Round 13 Review – NPL 4 NSW Men’s
Round 13 of the National Premier Leagues 4 NSW Men’s competition has shaken up the look of the competition as the race for the finals got even tighter.
Parramatta and Hawkesbury shared the points in an intense encounter on Saturday evening at the Melita Stadium.
Elsewhere, Camden continued their dominant form against South Coast, UNSW and Nepean played out a thrilling draw, Newcastle left it late but took the points against Hurstville.
Propsect walked away from Bathurst with a win, whilst Fraser Park rounded out the weekend with a win over Western Rage.
Match of the Round
Parramatta FC 2-2 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury and Parramatta shared the points in a game that could of deeply impacted the look of the top five.
The Hawks went up early before finding themselves behind shortly before the end of the first half.
The visitors fought back hard and levelled the scores and battled it out with the Eagles for the remainder of the match in an intense final period of play.
Kwadwo Boamah-Addai had his side in dreamland after a neat bit of midfield link up play saw him open up the angle and slot it in at the far post.
They were sensationally denied their second shortly after the opener, when Marco Turpienen was sent through one-on-one with Nikola Bratic. The Eagles’ shot stopper made a world-class save to deny the powerful effort from Turpeinen to keep his side within reaching distance early on.
Parramatta began to find their footing in the midst of the first half and levelled the score shortly after. Santiago Rodriguez perfectly picked out Clement Ebahece Waoci who neatly finished his effort at the back stick for his sides’ opener.
The hosts found themselves in the lead in the 30th minute after a forceful shot from Charlie Abou Serhal forced a great save out of Daniel Schwarzer, his effort however fell back to Waoci who brilliantly kept the play alive and slipped it through the crowded area for his side’s second.
Parramatta opened up the second half more dominant and gave the Hawks their biggest challenge of the game.
The Eagles looked certain to score when Abou Serhal was sent through one-one-one with Schwarzer, his effort from close range was denied by the oncoming keeper and the follow up shot was firmly sent over the bar, saving Hawkesbury’s blushes.
Hawkesbury held out the defiant Eagles attack and managed to re-level the scores shortly after. Boamah-Addai again found himself through after a mis-judged back pass and grabbed himself his second of the game, throwing a massive spanner into the works for Parramatta.
Both sides pushed hard until the end but were forced to settle for the draw as Parramatta retained their spot in fourth.
Hawkesbury City Head Coach Dean Bertenshaw was proud of his side’s effort and is ecstatic to begin the final leg of the season at home
“A huge effort from our boys considering the strength of schedule, we were only able to bring twelve boys today and some of those still weren’t the best from the last few weeks, so we are pleased to come away with a solid performance.
“We can’t wait to get back to Bensons finally next week and host some games, We also just want to thank all of the other clubs who helped us out by reversing our fixtures after the floods, it certainly helped us keep going in a tough year”.
Match Stats
Parramatta FC 2 ( Ebahece Waoci 2)
Hawkesbury City FC 2 ( Boamah-Addai 2)
South Coast Flame FC 0-2 Camden Tigers FC
Camden have firmly secured their spot in third after a workmanlike win over South Coast. The Tigers have opened up a four point gap on fourth placed Parramatta as they continued their blistering form in Wollongong on Saturday night.
Camden were denied a clear opener in the first half after a phenomenal penalty save from Thomas Matthews meant the sides we were held at the deadlock for the first half. Camden pushed hard and found their opener with a world-class goal from Blake Brooker. They doubled theirs advantage in the 75th minute through Matthew Lane, securing the points for his side. The Flame have showed improvement over the past weeks but were undone by the red-hot Tigers who continued their march towards the top of the ladder.
UNSW FC 2-2 Nepean FC
Nepean have clawed back from a two goal half-time deficit to salvage a draw with UNSW. UNSW went out to a 2-0 advantage after goals from Kevin Lopes and Mike Kenny. It was a fairly one-sided first half with UNSW seeing the lion’s share of chances and were disappointed to not of ran away with it.
Nepean were a determined outfit in the second fighting back to share the points in the last minutes of the game. Robert Morsello and Ben Welch chipped in with goals of their own to help their side stay level with Hurstville in 5th. Welch’s goal has moved him into second on the golden boot tally, scoring eight on the season. UNSW and Nepean with a win could of seen themselves in high as fourth, however they will have to recover from this result and fight hard for the rest of the season in the competitive race for finals
Hurstville FC 1-2 Newcastle Jets FC
Newcastle moved to provisional first place with a late comeback over Hurstville at Rockdale. It was a tough and physical game that saw Hurstville looking the more likelier of the sides in the first. Their pressure paid off late in the second half substitute Yianni Niopilas made his presence felt off the bench sending his side into the lead.
It all came undone for Hurstville in the dying stages of the game after conceding two late goals to see the victory slip away from them in dramatic fashion. Milo Bisogni levelled the scores shortly before Joseph Langlois converted from the penalty spot in the dying seconds, which sealed the miraculous comeback for Newcastle. Hurstville were undeniably devasted as they missed a huge opportunity to find breathing room in fourth place, they now sit in fifth, only above Nepean on goal difference.
Western NSW FC 1-2 Prospect United SC
Western NSW have gone down once again, this time at the hands of Prospect after they came from behind to leave Bathurst with all three points. Western NSW were a much improved outfit this week and opened the scoring through Steven Long. With a much in-experienced side, Western NSW did well in containing a depleted Prospect side, however they were undone by a Kurdvan Abduljabbar header which sent the sides level heading into the break.
Nicholas Valjak netted Prospect’s second as they enjoyed a much improved second half, seeing out the remainder of play to take the points. Prospect now leapfrog Hawkesbury into eight spot on the ladder, adding another team to the already crowded finals race. For Western NSW they now focus their attention on hosting the red-hot Camden Tigers next weekend.
Western Rage 1-4 Fraser Park FC
Fraser Park have returned to the winners circle in the final game of the round with an emphatic 4-1 win over Western Rage. It was a physical encounter that saw the referee give out eight cards throughout the game. Fraser Park scored two goals in either half to secure the much needed victory, a hat trick from Cam Philpot and one from David Adjassou rounded out the goals for Fraser Park.
The young Western Rage side was put to the test by the strong Fraser Park outfit and were given a lifeline when Amir Ajaj scored to put his side within a goal shortly after the resumption of the second half. Fraser Park regained their lead on top of NPL 4 sitting one point above Newcastle, whilst the hat trick from Philpot sent him to 14on the season six goals clear of second.
By NPL 4 NSW Men’s Reporter, Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti
