Round 25 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Stanmore Hawks have clinched the 2019 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s Premiership in what has been an amazing season for the entire player and coaching staff at the club as round 25 came t o a close.
Round 25 also helped fill in almost all the blanks with this season’s Premiers finally confirmed, whilst only one more finals position is on offer after Bankstown United secured their spot in the top six.
Western NSW Mariners were deserved 4-1 winners against Hawkesbury at Proctor Park on Saturday night; Dunbar Rovers ensured that the battle for finals football will run over into the final round of the season after they smashed Inter Lions 5-1 at FNSW headquarters; There was a goal fest in Dulwich Hill’s fixture against Gladesville Ryde Magic with the full time score 3-3; Bankstown City made light work of Granville Rage as they won 4-0 at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night; SD Raiders triumphed 4-2 against Camden Tigers at Ron Dine Stadium; Stanmore Hawks were crowned Premiers following their 1-0 win away to Sydney University.
FNSW visited Jensen Park to see the clash between Bankstown United and Parramatta FC.
BANKSTOWN UNITED FC – PARRAMATTA FC 2-2
A 2-2 draw against Parramatta FC on Saturday night was enough for Bankstown United to secure their spot in the finals series.
With no chance of finals football and confirmed relegation from the competition, you would have forgiven Parramatta just to roll over in the last couple of fixtures this season.
However, the last few weeks has seen the Eagles play some of their best football with their new look side finally starting to gel.
The visitors were coming up against a lethal attacking partnership in Bankstown’s Lachlan Willmore and Mitch Cross, the latter currently fourth on the goalscoring charts with 20 goals to his name.
The United pair combined just after the quarter hour mark when Cross headed just wide of the crossbar after Willmore’s cut back expertly picked him out in the six-yard box.
In the three minutes that followed we saw both sides get on the score sheet, the first of those from Parramatta’s Victor Anyimba on 17 minutes after he slotted the ball past United shot stopper David Hamilton.
The Eagles’ lead was erased within a blink of an eye as Bankstown captain Steven Wright rose highest in the 20th minute to head home Josh Spina’s corner.
Kallie Bangura thought he did enough to put the hosts in front three minutes later with his curling effort at the right-hand post, only for the heroics of Parra’s Stefan Giglio – the keeper getting fingertips to the strike to put it out for a corner.
The second half continued in similar fashion as the visitors looked to ruin the home side’s finals dreams.
They appeared on course to making that happening on 52 minutes after they regained the lead, this time through Sheldon Tweedie’s strike. The right winger cut in and buried his shot into the left-hand corner of the net.
A similar chance on goal fell the way of Tweedie only four minutes later, however he shot just wide of the post this time around.
Another corner routine almost paid off for United after 68 minutes as Wright’s header thundered against the crossbar and back into play after he connected with Eros Bergamin’s corner.
The all-important equaliser eventually arrived through Mathew Cook in the 71st minute; the right back’s free kick from 20 yards out evaded everyone before it nestled into the net.
Both sides had their chances to steal all three points in the final 10 minutes of the contest as Parra’s Matthew Males had his header cleared off the line with eight minutes to go. While a string of inspired saves from Giglio shut out both Marcus Doniatello and Willmore’s follow up effort on 90 minutes.
The draw means that United can rest easy knowing that they tied up one of the highly sought-after finals positions that is still on offer as we approach the final round. The point puts them on 40 points as they retain 5th spot on the table, whilst the draw sees Parramatta clock over on to 20 points and stay in 12th position.
Match Stats
National Premier League’s 3 NSW Men’s
Round 25
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Jensen Park
BANKSTOWN UNITED FC 2 (Wright 20’, Cook 71’)
PARRAMATTA FC 2 (Anyimba 17’, Tweedie 52’)
BANKSTOWN UNITED FC; 4.S.Wright, 6.L.Willmore, 8.M.Trotter, 9.M.Cross, 10.E.Bergamin(21.D.Malesevic 71’), 12.S.Robertson(13.M.Donatiello 89’), 17.M.Sadler, 23.K.Bangura, 27.M.Cook, 31.J.Spina(7.J.Miladinovic), 99.D.Hamilton.
Substitutions Not Used – 3.L.Mesiti, 52.A.Salgueira.
Yellow Cards – 4.S.Wright 51’, 17.M.Sadler 80’, 8.M.Trotter 90+4’.
Red Cards – N/A.
PARRAMATTA FC; 1.S.Giglio, 6.A.Epifanino(28.P.Friday), 7.E.Stewart, 9.M.Symington, 11.V.Anyimba, 14.Y.Al-Taay, 21.A.Elrich, 62.S.Hirayama, 73.S.Tweedie(17.R.Eremugo 76’), 78.M.Males, 84.D.DelRosario.
Substitutions Not Used – 71.R.Furukawa.
Yellow Cards – 14.Y.Al-Taay 70’.
Red Cards – N/A.
Western NSW Mariners – Hawkesbury City FC 4-1
Western NSW Mariners registered an emphatic 4-1 victory over Hawkesbury at Proctor Park on Saturday night.
Mariners’ wait for a win has been long and far in between, they have only been on the right end of the score line twice before last Saturday with their last triumph arriving against Sydney Uni back in mid-May.
Goals from Matthew Corben, Duncan Logan, Thomas Berg and an own goal from Hawks’ Kyle Walker secured the home side’s third win of the season.
A consolation goal from Kwadwo Boamah-Addai did not put a damper on proceedings as the home side revelled in what was their biggest win this campaign.
The victory and subsequent three points sees the Mariners remain in 14th spot on the table, despite moving to 11 points, whilst Hawkesbury also retain their position in 10th with 29 points.
Inter Lions FC – Dunbar Rovers FC 1-5
Finals challengers Dunbar Rovers enjoyed a 5-1 triumph over Inter Lions at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday night.
The score remained goalless until the dying moments of injury time in the first half as Cooper Squires tapped in Aram Tayebi’s cross at the back post.
Dunbar then doubled their lead two minutes after the restart thanks to Nick Holton’s cracking header from Paul Orgad’s corner.
Young gun Fynn Paphiti marked his first-grade debut in spectacular fashion as he made it three on 58 minutes with his outstanding strike from outside the box.
Tayebi made it 4-0 on 66 minutes after he was teed up by Cooper Squires before Inter got one back through Michael Sidoti in the 82nd minute.
The visitors went on to make it five in the 90th minute after Heo Wookbum slotted home to round off a convincing performance for the eastern suburbs outfit.
The win and subsequent three points means that Dunbar climb to 35 points and stay in 9th position, whilst the defeat sees Inter remain in 6th with 37 points, a victory against the Mariners in the final round proper will guarantee them a finals berth.
Dulwich Hill FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 3-3
Dulwich Hill and Gladesville Ryde Magic took a share of the spoils in their six-goal thriller at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead into the break before a resurgent Dully outfit returned fire with a goal from Aaron Pessego and a brace from Gosue Sama.
The draw keeps Dully’s finals aspirations alive as they move to 35 points and keep hold of 8th position on the ladder, whilst the point puts Magic on to 45 points with their 4th placed standing unchanged.
Granville Rage – Bankstown City FC 0-4
Bankstown City scored four goals without reply against Granville Rage in their encounter on Saturday night at Marconi Stadium.
Two goals on either side of the half gave the Lions the three points as they bounced back from last weekend’s defeat against Stanmore.
Ante Tomic and Marko Filipovic both got on the scoresheet in the first half, whilst the second half saw Nikola Todoroski add a third before Tomic’s second rounded off the scoring for the night.
The three points sees Bankstown City climb to 54 points as they retain 2nd position. Only ahead of SD Raiders on goal difference, the Lions’ destiny is in their own hands as they aim to secure 2nd spot when they face Dunbar next Sunday.
The loss means that Rage remain in 13th position, staying on 15 points.
Camden Tigers FC – SD Raiders FC 2-4
Camden Tigers eight game series at Ron Dine Stadium came to a disappointing end as SD Raiders recorded a 4-2 win in their fixture on Saturday night.
Bailey Simpson was the first name on the score sheet in this contest when his effort hit the back of the net after 22 minutes.
Raiders found an equaliser through Anthony Proia before Daniel Martinez restored the Tigers’ lead on the stroke of half time.
Goals from Charles Abouserhal, Declan Cotter and Proia after the restart ensured all three points for Nicky Carle’s men.
Raiders ended the game with 10 men following a red card to Abouserhal in the dying moments of the encounter.
SD Raiders remain in 3rd position on the ladder, despite moving to 54 points, whilst Camden retain 7th spot on 36 points, they still have a chance of making the top six if results go their way.
Sydney University SFC – Stanmore Hawks FC 0-1
A 1-0 score line was all Stanmore Hawks needed as they sealed the Premiership against Sydney Uni at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday night.
A first half goal from Hawks’ star Jonah Caragher proved all the difference in this fixture as the visitors capped off an incredible 2019 season with deserved silverware.
The visitors kept hold of another clean sheet in the process and rightly went into party mode following the full-time whistle.
Saturday night will go down as one of the most memorable nights for the club and their players and supporters as they fended off strong competition from the Lions and Raiders to finish top of the table.
The victory and subsequent three points means that they cannot be caught in 1st place on the table as they climb to 59 points, whilst the loss sees Uni stay in 11th position with 25 points.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
