Round 7 Review – League Three Men’s

Another thrilling weekend of Football NSW League Three Men’s action has come to a close, with 28 goals across the five matches making for a fantastic round of fixtures.

UNSW FC opened the weekend, hosting Parramatta FC and prevailing 5-1.

The second 5-1 of the round between South Coast Flame and Camden Tigers also went the way of the home side, with the Wollongong based team gaining their first victory of the season.

Hurstville FC and Prospect United upped the scoring with a seven-goal thriller of their own, seeing the away team’s unbeaten run to begin the season coming to an end.

Fraser Park were downed by Hawkesbury City in a 4-0 victory for the visitors, before Nepean FC gained their second 3-2 win in consecutive rounds against Western Rage to conclude the round.

UNSW FC 5 – 1 Parramatta FC

UNSW FC have defeated Parramatta FC to earn their find number of wins this season, with a red card to the away side in the first half sparking a melee between the two teams.

UNSW opened the scoring, with Kevin Lopes converting a header from a Matias Da Silva Santos freekick.

Matthew Cuda then doubled the home side’s advantage, finishing from a Da Silva Santos cross.

Da Silva Santos had a hattrick of assists, with another cross finding Luke Burke.

The red-hot provider added a goal of his own, capitalising on a through ball to make it four for his side, and four goal contributions for himself.

UNSW added a fifth with a goal from Mike Kenny off a Matias corner, before Parramatta gained a consolation goal off a deflected freekick at the end.

UNSW will face Newcastle Jets on Wednesday evening, while Parramatta FC will play Nepean at Melita Stadium.

South Coast Flame 5 – 1 Camden Tigers

South Coast Flame has won their first match of the season in stunning style, defeating Camden Tigers and scoring five goals in the process to gain their first three points of the season.

The home side opened the scoring in the 5th minute, with a cross from the left causing panic, resulting in a Camden Tigers own goal.

South Coast Flame made it a quickfire double a minute later.

Camden looked to play out from the back, but a defender was dispossessed by South Coast Flame’s press, with Cody Waller converting to duplicate the advantage for the home side.

South Coast added a third within the opening ten minutes of play, with Aden Wade getting on the end of a corner.

Camden Tigers began to sustain pressure in search of an avenue back into the match, and scored in the 60th minute, with Mathew Lane finishing off a one on one against the goalkeeper after combination play down the middle.

Camden failed to capitalise on two free kick opportunities to bring themselves back into the match, and Flame made them pay the price for their missed chances, converting from a set piece of their own.

A quick freekick from Logan Mathie found Jack Balmforth down the right.

The winger beat a defender before sending a looping cross to the back post, with Fabian Iacovelli finishing with a sweet volley from eight yards.

Five minutes later, Iacovelli beat his man and cut back the ball towards goal, with Lucas Ayala converting to make it five for Flame.

South Coast Flame will next face Hurstville in Wollongong on Sunday, while Camden Tigers will host Newcastle Jets on Saturday night.

Hurstville FC 4 – 3 Prospect United

Hurstville FC has brought Prospect United’s unbeaten run to begin the season to an end, prevailing in a seven-goal thriller.

Hurstville opened the scoring in the 16th minute, with Prospect losing possession in the defensive line.

Jesse Gagro seized the opportunity to play in Yianni Nioplias, who made no mistake in converting to give Hurstville the first goal.

Just 12 minutes later, Prospect United brought scores level, with Cristian Gerado Leiva Martinez tapping in a rebound after having a shot originally saved.

It only took five minutes for Martinez to gain a brace to secure the lead for his side, scoring after a header came off the post.

However, Hurstville weren’t letting up, and three minutes later found an equaliser, with Nioplias whipping in a low cross from the left, finding Jesse Gagro who made no mistake with conversion.

Jacob Ritchie scored a stunning solo strike in the 60th minute, winning possession high, beating a defender and hitting a low drive outside the box past Brendan Allen to put Hurstville in the lead for the second time in the match.

A second yellow card to Nicolas Marco saw the home side adopt more of a counter-attacking style.

Jacob Botic converted a penalty he won to make it 4-2 to Hurstville, with Prospect responding with a penalty of their own, which was converted by Alec Purves.

Both sides had young squads for the match, with Prospect having five players eligible for U20’s – three of which could play U18’s.

Meanwhile, Hurstville’s average starting age was 22 years, with the oldest player 25.

Hurstville club captain Paul Gagro gave special mentions to Daniel Maras, who captained the squad at 22 in Gagro’s absence.

He also signled out Jacob Ritchie and Yianni Nioplias for their attacking impetus, while praising Sammy Shainfeld for his midfield play during the match.

Hurstville will next travel to play South Coast Flame away from home, while Prospect United will play Fraser Park on Sunday night.

Fraser Park 0 – 4 Hawkesbury City

Hawkesbury City have bounced back from a tricky two fixtures with a victory over Fraser Park.

The home side started strongly in their build-up of possession from defence into midfield, while Shu Torihara caused problems up front for Fraser.

However, it was the away side who opened the scoring in the 17th minute, with Hawkesbury lifting the tempo and striking through a long-range rocket from Todd Millgate in the 17th minute.

Hawkesbury doubled their advantage in the second half, with Daniel Morsillo volleying home in the 51st minute.

Marco Turpeinen secured himself a quickfire brace within three minutes after good passing work from Hawkesbury, with the striker taking his tally to eight goals in his seven matches this campaign.

Fraser Park will look towards the match against Prospect United to get back into the points, while Hawkesbury City will have a week off with their first bye of the season.

Nepean FC 3 – 2 Western Rage

Nepean have defeated Western Rage to gain their second consecutive 3-2 victory in a row.

An own goal broke the deadlock for Nepean FC just before halftime, before Western Rage equalised in the 68th minute.

Nepean then responded with a goal through Zeke Prisuda in the 76th minute, but Western Rage responded once again, with Daniel Cooper leveling the scores.

However, Nepean prevailed within the last ten minutes, with an 82nd minute goal from Christopher Godoy Bascur proving to be the winner for the home side.

Nepean will next face find team, and Western Rage will take on find team. 

Bye: Newcastle Jets

Preview: UNSW FC vs Newcastle Jets –  Hensley Athletic Field, Wednesday 8pm

UNSW FC will take on Newcastle Jets midweek on Wednesday night at Hensley Athletic Field.

Newcastle Jets are now the only side yet to be beaten in the League Three Men’s competition, having won four and drawn one of their five matches played this season.

The Jets have a new coach in Ric Marchioli and will be looking to continue their bright start to the season with a new man in charge.

UNSW FC, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-1 victory over Parramatta FC, and will be looking to continue their strong goalscoring form, having netted 14 goals in six games, an average of 2.3 per match.

Newcastle have also shown their attacking impetus, scoring 16 goals in five games, although 12 of those came in the opening two rounds of the campaign.

By Football NSW League 3 Men’s Reporter, Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)