Round 22 Review – NPL 2 NSW Men’s
It was another eventful weekend in the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition.
The usual action-packed Saturday was followed by three dramatic contests on Sunday, and there were even a couple of U20s hotshots stepping up for their clubs.
Match of the Round: St George City FA v St George FC
A local Derby headlined this week’s action, as St George City FA hosted St George FC at Jubilee Oval.
The final score was 1-1, as 90 minutes of intense football were not enough to separate the two teams. City midfielder Hiten Satoh gave his side the lead on 21 minutes, however Juan Carlos Romero equalised for St George FC in the 72nd minute.
There were early long range efforts from City midfielder Nicholas Sullivan and St George FC captain Hussein Akil, before the first clear chance came on 13 minutes. Fleet footed City forward Geoffry Lino cut the ball back for Satoh, whose shot was blocked on the goal line.
City then took the lead with just over 20 minutes played. The same two players were involved in an almost identical move, but this time Satoh was able to slam a right footed shot past Anthony Costa.
It was almost 2-0 a few minutes later following a scramble in the St George FC penalty area. Satoh and Riley Thomson-King were denied, and the ball broke for Sullivan, who blasted the ball home from the edge of the area. Unfortunately for City, Satoh was in an offside position and deemed to be interfering with play.
Satoh seemed to be in the middle of everything for City, and in the 34th minute Tacettin Kumsuz set him up for another scoring chance, however his shot was blocked by the defence.
Kumsuz created another opportunity on 40 minutes. He chipped a delightful pass over the top for Lino, Costa saving well. Thomson-King followed up, curling the ball wide of the post.
St George FC would put the pressure on the hosts after the interval, and they threatened when Anthony Morabito’s cross wasn’t cleared, but Marcus Beattie’s shot hit the post and bounced to safety.
The away side had further chances through Beattie and Kevin Lopes, before going close with just over 20 minutes left. Once again Beattie was involved as he got on the end of Romero’s header. Evan Davis did well to save, and the young goalkeeper stayed alert, blocking Morabito’s follow up effort.
St George FC levelled the scores a few minutes later after Sean Thomas was penalised for a handball in the area. Romero took the responsibility, sending Davis the wrong way for his third goal in three rounds.
Play opened up as both teams pushed for the winner. Davis made another excellent save from Beattie with a quarter of an hour remaining, and less than 60 seconds later Lino had the ball in the back of the net, only for City to be denied again by the offside flag.
The closing stages of the contest were frantic. Romero was brought down on the edge of the area in the 85th minute, blasting the resulting free kick off the crossbar. City then had a series of chances. Substitute Jonty Busch found Lino in space, however his shot was blocked by Ali Nasreddine, and Costa managed to save when the ball broke for Kumsuz. A minute later, Luke Burke headed the ball wide from Satoh’s left wing cross.
Both these teams will probably be slightly disappointed not to get the three points, but they do have something to build on ahead of the next round. City travel to Lily Homes Stadium to play Hills United, while St George FC host Spirit FC at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Match Stats
St George City FA 1 (Hiten Satoh 21’) vs St George FC 1 (Juan Carlos Romero 72’)
Sunday 28 July 2019
at Jubilee Oval
St George City FA: 31. Evan DAVIS, 2. Sean THOMAS, 4. Luke BURKE, 5. Bill TSANIDIS (c), 7. Tacettin KUMSUZ, 8. Alvaro MALMIERCA, 10. Hiten SATOH, 13. Riley THOMSON-KING (22. Jonty BUSCH 72’), 18. Geoffry LINO, 23. Nicholas SULLIVAN (45. Caleb BARTIER 87’), 38. George MEDAKOVIC
Unused substitutes: 6. Hayden MORTON, 25. Peter KIM, 40. Reuben AWARITEFE
Yellow cards: 4’ Luke BURKE 85’, 10. Hiten SATOH 88’
St George FC: 21. Anthony COSTA, 2. Daniel LOE, 3. Ali NASREDDINE, 5. Claudio FABIANO (7. Matias Da Silva SANTOS 78’), 6. Musashi KOKUBO, 8. Hussein AKIL (c) (14. Paolo MITRY 78’), 9. Kevin LOPES (17. Aleksandar LEKOSKI 90+2’), 10. Juan Carlos Heras ROMERO, 11. Anthony MORABITO, 12. Marcus BEATTIE, 15. Jacob BANDUR
Unused substitutes: 28. Jasper SARKIES, 20. Shaqil ALI
Yellow cards: 5. Claudio FABIANO 35’, 9. Kevin LOPES 80’
Blacktown Spartans 0 vs Northern Tigers 1 (Rory Spiers 43’)
Northern Tigers grabbed a crucial win at Blacktown Football Park to close in on the top six, a perfect response to their defeat in the previous round.
A single Rory Spiers goal just before the break was enough for Adam Hett’s side, who are now only two points behind the Spartans.
The hosts would put the pressure on in the second half as they pushed for an equaliser, but the Tigers were able to keep their defensive shape to secure the three points.
Despite the loss, Paul Hubbard’s men are still in a good position. They have the opportunity to bounce back next week against Canterbury Bankstown FC, while the Tigers have a massive game against North Shore Mariners.
GHFA Spirit FC 2 (Duncan Stewart 69’ 85’) vs Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Bailey Rule 8’)
Spirit FC ended a recent run of poor form after a second half comeback at Christie Park.
Young Wanderers right back Bailey Rule opened the scoring for the visitors, rising highest at a corner kick and heading the ball into the top corner.
The home side had opportunities of their own through Duncan Stewart and Travis Cooper, however it was the Wanderers who nearly doubled their lead before halftime. Marley Peterson was denied by a good save from Tomi Romic and shot wide from the rebound, then in first half stoppage time Mohamed Adam looked to be in the clear, only for Futoshi Kondo to make an excellent tackle.
Adam had another chance in the second half when he exchanged passes with Lochlan Constable, but Romic made a huge one on one save.
Things would swing Spirit’s way in the space of five minutes. First, the hosts won a penalty after Noah Pagden handled the ball inside the area, Stewart putting the spot kick straight down the middle. The Wanderers then went down to ten men following Constable’s second yellow card of the evening.
Spirit now had the initiative, striking the decisive blow with five minutes left in normal time. Once again it was Stewart, as he got behind the defence and sent a left footed strike into the net for his 16th goal of the year.
However, it wasn’t over, and the Wanderers nearly scored in the final minute of injury time. Fabian Monge’s left wing cross looked to be heading directly into the net, but Romic reacted well to keep it out. The victory takes Spirit FC into fifth place.
Mounties Wanderers 3 (Michael Jeffrey 8’, Peter Triantis 60’, Noah Chianese 65’) vs Rydalmere Lions 0
Mounties recorded their second big win in two weeks, convincingly defeating Rydalmere at Sydney United Sports Centre.
Michael Jeffrey got the hosts up and running on eight minutes. The young flyer finished well after he was played in behind the defence, showing the kind of form that has seen him score 18 goals in 20 appearances for the Mounties U20 team.
The home side stepped it up in the second half, doubling their lead on the hour thanks to a Peter Triantis spot kick. Mounties then made the game safe five minutes later, Noah Chianese netting his fourth goal in five rounds with a brave header.
Brian Brown’s men might even have found a few more on the night, but three was more than enough to ensure they stay level on points with Bonnyrigg.
Canterbury Bankstown FC 2 (Zac Elrich, Josh Gersbach) vs Macarthur Rams 0
Two first half strikes at The Crest Athletic Centre led Canterbury to their second victory in three rounds.
In a tight contest, the hosts drew first blood just past the half hour. A second goal four minutes later had them in a commanding position as the teams headed into the dressing sheds.
Macarthur’s second half pressure yielded no reward, and Canterbury will be delighted to have kept their first clean sheet of the campaign. They will also be glad to see two of their midseason signings get on the scoresheet: Zac Elrich got his eight goal in ten games, and Josh Gersbach also found the back of the net.
Although they remain in last place, the win means Canterbury are now only four points behind Rydalmere, with Macarthur staying in 12th.
Central Coast Mariners 4 (Matthew Cahill x 2, Matthew Hatch x 2) vs Hills United 4 (Daniel Fogarty, Jordan Parfait x 2, Marcus Zarantonello)
Fans at Pluim Park were treated to a 90 minute rollercoaster, Central Coast Mariners and Hills United sharing the spoils in an eight goal thriller.
The contest got off to a flying start. Central Coast scored in the opening minute through Matthew Cahill, who has been prolific for the Central Coast U20s this year. United equalised on seven minutes, and took the lead going into the break after a goal right on the stroke of halftime.
Another Hills strike early in the second half seemed to put them in control, before Central Coast left back Matthew Hatch would change the game. The halftime substitute made it 3-2 in the 72nd minute by finishing off a nice team move, and then levelled the scores eight minutes later with a fantastic strike.
United seemed to have finally put this one to bed in injury time when they made it 4-3. However, Central Coast weren’t done yet, moving upfield straight from the kickoff and equalising again through Cahill.
Hills will be disappointed to not come away with the victory, but there were some positives for Patrick Zwaanswijk’s men. Daniel Fogarty grabbed his sixth goal in six matches, Jordan Parfait bagged a double to take his season tally to eight, and Marcus Zarantonello netted his first of the year.
North Shore Mariners 0 vs Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 (Asmir Kadric 34’)
Bonnyrigg toppled the league leaders at Northbridge Oval to win their seventh game in eight weeks.
Wayne O’Sullivan’s team scored what proved to be the winner on 34 minutes. Ray Miller beat several players and was brought down inside the area, allowing Asmir Kadric to convert from the penalty spot.
The White Eagles had further chances through Kadric and David Vrankovic in a commanding first half performance. North Shore would make it more of a contest after the break, but Bonnyrigg still looked more likely to score as both Nikola Zonjic and Kadric were denied by some good goalkeeping.
Joe Haywood’s side threw the kitchen sink at their opponents late on, Rainer Smahel and Mitchell Smith both going close to finding an equaliser. Bonnyrigg managed to hang on, and the victory means they stay in third place are a currently the fire side at the moment.
By Eric Subijano
Twitter – @eric_subijano
