Round 7 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
We experienced plenty of drama at both ends of the table in the latest installment of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
Gladesville Ryde Magic weakened their grip on first place following their slip up against Bankstown City while every side is off the mark in the league after Western NSW Mariners secured their first points of the season with a vital victory in Bathurst.
Dunbar Rovers secured a come from behind 3-2 win against Sydney University at Hensley Athletic Field; Western NSW Mariners defeated Granville Rage 1-0 at Proctor Park; Hawkesbury City triumphed 4-1 at home to Camden Tigers; SD Raiders registered a 3-1 victory away to Parramatta FC; Inter Lions were on the wrong end of a 1-0 score line in their fixture with Bankstown United at Valentine Sports Park No.2 while Bankstown City brought Gladesville Ryde Magic crashing back down to reality with a resounding 4-1 victory at Jensen Park.
A cracking tie took place at Arlington Oval on Saturday night as Stanmore Hawks and Dulwich Hill went head to head in the ‘Arlington’ derby with Football NSW in the stands to see how the action unfolded.
Stanmore Hawks FC 2 Dulwich Hill FC 1
Stanmore Hawks claimed the bragging rights in their derby against Dulwich Hill with a 2-1 victory in an end to end affair at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
Both sides came firing out of the blocks from the first challenge with adrenaline levels at sky for all the players on the pitch.
Like most derby matches, it took some time for both sides to muster up an opportunity with neither side able to find their rhythm in the opening ten minutes.
Dulwich Hill’s first opportunity fell the way of Laureano Gomez Castro with the striker’s shot whistling past Stanmore’s goal after he was picked out by Russell Farrell’s cross.
Stanmore’s Vic Koutsoufis came close with his shot after the visitor’s failed to clear their lines from a Hawks corner.
It was Dully who drew first blood in this contest when Aaron Pessego’s cross from the top left corner of the 18-yard box looped over Hawks’ keeper Nick Carosi into the top right-hand corner of the goal after an unfortunate deflection from Stanmore defender Harry Brown.
Despite going behind, the hosts continued to press, and they carved out a great opportunity from Alberto Perea Henche’s free kick with the Spaniard’s cross falling to captain Jovan Blagojevic whose headed effort forced Dully keeper Luke Turnbull into action.
Dulwich Hill closed out the first half with their 1-0 lead intact, but it was not long into the second half when Peter Yannopoulos struck to restore parity for the Hawks.
The lethal number 7 scored his sixth goal of the season with a jaw dropping volley from the right-hand side of the 18-yard box in the 46th minute.
The Hawks enjoyed the better of the second half proceedings and thought they were in front just before the hour mark after Yannopolous pounced on Turnbull’s fumble after the shot stopper failed to keep hold of Blagojevic’s ball into the box.
Stanmore completed the turn around in the 64th minute with captain Blagojevic thumping the ball into the back of the net after he was played in by Conor Quilligan’s reverse pass on the edge of the 18-yard box.
Only five minutes after the hosts had gained the lead it appeared as though Dully had found the equaliser however Pessego’s tap in was deemed offside and the visitors search for the equaliser continued.
Harry Brown put himself back into the good books in the 78th minute as he put his body on the line when he blocked Jayme Canhada Alves’ bullet of a shot.
A frantic ending to the contest saw opportunities fall the way of both teams with Dully’s Canhada Alves once again on hand when his lobbed strike was tipped onto the crossbar by Carosi’s outstretched fingertips.
Stanmore were able to close out the game and record their fourth win of the campaign which sees them leapfrog their opponents into second on the league table in the process.
Match Stats
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Seven
Saturday, April 20, 2019
STANMORE HAWKS FC 2 (Yannopoulos 46’, Blagojevic 64’)
DULWICH HILL FC 1 (Brown o.g. 26’)
STANMORE HAWKS FC; 1.N.Carosi, 2.T.Wohlfiel, 4.C.Bottalico, 5.H.Brown, 6.A.Perea Henche, 7.P.Yannopoulos(23.A.Kumburlu 82’), 8.N.Niski, 9.J.Blagojevic, 11.C.Quilligan, 14.V.Koutsoufis(12.S.Awad 60’), 29.R.Lo Russo(17.A.Caragher 82’).
Substitutions Not Used – 15.J.Seib, 20.H.Timms.
Yellow Cards – 29.R.Lo Russo 30’, 6.A.Perea Henche 80’.
DULWICH HILL FC; 1.L.Turnbull, 2.N.Sansom, 3.R.Farrell, 4.P.Crevani(31.D.Krkovski 63’), 5.N.Dimitropoulos, 6.A.Pessego, 13.S.Burke(21.A.Gornall 77’), 16.C.Desa, 19.L.Gomez Castro(11.J.Canhada Alves 63’), 20.N.Stanojevic, 23.H.Browell.
Substitutions Not Used – 25.D.Larmour, 28.P.Chin.
Yellow Cards – 19.L.Gomez Castro 39’, 5.N.Dimitropoulos 72’, 3.R.Farrell 85’, 16.C.Desa 90+1’.
Dunbar Rovers FC – Sydney University SFC 3-2
Dunbar Rovers scored the odd goal in five to record a 3-2 win over Sydney University at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon.
Dunbar took the lead 13 minutes in as Conor Earley chested the ball in the box before slotting it into the bottom right hand corner.
Sydney University found the equaliser only two minutes later via Jordan Makridopolus’ outrageous volley. The striker chested the ball on the edge of the 18-yard area before turning and volleying the ball into the top right-hand corner of the Dunbar goal.
The visitors gained the lead for the first time midway through the first half thanks to a spectacular free kick from Panayoti Gotsis which flew into back of the net.
Alex Crane made it square at two-a-piece in the 77th minute as he beat the Uni shot stopper at his near post.
With just over a minute remaining in regular time, Aram Tayebi Derazkala popped up with the winner after pouncing on the loose ball following a parry from the Uni keeper.
Western NSW Mariners – Granville Rage 1-0
Western NSW Mariners secured their first victory of the season as they overcame Granville Rage 1-0 at Proctor Park on Saturday afternoon.
A host of opportunities fell the way of both sides in the first half with Western goalkeeper Brock Logan in spectacular form to keep Rage at bay.
The only goal of the game arrived on the stroke of half time with Adam Scimone benefiting from a well struck free kick.
The home side had to soak up plenty of pressure in the second half with Granville continuing to create chances however it was the visitor’s poor composure that ultimately cost them in the final third.
Western’s Matt Corben should have made it 2-0 when his header sailed wide while Ryan Campbell should have made sure of the points when he too failed to convert his effort on goal.
Hawkesbury City FC – Camden Tigers FC 4-1
A backs to the wall performance saw Hawkesbury City register a 4-1 win over Camden Tigers at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday afternoon.
Camden were first to get on the scoresheet in this fixture with Bailey Simpson on hand to take advantage of a defensive lapse by Hawkesbury.
Hawkesbury found themselves on equal terms when play resumed after an intelligent pass dissected the Tigers’ defence, leaving Brad Gibson with a 1v1 which he coolly converted.
Ryan Wilson gave his side the lead 10 minutes later after he tucked his effort past Camden keeper Matthew Johnston to ensure that his side entered half time on top.
The Hawks played the majority of the second half down a man with James Thurtell sent off shortly after the break after he received his second yellow card of the encounter.
A brace from pacey winger Kwadwo Boamah Addai made it four for the hosts with Camden unable to capitalise on the one-man advantage despite testing the opposition defence with some dangerous balls into the area.
Parramatta FC – SD Raiders FC 1-3
Parramatta’s wretched league form continued this weekend as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against SD Raiders at Melita Stadium on Saturday night.
Parramatta found themselves trailing after 16 minutes when SD Raiders were awarded a penalty which was converted by Anthony Proia.
The Eagles were reduced to ten men just before the break when Victor Anyimba was given his marching orders.
The home side clawed their way back into encounter as Zac Watters made it 1-1 in the 70th minutes however it was their opponents who stormed away to claim the vital three points in the final 20 minutes.
A dominant ending by the visitors in this encounter saw Ali Al Yasiry get on the scoresheet alongside Proia who grabbed his second of the evening.
Inter Lions FC – Bankstown United FC 0-1
Inter Lions suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bankstown United at Valentine Sports Park No.2 on Saturday night.
Inter controlled opening proceedings with Alex Becerra going close on two occasions.
However, the hosts fell behind on the stroke of half time following a defensive error which saw Bankstown’s Mitchell Cross latch onto a poor pass back and slot it past the Inter shot stopper.
Inter continued to dominate throughout the second half but despite all the pressure they were unable to bring themselves level with Bankstown running out 1-0 victors when the final whistle blew.
Bankstown City FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 4-1
Bankstown City handed Gladesville Ryde Magic their first defeat of the season with a convincing 4-1 win at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
Magic were the first to score in this encounter with Zoran Kolundzic’s long range strike deflecting into Bankstown’s goal in the opening minutes.
The Lions fought their way back into the contest through ace marksman Nikola Todoroski, the Lions captain cutting in from the left and finishing it into the top right-hand corner.
The home side took the lead minutes later with Marko Filipovic finding the back of the net following a cut back from Todoroski.
A missed penalty from the visitors in the latter stages of the first half saw the Lions enter the break with their 2-1 lead still intact.
Stefan Dubocanin scored his side’s third of the night with a scrappy finish from inside the box while Hezio Silva Neto put the game to bed after he capitalised on another cut back and assist from Man of the Match Todoroski.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
