Round 19 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition never fails to produce its share of surprises, upsets, goals and controversies, with Round Nineteen delivering on all fronts over the weekend.
League leaders, Stanmore Hawks, shook off a first half stalemate to smash Western NSW Mariners 6-1 in Bathurst; Hawkesbury City and Bankstown United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at David Bertenshaw Field; Inter Lions came from one down at half time to overcome Sydney University 3-1 at FNSW headquarters; Dulwich Hill came unstuck at Arlington Oval, losing 1-3 to Parramatta FC; Camden Tigers demolished Gladesville Ryde Magic 6-2 at Ron Dine Stadium on the back of a Mitchell McLintock hatrick.
The match between Bankstown City Lions and SD Raiders was postponed and will be played at a later date yet to be confirmed by FNSW.
FNSW ventured out to a windy Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon to watch Dunbar Rovers do battle with Granville Rage.
MATCH OF THE ROUND
DUNBAR ROVERS – GRANVILLE RAGE 5-0
Dunbar Rovers took a while to trouble the scoreboard on Saturday afternoon, but once they got the first in the 63rd minute, they managed to score at will in beating Granville Rage 5-0 at Hensley Athletic Field.
In fact, the five goals arrived in a devastating 17 minute spell, providing the home contingent some peace of mind after seemingly looking like it was going to be ‘one of those days’ during the first hour.
The match commenced predictably enough, with Dunbar controlling the leather, spreading it around at will whilst they looked to prise open the Rage defensive line.
As a result, Dunbar began creating numerous half chances, but were a little rushed in their decision making, the final pass often found wanting. Such was their eagerness to get on the board, and with the breeze at their back, Dunbar found themselves knocking a pass too long, or shooting instead of crossing, and Granville survived time and time again.
Steven Chester had a great opportunity on 14 minutes, but skewed his left foot shot at the back stick after a great cross by Gilad Swartz from the right.
Heo Wookbum and Andrew Doddy then swiftly exchanged passes in the 25th minute, with Doddy firing a snap volley just wide of the mark.
Andrew Doddy, Paul Orgad, and Tadhg Purcell were pulling the strings across the middle, but the Rovers couldn’t turn this in to goals.
Wookbum went closer still in the 43rd minute, his firm strike from the edge of the box well saved by Samuel Bortolazzo, the Rage goalkeeper diving low to his left to keep his goal intact.
The half time whistle blew shortly afterwards, with the possession stats reflecting a very clear Dunbar domination, but it is the scoreboard that matters, and this showed the contest as being all square at 0-0.
Granville had their first chance on goal 6 minutes in to the second period, with Timothy Raftopoulos volleying wide after Martin Zafirov had clipped a nice ball in to space for his team mate to run on to. It was the first time Dunbar’s goal keeper, Charles Samushonga, was called in to action given his very limited touches in the opening stanza.
Dunbar finally opened the scoring, and it came in the 63rd minute. Micaiah Te Rata collected Andrew Doddy’s short corner, firing low on goal, only for Heo Wookbum to divert the ball in to the goal, much to the relief of the home fans.
Andrew Doddy was also involved in the second goal, his far post lofted cross in the 66th minute met by Nicholas Holton, the tall defender directing his header in to the net with aplomb.
Granville’s heads dropped, as Dunbar got a second wind, and the Rovers kept their foot on the pedal as they looked to end the match as a contest.
Tadhg Purcell swung over a cross in to the Granville penalty area in the 71st minute, where Steven Chester took a touch before swivelling and striking a shot in to the top corner from close range for 3-0.
Dunbar had introduced youngster, Ahmad Taleb, in the 62nd minute, and he duly responded by helping himself to a quickfire brace to extend the lead to 5-0.
His first arrived in the 78th minute, when Purcell played Taleb in with a lofted ball in the right channel of the Rage penalty area. The young striker only had eyes for goal, thrashing the ball in from an acute angle to make it 4-0.
Two minutes later and Aram Tayebi Derazkala made a run down the left flank, before his pinpoint left wing cross was easily swept home from close range by an unmarked Taleb for his second and his team’s fifth goal.
Granville almost snatched a consolation late on, but substitute, Christian Finianos, cleared the cross bar from a tight angle with the goal beckoning.
That was all she wrote, with the win and three points moving Dunbar Rovers to 26 points in 7th position. Dunbar are just two points ahead of a cluster of three teams on 24 points, but importantly, have closed the gap between themselves and Bankstown United above them to 8 points.
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Nineteen
Saturday, July 13, 2019
DUNBAR ROVERS 5 (Wookbum 63’, Holton 66’, Chester 71’, Taleb 78’ / 80’)
GRANVILLE RAGE 0
Hensley Athletic Field
Referee – Nathan McOrist
Assistant Referees – Daniel Alter and Gian-Carlos Anderson
DUNBAR ROVERS; 23.C.Samushonga, 2.N.Holton, 3.M.Te Rata, 4.G.Swartz (5.P.Lee 75’), 6.A.Tayebi Derazkala, 7.P.Orgad, 8.A.Doddy, 10.S.Chester (9.G.Rafferty 71’), 14.A.Crane (18.A.Taleb 62’), 17.H.Wookbum, 22.T.Purcell.
Substitutes Not Used – 19.D.Hudap, 21.G.Rodriguez.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
GRANVILLE RAGE;1.S.Bortolazzo, 2.M.Luc, 3.M.Joseski, 5.A.Lajin, 6.R.Sadler, 10.M.Chaalan, 12.M.Zafirov, 13.J.Warwick, 15.T.Raftopoulos (9.C.Finianos 81’), 18.C.Agliozzo (20.D.Shim 55’), 19.M.Takizawa (7.G.Issa 69’),
Substitutes Not Used – 4.B.Mottram, 22.J.Shong.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
Western NSW Mariners – Stanmore Hawks 1-6
Stanmore Hawks retained their position at the summit of the NSW NPL 3 Men’s ladder with a comprehensive 6-1 away win over the Western NSW Mariners.
The Hawks wanted to make certain that their trip to Proctor Park in Bathurst was worthwhile, but they didn’t have it all their way in the first half, with the bottom placed side holding the leaders in a 1-1 stalemate at the break.
But Stanmore went about dismantling the Mariners once they returned from the sheds at half time, scoring five goals without reply to grab all three points on offer.
Jovan Blagojevic and Peter Yannopoulos were the key protagonists, netting two goals each, whilst the other strikes came from Conor Quiligan and Oliver Stickland.
The loss keeps the Mariners rooted to bottom place on 6 points, whilst Stanmore Hawks extend their lead at the top, moving to 44 points, five ahead of second place.
Hawkesbury City – Bankstown United 1-1
Hawkesbury City dragged themselves back in to game during a spirited second half to snare a point against Bankstown United at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks were without the majority of their regular backline, but Dean Bertenshaw regrouped the squad and they came out with energy in the opening minutes, even forcing a series of corners without success.
Bankstown United settled in to the game after that and controlled proceedings, creating a number of opportunities, including three efforts that were kept out by the woodwork.
Hawkesbury’s number 10, Santiago Rodriguez, had the home fans on their feet shortly afterwards, but was thwarted by Bankstown’s keeper, David Hamilton.
Just when the first half was looking like it was destined to be scoreless, up popped Bankstown’s recent signing, Mark Trotter, making it two goals in two weeks when he drilled home a free kick from all of 20 yards.
The second half was an open encounter, with Bankstown United desperately searching for a second goal to kill the contest.
But Hawkesbury City are a stern opponent for anyone on their day, and kept at it until they manufactured an equaliser in the 84th minute. Kwadwo Boamah-Addai put in the cross and it was Brad Gibson who got on the end of it to nod home a simple header.
The point moves Hawkesbury City to 24 points, but they drop a spot to 10th on the ladder, whilst Bankstown United drop to 6th position, but being on 34 points, are now just a solitary win from 3rd placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Inter Lions – Sydney University 3-1
Inter Lions came from being behind at half time to overcome and defeat Sydney University at Valentine Sports Park No.2 on Saturday night.
Jack Lapi found the net for ‘the students’ on 33 minutes, a lead that Sydney Uni held on to until half time.
But Inter Lions fought their way back in to the contest as early as the 3rd minute of the second half when Domenico Tripodi struck. Alex Becerra edged Inter in to a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute, before Stevan Ilic put the result beyond doubt with his team’s third goal in the 89th.
The loss sees Sydney University drop to 12th spot whilst remaining on 18 points, whilst the victory and subsequent three points moves Inter Lions in to 5th position on 35 points, just two points within two of the teams directly above them.
Dulwich Hill – Parramatta FC 1-3
Parramatta FC recorded a very welcome win on Saturday night, overcoming Dulwich Hill 3-1 at Arlington Oval.
After a scoreless first forty five minutes, it only took less than a minute after the restart for the deadlock to be broken, and it was the visitors, Parramatta, who edged themselves in front.
Parramatta extended their lead to 2-0 with ten minutes remaining, before Dully made a game of it, reducing the deficit to 1-2 with just six minutes left.
A last minute strike finished off the night’s proceedings, with Parramatta running out 3-1 victors.
Unfortunately we did not have any details of the scorers by the time we went to press.
The loss means Dulwich Hill remain on 24 points and drop to 8th spot on the ladder, whilst Parramatta climb to 11th position, moving to 18 points as a result of their triumph.
Bankstown City – SD Raiders Postponed
The eagerly awaited clash at Jensen Park on Saturday night between the home side, Bankstown City Lions, and the SD Raiders, had to be postponed without a ball being kicked.
The floodlights at the venue went out well before the scheduled 7pm kick off time, and despite frantic efforts, were unable to be turned back on.
Stay tuned to the FNSW website for details of the rescheduled encounter.
Camden Tigers – Gladesville Ryde Magic 6-2
Camden Tigers returned to their home fortress with a bang on Saturday night, destroying Gladesville Ryde Magic 6-2 at Ron Dine Stadium.
Mitchell McLintock opened the scoring for the Tigers in the 15th minute, but youngster, Peter Voukidis, equalised for Magic just 5 minutes later.
McLintock snuck Camden back in to the lead in the 32nd minute, whilst Voukidis then had the misfortune of putting through his own net in the 37th, handing Camden a 3-1 half time lead.
Camden then came out all guns blazing, striking three goals across a blistering 8 minute spell around the hour mark that effectively ended the match as a contest.
Mitchell McLintock nabbed his hatrick from the penalty spot in the 59th minute, before Bailey Simpson (60th) and Dean Mugridge (67th) pushed Camden in to an insurmountable position.
A late 80th minute goal from Aaron Khan was scant consolation for the visitors, who remain in 3rd position on the ladder on 37 points, now just 3 points ahead of three teams directly below them.
The win and subsequent three points moves Camden Tigers on to 24 points, the same as Dulwich Hill and Hawkesbury City, but the Tigers are now 9th on goal differential.
