Finals Series Round 1 Review – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
There were plenty of thrills and spills throughout the semi-finals with one match producing a red card while the ball rippled the back of the net on seven occasions in the other clash.
The two teams competing in the 2020 NSW NPL 3 Grand Final has been decided with Bankstown City FC and Rydalmere Lions FC set to face off in the showcase event next Saturday night at Valentine Sports Park.
Before we turn our eyes to that mouth-watering fixture, we take a look at all the semi-final action that came our way.
FNSW was in attendance at Jensen Park to see how the showdown between Bankstown and Gladesville would unravel.
BANKSTOWN CITY FC – GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC 2-1
Bankstown City ran out 2-1 winners against Gladesville Ryde Magic in a fiery affair at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
As per usual, this fixture lived up to expectation with plenty of action and not to mention a sending off which had the potential to swing the tide in favour of one side.
The clash began as expected with plenty of heavy tackles as both sides eased their way into the encounter.
It was Magic’s Harris Gaitatzis who produced the first chance on target when his effort provided the first test for Bankstown shot stopper Ahmad Ismail, who was up to the task.
The Lions managed to take control of proceedings shortly after with two quick fire chances that could have easily put them ahead.
The first belonged to Robert Deasy whose shot from the edge of the 18-yard-area forced Magic custodian Kiriakos Tohouroglou into action.
Next up, it was Nikola Todoroski who had his header saved off the line after Ante Tomic’s inswinging corner picked him out on 24 minutes.
The home side’s persistence eventually paid off when they found the breakthrough four minutes later via Laureano Gomez Castro when he poked the ball home from point blank range after Jonathan Grozdanovski’s cross from the right wing found him unmarked at the back post.
High on confidence, they came within inches of doubling their lead through Grozdanovski after his strike rattled the post before coming back into play after Peter Triantis’ incise through ball cut through the visitors’ defence in the 38th minute.
Fast forward one minute and Bankstown doubled their lead after Grozdanovski’s shot from the left byline squeezed past Kiri.
The young striker was given two bites of the cherry with his original strike being parried by the Magic shot stopper before rebounding back to the feet of the Bankstown player who made no mistake with his second attempt.
The first half action did not end there with the most pivotal point of the match coming in the first minute of injury time when the hosts went down to 10 men after Deasy was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Momentum was now on Magic’s side as they looked to take advantage of the extra man to claw back two goals.
A Magic onslaught ensued in the second half as they did their best to break through the Lions’ defence.
Golden boot winner Michael Gaitatzis forced a top-draw save from Ismail in the 50th minute after his strike from the right edge of the box had to be tipped over the bar by the Lions’ goalkeeper.
The men from Christie Park were soon rewarded for their efforts as Peter Voukidis pulled one back after Ismail failed to keep hold of his strike after the Magic midfielder was played in by Aaron Khan on the 52nd minute mark.
A barrage of chances followed for the visitors and it was two of the Gaitatzis brothers who came close to restoring parity as Michael was a whisker away from making contact with Harris’ sizzling cross from the right wing.
It was Harris who had the next opportunity of note when his long distance effort sprung Ismail into action who was able to pull of an equally as impressive save to deny the Magic striker.
With just five minutes remaining Magic thought they had cause for a penalty when Sergio Tarazona went down in the box, however much to the relief of the Lions’ fans, the referee dismissed the claim.
A range of stoppages throughout the match meant that Bankstown had to be patient with around six minutes of injury time played out.
Magic were able to frustrate Bankstown during that period but they were unfortunately unable to find that elusive goal.
The 10 men of Bankstown were able to hold onto their advantage as they booked their place in the grand final where they will be going head to head against 2020 Premiers Rydalmere Lions at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday.
Match Stats
National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s
Semi-Final
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Jensen Park
BANKSTOWN CITY FC 2 (Gomez Castro 28’, Grozdanovski 39’)
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC 1 (Voukidis 52’)
BANKSTOWN CITY FC; 2.C.Newton, 7.J.Issa(46.A.Dehsabzi 83’), 9.N.Todoroski(8.C.Triantis 31’), 11.A.Tomic, 14.J.Grozdanovski, 15.R.Deasy, 18.R.Di Meglio, 19.L.Gomez Castro, 23.A.Ismail, 26.P.Triantis, 34.A.Farkas.
Substitutions Not Used – 10.A.Al Hafith 40.J.Kuzmanoski, 41.M.Pandza, 45.J.Todorovski.
Yellow Cards – 15.R.Deasy 18’, 34.A.Farkas 53’, 18.R.Di Meglio 56’.
Red Card – 15.R.Deasy 45+1’.
GLADESVILLE RYDE MAGIC; 3.S.Tarazona, 4.A.Khan, 5.L.Harte, 7.M.Gaitatzis, 8.P.Voukidis(6.A.Mickaeal 64’), 9.C.Gaitatzis, 10.H.Gaitatzis, 12.A.Jolly, 15.N.Philips, 32.J.Thornton(11.C.Rosano 70’), 33.K.Tohouroglou.
Substitutions Not Used – 2.J.Anscomb, 16.G.Kohyama, 18.G.Tsokos, 41.A.McCloskey.
Yellow Cards – N/A
Red Cards – N/A
RYDALMERE LIONS FC – CANTERBURY BANKSTOWN FC 4-3
A seven goal thriller took place at Rydalmere Park as Rydalmere Lions ran out 4-3 winners against Canterbury Bankstown on Saturday night.
It was Berries who opened the scoring on 17 minutes via none other than Kris Nicolaou who came back to haunt the Lions with another goal after previously getting on the scoresheet in their meeting a month ago.
Their lead lasted but all of two minutes as Jake Chidiac restored parity before Garang Awac scored a spectacular scissor kick to put his side in front for the first time.
Rydalmere went 3-1 up after the break through Matt West after his perfectly struck chip from 25 metres out sailed over Berries’ keeper Michael Figueira.
Berries continued to press the reigning premiers and reduced the deficit thanks to a belting strike by Andrija Mandic in the 70th minute.
The Guzman brothers were on hand to level the scoring for Berries around five minutes later when Andre’s strike nestled in the back of the net after he was picked out by Leo’s well-timed through ball.
However an unfortunate and rare error from Figueira paved the way for the deciding goal as Jamie Craig tapped home from two yards out after the Berries shot stopper failed to keep hold of Chidiac’s header.
A disappointing manner to end what was a largely positive campaign for the Berries as they look to come back stronger next season.
Rydalmere’s quest for the championship continues as they look to back up the minor premiership with a grand final victory against Bankstown.
DON’T FORGET TO EXERCISE CAUTION AND SOCIAL DISTANCING AT OUR MATCHES – STAY SAFE
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
