Round 2 Review – State League Men’s
Try predicting this NSW State League Men’s competition, I dare you. This week saw well, what you have come to expect from it. An upset or two, a close call and a new challenger in Sydney’s west emerging.
We went too not one but two fixture this weekend so sit back and enjoy this Mega-review of Round 3!
FC Gazy Auburn v Central Coast United
Central Coast United prevailed in a tight fixture against FC Gazy Auburn at Progress Park on Sunday afternoon.
FC Gazy Auburn will consider themselves unlucky to be on the wrong end of the result. They were disciplined and dogged in their play and were only denied by a typically solid goalkeeping display from Jack OMally. Haydar Al-Ameri was the exception though being able to break through in the 14th minute.
Visitors Central Coast United just did what they needed too in the end. In one of their poorer performances, they somehow managed to sneak a win. An opening goal to Geordie Howe and winner to Alex Arbelo secured the result.
The scoring was opened just before the ten-minute mark when a Thomas Lyons corner rewarded a near post Geordie Howe run who had no issues finishing into an empty net.
It didn’t take long for Gazy to reply. A darting run from Hayden Al-Ameri was too much for the Central Coast defense who brought him down in the box. Al-Ameri calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom left corner.
Both teams were due for a breather and the fixture then settled down for the majority of the first half. That was apart from a minute of action, where both teams had the opportunity to take the lead.
Corey Atkinson found himself free on the back post and was found by a Jarred Steen ball from the left wing. Unfortunately for Atkinson, the Gazy shot-stopper Pablo Meza produced a solid one-on-one stop.
It was matched soon after by Central Coast keeper OMally who produced an almost identical save at the other end. A belt this one from the left side of the six-yard box denying Esoghume Dominic.
The second half failed to match the first half in terms of action although Gazy continued to have joy down both flanks in turn forcing OMally into some good saves.
And Gazy were punished at the other end. Alex Arbelo found himself in the right place at the right time and finished off after the visitors worked a move down the left attacking wing.
Central Coast United coach Stu Davis saw positives and negatives from his team, “We started the game strongly once again but made a few errors letting them back into it.”
“At the same time, I’m proud of the guys who ground out a result. We are committed to youth development and started a 16-year-old today, he was probably our best.”
FC Gazy Auburn assistant coach Leo Sansome was pleased with his team’s improvement. “Not a bad result at all, last season we copped 12 goals in two games again them. We weren’t able to convert them and their keeper (OMally) was outstanding for them, unlucky not to win it.”
“It’s a whole new squad, week by week we are getting better and the results will come”, he concluded.
Match Stats
FC Gazy Auburn: 1 (Al-Ameri)
Central Coast United: 2 (Howe, Arbelo)
FC Gazy Auburn: 73. Pablo Meza, 8. Pedro Almeida, 17. Haydar Al-Ameri, 18. Javier Diaz, 23. Costandi Fallas, 24. Ali Al waeli, 27. Edoardo Panizzari, 30. Benjamin Eisikovich, 32. Kassem Jirjnazi, 39. Sanel Hodzic Mehic, 40. Esoghume Dominic.
Subs: 26. Peter Tarros, 34. Adam Bentamy, 36. Subham Pahari, 37. Saul Orellana, 77. Edin Vejzovic.
Central Coast United: 1. Jack O’Mally, 7. Corey Atkinson, 10. Alex Arbelo, 12. Graham Toope, 14. Geordie Howe, 15. Matthew Caisley, 20. Yuki Morikawa, 23. Jack Graham, 24. Daniel Mcfarlane, 31. Jarred Steen, 73. Thomas Lyons.
Subs: 9. Peter Stewart, 17. Luke Joseph Sanders, 41. Jack Priscoll, Joshua Ferragamo, 94. Oscar Torres.
UNSW FC v Hurstville FC
Hurstville FC have claimed a statement victory as they beat-out a determined UNSW FC outfit on Sunday night.
A double to Adrian Livio and a late goal to make things safe for Jesse Gagro proved enough for them to overcome a Matthew Newton screamer for the home side.
Hurstville FC had the opportunity to open the scoring early after a defensive mishap saw Livio free on the right-hand side. Unselfishly he squared the ball to Jesse Gagro who only needed to beat the keeper. Instead his effort flew over the bar.
It was a fast start for the Hurstville, however they were nearly punished mid-way through the first half when Aaron Richmond burst through the defense only too be denied by the keepers’ feet.
UNSW FC were the team to open the scoring on 41 minutes with a Matthew Newton low drive from down town found the bottom left corner of the net.
The lead didn’t last long though as perhaps deservedly a reply came in quick fashion. Adrian Livio was proving a handful as he picked the ball up, isolated his defender before unleashing a curling effort into the top right corner.
Throughout, there didn’t seem to be a lot between the two sides with Hurstville possibly edging the fixture on chances created. But the second half turned into a case of who blinked first, unfortunately for UNSW in a similar story to the latter half of last year. It was them.
A perfectly placed long ball switching the ball from right to left, found Adrian Livio who admittedly got a friendly deflection before placing the ball into the low far corner.
The win was sealed for Hurstville when UNSW were caught on the break and keeper George Arnold brought down an attacker in the box. The penalty was slotted home by Jesse Gagro.
UNSW FC: 1 (Newton)
Hurstville FC: 3 (Livio 2, J.Gagro)
UNSW FC: 1. George Arnold, 2. Michael Leahy, 3. Sebastian Kalos, 5. Benjamin Dexter, 7. Aaron Richmond, 10. Nima Beik, 17. Bastian Monroy Vargas, 18. Benjamin Sunderland, 24. Matthew Newton, 25. William Backman, 39. Florim Binakaj.
Subs: 12. IIan Kessler, 14. Christopher Phillips, 19. Des Ford, 23. Matthew Villazon, 41. Luke Wilsson.
Hurstville FC: 1. Matthew Massarotto, 4. Sebastian Coello, 5. Stephan Perak, 7. Michael Kotzambasis, 8. Dario Borovickic, 9. Jesse Gagro, 10. Paul Gagro, 11. Adrian Livio, 12. Daniel Kocina, 14. Michael Di Meglio, 16. Aleks Trenoski.
Subs: 6. Raul Carrizo, 13. Adrian Talevski, 18. Cristian Di Meglio, 20. Michael Martins, 21. Anthony Vrinat.
South Coast Flame 1-1 Nepean FC
South Coast Flame have become the first team in the competition to pick up a win, a draw and a loss. In their third consecutive home match they secured a valuable point against a fancied Nepean side.
It could have been all three points though as they led as late as the 75th minute before a couple of red cards, the second of which leading to a Nepean penalty cost them the spoils. Their goal was also scored from the spot with Matt Mazevski getting another goal added to his season tally.
Conversely, Nepean FC came into the fixture with some players not having played in a fortnight and it showed. Well that and a couple of missing players. The visitors had two penalties, one of which was saved shortly after conceding.
They did however get another go and they weren’t going to miss twice with Kuag Reec doing the honours. But despite having a two-man advantage late on, Nepean had to settle for a draw.
Balmain Tigers 1-3 Fraser Park
Another game for Balmain Tigers, same story for Balmain Tigers. In their round three fixture they remained competitive showing improvement on their efforts last year but were unable to come away with anything.
The Tigers opened the scoring against Fraser Park with a wonderful long-range effort from Nico Muscio midway through the first half. That was as good as it got though for the hosts as their opponents hit back before the break and went on to win the match.
Fraser Park on the other hand continued their unbeaten start to the season. Despite going down early, they were impressive throughout. Key playmaker Luiz Lobo brought them back into the game on the scoreboard with a goal before half time.
That goal changed the momentum with Christian Soares and Shu Torihara rounding out the victory with goals in the second half to continue their undefeated start.
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0-3 Western Condors
Western Condors well started where they left off their round one fixture. The Condors were merciless early on, pressuring their oppenents and punishing their mistakes. The goal account was opened by captain Gabriel Gomes with a spectacular overhead kick and it seems they aren’t a team to stop at one goal.
Some good combination plays from Christain Leiva Martinez and Chun Him Yau saw Yau double the lead. And before you knew it Yau had a third before half time.
It was a game of two halves though, as some tactical changes and perhaps a bit of Condors complacency saw Hurstville City Minotaurs come back into the fixture. Luck wasn’t on their side though with the ball hitting the woodwork on multiple occasions. They face an intriguing Hurstville derby next week.
By State League Men’s chief writer Justin Smith
Twitter: @smiththejustin
