Round 6 Review – State League Men’s
Late drama was the theme in Round 6 of the State League Men’s competition of 2019. Indeed, in every fixture around the grounds, every team had a sniff of at least a point the conclusion of 90 minutes (not including injury time).
Perhaps surprisingly then we come away with only the one draw.
In our match of the round(s), we saw two really decent games as Hurstville and UNSW FC came away with respective victories.
Whilst elsewhere Fraser Park and Central Coast United perhaps gave us an early sneak peek at September action this year.
Western Condors v Hurstville FC
Hurstville FC have claimed a vital three points away from home in defeating Western Condors one-nil at Chopin Park.
Hurstville FC inflicted the first defeat on the home side in a controlled showing limiting their opposition to only a few chances throughout. A first half free kick from captain Paul Gagro was enough for the visitors to hang onto in claiming a crucial win.
Western Condors on the other hand were kept quiet for large periods of the first half before clicking into gear in the second period. It wasn’t enough though as they were kept scoreless by a resolute defense.
It was apparent from the outset that this match was going to be a wrestle. Paul Gagro had the first opportunity for the visitors cutting in from the right hand side and shooting over the bar. Before Jay Takahashi did a similar thing down the other end except he forced Hurstville shot stopper Matthew Massarotto into a diving save.
The scoring was opened in stunning fashion just before the half hour mark through Paul Gagro. Gagro hit a free kick sweetly into the bottom left corner of the net from around 25 yards.
Things then started to get tense on the field with frustrations particularly getting the better of the home side with Swaray Kamara having their only opportunity from that point until the break.
After some undoubtedly strong words from the Condors coaching staff. They seemed to respond well having the first few opportunities after the break. However notable chances were few and far between.
As they pushed forward to create more, it opened up more in their defensive end and Hurstville had many opportunities to score an insurance goal. One of which saw Michael Kotzambasis blast his shot over the bar from inside the six-yard box on the hour mark.
It was end to end stuff for the next ten to fifteen minutes as Swaray Kamara was looking most dangerous at the other end sneaking down the left hand channel before his effort went wide of the far post.
Their biggest chance came with ten minutes in the fixture as a rare defensive mistake saw Cristian Leiva Marinez charging into the box before his shot was blocked with calls for a penalty denied by the referee.
That proved to be their last chance as Hurstville had not one, not two but three opportunities to take the win late on. Only for some sloppy finishing to deny them of a more comprehensive victory.
Western Condors coach Barry Zambrano summed it up nicely. “We didn’t play to our plan, we lofted the ball too often and lacked our usual width”.
“Very happy we went to the end in this one being early in the season and I’m sure they will bounce back at the next opportunity.”
Hurstville FC coach John Gagro was delighted with his team’s performance. “Very happy with a dominant display from the boys. We limited their chances and could’ve won by more.”
Match Stats
Western Condors: 0
Hurstville FC: 1 (P.Gagro 29’)
Western Condors: 1. Jake Jose Mendes, 2. Kizyala Kiemo, 3. David Moreira Muller, 4. Gabriel Gomes, 5. Hikaru Takase, 6. Swaray Taylor Kamara, 7. Jay Takahashi, 8. Kaito Ikarimoto, 9. Chun Him Yau, 10. Cristian Leiva Martinez, 11. Joshua Obeng.
Subs: 21. Brayden Brennan, 12. Samuel Jirjis. 14. Genki Takatera, 15. Gaston Roy, 16. Alejandro Arrregin.
Hurstville FC: 1. Matthew Massarotto, 5. Stephan Perak, 6. Raul Carrizo, 7. Michael Kotzambasis, 8. Dario Borovickic, 9. Jesse Gagro, 10. Paul Gagro, 11. Adrian Livio, 15. Nicholas Kougious, 17. Aleks Trenoski.
Subs: 4. Sebastian Coello, 13. David Pavey, 14. Michael Di Meglio, 18. Cristian Di Meglio, 21. Anthony Vrinat.
UNSW FC v Nepean FC
Wow, how do you sum up this match in one sentence.
UNSW FC and Nepean FC have gone toe to toe (well at least their attackers did) in a shootout at Ilinden Sports Centre.
And it was the hosts who prevailed in the contest thanks to a Nima Beik goal in the 78th minute. Before that Aaron Richmond and Des Ford also got on the scoresheet with an OG topping it off. It’s just UNSW’s second victory in five attempts and suddenly things look a bit brighter for them.
For every winner there is a loser and unfortunately for Nepean FC, they are making quite the habit of being on the losing end of results. Three goals are normally enough for a victory and they will be spewing that a couple of lapses in concentration ended up costing them the points.
We didn’t have to wait long for the scores to be opened as Nima Beik was played through on the left-hand side. Beik then put in a cross which found the feet of Aaron Richmond on the back post who powerfully finished.
It was end to end stuff right from the get go and Nepean soon replied. Naruyuki Kato in plenty of space found Jayden Young to his left. Young finished off in style.
That good work was unfortunately undone before the break as a cross from the right-hand side was spilled by Nepean’s keeper and unfortunately UNSW striker Des Ford was in the right place to punish him for it.
In a carbon copy of the first half. UNSW struck inside the first minute of the second half. Beik who was causing Nepean all sorts of headaches put the ball into an impossible position for the ball to be cleared. The unfortunate player to get the OG next to his name was Daryl Watson.
Nepean weren’t going to let this one go without a fight. And so, it proved Nathan Ralph rose highest from a set piece to head them back into the game.
Suddenly the pressure was on UNSW and Nepean could smell blood. Five minutes later that pressure told as a defensive mix up led to Kuag Reec finishing off into an open net.
So, 3-3 with 35 minutes to play. It was simply going to come down to who wanted it more. And against recent history in this fixture it proved to be UNSW. Through a tactical switch, they gained control of the match and were rewarded.
A lofted pass into Des Ford was cushioned with his head into the path of Nima Beik whose finish found the far side netting.
The hosts could see just their second scalp of the campaign and despite a few nervy moments late on in the fixture, they hung on and didn’t they enjoy it.
UNSW coach Wesley Fagan was happy with his team’s performance. “Delighted, the players deserve the result after the work they’ve put in. Overall though this is a good base to build on but we need to cut out our mistakes”.
Match Stats
UNSW FC: 4 (Richmond 1’, Ford 16’, Watson (OG) 47’, Beik 78’)
Nepean FC: 3 (Young 8’, Ralph 48’, Reec 53’)
UNSW FC: 1. George Arnold, 2. Michael Leahy, 5. Benjamin Dexter, 6. Daniel Gonzalez, 7. Aaron Richmond, 8. Marcus Naoum, 9. Des Ford, 10. Nima Beik, 18. Benjamin Sunderland, 19. Joshua Chahal, 30. Jordan Clark.
Subs: 21. Nic Nelson, 4. Dylan Deep-Jones, 11. Bede Leyland, 17. Bastian Monroy Vargas, 39. Florim Binakaj.
Nepean FC: 23. Jake Senior, 3. Daryl Watson, 4. Michael Streeter, 5. Naruyuki Kato, 8. Nathan Ralph, 9. Kuag Reec, 14. Rory Mcgeown, 15. Jayden Young, 17. Farres Aoun, 28. Michael Fakiye, 98. Paul Chester.
Subs: 32. Harrison Walsh, 7. Mubarak Saeed, 10. David Adjassou, 20. Alex Moore, 45. Roberto Polistina.
Fraser Park 1-0 Central Coast United
Sometimes words or a score line don’t really do a game justice. This is one of those games as Fraser Park came away with first bragging rights over Central Coast United for the season.
Scalps don’t come much bigger than this one for any team in the competition. After a hiccup last week at the hands of Hurstville. Fraser Park bounced back with a steady performance.
It was an even contest, probably deserving of a draw but don’t take anything away from the home side. The goal came in the 88th minute when striker Matthew Nezval got on the end of a through ball and delicately chipped the keeper.
It’s a bitter blow for the visitors who came in to the game having conceded late against Prospect United. And unfortunately, it happened again in this one for the Coast based side. Identically they also had an opportunity to equalize afterwards only to be denied by an offside flag.
We have a sneaky suspicion that they will be back though and they return home next week against Hurstville City Minotaurs in our match of the round.
Prospect United 2-2 South Coast Flame
South Coast Flame travelled up to Prospect United and were unlucky not to take the 3 points home instead having to settle for a share the spoils.
It was a slow start from the hosts who found themselves down by two goals inside the first half hour. At that point it was about surviving through till half time and rebuild for the second half.
After having the riot act read out to them, they did manage to pull it back to parity within the first fifteen minutes of the second half. Thomas Kasunic scoring a penalty 5 minutes into the half before a Stephen Vukovic header just crossed the line before a desperate clearance.
South Coast Flame on the other hand put in one of their better performances of the season. Having raced off the blocks with goals to Matt Mazevski and Andrew Christie. It was only really a lapse of concentration early in the second half which cost them a result.
On another day this would have been three points but coach Neil Mineef is happy with the progression in his side.
Hurstville City Minotaurs 1-0 Balmain Tigers.
So, given we had a couple of games which were decided at the end of a match, how about a twist ending and finish with one decided early on.
Hurstville City Minotaurs are now on a winning run and everyone is beginning to start to pay attention to them. After beating Hurstville FC and Nepean in recent times, this was always going to be tough having had the week off.
Fortunately, though for the General’s men, they got off to a flyer with striker Thiago Rabinovitch scoring his fourth goal in three games. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time as the visitors failing to clear giving him the opportunity.
We don’t want to sound mean here but the stopwatch continues to tick and Balmain haven’t scored in over 210 minutes of play. And the unfortunate reality of football is goals matter. Just hopefully for Sash Tirovski and his players, we see things start to change before they fall too far behind.
-By Justin Smith
