Round 23 Review – NPL 2 NSW Men’s
Round 23 saw the race for the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s Premiership tighten up, while the battle to make the top six is still as uncertain as ever.
There was plenty of late action, and remarkably every game on the weekend had a goal in the 87th minute or later.
Match of the Round: Northern Tigers v North Shore Mariners
North Turramurra Recreation Area was the venue for this week’s featured game. Apart from being a Northern Suburbs Derby, the match was crucial for both sides. Northern Tigers needed a victory to stay in touch with the top six, while league leaders North Shore Mariners were looking to maintain (or even extend) their gap over second placed Hills United.
In the end, Northern Tigers earned local bragging rights. The opener came courtesy of Tigers defender Jamie Lobb, but it would be cancelled out by a Tonu Liiband own goal. Rory Spiers struck in the 87th minute to secure a priceless victory for the hosts.
Following a cautious start, it took 17 minutes to see the first effort on goal. Mariners winger Chris Lindsay centred the ball for Mitchell Smith, who fired over the crossbar. North Shore had two more chances soon afterwards when Lindsay’s inswinging corner wasn’t cleared, however Jesse Piriz’s shot was blocked and Mitchell Smith couldn’t keep his follow up effort down.
At the other end, Spiers was proving to be a handful. He rolled a defender before playing the ball into the middle for Alexander Brown, Lindsay throwing his body in the way of the shot.
The hosts hit the front just after the half hour from an Ollie Wiggin corner. Lachlan Lloyd and William Foristal were denied by goal line clearances from Brian Jamba and Ricky Woodward, but the Tigers kept the play alive, and Lucas Dawson’s ball into the six yard box was finished by Lobb.
North Shore responded well to the setback. Piriz headed the ball across the face of goal, while five minutes later Foristal did well to get in the way of a strike from Mariners skipper Ricky Woodward.
The Tigers then went close to a second on the stroke of halftime. Lloyd played the ball through to Spiers, who ran at the defence before sending the ball just past the far post.
North Shore ramped up the pressure in the second half. On 52 minutes, Mitchell Smith turned past two defenders and shot over after good work from Joshua Mbakwe.
The pressure would pay off as Joe Haywood’s side levelled the scores in the 64th minute, Liiband turning a Lindsay corner kick into his own goal.
Play became stretched as both teams looked for a winning goal. With just under 20 minutes remaining, Liiband saved Mitchell Smith’s header and started a counter attack, which ended when Dawson headed wide from Brown’s cross.
North Shore had more of the play in this period, and Jamba crossed for Lindsay, Jordan Ferrier managing to block his shot. Liiband then needed to be at full stretch to tip away Rainer Smahel’s header, while Sean Eve sent a powerful 25 yard effort inches wide of the post a couple of minutes later.
Northern Tigers would be rewarded for their defensive work, scoring what proved to be the winner in the 87th minute. Brown found Spiers in space, and he outpaced a defender before finding the net from an acute angle.
Not content with the one goal lead, Adam Hett’s team pushed to kill the game off. Wiggin evaded a challenge in the area but could only hit the side netting, then in stoppage time Tigers substitute William DiMartino was denied a goal on his 1st Grade debut by Hugo Forlico’s desperate lunge.
The dramatic win moves Northern Tigers up one place into seventh, and sets them up for another massive home game next weekend against Mounties. Meanwhile, North Shore’s lead at the top has been cut to one point. They will look to bounce back on Saturday night when they travel to Blacktown Football Park to face Blacktown Spartans.
Match Stats
Northern Tigers 2 (Jamie Lobb 31’, Rory Spiers 87’) vs North Shore Mariners 1 (Tonu Liiband og 64’)
Saturday 3 August 2019
at North Turramurra Recreation Area
Northern Tigers: 1. Tonu LIIBAND, 3. Jamie CRAIG (18. Matthew WARNER 83’), 4. William FORISTAL, 6. Jordan FERRIER, 8. Alexander BROWN, 13. Ollie WIGGIN (5. Nicholas KALOGEROU 90’), 15. Lucas DAWSON (c) (27. William DIMARTINO 79’), 16. Lachlan LLOYD, 17. Jamie LOBB, 20. John BACHELARD, 21. Rory SPIERS
Unused substitutes: 22. Benjamin TAYLOR, 11. Karim MOURSI
Yellow cards: 21. Rory SPIERS 51’, 4. William FORISTAL 56’, 3. Jamie CRAIG 68’, 8. Alexander BROWN 72’
North Shore Mariners: 1. Ryan WOOD, 2. Rainer SMAHEL, 3. Chris LINDSAY, 6. Ricky WOODWARD (c) (7. Hugo FORLICO 61’), 8. Brian JAMBA, 10. Marquin SMITH (9. Claudio ROSANO 85’), 12. Braden CHENG, 14. Jesse PIRIZ, 15. Joshua MBAKWE (23. Damir PRODANOVIC 61’), 18. Mitchell SMITH, 22. Sean EVE
Unused substitutes: 21. Joel TINKER, 5. Harrison QUIRK
Yellow cards: 14. Jesse PIRIZ 55’, 22. Sean EVE 84’
St George FC 1 (Kevin Lopes 22’) vs GHFA Spirit FC 2 (Christopher Arditti 61’, Duncan Stewart 88’)
Another second half comeback from Spirit FC saw them sneak past St George FC at Ilinden Sports Centre.
The away side had a great early chance through Travis Cooper, however it was the Saints who would take the lead on 22 minutes. A shot from Juan Carlos Romero was parried, leaving Kevin Lopes with a simple finish.
In an eventful and evenly matched second half, Spirit equalised in the 61st minute. Following a long spell of possession, the ball was moved to Lewis Beumie on the right wing. Cooper backheeled Beumie’s cross into the path of former Saint Christopher Arditti, who found the net.
St George FC had two golden opportunities to retake the lead. The first came from the penalty spot, but skipper Hussein Akil was unable to convert. They were then inches away from going 2-1 up after Spirit turned the ball over near their own penalty area, Romero hitting the post with the goal beckoning.
The decisive moment came on 88 minutes when Spirit midfielder Jason Perez ran into the area and was fouled by Akil. Duncan Stewart repeated his late heroics from the previous round, sending the ball into the top corner for his 17th goal of the season.
Hills United 5 (Jarrod Dodds 3’, Jordan Parfait 9’ 77’, Jacob Basden 22’, Glen Kelshaw 67’) vs St George City FA 1 (Luke Burke 90’)
Hills United closed the gap to North Shore Mariners with a comfortable victory at Lily Homes Stadium.
United got off to a flying start, Jarrod Dodds drawing first blood on three minutes. Dodds would then turn provider in the ninth minute, whipping in a great ball for Jordan Parfait to score. It was 3-0 midway through the first half when Jacob Basden hit the back of the net, the midfielder signing off in style in what was his last game for Hills – he will be leaving for the United States after accepting a scholarship offer.
Some good goalkeeping from City kept the score down in the first half, but the tables would be turned after the interval, Shaun Catlin making a number of excellent saves to preserve United’s three goal cushion.
Glen Kelshaw put the game beyond all doubt on 67 minutes when he netted from close range at a Hills corner. Parfait scored again with 13 minutes remaining, grabbing his tenth goal of the campaign following a sweeping counter attack.
Luke Burke’s late headed goal provided some consolation for City, however in the end Hills weren’t troubled too much. Patrick Zwaanswijk’s side are now right on the heels of North Shore Mariners in the fight for the Premiership.
Macarthur Rams 0 vs Rydalmere Lions 3 (Sam Perre 47’ 66’, Mitchell Gibbs 90’)
A second half blitz gave Rydalmere Lions a vital win at Lynwood Park.
The Rams were the better team in the opening quarter of an hour, but a tactical switch would see the game swing towards the Lions.
It took until the opening stages of the second half for Rydalmere to hit the front. Sam Perre showed how dangerous he is from long range, sending a 25 yard strike into the bottom corner. Perre went on to prove that the first goal was no fluke on 66 minutes, bending the ball home from 20 yards with the outside of his boot to double Rydalmere’s lead.
The Lions rounded off the scoring late on following a patient passing move. Mitchell Gibbs marked his return to action by grabbing his seventh goal of the year when he volleyed a cross into the net from 12 yards.
This victory is well timed for Rydalmere, especially as their most important game of the season is next Sunday – a relegation battle against St George FC.
Canterbury Bankstown FC 0 vs Blacktown Spartans 2 (Mason Ireland 34’, Lachlan Rose 90+2’)
Blacktown Spartans got back to winning ways with a 2-0 triumph at The Crest Athletic Centre.
The visitors broke the deadlock on 34 minutes after some nice interplay between Mason Ireland and Finley Hayhurst led to Ireland slotting the ball in the bottom corner.
A well organised Canterbury outfit made the Spartans work hard to secure the win, and the game wasn’t settled until second half injury time. Evan Patramanis capped an excellent midfield performance by playing a killer pass for Connor Eldridge, and the striker played the ball across the face of goal to present Lachlan Rose with a tap in.
It was a vital result for Paul Hubbard’s side, and it means they stay in the top six, two points ahead of Northern Tigers.
Central Coast Mariners 3 (Jordan Smylie 12’, Matthew Hatch 66’, Kyle Johnson 90’) vs Mounties Wanderers 0
Central Coast recorded their first win in four games, defeating Mounties 3-0 at Pluim Park.
The Mariners opened the scoring on 12 minutes. Jordan Smylie took advantage of a loose ball on the edge of the area, finding the bottom corner for his eighth of the season.
Mounties would have plenty of possession in the first half, and Aidan Munford did brilliantly to save Bruno Pivato’s fierce volley in the 28th minute after appearing to be unsighted. Pivato and Sean Rooney were prominent for the visitors, but the Mariners maintained their discipline, blocking several shots.
Smylie did have a great chance to make it 2-0 ten minutes before the break, firing wide when one on one with Mounties goalkeeper Blake Tuxford.
Mounties emptied their bench by the midway point of the second half, however it was the Mariners who would score again. The recent weeks have seen Matthew Hatch find the net with regularity at Pluim Park, and he did it again in the 66th minute, racing on to Joey Jevtic’s through pass and slotting the ball in the top corner.
Two Mounties red cards for Theo Kofinas and Benjamin Spruce ended the game as a contest, and Central Coast made it three in the 90th minute thanks to a pinpoint free kick from Kyle Johnson. Mariners coach Nick Montgomery will be pleased to see his side defeat a finals contender, and will be hoping that they can carry this form into next weekend, when they travel to Christie Park to play Spirit FC.
The game between Western Sydney Wanderers and Bonnyrigg White Eagles has been postponed to Tuesday 6 August and will be covered in next week’s Review
-By Eric Subijano
Twitter – @eric_subijano
