Round 8 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Another fiery weekend of football saw some clubs pull away with some spectacular results as we fast approach the end of the regular season.
Rydalmere Lions were able to keep hold of their perfect record after they beat Canterbury Bankstown in their top of the table affair, Inter Lions secured their first win on the road at Macarthur while Sydney Uni held Stanmore to a stalemate.
Dulwich Hill FC – Central Coast United FC 2-0
Dulwich Hill posted their first victory since the opening round after they saw off Central Coast United 2-0 at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
Harry Browell put the hosts ahead on the 25th minute mark with an expert left footed finish on the edge of the 18-yard-box.
It was Browell who was at the centre of the action once again after he snuck in at the back post to knock home Sam Kelly’s cross into the box around 10 minutes into the second half.
The three points and the invaluable clean sheet sees Dully rise to 9th on the league ladder with eight points.
They face off against Dunbar at Heffron Park next Saturday night.
The defeat sees the Pirates drop one place into 11th, they will be looking to take all three points next weekend when they take on Sydney Uni in Camperdown.
Dunbar Rovers FC – Bankstown City FC 2-4
Bankstown City extended their winning streak to four matches with a 4-2 victory against Dunbar Rovers at Heffron Park on Saturday night.
It was Bankstown who broke the deadlock in this contest through the boot of Andreas Gomez after he was played in on the back of some intelligent link up play from Chris Triantis and Nikola Todoroski.
Todoroski turned from provider to goal scorer after he headed home Ante Tomic’s perfectly struck corner to double his side’s lead.
Bankstown’s third arrived from Triantis after he rifled the ball into the back of the net after connecting with Jonathan Grozdanovski’s delightful cross.
The visitors took their foot off the pedal after going 3-0 up and Dunbar took advantage, scoring two goals without reply to make it 3-2.
However, any chance of Dunbar rescuing a point were swiftly put to bed when Grozdanovski’s effort found the back of the net after he was teed up by Todoroski’s flick on.
Bankstown’s latest win puts them into 2nd on the league ladder with 18 points to show from their eight matches.
The loss means Rovers fall to 7th on the table with 10 points to their name.
Bankstown return to Jensen Park next Sunday to host the Rams while Dunbar welcome Dully to Heffron Park.
Bankstown United FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-3
Gladesville Ryde Magic registered a routine 3-0 win away to Bankstown United on Saturday night.
The first of their goals arrived from the spot with Michael Gaitatzis stepping up to convert the penalty.
An impressive save from Magic goalkeeper Kiriakos Tohouroglou kept his side 1-0 up before Gaitatzis got his second shortly after.
The Magic striker was in the right place at the right time to tap in Jethro Thornton’s tempting ball into the box.
The third and final evening arrived from Peter Voukidis as Gladesville saw off the match to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
The win sees Magic jump to 4th spot on the table with 13 points while Bankstown drop to 10th position.
Magic have a showdown with 5th placed Inter Lions at Majors Bay Reserve next Saturday while United make the short trip to the Crest to go head to head against the Berries.
Macarthur Rams FC – Inter Lions FC 3-4
An outstanding display from the 10 men of Inter Lions saw them secure a 4-3 win away to Macarthur Rams at Lynwood Park on Saturday night.
Inter opened the scoring on the half hour mark via a Sam Armson header after he was picked out by Domenico Tripodi’s free kick.
The visitors were able to hold onto that advantage into the break in what was a quite heated first half which ended in a total of four yellow cards being dished out.
Inter’s night was turned on its head in the 50th minute after Zac Ribeiro was given his marching orders for his second bookable offence.
Going down a man spurred on John Theo’s men and they doubled their lead from a Nico Paras free kick which nestled into the bottom corner.
They soon found themselves three to the good thanks to Fikiret Berisha’s inch perfect finish.
The Rams reduced the deficit with around 20 minutes remaining before they had another goal disallowed for offside soon after.
A second goal for the hosts with around 10 minutes left on the clock set up a grandstand finish with Inter next to strike.
Eduardo Rodrigues could not have asked for a better debut as he popped up with his side’s fourth of the evening when he weaved his way through three defenders before effortlessly striking the ball into the bottom corner.
Macarthur managed to pull one back in the dying stages of the encounter but it was not enough as Inter held on to record their first away win of the campaign.
The win boosts Inter’s league standing as they move into 5th position while the defeat means that the Rams stay in 8th.
Inter have a crunch clash with Magic next time out whilst Macarthur have a meeting with Bankstown City at Jensen Park.
Rydalmere Lions FC – Canterbury Bankstown FC 3-1
It was Rydalmere who reigned supreme after they knocked off Canterbury Bankstown 3-1 at Rydalmere Park on Saturday night.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the first half but that it’s not to say they didn’t come close with the Lions’ Scott Tonkin having a goal disallowed for offside on 25 minutes before the same happened to Berries’ Jake Bradshaw five minutes later.
The home side opened the scoring with around a quarter hour remaining via Lee Jones with a precise strike after he was set up by Gurang Awac who beat his man out wide before cutting it back for Jones.
Jones was at the centre of attention once again for his side’s second after his in swinging corner caused chaos – rebounding off Bankstown’s Mathew Paras for an own goal.
Gavin Rae’s side soon found themselves three in front after Matt West lobbed the Berries’ goalkeeper after Charles Samushonga’s bullet of a pass evaded the visitors’ defence before falling kindly for West.
To Berries’ credit, they never gave up and managed to pull one back in the 88th minute through Kris Nicolaou.
Rydalmere’s latest triumph sees them stay top of the table while Berries drop down to 3rd – switching places with Bankstown City.
The Lions will be at Arlington Oval next round as they prepare to do battle with the Hawks while the Berries return to the Crest to host Bankstown United.
Stanmore Hawks FC – Sydney University SFC 2-2
Stanmore Hawks were held to a 2-2 draw against Sydney University at Valentine Sports Park No. 2 on Saturday night.
Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the first half with a string of standout staves from Uni shot stopper Steven Antoniou keeping the Hawks at bay.
The first goal of the evening arrived 10 minutes after the restart in the form of an own goal from Stanmore’s Sam Awad after a miscommunication between him and goalkeeper Nick Carosi resulted in the ball making its way into the back of the net.
The Hawks restored parity in the 70th minute via a Tom Quilligan header after he was picked out by Peter Yannopoulos’ cross.
The ‘students’ regained the lead around five minutes later when a defensive error from Stanmore’s Paul Turrin paved the way for Daniel Barrett who made no mistake as he slotted home.
Yet again the Hawks came from behind to level the scoring as Gabriel Lopez headed in Conor Quilligan’s cross at the far post.
The 2019 Premiers had a chance to win it late on, however Axford was in fine form as he kept out Tom Quilligan’s stinging volley.
The point means that Stanmore drop to 6th on the league ladder while Uni continue to prop up the ladder.
League leaders Rydalmere await Stanmore next weekend while Uni will be looking for all three points when they take on the 11th placed Pirates at home.
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-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
