Round 10 Review – NPL 4 NSW Men’s
Round 10 of the National Premier Leagues 4 NSW Men’s competition didn’t fail to deliver, giving us six thrilling matches plus a round three catchup that saw the Flame upset Hawkesbury City.
Our Match of the Round saw a 9-man Hurstville side take down a late resurgent comeback from the Flame, to re-secure their spot in third.
Elsewhere, Fraser Park secured victory in Bathurst, UNSW FC handed Hawkesbury their second loss of the week, Prospect held Parramatta to a draw, whilst Nepean and Newcastle celebrated Mother’s Day with wins.
Match of the Round
Hurstville FC 2-1 South Coast Flame FC
Hurstville and South Coast have played out a dramatic encounter which saw Hurstville fight with nine men to win 2-1.
Hurstville dominated the opening period of play, forcing the Flame to sit deep in their own half attempting to defuse the dangerous Hurstville attack.
Jesse Gagro had the first real chance for either side after Jacob Ritchie spotted him in the box for an open shot, his shot fell just wide of the sticks.
Gagro found himself in line for the opener once again. This time managing to get his shot past Thomas Matthews but not as far as Terrence Jah who desperately cleared the ball away from the path of goal.
Matthews began to prove his worth for the Flame after he made a world-class save to deny Edoardo Panizzari’s effort.
Hurstville’s early pressure paid off in the 36th minute with the opening goal after Jaefar Al Khulaifawi’s first shot was cleared off the line but fell only as far as Caleb Bartier as he slotted it into to an open net.
The Flame began to come alive in the later stages of the first, seeing their real first chance through Matthew Mazevski’s long range effort that was stopped by Michael Rutherford.
Hurstville entered the break leading South Coast 1-0. The Flame were a determined outfit in the second half, creating a more competitive game.
They began more assertive but struggled to get past the valiant Hurstville defence which looked tough to break down.
Hurstville were thrown a spanner in the works after Jacob Ritchie was shown his marching orders for a second yellow in the 64th minute.
The Flame capitalised on the extra man finding their equaliser in the 78th minute. Cody Waller made an imposing run down the line and cut in on a good angle as he managed to slip it past Rutherford for their first.
The Hurstville defence were again dealt a huge blow, this time Stephan Perak was shown a straight red for a last man challenge right outside the box. The ensuing free-kick was deflected away by the wall.
The 9-man Hurstville side couldn’t be denied as they found their winner in the 86th minute through Michael Kotzambasis. After being put through one-on-one, his chip was initially saved by Matthews, however the ball fell into the path of an open net where he made no mistakes, giving Hurstville the win.
Hurstville FC 2 (Bartier 36’, Kotzambasis 86’)
South Coast Flame 1 (Waller 78’)
Round 3 Catchup
South Coast Flame FC 2-1 Hawkesbury City FC
The Flame started off their week on a positive note, upsetting Hawkesbury City mid-week in Wollongong. The Flame got their second win of the season in a promising way, dropping off Hawkesbury’s impressive form in the process.
Cody Waller sent the hosts in the lead before Matt Mazevski’s second half header saw the Flame double their advantage. However for the Flame, Kasey Kulscar was sent off after the first goal leaving the Flame with a make-shift defence. Mattia Manolio netted his first goal of the season for the Hawks, but this wasn’t enough as the Flame saw them out for the remaining twenty minutes for the win.
Western NSW FC 3-5 Fraser Park FC
Western NSW have suffered another defeat this time at the hands of league leaders Fraser Park. Western NSW were a much improved outfit going forward having scored the first goal. However the lethal Fraser Park attack proved too good on the day as they fought through the deficit and walked away with the points.
Among the scorers for the Bathurst-based side were Ryan Campbell, Samuel Cosgrove and Luke Mutton. Mark Rooke saw the positives from his side’s performance noting he was very pleased the get three past Fraser Park and will hope to see this scoring output continue going forward. Shu Torihaya netted a barce whilst Oliver Stickland, David Adjassou and Cam Philpot were amongst the other scorers for the visitors. Philpot remains top of the scorers in NPL 4 with ten goals.
UNSW FC 4-1 Hawkesbury City FC
UNSW added to Hawkesbury’s tough week handing them their second defeat in a matter of days, in a comfortable 4-1 win. UNSW were deserved winners on the day showing their capabilities in front of goal. Dean Bertenshaw admitted his squad was off the pace in this matchup and it showed as UNSW recaptured their form from last season.
Gabriele Trinco and Dylan Walz both scored doubles on the day whilst Marco Turpeinen continued his good form with a consolation goal for the visitors. Hawkesbury were down to ten men when Alexander Murell was shown a red. After this impressive performance, UNSW now focus on Parramatta next week as they continue to mount their comeback for a finals place.
Prospect United SC 1-1 Parramatta FC
Prospect and Parramatta have played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Blacktown on Sunday.
Both sides had their chances to steal the game but were denied on several occasions leading to a thrilling finish. Prospect entered the break up a goal courtesy of Ben Lam, however their lead was short lived as substitute Noel Disha had his side back up in the 49th minute.
For Parramatta it was clear they were missing their key attacking players Alli Dulleh and Charles Abou Serhal as the Eagles saw a number of chances fail to deliver the winner. Prospect were a much improved side and like their opponents will be disappointed they didn’t finish their chances. Going forward Prospect have been active in the transfer window boosting their first-team depth which will hopefully help them in their charge for the finals.
Western Rage 1-3 Nepean FC
Nepean have continued their strong form, this time against the Rage. Nepean looked strong as they begin to welcome back some key first-team players. The deadly-duo of Ben Welch and Mitchell Mclintock proved their worth with their goals whilst David Scott rounded out the scoring for Nepean
On a positive note for the Rage their lone goal was a goal of the year contender after a phenomenal solo run from Blake Mottram was capped off by an even better finish. Joe D’Ermilio noted that as he squad begins to return to full-strength the performances of his side have and will continue to improve as they look to push further up the table in NPL 4.
Newcastle Jets FC 5-3 Camden Tigers FC
Newcastle rounded out the weekend, returning to the winners circle at the expense of Camden. The Jets put behind the poor performance of last week to return to their dangerous attacking ways. Blake Archbold, Archie Goodwin and William Ingram all netted first half goals whilst Jack Simmons scored a brace.
Camden found themselves behind 5-0 at the hour mark but fought through the adversary to net three goals to finish off the game. Nicholas Mugridge, Jayden Russell and Andrew Head all added to the tally as the Tigers finished strong. Daniel McBreen was thrilled with his side’s opening hour of playing stating it was the best period of Football they’d played all year.
By NPL 4 NSW Men’s Writer, Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti
