Round 23 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
We review all the action from the around the grounds following the conclusion of round 23 of the 2019 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW competition.
Bankstown United enjoyed a 2-0 triumph away to Dunbar Rovers at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon; Western NSW Mariners and Sydney University could not be split as they drew 1-1 in arctic conditions at Proctor Park; A late goal snatched all three points away from Hawkesbury as they drew 1-1 at home to Gladesville Ryde Magic; Granville Rage went down 2-1 to Dulwich Hill at Garside Park on Saturday night; Camden Tigers were 4-2 winners over Inter Lions in their battle out at Ron Dine Stadium; Bankstown City condemned Parramatta to a 5-4 defeat in their fixture at Jensen Park on Sunday night.
Arlington Oval was this week’s venue for the match of the round as two heavyweights went head to head in a heated contest on Saturday night.
STANMORE HAWKS FC – SD RAIDERS FC 2-0
League leaders, Stanmore Hawks returned to the winner’s circle on Saturday night when they posted a 2-0 victory over SD Raiders at Arlington Oval.
Last week’s defeat to Gladesville appeared to spur the Hawks on, with the home side quick out of the gates in this contest.
Stanmore left back Angus Chance was one of the main causes behind the hosts’ stellar display, with the pacey defender bombing forward and tormenting the Raiders defence every time he had the ball at his feet.
The opening third of the encounter saw the home side register most of the possession with Alberto Perea Henche and Conor Quilligan taking control of the midfield and distributing the ball well up the field.
Jovan Blagojevic thought he had broken the deadlock on the 30th minute mark when his header struck the top left-hand corner of the post after he connected with Peter Yannopoulos’ cross from the right wing.
Six minutes later and it was Raiders who thought they may have been gifted the opener after a defensive mix up saw striker Anthony Proia beat the keeper with his effort before centre half Oliver Stickland intervened with a last-ditch goal line clearance.
The breakthrough did eventually arrive on 39 minutes from the penalty spot with Blagojevic stepping up to score his 23rd goal of the campaign after Jonah Caragher was brought down by Raiders’ Matias Toro Suazo.
The hosts maintained the pressure after the restart and carved out a fantastic opportunity in the 56th minute which ended with a strike from Caragher after top class build up play from Quilligan and Blagojevic.
Hawks continued to create chances as the half wore and found themselves 2-0 up on 62 minutes from the ever-reliable corner routine from Perea Henche who swung the ball into the box before Quilligan nodded home.
Hawks stayed resolute in defence as they held onto their two-goal advantage while Chance continued to be a nuisance for the visitors with his darting runs down the left channel.
With eight minutes left to play, Chance was at it again when he provided a cut back for Vic Koutsoufis whose shot sailed just wide of the left post.
The win and subsequent three points sees Stanmore climb to 53 points as they retain their position at the top of the table, whilst the loss means that Raiders league standing remains unchanged as they retain 3rd spot with 48 points.
Match Stats
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Round 23
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Arlington Oval
STANMORE HAWKS FC 2 (Blagojevic 39’, Quilligan 62’)
SD RAIDERS FC 0
STANMORE HAWKS FC; 1.N.Carosi(gk), 2.T.Wohlfiel, 3.O.Stickland, 6.A.Perea Henche, 7.P.Yannopoulos(23.A.Kumburlu 67’), 8.N.Niski, 9.J.Blagojevic, 10.J.Caragher(14.V.Koutsoufis 75’), 11.C.Quilligan, 12.S.Awad(4.C.Bottalico 87’), 16.A.Chance.
Substitutions Not Used – 19.F.Worrall, 31.D.Vaccaro.
Yellow Cards – Nil.
Red Cards – Nil.
SD RAIDERS FC; 1.M.Rutherford(gk), 2.S.Irwin, 3.D.Marjanovic, 4.G.Ljuboja, 5.J.Letta, 6.D.Stivala(17.M.Barkho 62’), 9.B.Welch(15.M.Paz 68’), 16.D.Smith, 18.M.Toro Suazo, 20.C.AbouSerhal, 22.A.Proia.
Substitutions Not Used – 8.J.Raiti, 21.D.Molina, 29.N.Bratic.
Yellow Cards – 5.J.Letta 16’, 16.D.Smith.
Red Cards – Nil.
Dunbar Rovers FC – Bankstown United FC 0-2
Dunbar Rovers fell to a 2-0 defeat in their fixture against Bankstown United at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday afternoon.
The score was held at 0-0 for most of the encounter with both sides doing their best to create chances, however it took a piece of magic in the 78th minute by Bankstown’s Kallie Bangura to open the scoring.
The visitors managed to keep the clean sheet and were able to add a second on 86 minutes thanks to Matthew Trotter’s effort.
The three points puts Bankstown on 38 points as they rise to 5th position, Dunbar remain in 9th with 29 points.
Western NSW Mariners – Sydney University SFC 1-1
Freezing conditions greeted Sydney University at Proctor Park on Saturday afternoon with 1-1 the final score in their fixture against Western NSW Mariners.
Mariners veteran Adam Scimone gave his side the lead after 10 minutes or so after he headed home Matt Hobby’s ball into the box.
Despite their best efforts, Uni were held goalless for most of the contest thanks to the hosts determination in defence.
However, they were eventually beaten with around 10 minutes to go after Michael Loupis capped off an impressive solo run with an equally outstanding finish as he tucked it under the keeper from outside the box.
The draw means that Western were able to remain undefeated against the ‘students’ this season as they look to keep on putting up a fight as the competition nears its end.
They still have a chance of catching second last Granville as they move to eight points, six points behind their rivals with three more rounds still to be played.
Hawkesbury City FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-1
A last gasp goal from Gladesville Ryde Magic ensured that they took a share of the spoils from their fixture against Hawkesbury City at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday night.
Brad Gibson got his name on the score sheet for the third week running as he opened the scoring for the Hawks in the first half.
A second yellow card to Magic’s Aaron Khan midway through the second half should have spelt the end for any sort of comeback from the visitors.
However, Hawkesbury were made to pay the ultimate price for their wastefulness in front goal as Gladesville popped up with a 93rd minute equaliser.
Zoran Kolundzic delivered the sucker punch to the home side after his hopeful cross evaded everyone and nestled into the back corner of the goal.
The draw has no great bearing on the league standings as both the Hawks and Magic remain in 10th and 4th position respectively.
Granville Rage – Dulwich Hill FC 1-2
Dulwich Hill made it three from three as they registered a 2-1 win away to Granville Rage at Garside Park on Saturday night.
Goals from Peter Crevani and Gosue Sama proved the difference as Dully continue to strengthen their case for finals football.
The win puts Dully on 30 points as they retain 7th spot while defeat for Rage means that they stay on 14 points and remain in 13th spot.
Camden Tigers FC – Inter Lions FC 4-2
Camden Tigers inflicted a third straight defeat on Inter Lions on Saturday night as they ran out 4-2 winners in their clash at Ron Dine Stadium.
A Mitchell Mclintock hat trick provided all the inspiration for the Tigers as they make a late attempt to make the cut for finals football.
The first of Mclintock’s goals arrived after just four minutes, however it was swiftly cancelled out by Inter’s Fikret Berisha who equalised two minutes later.
That did not lead to the momentum swinging in favour of the visitors as a quick-fire double from Mitchell Brooker on 21 minutes and a third from Mclintock three minutes later made it 3-1.
It was Inter who were to get on the scoresheet next, thanks to Nico Paras’ effort in the 50th minute.
However, a converted penalty from Mclintock on the hour mark quashed any hopes of an Inter revival.
The visitor’s night went from bad to worse when they were forced to end the match with 10 men after Julian Rinaldi was given his marching orders in the 82nd minute.
The win and subsequent three points for Camden sees them climb to 33 points and keep hold of 8th position in the process, whilst the loss means that Inter drop down in the league standings for the first time in four weeks.
Bankstown City FC – Parramatta FC 5-4
Bankstown City and Parramatta played out a thrilling encounter on Sunday night as the Lions edged the Eagles 5-4 at Jensen Park.
The first of nine goals arrived just three minutes in via the boot of Bankstown’s Nikola Todoroski before Mark Symington soon made it 1-1 for Parramatta three minutes later.
Parramatta then went ahead for the first time on 19 minutes thanks to Sheldon Tweedie, however the Lions were back on equal terms just six minutes later as Marko Filipovic got in on the act.
The home side then went on to regain their lead, this time from a deflected free kick with Filipovic claiming it for his second of the night in the 35th minute.
Two minutes later, and a fantastic penalty save by Parramatta’s Stefan Giglio ensured that Bankstown were only ahead by one as they headed for the sheds.
Symington was on hand to score his side’s third and his second of the match ten minutes after the restart to make it 3-3.
The score line did not stay that way for long as Todoroski made it 4-3 in favour of the home side on 57 minutes.
The Eagles kept on plugging away and soon restored parity to make it 4-4 on the 68th minute mark, this time it was Ahmad Elrich who got his name on the scorers list when he slammed home his free kick from 20 yards out.
Five minutes later and it was Todoroski who popped up with his side’s fifth goal and ultimately the decider in this free scoring contest.
The win and subsequent three points sees Bankstown climb to 51 points, two points behind first placed Stanmore Hawks. The defeat sees Parramatta’s remain in 12th spot on the league table with 18 points to their name.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
