Round 15 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Derby day delight for Bankstown United who sent shockwaves across the league as they handed their rivals Bankstown City FC their first defeat in nine games.
The Lions derby disappointment means that they have both Stanmore Hawks and Gladesville Ryde Magic hot on their heels, with only two points the difference between 1st and 3rd place.
Western NSW Mariners fell to a 5-0 defeat in their encounter against Dulwich Hill at Proctor Park; Inter Lions added to Parramatta’s woes as they ran out 4-2 winners at Valentine Sports Park; Stanmore Hawks and Hawkesbury City shared the points in a tight 1-1 draw at Arlington Oval; SD Raiders proved too good for Dunbar Rovers as they secured a 2-0 victory at home; Gladesville Ryde Magic enjoyed a reasonably comfortable 2-0 win away to Granville Rage at Garside Park; whilst Camden Tigers comprehensively beat Sydney Uni with 4-1 the final score at Ron Dine Stadium.
The second instalment of the much-anticipated Bankstown derby did not fail to disappoint with Football NSW in attendance at Jensen Park to see who would claim the bragging rights from the contest.
Bankstown City FC 2 Bankstown United FC 4
Derbies really do bring the best out of teams and tonight was no different as Bankstown United miraculously toppled their fierce rivals Bankstown City 4-2 in an explosive encounter at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
Both sets of fans were at their best with excitement levels at an all time high as kick off approached.
The players were met with an eclectic atmosphere when they walked onto the pitch and this same passion and intensity was a feature throughout the entire contest.
The desire was there for all to see from the first whistle as both teams attempted to stamp their mark on the match in the early exchanges.
The Lions were forced into an early reshuffle after they were rocked by the injury to star man Ante Tomic, whose night came to an end only six minutes in.
However, that did not stop the hosts from playing their usual free flowing football, and they forged their first opportunity just before the quarter hour mark after Nikola Todoroski’s cut back from the left wing caused a scramble in the box.
It was United who drew first blood in this battle after they were awarded a penalty on 22 minutes after Tommy Markovski handled in the penalty area.
The ever-reliant Mitch Cross stepped up to convert the resulting spot kick with his strike flying into the left-hand corner of the net.
United captain Steven Wright and his centre back partner Rocci Gabey marshalled the defence and were rock solid throughout the tie as they nuzzled the Lions’ lethal attack – a feat that most sides have been unable to manage this season.
Cross continued to prove a handful up the other end of the pitch and was in part responsible for his side’s second of the night after his pressure led to a costly error from the hosts.
This mistake came from Markovski whose pass failed to reach its intended target and instead fell to the feet of Lachlan Willmore who quickly dispatched his strike into the top right-hand corner on the 32nd minute to give his side a 2-0 buffer heading into the break.
A much-improved City side came out of the sheds for the second interval and they showed a glimpse of their fighting spirit when they pulled one back seven minutes after the restart.
Todoroski’s cross from the top left-hand corner of the 18-yard box was met by Markovski at the front post before his header slipped through the gloves of United custodian David Hamilton.
The 15 minutes or so that followed were relatively calm as both sides chipped away at each other and it was not until the 68th minute that we well and truly had a game on our hands when Lawrence Hanna popped up with the equaliser.
The crafty number 10 weaved his way through the centre of United’s defence before he slot the ball past Hamilton into the goal.
That feeling of elation for the Lions lasted barely a minute after they found themselves on the back foot yet again virtually straight after play resumed as Cross headed home Luke Mesiti’s ball into the area.
United knew that their one goal advantage might be difficult to hold onto for the final 20 minutes and decided to keep on playing the same style of attacking football that had seen them already put three past the league leaders.
Their game plan was rewarded with 10 minutes to go as Eros Bergamin’s belter of an effort swerved into the net from 20 yards out to put the icing on the cake and mark a memorable night for United which will last long in the history books.
Backs to the wall defending for remainder of the match saw United hold onto their lead with pulpable excitement around the stands as fans eagerly waited for referee Jerry Bitas to blow the full-time whistle.
When that whistle finally came, it sent United fans into raptures as they celebrated a well-earned victory over their arch-rivals in what was a moment to savour for all involved with the club.
The shock triumph sees United hold onto 5th position with only goal difference separating them from 4th placed Raiders, whilst City stay top after Stanmore failed to capitalise on their unlikely defeat.
Match Stats
National Premier League’s 3 NSW Men’s
Round 15
Saturday, June 15, 2019
BANKSTOWN CITY FC 2 (Markovski 52’, Hanna 68’)
BANKSTOWN UNITED FC 4 (Cross 22’, 69’, Willmore 32’, Bergamin 80’)
BANKSTOWN CITY FC; 1.C.Mcmahon, 3.T.Boutoubia, 4.S.Dubocanin, 9.N.Todoroski(capt), 10.L.Hanna, 11.A.Tomic(7.J.Issa 6’), 14.M.Filipovic, 16.M.Sehic, 21.T.Markovski, 27.A.Sopina(24.D.Jakimovski 82’), 72.S.Drewery(13.J.Vrtkovski 85’).
Substitutions Not Used – 12.A.Tanevski, 23.A.Ismail.
Yellow Cards – 4.S.Dubocanin 57’, 9.N.Todoroski 60’, 72.S.Drewery 72’, 16.M.Sehic 79’, 3.T.Boutoubia 88’.
Red Cards – N/A.
BANKSTOWN UNITED FC; 4.S.Wright(capt), 6.L.Willmore, 7.J.Miladinovic, 9.M.Cross, 10.E.Bergamin, 13.M.Donatiello(32.T.Suzuki 20’, 23.K.Bangura 74’), 18.R.Gabey, 22.M.Kamara, 27.M.Cook(3.L.Mesiti 56’), 52.A.Salgueira, 99.D.Hamilton.
Substitutions Not Used – 1.T.Singh, 14.A.Lazarou.
Yellow Cards – 4.S.Wright 41’, 10.E.Bergamin 62’.
Red Cards – N/A.
Western NSW Mariners – Dulwich Hill FC 0-5
Dulwich Hill ended their five game winless streak in spectacular fashion as they steamrolled Western NSW Mariners 5-0 in their fixture at Proctor Park on Saturday afternoon.
Dully put three past the Mariners in the first half as trio Robbie Deasy, Jayme Canhada and Josh Sama all grabbed a goal each.
The second half was much the same for Dully as they completed the rout with Sam Messam scoring his third in two matches while Sama’s second rounded it off for the visitors.
The loss sees the Mariners remain rooted to the bottom of the table as they remain on 6 points, while the win and subsequent three points pushes Dulwich Hill onto 21 points and 7th position, hurdling Dunbar Rovers in the process.
Inter Lions FC – Parramatta FC 4-2
Inter Lions made up for last week’s defeat with a telling 4-2 triumph over strugglers Parramatta at Valentine Sports Park No.3 on Saturday night.
Inter opened the scoring after 15 minutes thanks to Chris Lawson after a corner picked out the centre half who had enough time and space to place his effort into the bottom corner.
New recruit Sheldon Tweedie responded for the Eagles on the half hour mark after he got the better of the Inter goalkeeper with a tidy finish.
The hosts found themselves in front again seven minutes later after Nico Paras rocketed his free kick into the back of the net.
They went on to score a third on the stroke of half time as Paras bundled home a cross at the front post.
The men from Concord continued where they left off after the break and they were 4-1 up on 49 minutes after Fikret Berisha’s strike whistled into the bottom corner after he was played in via a perfectly weighted through ball from Zac Ribeiro.
Stalwart Ahmad Elrich clawed one back for his side with five minutes remaining, however that goal was purely theoretical as Inter held on to record the win.
The victory sees Inter climb to 26 points and take a stronghold of 6th position while it leaves the Eagles languishing in second from bottom on the league ladder.
Stanmore Hawks FC – Hawkesbury City FC 1-1
Stanmore Hawks spurned their chance to go top of the league table after they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Hawkesbury City at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
Hawkesbury opened the scoring in the 12th minute from Joaquin Velizcoccolo’s peach of a free kick – his second goal in consecutive weeks.
Another signature corner routine Alberto Perea Henche provided the home side’s equaliser after Oliver Stickland rose highest to head the ball past Hawkesbury’s custodian Daniel Schwarzer.
A controversial call with five minutes left to go saw the away side stripped of a goal after the referee reversed his decision to award it after consultation with the linesman.
The Hawkesbury player was deemed to have handballed the Stanmore keeper’s clearance before he powered past the shot stopper and it tucked it away into the open goal.
An unfortunate decision for Dean Bertenshaw’s side was almost compunded with the last kick of the game when the woodwork came to his side’s rescue after a Stanmore header struck the post.
A point in the end was enough to see Stanmore maintain 2nd position, up to 32 points, while Hawkesbury drop down to 10th on 17 points.
SD Raiders FC – Dunbar Rovers FC 2-0
A business-like performance saw SD Raiders register 2-0 victory against Dunbar Rovers at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday night.
Dunbar did trouble early on and came close in the opening stages after Daniel Fornito’s attempt from outside the box forced an outstanding save from Raiders’ shot stopper Michael Rutherford.
The Raiders first of the contest arrived on the 23rd minute mark via Daniel Bittar whose strike from just outside of the 18-yard-area curled into the corner of the goal.
The home side dominated for the remainder of the half and were unlucky not to have been up by more as they headed into the sheds.
Dunbar piled on the pressure after the restart and forced the hosts to result to their usual counter attacking style of play with Ben Welch unlucky not to get his name on the score sheet after he missed a golden opportunity.
Raiders shored up the points in the 86th minute after Welch made amends for his earlier miss.
The result sees Raiders hang on to 4th spot on the table while it sees Rovers drop down into the bottom half of the ladder in 8th with 20 points.
Granville Rage – Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-2
Gladesville Ryde Magic returned from Garside Park with all three points as they overcame Granville Rage 2-0 on Saturday night.
The first of their goals arrived via the boot of Chris Gaitatzis after his long-range strike struck the ground just before reaching the hands of the outstretched Samuel Bortolazzo in goal.
Peter Voukidis doubled his side’s lead with a peach of a volley which left Bortolazzo watching on helplessly as it looped over his head into the net.
The visitors kept Rage at bay in the second half as they held onto the 2-goal advantage and kept a highly desirable clean sheet in the process.
The loss sees Granville remain in 12th position on 10 points, whilst Magic keep pace with the top two as they move up to 31 points and hold onto 3rd position.
Camden Tigers FC – Sydney University SFC 4-1
Camden Tigers sought revenge on Sydney University after their 3-0 loss in the reverse fixture and that is exactly what came their way as they raced to a 4-1 triumph at Ron Dine Reserve on Saturday night.
Tigers’ Bailey Simpson opened the scoring on 5 minutes while Mitchell Mclintock made it two after 26 minutes.
The hosts did not take their foot off the pedal in the second half, and they found themselves three goals to the good after Eric Mcguire weighed in with the third of the night on the 48th minute mark.
The Tigers’ mauling continued as Blake Brooker also got his name onto scoresheet with his effort seven minutes later.
A consolation goal from Uni’s Michael Loupis on 57 minutes was not enough as Camden collected another home victory.
The win and subsequent three points pushes Camden on to 17 points, and 10th spot, leapfrogging Hawkesbury in the process, whilst the loss sees Sydney Uni maintain 11th position with 15 points to their name.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
