Round 20 Review – League Three Men’s
The away sides had the upper hand throughout the weekend, as the third last round of League Three Men’s season commenced and ended.
Fraser Park defeated Hurstville FC to begin the weekend of action before Newcastle Jets emerged victorious by three goals over South Coast Flame.
Later on Saturday, Parramatta FC won 1-0 against Hawkesbury City, while on Sunday, Prospect United drew 1-1 with UNSW FC.
Hurstville FC 0 – 1 Fraser Park
Fraser Park has defeated Hurstville FC 1-0 in a Saturday night game at Penshurst Park.
The away side secured their fourth win of the season and moved up a spot on the ladder as a result.
They’ll be looking to continue their good form when playing South Coast Flame next weekend.
Hurstville, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back when taking on Nepean FC on Saturday night at Cook Park.
South Coast Flame 0 – 3 Newcastle Jets
Newcastle Jets have taken another step towards claiming the top position on the League Three Men’s ladder with a win over South Coast Flame away from home this Saturday.
The Jets opened the scoring with an own goal in the 27th minute, before doubling their advantage through Taylan Unal in injury time in the first half.
The game opened up in the second half, but a late goal from Unal saw Newcastle comfortably secure victory.
Jets coach Ric Marchioli was impressed with the performance Newcastle put in, stating “it was one of our most patient and mature performances of the season with a handful of debutants and players returning from injury.”
South Coast Flame will next take on Fraser Park on Saturday night, while Newcastle will host Prospect United the next day.
Hawkesbury City 0 – 1 Parramatta FC
In a foggy night at Valentine Sports Centre, Parramatta FC defeated Hawkesbury City 1-0 thanks to a lone goal from James Pelletier.
Hawkesbury had the first shot of the game, with a rebound off a deep freekick finding Zane Hickman who earnt his side a corner off a deflected effort.
From the resulting corner, Hawkesbury went close to converting, as the set piece towards the far post couldn’t find the target as Parramatta cleared.
Throughout the opening stages, Hawkesbury looked to often draw in the press from Parramatta by passing around their defensive four and deeper lying midfielder in Predrag Bojic, before playing directly in behind to exploit the space vacated by their opponents as their line moves higher.
Harry Drew was a consistent threat through his pace and positivity in his runs, as he operated on the left of a front two and looked to make in to out and out to in runs.
Hawkesbury often looked to draw in the press before moving the ball into the wide space where the fullbacks were available before they’d move the ball into that space to draw out either of Parramatta’s fullbacks before playing a ball onto the onrushing striker.
The strikers for the home side switched flanks to pose different threats to Parramatta’s defence.
Meanwhile, Parramatta operated in a 4-2-3-1, with Emanuel Ponce Farias as the attacking midfielder acting as an interpreter as he rotated with the front three to find different pockets of space.
Mubarak Saeed as the left winger looked to pin back his opposite number in Zac Miletic by remaining on the defensive line, while Matthew Joseph looked to receive the ball in pockets more often and sometimes rotated with Farias.
Neither side managed to create many clear-cut chances within the opening half an hour, with the majority of Hawkesbury’s shots coming off set pieces and Parramatta having a few efforts from range.
In the last ten minutes of the half, Parramatta began to have more success in pressing Hawkesbury’s backline when they recycled the ball, with the home side struggling to move the ball into the final third as a result.
On multiple occasions, Parramatta either won or went close to winning possession with their press, which progressed the longer Hawkesbury kept the ball.
Early in the second half, Parramatta opened with a bang, as they opened the scoring when capitalising on a mistake in Hawkesbury’s defensive line.
Pelletier found himself in behind as a result of the error and took the ball around the goalkeeper well before converting.
Joseph began the second half as the attacking midfielder for Parramatta, with Farias on the right flank.
Following the opener, Hawkesbury struggled to respond positively, with the home side unable to create any chances in the 15 minutes to allow after conceding.
They had trouble progressing the ball, with Parramatta doing well to close down angles and disrupt with their structure.
In the 63rd minute, however, they began to return to their high-intensity football after the introduction of substitutes.
Drew drove in a low ball into the box which Parramatta just managed to clear, but they began to show more sharpness and intent in their pressing and attacking play.
In the 74th minute, with the introduction of a couple of subs, Hawkesbury switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Drew as the attacking midfielder and a front three from left to right of Anthony Pedavoli, Brad Gibson and Daniel Morsillo.
They switched to two defensive midfielders, with Bojic alongside Alexander Murrell.
In the 78th minute, two direct forward passes led to a good ball across the face of goal from Morsillo, but Hawkesbury was unable to punish inside the box.
Allie Jayee led Parramatta in a high-quality defensive effort that continued throughout the night – the central defender was exceptional in his reading of balls in behind, and matched the runs in behind while being strong in the tackle when necessary.
Parramatta switched to a 5-2-3 in response, which quickly became a 5-4-1 in defence.
In the 85th minute, Hawkesbury went inches away from finding an equaliser.
Zineddine Messaoui swung in a ball with the outside of his right boot, and Morsillo saw his shot clang off the woodwork after making a run to the near post.
Minutes later, Messaoui swung in another dangerous delivery, this time with the inside of his right foot, but it couldn’t find a teammate in the middle.
In stoppage time, Morsillo found himself in behind and one on one, but Jayee did exceptionally well to recover.
The chances continued, as Drew did well to get on the end of a loose ball inside the box but couldn’t generate any power.
Hawkesbury coach Dean Bertenshaw was proud of his side’s performance despite the result.
“Parramatta put in a really good shift – they rode their luck a little bit and it’s just one of those matches you have at this time of year,” he said.
“We couldn’t find the goal to unlock it.
“We hit the post twice and slipped over in one on one defensively and sometimes that’s the way football goes.
“Congrats to Parramatta who put in a big shift defensively and got the win.”
Meanwhile, Parramatta coach Gert Disha was very happy with the performance.
“It was a great performance today, a few players coming back from injury helped us take a good step forward.
“The energy is there; the idea is there and it was a big win against the top of the ladder which says a lot about the quality of our team.
“The table doesn’t say that, but from now it will say that – we will disturb everyone we play and get some points that we deserve.”
Hawkesbury will next host Camden Tigers in a fixture once again at Valentine Sports Park next Saturday, while Parramatta FC will play Western Rage earlier on the same day.
Prospect United 1 – 1 UNSW FC
Prospect United and UNSW FC have drawn 1-1 in an intense affair on Sunday night.
The home side opened the scoring early after some combination play outside the box, with Tallon Zahra providing the finishing touch.
UNSW responded just before halftime – after cross from Callum Fitzpatrick found Dylan Walz at the far post, the winger scrambled the ball home.
In the second half, both teams had lots of chances to win the match but neither could convert to find a winner.
Next, Prospect will face Newcastle Jets away from home, while UNSW will have a bye.
Postponed: Camden Tigers vs Nepean FC
By Football NSW League 3 Men’s Reporter, Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
