Round 9 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s

NPL 3 - Round 3 Hawkesbury FC v Parramatta FC 


{Photos by Jeff Walsh @QuarrieSports for @FootballNSW}

Another slip up at the top of the table could pave the way for new leaders by the time Wednesday comes around.

For the first time since round two we could see a new face at the top of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition after Stanmore Hawks powered past Gladesville Ryde Magic to put themselves one point behind the league leaders with a game in hand.

Dunbar Rovers went down 2-0 to Dulwich Hill at Hensley Athletic Field; Hawkesbury City were on the right end of a 2-1 score line at home to Parramatta at David Bertenshaw Field; Bankstown City triumphed 5-1 over Western NSW Mariners at Proctor Park; Stanmore Hawks’ unbeaten run remains intact as they overcame Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-0 at Arlington Oval; Granville Rage and Camden Tigers could not be split as they played out a 0-0 stalemate at Garside Park while SD Raiders recorded a 4-0 victory against Inter Lions at Valentine Sports Park in the final match of the round on Sunday night.

This week’s match of the round took place at Jensen Park with Football NSW in the stands to see how the midtable clash between Bankstown United and Sydney University would unravel.

Bankstown United FC 1 Sydney University SFC 5

A spectacular second half showing saw Sydney University claim a 5-1 victory in their encounter with Bankstown United at Jensen Park on Saturday night.

After a relatively close affair in the first half it was Sydney’s Uni’s class that shone through in the second half as they cruised to victory.

Blake Serafin had the first chance of the encounter after he was picked out by Panayoti Gotsis’ corner.

On the quarter hour mark Bankstown’s Rocci Gabey forced an impressive save from Luke Del Vecchio after the Uni shot stopper tipped Gabey’s effort over the crossbar.

It was the visitors who were next to trouble the host’s goal as Joseph Lameri’s volley was parried by United goalkeeper David Hamilton after they failed to clear their lines.

The only goal of the first half arrived after 41 minutes via Jack Lapi after the centre back’s shot from the edge of the 18-yard box deflected into the Bankstown goal.

The home side would have still thought they had a chance in the second half, but it was all the visitors for the second 45 as they put on a masterclass in finishing to ease past their opponents.

The ‘students’ doubled their lead after 52 minutes as Gotsis’ effort struck the crossbar before the ball dropped just over the goal line to give them some breathing space in the contest.

With 22 minutes left on the clock it was Fergus Worrall who was next to get on the scoresheet for the visitors after his effort from the left-hand side of the 18-yard area flew into the back of the net after substitute Michael Loupis picked him out with an inch perfect through ball.

Their comfortable 3-0 lead did not last for long as Bankstown pulled one back three minutes later through Mitch Cross after he slotted the ball past Del Vecchio after splitting Uni’s defence.

Loupis turned from provider to goal scorer with five minutes remaining as his half volley flew over a helpless Hamilton from the route one approach which began with Del Vecchio’s goal kick.

Their fifth and final goal of the encounter arrived in the fifth minute of injury time after captain Scott Tonkin slotted the ball past the Bankstown shot stopper into the right-hand corner of the goal with Loupis grabbing his second assist of the contest after he played in the number nine.

Match Stats

National Premier League’s 3 NSW Men’s

Round Nine

Saturday, May 4, 2019

BANKSTOWN UNITED FC 1 (Cross 72’)

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY SFC 5 (Lapi 41’, Gotsis 52’, Worrall 68’, Loupis 85’, Tonkin 90+5’)

BANKSTOWN UNITED FC; 1.D.Hamilton, 3.L.Mesiti, 4.S.Wright(capt), 6.L.Willmore, 7.J.Miladinovic(22.M.Kamara 66’), 9.M.Cross, 10.E.Bergamin, 11.N.Paull, 13.M.Donatiello, 18.R.Gabey, 27.M.Cook.

Substitutions Not Used – D.Nakano, 14.A.Lazarou, 16.H.Probert, 24.M.Paras.

Yellow Cards – 4.S.Wright 43’.

SYDNEY UNIVERSITY SFC; 5.M.Borovina, 9.S.Tonkin (capt), 10.P.Gotsis(7.M.Loupis 62’), 13.L.Del Vecchio, 15.F.Worrall, 17.I.Hillier(8.Y.Kotaki 67’), 18.B.Serafin, 19.J.Lameri(14.J.Makridopolus 71’), 30.J.Lapi, 31.D.Barrett, 34.F.Williamson.

Substitutions Not Used – 12.C.Hinckson, 25.O.Gibson.

Yellow Cards – 31.D.Barrett 34’, 34.F.Williamson 37’, 9.S.Tonkin 60’, 17.I.Hillier 61’, 13.L.Del Vecchio 83’, 30.J.Lapi 90’.

Dunbar Rovers FC – Dulwich Hill FC 0-2

Dulwich Hill secured a much needed 2-0 victory away to Dunbar Rovers at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides created opportunities of their own throughout the first half however neither side could break the deadlock with both goals arriving in the second half.

The first goal of the contest arrived in the 67th minute via the boot of Jayme Canhada Alves with a fantastic strike from 25 yards out.

Dunbar continued to pepper Dully’s goal as they looked to put themselves on equal terms however the visitors proved too strong defensively and they closed out the game with a second goal thanks to Dean Krkovski after he tapped home in the second minute of stoppage time to make sure of the points.

Hawkesbury City FC – Parramatta FC 2-1

Hawkesbury City added to Parramatta’s demise as they secured a 2-1 win at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts first goal of the afternoon arrived after six minutes through Ryan Faulkner following a well-timed overlap which led to a clever finish from the right back.

Soon after in the 20th minute, the Hawks were gifted a goal as Kwadwo Boamah made the most of Parramatta’s defensive mix up to put his side two in front.

The Eagles threw bodies forward in the second half as they went in search for goals and were awarded a penalty on the 70th minute mark which was converted by Zac Watters.

The home side had Ryan Fahey sent off five minutes later after he received his second yellow card of the contest however Parramatta ultimately failed to make the most of having one extra player on the pitch.

A second yellow card for Eagles’ Parham Khosravi in the closing exchanges of the encounter saw both sides end the game with 10 players on the pitch with Hawkesbury able to hold on to take all three points.

Western NSW Mariners – Bankstown City FC 1-5

Bankstown City recorded back to back 5-1 victories as they defeated Western NSW Mariners at Proctor Park on Saturday afternoon.

Bankstown executed their game plan to perfection with the Lions dominating possession for the entirety of the match.

Aside from Kenny Mccall’s goal for the hosts it was the hosts who raced to a 3-1 lead at halftime thanks to a brace from Hezio Silva Neto and Nikola Todoroski’s strike.

The second half continued in the same fashion for the visitors as Todoroski grabbed his second while Stefan Dubocanin made it five with his effort.

Stanmore Hawks FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-0

Stanmore Hawks proved too good for Gladesville Ryde Magic as they recorded a 2-0 win in their encounter at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.

The Hawks stepped it up a gear as they inflicted a second defeat on Magic in an entertaining contest which saw chances a plenty for both sides.

With the scores locked at 0-0 for most of the encounter, it took a flash of brilliance for the hosts to open the scoring as Conor Quilligan popped up with his first of the night in the 85th minute after a smart pick out from Jovan Blagojevic.

Stanmore’s second and Quilligan’s brace arrived on the stroke of full time after his effort flew into the back of the net following a darting run from right back Timothy Wohlfiel whose cross fell perfectly to the attacker.

Granville Rage – Camden Tigers FC 0-0

Neither Granville Rage nor Camden Tigers could pull ahead at Garside Park with the score remaining at 0-0 when the final whistle blew on Saturday night.

With the two sides fighting at the lower reaches of the ladder heading into this fixture, this tie was always going to be a tight affair with both sides desperate for points as they look to climb their way up the league table.

A 0-0 draw has not done either team any favours as they remain in 11th and 12th respective to the league standings.

Inter Lions FC – SD Raiders FC 0-4

Inter Lions were on the wrong end of a 4-0 score line in their fixture against SD Raiders at Valentine Sports Park No.3.

A promising first half display saw Inter bring the game to Raiders as the hosts produced chance after chance and were unfortunate not to find the back of the net at all throughout the contest.

The hosts were made to pay for their wasted chances just as play resumed after a glaring mistake from Inter goalkeeper Rob Fanella handed the Raiders their first goal of the night after he let a back-pass roll under his foot into the back of the net.

As they pushed players forward in search of the equaliser, the home side copped another two goals in quick succession which effectively put the game out of reach.

The final goal of the match came in the closing exchanges of the tie to give Raiders a quite flattering 4-0 triumph at full time.

-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)