Round 20 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The 2019 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW competition has a knack of continually producing a flood of excitement, and the Round Twenty fixtures over the weekend were no different.
The Western NSW Mariners and Granville Rage played out a 1-1 stalemate in Mudgee; Stanmore Hawks left it late to snare all three points in a 2-0 win over Dulwich Hill on a day devoted to the McGrath Foundation; SD Raiders bounced back from their midweek reverse against Bankstown City to overcome Parramatta FC 4-2 at Ernie Smith Reserve; Bankstown United and ten-man Inter Lions played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Jensen Park; Camden Tigers overpowered Hawkesbury City 4-0 at the Ron Dine Stadium on Saturday night; whilst Sydney University grabbed a welcome three points in a hard fought 1-0 victory over Dunbar Rovers.
RESCHEDULED MATCH – Round 19
Bankstown City Lions – SD Raiders 4-2
Floodlight failure at Jensen Park caused the original postponement of this fixture last Saturday evening, and it was hastily rescheduled to be played midweek on Wednesday evening at FNSW headquarters, Valentine Sports Park.
Bankstown City took advantage of the opportunity to defeat SD Raiders 4-2, with captain, Nikola Todorovski, in fine form, netting a first half hatrick, whilst the league’s leading scorer, Anthony Proia, on the other hand, was thwarted a number of times by the Bankstown City goal keeper, Carl McMahon, giving the Lions held a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Raiders’ Damien Smith did manage to pierce the Bankstown rear guard in the second half, twice in fact, but a Tommy Markovski goal completed the 4-2 victory for Bankstown City over the SD Raiders.
FNSW visited Christie Park at Marsfield to watch the eagerly anticipated heavyweight clash between Gladesville Ryde Magic and Bankstown City Lions.
MATCH OF THE ROUND
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC – BANKSTOWN CITY 0-4
Bankstown City Lions have stormed back in to second position on the ladder following their 4-0 drubbing of Gladesville Ryde Magic at Christie Park on Sunday afternoon.
Backing up after a midweek 4-2 win over previous second placed side, SD Raiders, the Lions showed no ill effects as they manoeuvred their way to a solid win.
Adrien Jolly fired the first shot in anger on just 6 minutes, the Gladesville right back picking up a half clearance before firing a 25 shot straight down the throat of Bankstown’s keeper, Carl McMahon.
The Lions started to slowly show more desire, with a willingness to shift the ball across the pitch as they searched for an opening.
Tommy Markovski had a great chance to put the Lions in front on 13 minutes, latching on to a Lenox Tweneboa through ball, but the Bankstown attacker tripped on his own feet just as he was about to pull the trigger.
Bankstown kept meddling in the Magic half, and were eventually rewarded in the 26th minute with the game’s opening goal. David Adjassou swung over a teasing far post cross behind the Gladesville backline, and up popped Stefan Dubocanin to stab home from close range. The central defender had come up for a corner, and was on hand to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
It was almost 2-0 in the 34th minute, when Markovski skinned his man down the left flank before cutting the ball back for his captain, Nikola Todorovski, whose first time snap shot smacked against the upright before being cleared.
The scoreline remained until the half time break, with the Lions deservedly in front based on enthusiasm alone.
Once the match resumed, Gladesville’s Zoran Kolundzic let fly with a blistering volley from all of 25 yards in the 52nd minute that whistled past the Bankstown upright as Magic searched to drag themselves back in to the contest.
Bankstown’s busy midfielder, Adam Savetta, responded with a long range crack of his own in the 56th minute, picking up a loose ball before firing inches wide of the Gladesville upright.
Chris Triantis weaved his magic on the hour mark, twisting inside and out before snapping a left foot shot across the face of goal, the ball racing past the far post by a matter of centimetres.
Gladesville had upped the ante somewhat, but the Lions are always dangerous at any time of the match given the fire power they possess in attack.
In the 68th minute it was Tommy Markovski who slipped a great pass in the path of Todorovski, but the Bankstown skipper was thwarted by the evergreen Gladesville goal keeper, Kiriakos Tohouroglou, who saved down low at the striker’s feet.
Five minutes later and it was Todorovski ‘s chance to return the favour, playing a ball in to path of Markovski, who duly dispatched the leather despite Tohouroglou getting a hand to it, extending Bankstown’s lead to 2-0.
Bankstown put the match beyond doubt with two further quickfire goals, the first to substitute, Marko Filipovic, who took advantage of the referee playing on following an earlier foul on his team mate, seizing the ball inside the Magic penalty area before striking it inside the far post for 3-0.
Todorovski himself finished off proceedings in the 87th minute, slotting past Tohouroglou from close range to end the match at 4-0 to the visitors.
The result completes a disappointing three weeks for Gladesville Ryde Magic, their 3rd successive loss keeping them in 4th position, and they are now within a win of both Inter Lions and Bankstown United beneath them.
Zoran Kolundzic and Sergio Tarazona toiled tirelessly in the Magic midfield, whilst Chris Triantis looked dangerous with the ball at his feet.
For Bankstown City Lions, it caps off a memorable 5 days, where they have picked up six points against two sides in the top four, scoring 4 goals in each game to truly announce their return to form.
Stefan Dubocanin was a rock in central defence, Adam Savetta pulled the strings in the midfield, whilst Tommy Markovski and Jeffrey Issa were effective whenever they had possession of the ball.
The win and subsequent three points takes Bankstown City Lions to 42 points and in to 2nd place on the ladder, five points behind the competition leaders, Stanmore Hawks.
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round Twenty
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Christie Park, Marsfield
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC 0
BANKSTOWN CITY 4 (Dubocanin 26, Markovski 73’, Filipovic 81’, Todorovski 87’)
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC; 33.K.Tohouroglou, 3.S.Tarazona (7.D.Sialmas 67’), 4.A.Khan, 5.L.Harte, 6.Z.Kolundzic, 9.C.Gaitatzis (capt), 11.C.Triantis, 12.A.Jolly, 13.B.Kerr, 18.C.Haddad (15.K.Nikas 60’), 29.A.Stone-Heesh.
Substitutes Not Used – 1.G.Koliomihos, 30.E.Yoong.
Yellow Cards – 4.A.Khan 33’.
Red Cards – Nil
BANKSTOWN CITY; 72.S.Drewery (3.T.Boutoubia 73’), 7.J.Issa (14.M.Filipovic 78’), 4.S.Dubocanin, 21.T.Markovski (17.A.Pethyon 87’), 1.C.McMahon, 2.A.Savetta, 16.M.Sehic, 9.N.Todorovski (capt), 20.L.Tweneboa, 27.A.Sopina, 29.D.Adjassou.
Substitutes Not Used – 23.A.Ismail, 6.M.Stewart.
Yellow Cards – Nil
Red Cards – Nil
Western NSW Mariners – Granville Rage 1-1
Predictably the spoils were shared in Mudgee on Saturday evening, with the Western NSW Mariners and Granville Rage playing out a 1-1 stalemate at the Glen Willow Stadium.
Mariners’ skipper, Nick Spice, edged the home side in to the lead with a first half strike, but the Rage came back after the break to nab an equaliser, giving Granville something to take back to Sydney.
The draw did little for either side, except keep the Mariners four points adrift of their match day opponents. The Western NSW Mariners remain bottom, and move to 7 points courtesy of their maiden draw of the season, whilst Granville Rage remain one position above, moving to 11 points.
Dulwich Hill – Stanmore Hawks 0-2
The McGrath Foundation took centre stage at Arlington Oval on Saturday, and huge congratulations to Dulwich Hill and everyone who played a part in supporting and raising funds for a fantastic charity.
The day culminated in an eagerly contested first grade football match, where Stanmore Hawks left it late to snare all three points in a 2-0 victory over Dulwich Hill.
It was an arm wrestle from the outset, and the two Arlington Oval tenants looked set to share the points as the match meandered towards full time.
But Stanmore’s veteran, Sam Awad, popped up in the 87th minute to head home from close range following a corner, sending the Stanmore contingent into raptures. Conor Quiligan expertly converted a cut back three minutes in to injury time to clinch the points, giving the Hawks a 2-0 victory on the night.
The loss sees Dulwich Hill fall back in to 9th spot, and they are now 11 points from a Finals position. On the other hand, the win and three points moves Stanmore Hawks to 47 points, and a healthy 5 point lead at the summit of the competition as their march towards a Premiership continues to build momentum.
SD Raiders FC – Parramatta FC 4-2
SD Raiders came into this clash on the back of a 2-4 reverse midweek against the Bankstown City Lions, but showed little ill effects with a 4-2 triumph over Parramatta FC at Ernie Smith Reserve.
The Raiders lead 2-0 at the break, and held that two goal advantage until full time, with both sides finding the net twice in the second period.
Ben Welch managed a brace for the home side, whilst Charles Abouserhal and Anthony Proia rounded off the goals for the Raiders.
Sheldon Tweedie scored both goals for Parramatta FC, who finished the match with ten men following the sending off of Alusine Fofanah.
The loss keeps Parramatta FC in 12th position on 18 points, whilst the victory and subsequent three points moves SD Raiders to 42 points, 5 points behind Stanmore Hawks in 3rd position.
Bankstown United – Inter Lions 1-1
Top Six Finals aspirants Bankstown United and Inter Lions played out a predictable 1-1 draw at Jensen Park on Saturday night, although the outcome could’ve been a lot different of both sides had their shooting boots on.
Some teams are struggling this time of the season, with injury, absences and even suspension impacting playing squads, and Bankstown United are one such team.
The first half was an open affair, with both sides going desperately close to opening the scoring.
It was Inter Lions who started the brighter, dominating the opening quarter of an hour or so, but without threatening the scoreboard.
United came in to their own thereafter, with top scorer, Mitchell Cross, going close on a couple of occasions, firstly heading over following a Matt Sadler cross, before skying his effort after some great work down the right flank from Dalibor Malesevic.
Bankstown skipper, Steven Wright, then got his head to a cross just before the break, but again, the ball cleared the Inter cross bar.
It didn’t take long for the first goal to arrive once the teams returned from the half time break. Inter’s Fikret Berisha had a shot deflected on 49 minutes, and Nicholas Paras made no mistake from the rebound to edge Inter Lions in front.
The lead lasted all of a few minutes when Kallie Bangura – who in fact caused Inter problems all night – played in Mitchell Cross, and the Bankstown striker slotted home past Inter’s goal keeper, Robert Fanella, to equalise for the home side.
Paras later on blotted his copybook by receiving his second yellow with less than 10 minutes remaining, meaning Inter Lions had to finish off the match with ten men.
The draw and subsequent point apiece means it’s a case of as you were when it comes to the competition ladder. Inter Lions remain 5th and move to 36 points, whilst Bankstown United remain on Inter’s heels in 6th spot on 35 points.
Camden Tigers – Hawkesbury City FC 4-0
Camden Tigers got some retribution of sorts at Ron Dine Stadium on Saturday night, downing Hawkesbury City 4-0 after leading 2-0 at the break.
Having lost the corresponding first round fixture 4-1, Camden came out firing and were 2-0 up within 17 minutes, the goals arriving from Mitchell Brooker and Mitchell McLintock.
Hawkesbury made a fist of it in the second period, but succumbed with two further late goals to the Tigers. McLintock managed his second in the 82nd minute, before Dean Mugridge iced the cake with goal number four in the final minute.
The loss sees Hawkesbury City remain on 24 points in 10th position, whilst Camden Tigers have climbed to 7th spot, the three points taking them to 27 on the ladder.
Sydney University – Dunbar Rovers FC 1-0
Sydney University snatched all three points on Saturday night, defeating the visiting Dunbar Rovers 1-0 at the Sydney University Football Ground.
Dunbar Rovers were backing up from their midweek promotional match against Sydney FC on Thursday evening, a marvellous initiative and great spectacle for all involved.
48 hours later the Rovers were at Sydney Uni scrapping for competition points, on a pitch that was not conducive to flowing football, and try as they may, Dunbar fell just short on the night.
A dour first half almost came alive just before the break when Sydney Uni’s keeper, Daniel Axford, rescued his side with a point blank save from Dunbar’s defender, Nick Holton.
Just as the game seemed destined for a draw, Joshua Johnson snatched a 90th minute goal to give the ‘students’ all three points, despite late injury time opportunities to both Alexander Crane and Nick Holton of Dunbar.
The loss sees Dunbar Rovers drop to 8th spot whilst remaining on 26 points. Sydney University climb one spot to 11th, courtesy of the three points which have taken them to 21 on the competition ladder.
