Round 3 Review – League Two Men’s
Lightning had its part to play as the Football New South Wales League Two Men’s season entered Round Three.
Nepean FC overcame Hawkesbury City FC in a high-scoring affair in the Match of the Round.
Meanwhile, South Coast Flame FC saw off Fraser Park FC in a tight encounter.
Newcastle Jets dropped their first points of the season as Bankstown United FC earned a draw away.
Camden Tigers FC vs UNSW FC, Inner West Hawks FC vs Hurstville SC, Prospect United SC vs Parramatta FC and Gladesville Ryde Magic vs Western Rage were all postponed due to lightning.
Sydney University SFC had a bye this round.
Match of the Round: Nepean FC 4-2 Hawkesbury City FC
The Match of the Round this week did not disappoint as Nepean FC came away 4-2 winners over Hawkesbury City FC at Wanderers Football Park.
There was plenty of action early, as Anthony Pedavoli played a one-two with Stuart Gosling down the left flank, before the former cut inside onto his right foot.
His shot was comfortably saved by Justin Biega.
Hawkesbury had all the possession and chances early as Gregory Kondek had a deflected shot saved, while Pedavoli got in behind and had a shot saved again.
Declan Cotter had a chance in the 7th minute after he gathered the ball off a free kick, but his shot from 25 yards out was saved.
However, the first goal of the match came against the run of play.
In the 10th minute, Luka Zepina won the ball high up the field from a Nepean goal kick, battled past his defender and made a run in behind.
He worked his way into the box and took a right-footed shot across the Hawkesbury goalkeeper, which deflected off the Hawkesbury defence and into the back of the net.
Hawkesbury’s goalkeeper had no chance of saving the effort, as Cotter made the score 1-0 to Nepean.
The momentum shifted from there as Nepean held more of the ball and made more forays forward.
Jack Hoban had a shot for Nepean in the 19th minute which was saved by the Hawkesbury keeper to his left and out for a corner.
Nepean utilised balls down the line early to get their forward players in behind.
Meanwhile, Hawkesbury looked to play through the midfield and create chances, while also utilising their pace with long balls at the right opportunities.
In the 22nd minute, Mason Ingram made a run down the left flank; his dangerous cross into the box was collected by the Hawkesbury keeper.
The match slowed a bit, as both sides gave away a few fouls, which led to some yellow cards.
Hoban had another chance in the 32nd minute as he won the ball from a goal kick, beat his defenders down the left wing and had a right-footed shot saved by the keeper.
Minutes later, Zepina had a header had a header on target from a free kick, but his effort ended up flying high and wide of the right-hand upright.
Nepean had weathered the early Hawkesbury storm and were on top in the match as they built pressure through possession and chances.
When Hawkesbury threatened to break late in the first half, Nepean tracked back in numbers quickly and communicated well to ensure they closed any openings.
Nepean were effective in winning the ball and intercepting.
However, Hawkesbury scored a goal against the run of play this time as the match was brought back level.
Pedavoli crossed the ball into the box from the left, which found Gregory Kondek in the box.
His looping header floated over the keeper and into the right-side of the goal to make it 1-1 at half-time.
Hawkesbury almost took the lead right after half-time, as Kai McLoughlin had a shot saved by Biega, which then hit the post.
King had a shot for Nepean minutes later from outside the box, which the Hawkesbury keeper saved well to his right.
However, Nepean took the lead in the 51st minute through Mathew Crossley.
A free kick from near the right-hand touchline was crossed into the box, which was headed on by Nepean captain Edward Stewart as Crossley tapped the ball home from inside the six-yard box; 2-1.
A minute later, Hoban had the chance to make it three for Nepean after he was played in behind; however, his 1-on-1 shot was saved by the Hawkesbury keeper and then scrambled away by the Hawkesbury defence.
Hawkesbury looked to run in behind to start the second half, while Nepean threatened with their chances again.
Crossley almost scored another as his right-footed shot from outside the box flew over the crossbar.
Nepean applied pressure from the front to win the ball high up the pitch in the second half, while Hawkesbury looked to play long balls in behind.
Nepean defended stoutly as they stopped any crosses being played into the box from wide areas for Hawkesbury.
However, the equaliser came in the 71st minute for Hawkesbury.
They played through the middle of the Nepean defence on a counterattack after they had won the ball back in defence.
The ball was played through in between the two Nepean centre-halves as Marco Turpeinen got on the end of it before he calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net with his right foot.
With ten minutes to go, Hawkesbury had a chance to take the lead as a few deflected shots inside the Nepean box saw McLoughlin fire the final shot over the crossbar.
Both teams pushed for the winner, but the match changed once both sides made their substitutes.
Nepean scored in the 84th minute to retake the lead after Zepina made a run down the right.
He played the ball into the box, which fell at the feet of Harrison Fox outside the box; his shot was curled with his right foot from 20 yards out as it found the bottom-left corner of the goal.
Zac Miletic had a shot inside the box off a cross, which deflected behind for a corner in the 89th minute.
There was desperation from both sides as they looked to secure their respective good results.
In the 90th minute, Nepean had calls for a penalty waved away as they continued to play in behind and into the Hawkesbury box.
There were desperate last-ditch tackles from both sides late.
In front of a full crowd at Wanderers Football Park, the spectators rode every moment.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, the result was sealed when Zepina was fouled in the box after he made a run in behind.
Bradley Whitworth slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner from the spot as Nepean FC claimed all three points after their 4-2 home win over Hawkesbury City FC.
Nepean FC head coach Steven Appleby said despite the result, his side can still show improvement.
“The game was at a good tempo for both teams,” Appleby said.
“We [had] the ethics there to get the four goals but 4-2 is not a scoreline where you go ‘that’s what the game was’.
“From our point of view, we didn’t win enough of the second ball, and we got caught in that transition.”
However, his side are the only side to have won their opening three matches this season.
“The positive is it’s three points, we’re still unbeaten… so we’re happy with that, at the moment, but there’s improvement to be done with the team,” Appleby said.
“We’ve got players who can come off the bench and make a difference, which is fantastic – one of them scored and one of them won a penalty.”
Nepean FC will look to continue their perfect start to the season as they travel to face Fraser Park FC, while Hawkesbury City FC will look to bounce back away to the Western Rage in Round Four.
South Coast Flame FC 2-1 Fraser Park FC
South Coast Flame FC maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they saw off Fraser Park FC 2-1 at Sir Ian McLennan Oval.
The match kick-off was delayed for an hour due to thunderstorm activity; however, when it did start, both sides showed great intent and intensity early.
The first chance of the match fell to Fraser Park’s Alexander Nicolosi after 20 minutes, who fired a shot over the bar after some nice work from Hayato Sadamori to set him up.
It was a tight first half; however, a few minutes out from half-time, Fraser Park goalkeeper Nicola Bratic pulled off a double save to first deny Cody Waller and then James Baldacchino on the follow-up.
However, the Flame started the second half on fire as they broke quickly after defending a corner in the 51st minute.
Adam Voloder found James Baldacchino unmarked, who ran 70 yards to receive the ball at the back post, as he fired the ball part Bratic to put the Flame 1-0 up.
Fraser Park hit back after 64 minutes after a turnover just outside the Flame’s 18-yard-box.
Nicolosi took a shot which deflected and wrong-footed Seiya Miyamoto as the visitors drew level.
However, the turning point in the match came in the 70th minute, as Miki Bisceglia received a red card for Fraser Park, reducing them to ten men.
The Flame controlled the match from there and five minutes later, took the lead.
Waller crossed the ball into the box, which found Voloder, as he flicked his headed effort into the far post beyond Bratic to make the score 2-1 to the Flame.
A few minutes later, Baldacchino and Voloder linked up as the latter’s chipped effort was cleared off the line.
In the 86th minute, Jacob Gjorsevski had a curling shot headed for the top corner saved superbly by Bratic to keep his side in the match.
A few moments later, Voloder missed a guilt-edged chance to secure the result.
Fraser Park had one more chance at the death as they pushed everyone up for a corner, including their goalkeeper.
A clearance fell to Bratic right on the edge of the box, but he skewed his shot wide, as South Coast Flame FC held on to beat Fraser Park FC 2-1.
The Flame host Inner West Hawks FC in Round Four, while Fraser Park host Nepean FC.
Newcastle Jets FC 1-1 Bankstown United FC
The Newcastle Jets dropped their first points of the season as Bankstown United secured a point late at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
The Jets controlled the match in the opening exchanges and were rewarded for their efforts.
In the 24th minute, Peter Grozos took a shot which deflected off a Bankstown defender, which wrong-footed Mitchell Evans in the United goal as it flew into the bottom-right corner.
The half evened out from there as Bankstown adjusted their shape and got back into the match.
Newcastle had a few opportunities early in the second half, as they had multiple shots which flew across the face of the Bankstown goal and one which flew over the bar.
However, in the final 20 minutes of the match, Bankstown got on top as they applied pressure through free kicks and corner kicks.
The pressure from Bankstown told in the 85th minute, as they scored from a corner kick.
Steven Wright had a header directed on target from the corner, which hit a played on the Newcastle line.
The ball bounced out to Corey Freeman, who volleyed the ball with his right foot into the back of the net to level the scores late.
Freeman also hit the inside of the post for Bankstown United with a shot in the final minutes, which rebounded off the post and out.
Marie Gauthier could have won the match for Bankstown United, also, in the last two minutes but was unable to score with his shot, as the match finished 1-1.
Newcastle controlled large parts of the match and could have scored a second themselves throughout the match, but Bankstown were well organised defensively and could have won the match late themselves.
The Newcastle Jets host Camden Tigers FC in Round Four, while Bankstown United travel to face UNSW FC.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Writer, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
