Round 2 Finals Series Review – League Two Men’s

Week Two of the League Two Men’s Finals Series lived up to the hype with two thrilling contests that saw eight goals across both games.

Macarthur Rams stunned Central Coast United with an incredible performance to knock out the Pirates out, as Inter Lions punched their ticket to the grand final after a commendable win over Rydalmere Lions.

Minor Semi Final

Central Coast United FC 1-4 Macarthur Rams FC

20’s: Dunbar Rovers FC 2-1 Bankstown United FC

It was another incredible finals game that saw Macarthur put on their best performance of the year, dispatching Central Coast 4-1.

The Rams were dealt two massive injury blows prior to kick-off, with Mark Symington and Michael Osei-Adomako ruled out in the warm-up.

With those key losses and the skipper Daniel McFarlane looking fit before the game, the momentum swung firmly in the favour of Central Coast.

The Pirates started off the game on the front foot and it was Thomas Lyons who almost opened the scoring in the first minute after a sensational solo run put him through on goal, but his shot was easily collected by Steven Savicic.

After a short period of promising attacking play from Central Coast, the Rams took control of the game.

Anthony Vastag came close on two occasions for the Rams with both a volley and header just going wide from inside the box.

Macarthur continued to look promising in attack and were denied of a near certain opener as Christian Torelli had a one-on-one chance denied by Jack O’Mally.

As the half drew to a close, it was Macarthur who entered the break with the momentum in their corner.

As play resumed for the second half it was the Rams who picked up from where they left off and quickly put the Pirates defence back under pressure.

Although it wasn’t all one-way traffic, Macarthur looked destined to open the flood gates and did shortly after kick-off.

Macarthur’s opening goal came through Torelli, after an incredible solo run from Daniel Balchura set him up in a one-on-one situation where he powered his chance home.

After continuing to apply pressure, the Rams were rewarded with a second as Anthony Vastag picked out the top corner from side-on, scoring from an improbable angle.

With a two-goal advantage and just under 20 minutes remaining, Macarthur continued to control the flow of the game and were frustrating the attack of the Pirates in the process.

Just five minutes after the second goal, Macarthur sealed the game as John Fahmi calmly slotted a penalty to give the Rams a three-goal lead.

As Central Coast began to clear out the bench in hopes of salvaging a miracle result, the hosts began to create more chances in attack in the final stages of the game.

The Pirates first goal came in the 80th minute as Josh Swadling caught Savicic off-guard and curled in a shot from a corner, giving the hosts a glimmer of hope.

It was almost deja-vu for Swadling as he attempted another shot from a corner just moments after scoring, but Savicic managed to get his fingertips to it.

The Rams put the final nail in Central Coast’s season when Fahmi secured a brace after once again neatly converting from the penalty spot in the 92nd minute.

As the final whistle blew it was nothing but pure elation for the Rams as they now put themselves within one game of an improbable grand final appearance.

Macarthur coach, Brett Hewit was full of praise for Central Coast whilst noting his sides improvement from week to week.

“First and foremost congratulations to Central Coast, they’ve had an outstanding year and they’ve been one of the form sides of the league, their home form was one of the best,” he said.

“For my boys, I’m really happy it was probably one of our better performances for the year, our work rate and intensity in front of goal was a lot better.

“We are growing into it, the first week we were a bit nervous and this week they’re starting to get used to playing in front of more people, the commitment was good and now we’re onto another week.”

Major Semi Final

Inter Lions FC 3-0 Rydalmere Lions FC

20’s: Rydalmere Lions FC 0-1 Dulwich Hill FC

Inter Lions have secured a spot in the grand final after another trademark performance in a 3-0 win over Rydalmere Lions.

Both sides were down a key player as Inter were without Daniel Georgievski and Rydalmere had to do without Matthew West.

Rydalmere looked engaged from the first kick and began to force Inter onto the backfoot in the early stages of the game.

After a few chances were defused by Inter’s defence, they quickly shifted the control of the game into their favour.

The hosts control and flow of the game began to turn into attacking chances as the first half progressed and they were rewarded shortly after.

The opening goal came just after the half hour mark as Ollie Green won possession back and played Patrick Scibilio through on goal, where he buried his chance.

Inter doubled the lead just minutes after the opener as the skipper Sam Armson powered home a header from a set-piece.

Rydalmere ended the half on a strong-note, coming very close to an opener through Angus Chance that was ultimately denied by Anthony Costa.

Although Rydalmere had chances to level the score, Inter looked the stronger of the two sides and their clinical nature in front of goal was the difference heading into the break.

The visitors made some adjustments heading into the second half, but Inter continued in pursuit for more goals in the final 45 minutes.

Inter found the back of the net for a third time shortly after the restart, but with a ruling from the assistant referee it was ruled out due to an offside.

The hosts continued to hold the advantage in the middle of the park and were eventually rewarded in the 69th minute with a third goal.

It was once again Green who was the supplier as he sent Owen Duke through on goal, as he poked it past the keeper and found the back of the net.

Rydalmere continued to push but were ultimately left frustrated by Inter who held on for the clean sheet and the win.

Inter now head into another week off as they await the winner of Rydalmere v Macarthur to find out who will contest them in the League Two Grand Final.

By Football NSW Men’s League Two Writer, Dominic Criniti @DominicCriniti