-1 stalemate at Jensen Park; Dunbar Rovers were able to record their maiden win of the season as they defeated Camden Tigers 2-0 at Ron Dine while Gladesville Ryde Magic’s fairytale start to the campaign continued with a 3-1 triumph over Inter Lions at Christie Park.
This week’s match of the round took place at Arlington Oval as Football NSW oversaw Stanmore Hawks’ fixture with Parramatta FC on Saturday night.
Stanmore Hawks 3 Parramatta FC 1
Stanmore Hawks recorded their first victory of the campaign in emphatic style as they dispatched of Parramatta FC 3-1 in an entertaining affair in Sydney’s inner west.
A memorable outing for the Hawks saw them claim all the club championship points on offer against Parramatta with the hosts capping off the day with a well-earned victory in their first-grade fixture against the Eagles.
The hosts were quick off the mark in this contest and had the advantage after four minutes after Peter Yannopoulos connected with Jovan Blagojevic’s cross which expertly picked him out at the back post.
Stanmore’s Spanish import Alberto Perea Henche shone throughout the encounter with the number 6 dominating proceedings in the middle of the park and linking up well with attacking teammates Conor Quilligan and Jovan Blagojevic.
However, there were moments throughout the first half when Parramatta looked likely to get on the scoresheet and one such moment came 16 minutes into the encounter when Ahmad Elrich smashing cross found Victor Anyimba in the box however the winger was to bring it under control and failed to test Hawks’ goalkeeper Nick Carosi.
It was the home side who closed out the half the better of the two sides as Perea Henche’s corners continued to threaten the Eagles’ defence. The home side doubled their lead in part due to the Spaniard’s corner after his cross forced a parry from Eagles keeper Stefan Giglio before the ball fell kindly to Harry Brown as the Hawks’ centre half bundled the ball over the line in the 39th minute to make it 2-0.
The visitors enjoyed a strong start to the second half, and they reduced the deficit in the 49th minute with Zac Elrich as the midfielder slid the ball past Carosi after the shot stopper parried an earlier effort from Ahmad Elrich.
The score did not remain at 2-1 for long as Aydin Kumburlu stroked the ball into the back of the Eagles’ net ten minutes later after impressive build up play which began with a stunning cross from Hawks’ right back Timothy Wohlfiel.
Wohlfiel’s cross found Yannopoulos at the back post and the winger intelligently cut it back from the by line to find Kumburlu hovering around the penalty spot, ready to strike and extend his side’s lead.
Ahmad Elrich came close for the Eagles just past the hour mark with his turn and shot whistling over the Stanmore goal. Striker Zac Watters also came close for the away side in the closing exchanges when his strike from outside the 18-yard box forced a smart save from Carosi.
The Hawks thought that they had rounded off the scoring in the last minute of the contest when Blagojevic pounced on Giglio’s parry however the Stanmore captain was swiftly ruled offside by the linesman and the score remained at 3-1 when referee Adrian Brett blew the full-time whistle.
Match Stats
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Four
Saturday, March 30, 2019
STANMORE HAWKS FC 3 (Yannopoulos 4’, Brown 39’, Kumburlu 59’)
PARRAMATTA FC 1 (Elrich 49’)
STANMORE HAWKS FC; 1.N.Carosi, 2.T.Wohlfiel, 3.O.Stickland, 5.H.Brown, 6.A.Perea Henche, 7.P.Yannopoulos(17.A.Caragher 85’), 9.J.Blagojevic, 11.C.Quilligan, 13.J.Maguire, 16.A.Chance, 23.A.Kumburlu(14.V.Koutsoufis 65’).
Substitutions Not Used – 4.C.Bottalico, 12.S.Awad, 20.H.Timms.
Yellow Cards – 11.C.Quilligan 55’.
PARRAMATTA FC; 1.S.Giglio, 2.J.Gersbach, 4.Z.Watters, 5.P.Gatt, 7.Z.Elrich, 8.I.Dandan(6.A.Epifanino 45’), 11.V.Anyimba, 12.A.Safdari(3.K.Allybokus 66’), 14.Y.Al-Taay(10.M.Safdari 66’), 21.A.Elrich, 69.S.Hirayama.
Substitutions Not Used – 23.J.Milevski, 67.A.Dulleh.
Yellow Cards – 6.A.Epifanino 78’.
Sydney University SFC – Dulwich Hill FC 0-2
Dulwich Hill sealed an impressive 2-0 victory away to Sydney University in their fixture on Friday night at Sydney University Football Ground.
The visitors were quick off the mark in the contest with their opener arriving after eight minutes with Yoel Silvestre as his volley flew into the back of net to give his side the early lead.
Dully struck again 15 minutes later as Josh Sama made it 2-0 from the spot after he was brought down in the box by the Sydney Uni goalkeeper.
A dominant display from Mark Strachan’s side saw them notch their third clean sheet of the campaign as they remain hot on the heels of top of the table Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Bankstown City FC – Hawkesbury City FCSet featured image 1-1
Bankstown City’s unbeaten start to the season remained intact as they recorded a 1-1 draw with Hawkesbury City at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
Hawkesbury were the first to strike in this encounter with Danilo Cocaro opening the scoring early on in this clash.
The home side equalised on the stroke of half time with a stunning strike from Ante Tomic.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the second half however special mention must go to Hawkesbury shot stopper Daniel Schwarzer who made a series of stand out saves to ensure that his side came away with a point.
Camden Tigers FC – Dunbar Rovers FC 0-2
Camden Tigers alarming drop down the league table showed no signs of slowing down as they fell 2-0 to Dunbar Rovers at Ron Dine Stadium on Saturday night.
Tigers coach Dean Bradley has had to his best with a depleted squad with only 12 players available on the weekend with injuries taking its toll on the home side.
Camden did play well in small periods throughout the 90 minutes however it was Dunbar who took control of this contest.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 14th minute after winger Jacob Sullivan sweeping cross found Alex Crane in space allowing him to tap it home and give his side the advantage.
With five minutes left in the first half, Crane was on the receiving end yet again as he dispatched another cross to claim his second of the evening after he connected with a well driven cross from David Ustimenko to double his side’s lead as they headed into the break.
The home side tried their best to force their way back into the encounter in the second half and came close when they had a long-range effort hit the crossbar however it was Dunbar who prevailed in this encounter as they claimed their first win of the season.
Gladesville Ryde Magic – Inter Lions FC 3-1
Gladesville Ryde Magic’s winning streak remains intact as they beat Inter Lions 3-1 in their encounter at Christie Park on Sunday afternoon.
With both sides unable to find the back of the net in the first half, it was not until the second half that the game leapt to life.
Magic’s Christos Tomaras was first on the team sheet after he finished off some superb link up play which began with Rosario Occhipinti.
The hosts second goal came from the penalty spot with Chris Triantis stepping up to double the lead for his side.
The league leaders third of the match arrived shortly after when Kosta Nikas took his chances with a well struck effort after finding himself in plenty of space around Inter’s 18-yard area.
Inter did manage to pull one back with five minutes remaining as Domenico Di Mento reduced the deficit to make it 3-1.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
