Round 26 Review – NPL 2 NSW Men’s
After six months of exciting football, North Shore Mariners have taken out the Premiership and the Club Championship.
The top six teams will now prepare for the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s finals series, but before we take a look at Sunday’s action, let’s recap Thursday night’s match at Valentine Sports Park.
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Evan Tsakos 31’, Noah Pagden 38’) v St George City FA 1 (Hiten Satoh 36’)
The Wanderers ended a seven game winless run on Thursday night, with all the goals coming in a seven minute spell towards the end of the first half.
Arthur Diles welcomed four Young Socceroos back into the Wanderers lineup, and his side had the better of the early exchanges. Evan Tsakos scored his second goal in three weeks to put them in front just past the half hour mark, finishing well after receiving an excellent through ball from Lochlan Constable.
City would be on level terms briefly following a wonderful free kick from Hiten Satoh, but the Wanderers hit back almost immediately when centre back Noah Pagden lashed the ball in off the post from the edge of the area.
Tsakos continued to look lively in the second half and had a few opportunities to grab another goal, while Constable nearly scored from a 30 yard free kick, only to be denied by acrobatics from Christopher Marques. City brought on Corey Gameiro and he helped them put the Wanderers under pressure late on, however the injury time dismissal of Jonty Busch put an end to their chances of getting a result.
Match of the Round: North Shore Mariners v GHFA Spirit FC
For North Shore Mariners, the equation was simple: win and you’ll be Premiers.
Joe Haywood’s side did just that, recording a 3-2 victory. They raced into a three goal lead with half an hour played after a Braden Cheng strike and a Sean Eve double. Jason Perez pulled a goal back for Spirit at the end of the first half, and a late Brian Jamba own goal caused some nervous moments, but the Mariners would hang on.
There was a quiet start to the contest, then the game burst into life on 15 minutes as North Shore took the lead with their first real attack. Marquin Smith did well to win the ball in a dangerous position and when his shot was blocked, the ball fell for Cheng, who sent an unstoppable 20 yard effort into the top corner.
The Mariners doubled their lead two minutes later. Chris Lindsay’s inswinging corner from the right flank wasn’t cleared, and Eve showed great technique to volley the rebound home.
Another Lindsay corner kick in the 29th minute led to the third goal of the afternoon, and once again it was Eve who came up with the spectacular. The central midfielder kept the ball alive on the edge of the area before sending an astonishing scissor kick into the net, and North Shore looked more than comfortable at this stage.
The hosts had further chances through Mitchell Smith and Cheng, who were both denied by Spirit goalkeeper Tomislav Romic. Mariners skipper Ricky Woodward then had two bites at the cherry from a Daniel Saric cutback, but he couldn’t find a way past the defence.
On 43 minutes, Spirit got on the scoreboard following some persistent play in the North Shore penalty area. Although a defender got in the way of Ahmed Sweedan’s initial effort, Dylan Whitlock managed to charge down the attempted clearance, and Jason Perez coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area to cut the gap to two goals.
Seven minutes into the second half, North Shore midfielder Daniel Saric played a neat one-two with Cheng on halfway and ran all the way into the area, shooting across the face of goal. However, Spirit would begin to take control, and Samuel De Oliveira nearly pulled another goal back on the hour, prodding the ball wide from Whitlock’s cross.
The away team continued to push, but were restricted to long range efforts. Futoshi Kondo went close in the 62nd minute when he glided past two opponents and shot over from 30 yards, and twelve minutes later Emilio Manos tried from similar range, also firing over the crossbar.
With Mitchell Smith on the field, North Shore always carry a threat. The 18 goal marksman had a half-chance on 81 minutes after winning possession just outside the area, however his attempted lob wasn’t struck cleanly.
Things then got interesting with four minutes remaining in normal time as Jamba turned a cross from Spirit substitute Travis Cooper into his own net. David Perkovic’s team threw players forward in search of an unlikely equaliser, but neither a Duncan Stewart header nor a Whitlock long range effort were much trouble for Mariners goalkeeper Ryan Wood.
Earlier in the day, victories in the U18s and U20s were enough for North Shore to also take out the Club Championship. They end the home-and-away season two points ahead of Hills United, while Spirit FC finish in fifth place.
Match Stats
North Shore Mariners 3 (Braden Cheng 15’, Sean Eve 17’ 29’) v GHFA Spirit FC (Jason Perez 43’, Brian Jamba og 86’)
Sunday 25 August 2019 at Northbridge Oval
North Shore Mariners: 1. Ryan WOOD, 2. Rainer SMAHEL, 3. Chris LINDSAY, 4. James SCOTT, 6. Ricky WOODWARD (c), 8. Brian JAMBA, 10. Marquin SMITH (15. Joshua MBAKWE 90’), 12. Braden CHENG, 18. Mitchell SMITH, 19. Daniel SARIC (23. Damir PRODANOVIC 73’), 22. Sean EVE
Yellow Cards: 22. Sean EVE 87’, 18. Mitchell SMITH 90+1’
GHFA Spirit FC: 1. Tomislav ROMIC (c), 2. Dylan WHITLOCK, 4. Futoshi KONDO, 6. Emilio MANOS, 9. Duncan STEWART, 15. Louie ZACHAROPOULOS (19. Dominic JOHNS 65’ (3. Karlo BOROVIC 77’)), 17. Ahmed SWEEDAN, 18. Sidhya MALHOTRA, 20. Jason PEREZ, 21. Lewis BEUMIE, 22. Samuel DE OLIVEIRA (11. Travis COOPER 62’)
Yellow Cards: 6. Emilio MANOS 72’
Hills United 3 (Daniel Fogarty 8’ 74’, Glen Kelshaw 16’) v Macarthur Rams 2 (Yusuke Maruyama 75’, Anthony Haddad 86’)
Hills United got the job done at Lily Homes Stadium once again, recording their 11th home win in 2019.
Following an early injury to Macarthur goalkeeper Jacob Madden, Hills top scorer Daniel Fogarty opened the scoring. Glen Kelshaw then took advantage of an error just past the quarter hour, doubling his side’s advantage when a clearance rebounded off him and into the net.
In the 74th minute, a clever Fogarty lob made it 3-0, and Patrick Zwaanswijk’s men seemed to be heading for an easy victory. However, there was a quick Rams response as Yusuke Maruyama finished from Philip Hasiuk’s cutback to make it 3-1. Hills goalkeeper Shaun Catlin would make some excellent saves, but was unable to stop Anthony Haddad from cutting the deficit to a single goal when he got on the end of a nice cross.
United held out to secure the three points, and will enjoy having next weekend off as reward for a top two finish. Macarthur’s season ends after another defeat, however there were positives: a late flurry saw them trouble Hills United, and substitute goalkeeper Tristan Michelmann performed well.
Rydalmere Lions 2 v Canterbury Bankstown FC 1
At Valentine Sports Park, ten man Rydalmere were victorious.
With Rydalmere fighting for their lives and Canterbury aiming to end the season on a positive note, the teams cancelled each other out in the opening period.
The deadlock wasn’t broken until 53 minutes were played, Lions forward Kuot Maliet scoring his first goal for the club. Canterbury equalised almost immediately, and momentum looked to have shifted firmly in their direction after a Rydalmere red card on 68 minutes.
Mitchell Gibbs had other ideas though, scoring a 79th minute thunderbolt to win it for the Lions, his eighth goal of the campaign. The result followed victories for them in the U18s and U20s.
St George FC 4 (Kevin Lopes 43’, Matias da Silva Santos 57’ 82’, Juan Carlos Romero 77’) v Blacktown Spartans 1 (Mason Ireland 71’)
The Saints scored four times in a match for the first time since Round 9, in front of passionate crowd at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Blacktown Spartans also required victory to have any chance of making the top six, and they started well – a Shun Tokuno effort flew inches over the crossbar, while Connor Eldridge and Finley Hayhurst were denied by saves from Anthony Costa.
The Saints were able to resist the pressure, making the crucial breakthrough with halftime approaching. Hussein Akil beat two opponents to get into the area and although he wasn’t able to find a teammate, Kevin Lopes fired the loose ball through a crowd of defenders and into the bottom corner.
St George FC still needed someone to score a second goal so they could gain some breathing room – who better than a man whose surname means “Saints” in both Portuguese and Spanish? 57 minutes had been played when Matias da Silva Santos cut in from the left flank and snuck a shot past the goalkeeper, giving his team a two goal buffer.
The Spartans now had to push men forward, and a 71st minute goal from Mason Ireland gave them some hope. However, Saints substitute Juan Carlos Romero quickly extinguished any ideas of a comeback with a moment of magic, lobbing the goalkeeper from near the halfway line to make it 3-1.
Santos curled a shot against the crossbar soon afterwards, but he had better luck a couple of minutes later, racing onto a through pass and tucking the ball away to seal a memorable victory.
Northern Tigers 1 (Ollie Wiggin 35’) v Central Coast Mariners 0
A solitary first half strike was enough for Northern Tigers to defeat Central Coast Mariners, eliminating their opponents from finals contention and confirming their own place in the top six.
Ollie Wiggin’s goal ten minutes before halftime would end up being the difference between the two teams. The Tigers were well organised and managed to keep Central Coast’s talented frontline at bay, especially in the second half, and Adam Hett will be delighted to see backup goalkeeper Benjamin Taylor keep a clean sheet in the absence of regular shotstopper Tonu Liiband.
The win ensures sixth place for the northern suburbs outfit, as well as a third consecutive postseason appearance and a meeting with Bonnyrigg next weekend. On the other hand, the Mariners miss out on the knockout stage of the competition for the first time since 2016. They finish in eighth, five points off the top six.
Mounties Wanderers 1 (Michael Jeffrey 60’) v Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Mounties secured their trip to the finals after a narrow victory at Sydney United Sports Centre. They were the better team initially, and Tai Smith headed over on 13 minutes, while four minutes later Michael Jeffrey forced a save from Elliot Carwardine.
The first clear opportunity for Western Sydney came with 20 minutes played as Ali Auglah received Rory Jordan’s cross and fired over. Adrian Valenti had an even better chance for them in the 32nd minute when he got on the end of Marley Peterson’s excellent switch of play, but he couldn’t keep his volley down.
Just after the restart, Mounties defender Benjamin Spruce was denied by a goal line clearance from Mohamed Al Taay. Jeffrey then hit the side netting from a good position, however he made amends on the hour mark, sprinting onto a ball over the top and sending a low shot past Carwardine.
Matthew West, on as a half time substitute, had a great opportunity to double his team’s lead midway through the second half when he got behind the defence, shooting over the crossbar. The miss could have proved costly – Peterson had a one on one chance of his own with just over ten minutes remaining, but his attempted lob was swatted away by Blake Tuxford. That was as good as it got for the Wanderers, and Mounties might even have extended their lead through either Michael Cklamovski or West.
The result moves Mounties up a place to fourth, and next weekend they face Spirit FC in an elimination game.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 5 (Aaron Peterson 36’ 45’, Gregory Kondek 65’, Asmir Kadric 71’, Amar Adilovic 85’) v St George City FA 0
Bonnyrigg White Eagles have grabbed their fifth consecutive home victory, sealing third place.
It always looked like St George City FA were going to have it tough, backing up less than 72 hours after Thursday’s defeat to Western Sydney Wanderers. The match started reasonably well for them, however Bonnyrigg would step it up a gear, Aaron Peterson netting twice in the latter stages of the first half.
Gregory Kondek opened his account for the season to put the contest beyond doubt with 25 minutes remaining, and the goals kept coming. Asmir Kadric found the net six minutes later to stake a claim as the league’s most in form striker (he’s now scored in his last eight games), and Amar Adilovic completed the scoring five minutes from time.
After Round 25’s shock loss to Canterbury, Wayne O’Sullivan’s men should take confidence from the win, and none of the remaining sides will be looking forward to facing them in a do-or-die finals clash. For St George City, their campaign ends with only one victory in nine weeks, but they have established themselves in this division for next year and can still be proud of the way they stayed clear of the relegation battle.
By Eric Subijano @eric_subijano
