Round 5 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
With weather on our side we were blessed with a full set of fixtures for the first time since the first round.
A host of talking points and plenty of highlights, we dissect all the action from round five of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition
Dunbar Rovers recorded a 1-1 draw at home to Stanmore Hawks in the early kick off; Parramatta FC returned to the winners circle with a 5-2 triumph against Western NSW Mariners at Proctor Park; Sydney University registered a 2-0 win against Hawkesbury City at David Bertenshaw Field; Dulwich Hill were on the wrong end of a 3-2 score line against SD Raiders at Arlington Oval; Neither Bankstown United or Gladesville Ryde Magic could break the deadlock in their 0-0 stalemate at Jensen Park while a thrilling encounter took place at Ron Dine Stadium as Camden Tigers ran out 4-3 winners against Bankstown City.
Football NSW made the trip to Garside Park on Saturday night to see how the contest between Granville Rage and Inter Lions FC would unravel.
Granville Rage 1 Inter Lions FC 0
Granville Rage left it late as they defeated Inter Lions with a last gasp winner in a warm night out at Garside Park on Saturday night.
The first 45 minutes was a cagey affair with neither side having any real opportunity of note as the two teams sussed each other out.
Inter Lions’ striker Goncalo Paradanta was a continuous threat with most of the visitor’s opportunities in the first half falling the way of the striker.
Along with Paradanta leading the line, Inter were dangerous down the right wing with right back Nick Ballard swinging in some top-class crosses while Julian Rinaldi also made life hard for the Rage defence.
Granville’s Liam Daynes appeared the most likely to break the deadlock for his side with the number 11’s darting runs in the attacking third causing all sorts of problems for Inter’s defence.
We were treated to a much more entertaining second half with the first opportunity falling to Sam Armson as the Inter midfielder’s strike from outside the 18-yard box whistled past the Rage goal.
The visitors dominated proceedings throughout the second half and came closest to scoring just before the hour mark with Nathan Scicchitano’s strike following some expert build up play from Alex Becerra and Julian Rinaldi down the right flank.
Rinaldi continued to pose a threat down the right side, and he teed up Paradanta for another chance and his effort led to a smart save from Granville shot stopper Corey Finch.
Inter had the best opportunity to take the lead with 20 minutes remaining as Scicchitano hit the crossbar after he was expertly found by Becerra’s pinpoint pass.
The visitors’ domination ultimately failed to pay off and it was Rage who stole it at the death with Daynes as his volley in the 87th minute flew over a helpless Robert Fanella in goal.
The match ended 1-0 to Rage with the home side fortunate to come away with a win after soaking up plenty of pressure from Inter for much of the encounter.
Match Stats
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Five
Saturday, April 6, 2019
GRANVILLE RAGE 1 (Daynes 87’)
INTER LIONS FC 0
GRANVILLE RAGE; 2.M.Luc, 5.N.Pradenas Meza, 6.M.Sada, 8.D.Bortolazzo, 9.A.Murrell(20.B.Vegas 86’), 10.A.Sanchez Bustos(18.C.Agliozzo 88’), 11.L.Daynes, 15.T.Raftopoulos(13.J.Warwick), 17.J.Ivanovic, 19.M.Takizawa, 22.C.Finch.
Substitutions Not Used – 1.S.Bortolazzo.
Yellow Cards –
INTER LIONS FC; 1.R.Fanella, 2.N.Ballard(14.R.Alassmi 45’), 3.S.Richardson, 4.A.Becerra, 5.C.Lawson, 6.D.Tripodi, 7.J.Rinaldi, 13.M.Sidoti, 23.N.Scicchitano(18.D.Di Mento 80’), 29.S.Armson, 36.G.Paradanta(9.F.Berisha).
Substitutions Not Used – 17.S.Stavropoulos, 21.J.Soulios.
Yellow Cards – 14.R.Alassmi 83’.
Dunbar Rovers FC – Stanmore Hawks FC 1-1
Dunbar Rovers and Stanmore Hawks could not be split as the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon.
Dunbar opened the scoring after 28 minutes when Jacob Sullivan got on the end of Conor Earley’s outstanding cross.
The visitors equalised four minutes later with Jovan Blagojevic, the Hawks captain had a spectacular shot from distance which nestled in the top left hand corner to put his side on equal terms.
Both sides had chances throughout the second half with Stanmore unlucky not to convert their opportunities while Dunbar also thought that they could have scored the all-important winner.
Overall, a draw was a fair reflection of what was an even affair and both sides will be pleased that they were once again able to add to their points tally.
Western NSW Mariners FC – Parramatta FC 2-5
Parramatta secured their second victory of the campaign as they beat Western NSW Mariners 5-2 at Proctor Park in blistering heat on Saturday afternoon.
Western NSW Mariners struck first in the 10th minute with a spectacular lob from 40 yards out scored by Matt Hobby as he spotted Parramatta keeper Stefan Giglio off his line.
The hosts lead lasted all but 10 minutes and they found themselves 2-1 down 15 minutes later with Ahmad Elrich and Victor Anyimba getting on the scoresheet for the Eagles.
The visitors increased the margin in the 36th minute as Yasser Al-Taay made it 3-1 for his side.
On the stroke of half time, the Mariners pegged one back as Kenny McCall converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 as the two sides headed into the sheds.
The home side had two golden opportunities to restore parity early in the second half however both efforts fell kindly to Giglio.
The Eagles maintained their conviction in front of goal, and they found the back of the net again in the 69th minute as Anyimba grabbed his brace before Zac Watters scored the fifth and final goal the encounter with a spectacular over head kick in the 85th minute.
Hawkesbury City FC – Sydney University SFC 0-2
Hawkesbury City fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sydney University in the late afternoon kick off at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks were slow out of the blocks in this fixture and found themselves trailing after 20 minutes when Sydney University’s Ian Hillier’s well-timed volley found the back of the net.
Hawkesbury still struggled to find their rhythm in the second half and Sydney were able to double their lead on the hour mark after a deflection fell kindly to Uni’s Asha Phillips who tore through the Hawks’ defence and slot it past Daniel Schwarzer.
It was not until the last 30 minutes of the match that the home side did begin to find their groove as they troubled Sydney’s defence with several crosses into the six-yard area while they did manage to hit the post on one occasion.
Despite closing off the game well, they were unable to get on the score sheet and it was Sydney Uni who ran out deserved winners on the day.
Dulwich Hill FC – SD Raiders FC 2-3
Dulwich Hill’s three game winning streak came to an end as they lost to SD Raiders 3-2 at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
SD Raiders were first to strike in this encounter with Matias Toro Suazo opening the scoring for the visitors.
The hosts ensured that they entered the break with scores at one a piece when Nathan Sansom found the equaliser in the 38th minute.
Raiders’ leading goal scorer Anthony Proia restored the lead for the hosts in the 60th minute while he was on hand again 10 minutes later to make it 3-1 and give his side some breathing space as they approached the final stages of the encounter.
Dully did manage to pull one back with Josh Sama however it was a matter of too little too late as Raiders held on to secure all three points.
Bankstown United FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-0
Bankstown United stripped Gladesville Ryde Magic of their perfect record as they held the league leaders to a 0-0 stalemate at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
The first chance of the contest fell the way of Magic’s Chris Tomaras after two minutes as he headed over the crossbar.
Bankstown’s first chance fell their way after 10 minutes when they headed over the cross bar from a free kick.
The Magic trio of Triantis, Occhipinti and Tomaras have proved to be the deadliest attacking force so far this season and they combined well after 25 minutes to set up Chris Gaitatzis for a shot on goal.
With very few highlights throughout the second half, the game ended at 0-0 with Bankstown once again proving that they have what it takes to compete against the best of the best in this competition.
Camden Tigers FC – Bankstown City FC 4-3
Camden Tigers delivered the shock of the round as they battled their way to a 4-3 victory over Bankstown City at Ron Dine Stadium on Saturday night.
On the back of three defeats and cursed with injuries it appeared highly unlikely that the home side would be able to come away with a result from this fixture.
Blake Brooker was the first on the score sheet for the Tigers in the 20th minute while Bankstown’s Ante Tomic equalised 15 minutes later to ensure that the two sides entered the break at 1-1.
The Tigers were quick off the mark in the second half as Nicholas Mugridge restored their lead five minutes into the second half while Mitchell Brooker made it 3-1 with just over 15 minutes left on the clock.
Bankstown were given a lifeline in the 78th minute when they awarded a penalty which Tomic converted.
The visitors then thought that they had enough to secure a point from the contest when Lawrence Hanna struck with five minutes to go, however there was no stopping Camden as Dean Mugridge stepped up in the 88th minute to fire his spot kick into the back of the net and give his side the much needed win in the process.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
