Round 6 Review – League Two Men’s
Round Six of the Football New South Wales League Two Men’s competition saw two teams lose their first match of the season as powerhouses went head-to-head.
The Match of the Round saw UNSW FC take down Nepean FC in a top-of-the-table clash, while Hawkesbury City FC came from behind to secure a draw with Parramatta FC.
Elsewhere, Bankstown United FC won back-to-back matches for the first time this season as they overcame Hurstville FC, while the Newcastle Jets returned to winning ways against Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Meanwhile, Prospect United SC came from behind to secure a draw with Fraser Park FC, while Camden Tigers FC survived a scare as they held off Western Rage.
Inner West Hawks FC had a bye this round.
Saturday, 11th March 2023
Match of the Round – UNSW FC 3-2 Nepean FC
The Match of the Round this week saw UNSW FC come away with a thrilling 3-2 win against fellow powerhouse Nepean FC at The Village Green.
The match was even for the first five minutes, with both sides playing to their strengths.
However, the breakthrough came early, as UNSW FC found the lead in the 6th minute the match.
Matias Da Silva Santos was played in behind the Nepean defence from a Dylan Walz through ball before he calmly placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal with his right-footed shot.
UNSW relished the 1-0 lead as they created more chances in the early periods of the match.
Both teams showed their physicality as they worked to win the ball in midfield early as UNSW created chances.
Da Silva Santos was important for UNSW to help them beat the Nepean press as he showcased skills with the ball at his feet to beat markers and players who tried to win the ball off him.
UNSW’s Keeghan Burke took a right-footed shot from a free kick just outside the box in the 21st minute, which flew just over the crossbar.
Both sides did well to limit chances as they blocked shots in their respective penalty boxes as the match crossed the 25-minute mark.
Neither side wanted to give away counter attacking opportunities as they tackled whoever had the ball in midfield well.
However, it was UNSW who enjoyed more of the possession after their opening goal.
In the 25th minute, Burke found himself in space in midfield as he drove at the Nepean defence; he fired a right-footed shot along the ground as it flew wide of the left-hand post.
UNSW focused a large amount of their play down their right flank in the first half as Walz was able to beat the Nepean pressure on multiple occasions.
The pace of the UNSW attackers forced Nepean to foul them to stop the counterattack.
In the 32nd minute, Santos floated a cross in from the right off a free kick as it met Peter Prandalos at the back post, but his shot flew just over the bar.
UNSW created many chances, and the last action of the half came from an UNSW corner, as Jack Fulton rose highest in the box, but his header flew wide as UNSW took a 1-0 lead into the break.
There was immediate action to start the second half as Fulton was fouled in the Nepean penalty area after he attempted to head a high cross.
Fulton stepped up to take the penalty, which was saved by Biega to his right in the Nepean goal.
However, Paolo Laxamana cleared the ball after he had encroached on the box before the penalty was taken, which meant the penalty was then retaken.
Fulton shot this penalty the opposite way, down the left, as a diving Biega could only get a hand on it before it snuck into the bottom corner; UNSW led 2-0.
Nepean sprung into a good chance a few minutes later as Jack Hoban had a right-footed shot which was saved at full stretch by Luke Del Vecchio to his left.
Fulton found his way in behind for UNSW again as he got on the end of a cross, but after he controlled the ball with his chest, his right-footed effort found Biega’s gloves.
Tempers rose in the 63rd minute as Fulton was caught in a big collision with a Nepean player; two Nepean players were shown yellow cards in the player argument which followed.
The crowd noise rose from both sets of supporters as the match got more tense.
In the 72nd minute, Da Silva Santos found his way in behind again and ran towards the box before he cut inside onto his right foot; his effort flew over the crossbar.
Nepean held the ball and looked for an opening either on the counter or over the top of the UNSW defence.
With 15 minutes to go, Leonard Abdo had a strike from outside the box for Nepean, but his shot missed the left-hand post.
Nepean worked their way to the edge of the box and tried to put crosses into it but were denied multiple times by the resolute UNSW defence.
On numerous occasions, the UNSW backline denied the final ball from being played or from reaching the target in the box.
Nepean kept pushing with all their energy to pull a goal back late as the match entered the final ten minutes.
They were rewarded for their efforts in the 84th minute as they were awarded a penalty after Del Vecchio made contact with an oncoming Ryan Dominici off a long ball inside the box.
Brad Whitworth sent the keeper the wrong way as Nepean reduced the deficit to one with five minutes to play.
In the 89th minute, Nepean were inches away from the equaliser as Whitworth took a powerful shot on from 30 yards; his shot was saved by Del Vecchio in a dive just under his crossbar.
However, in the third minute of stoppage time, UNSW found their third and match-sealing goal.
UNSW won the ball in midfield as Nepean pushed for a late goal; a ball was played from Matthew Cuda to Max Mcalpine who held his nerve and slotted the ball into the far-right corner of the goal with his right foot; the score was 3-1.
However, Nepean did not give up as Del Vecchio was forced to make a save from kick-off to deny a low near post shot.
Nepean earned a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time after a handball was spotted in the box by the referee after a shot was taken from a Nepean player.
Whitworth secured his double as he scored just past the dive of Del Vecchio into the bottom-left of the goal to make the score 3-2.
UNSW defended desperately late to prevent an equaliser and were rewarded for their efforts as the referee blew his whistle to signal full-time after one final Nepean attack.
UNSW FC coach Gabe Knowles was happy to see his side walk away with the three points.
“I thought we were really good value today… we were in control for large parts of the match and limited their opportunities,” Knowles said.
As for all the action towards the end of the match, Knowles said it was the nature of the game to get that way sometimes.
“The game gets a bit wild and loose and, you know, things happen… we rode the storm, a bit of a rollercoaster,” Knowles said.
As for Nepean, Knowles had praise for Steven Appleby’s team.
“They’re a strong side and we’re pleased with the win.
Nepean FC coach Steven Appleby said he was proud of his side’s efforts.
“It was tip-for-tap early… (UNSW) did well in their moments, they pressed not too bad,” Appleby said.
“Because we got a lot of injuries at the moment, [we said] ‘keep the ball on the ground, keep it moving’, but we didn’t do that enough,” Appleby said.
Appleby also had praise for the opposition.
“They’re a good side… fair play to Uni, good luck to them, they’re gonna be up there, so it’ll be interesting,” Appleby said.
UNSW FC will look to continue their unbeaten start as they host Fraser Park FC next week, while Nepean FC will look to bounce back at home to Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Friday, 10th March 2023
Hawkesbury City FC 2-2 Parramatta FC
A large crowd of over 750 welcomed Hawkesbury City FC back to Bensons Lane in Richmond for their first match at the ground in over 630 days as the teams shared the points, 2-2.
Both sides started the contest well as a physical Hawkesbury team kept Parramatta scoreless with high-quality goalkeeping and clearances off the line.
Parramatta started well and were rewarded with a penalty after 20 minutes when Marco Sama won a penalty after a Hawkesbury City pass back.
The penalty was converted by Youssef Badr as Parramatta took a 1-0 lead.
Parramatta doubled their lead not long after on a fast break; a deflected cross found Yuto Mochizuki on the volley as he struck the ball home.
It was a battle of attrition after that as both sides played with physicality.
Parramatta looked to pass their way through their opponent while Hawkesbury looked to be direct.
A mistake cost Parramatta as Marco Turpeinen found himself one-on-one with Jameson Hinwood in the Parramatta goal and scored to pull the deficit back to one goal after 35 minutes.
The match was end-to-end; however, with ten minutes to go in the match, Hawkesbury found the equaliser through Harry Drew.
Parramatta were then reduced to ten men as centre-half Blake Steward was sent off.
Hinwood kept Parramatta level on multiple occasions with many saves as Hawkesbury continued their attack.
Parramatta played on the counter towards the end of the match as they had one shot which hit the post and another which just missed the goal.
In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Parramatta had a chance to score but the effort went wide as both sides settled for the 2-2 draw.
Both sides had many goal-scoring chances but in front of their home crowd, Hawkesbury could not make one of their many chances count towards the end.
Hawkesbury City are back at home again next week as Hurstville FC visit, while Parramatta FC will host Western Rage in the derby.
Hurstville FC 1-4 Bankstown United FC
In a tough and physical encounter at Penshurst Park with eleven yellow cards and one red card, Bankstown United claimed back-to-back victories after their 4-1 win over Hurstville FC.
Hurstville had the better of the match early as they looked to play through their opponents.
However, Bankstown opened the scoring before the 30-minute mark as Alejandro Salgueira got in behind the Hurstville defence and drove a low cross to Marie Gauthier on top of the six-yard box, who scored to make the score 1-0.
Moments later, Steven Wright missed an open goal off a rebound from the post as he blasted his effort over the Hurstville crossbar.
Hurstville lifted and pulled back level in the 36th minute as their captain, Paul Gagro, delivered a free kick into the Bankstown box which found Botic on the back post, who scored.
After an even first half, Bankstown made a double change at half-time and were rewarded as Gauthier scored his second just after the hour mark.
A well weighted pass from Isaac Schipp found Gauthier as he calmly slotted the ball past Mitchell Evans in the Hurstville goal to retake the lead for Bankstown.
Hurstville reacted well to the goal, however, but they missed the chances they created.
Gauthier had his hat-trick after 75 minutes as he volleyed the ball from the corner of the 18-yard-box; the shot cannoned off the post and into the back of the net as Bankstown led 3-1.
Juan Da Silva was sent off for Hurstville in the 87th minute after he received a second yellow card.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Hurstville opened up as Mitchell Cross sealed the 4-1 result after he volleyed the ball home from the top of the six-yard-box off a Josh Gersbach cross.
Hurstville will look to turn their positive play into points as they travel to face Hawkesbury City FC in Round Seven, while Bankstown City FC will look to build on their back-to-back wins as they host South Coast Flame FC.
Saturday, 11th March 2023
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-3 Newcastle Jets
The Newcastle Jets returned to winning ways as they came away with a 3-0 win away to Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Both sides attempted to use the speed of their wide players to get in behind the opposition’s defence to start the match.
Bailey Stevens made a run down the right for Gladesville but he was unable to find a Magic player in the box with his cross.
Moonib Adus created problems for the Magic defence as he created chances for his side which either failed to find unmarked players in the middle for the Jets, or did before they were closed down.
In the 33rd minute, Stevens created space for himself and was one-on-one with Ethan Lewis; the Jets goalkeeper made a decisive save to keep the scores level.
A few minutes later, Newcastle found the opener through Adus, as he made a run and cut back the ball with his left foot straight to Ezra Palombini in the box, who scored.
Magic goalkeeper, Gabriel Koliomihos, kept the deficit to one goal as he pulled off a big save.
Just before half-time, Lachlan West found himself on the end of a Moonib Adus cross but was unable to hit the target.
Both teams showed high intensity in the first half and looked to continue that into the second.
Magic’s Yousuf Amini crossed the ball into the box to start the second half as it fell to David Ustimenko, but his powerful shot was blocked by the Jets’ defence.
Newcastle doubled their lead in the 63rd minute as Peter Grozos crosses the ball in from a corner; Dominic Archbold met the ball as his effort was deflected into the Gladesville net by Magic’s Tyler Frost.
The Jets scored a third a few minutes later after Janni Rafty cut the ball back into the box for Lachlan West, who sealed the three points for Newcastle.
Fatigue set in late for both sides as the match finished 3-0 in Newcastle’s favour.
17-year-old Tiago Dantas was also handed his debut in this match for the Magic as they continue to bring in youth.
Gladesville Ryde Magic will look to bounce back against the tough Nepean FC next week, while the Newcastle Jets have a bye in Round Seven.
Fraser Park FC 1-1 Prospect United SC
Prospect United SC came from behind in the second half as they worked their way to a 1-1 draw with Fraser Park FC.
Prospect started the match strong in the first 25 minutes as Housam Sayour smashed a shot at the crossbar.
However, Fraser Park looked to control the match as the first half went along.
Fraser Park scored after Daniel Bosnich crossed the ball to Shu Torihara in the box, who flicked the ball on and into the goal.
They almost scored a second after Alexander Nicolosi pressed Prospect’s goalkeeper, Brendan Allen, before Hayato Sadamori’s effort was saved by Allen.
However, with only one goal being the difference at half-time, Prospect looked to work their way back into the match after the break.
Prospect started the second half stronger as a Fraser Park clearance fell at the feet of Dimos Vlachos, who took a touch and found the bottom corner of the goal with his strike from eighteen yards.
Fraser Park created chances after that equaliser as Allen made himself big and pulled off two high quality saves to keep the scores level.
They also hit the post late as they continued to push for a late winner.
Nico Muscio was sent off late for Fraser Park after he received a second yellow card as the match finished level, 1-1.
Fraser Park FC will look to take the challenge to UNSW FC next week, while Prospect United SC will welcome back three key players from injury as they host Sydney University SFC in Round Seven.
Western Rage 2-4 Camden Tigers FC
The Western Rage’s search for their first win of the season continued after Camden Tigers FC saw off a comeback at Rydalmere Park to win 4-2.
Camden started brightly as they maintained possession early and created multiple opportunities.
They were rewarded for their play in the 21st minute as Leandro Guzman found himself in space on the left outside the box before he cut inside and fired a long-range shot into the top-left corner of the net.
Camden continued their positive play after that as Guzman found himself in a prime position to shoot again; he found the top-left corner of the net again to double Camden’s lead.
However, complacency from Camden combined with good play for Western Rage saw them pull a goal back.
A long ball to Jad Moussa in behind the Camden defence allowed him to be one-on-one with Michael O’Rourke before he slotted the ball home.
Camden did not react well to that goal as they held the ball well but failed to threaten in attack.
The Rage capitalised in the 45th minute as Daniel Bortolazzo played a pass to Charlie Noujaim who tapped the ball home to level the scores before half-time.
Camden made a change at the break and started the second half on the front foot.
They were rewarded for their opportunities in the 60th minute when Marko Filipovic played Francesco Giannetto in behind the Rage defence.
He found himself one-on-one with the Rage goalkeeper before he neatly finished off the play as the ball found the bottom-right corner of the goal.
Camden lifted after that third goal and maintained possession.
In the 85th minute, the scoring was complete after Liam Gregory made an individual run down the right before he cut the ball back into the box for Brendan Lane to score, as the Tigers beat the Rage 4-2.
Western Rage will hope to win their first match of the season as they travel to face Parramatta FC, while Camden Tigers FC host Inner West Hawks FC in the next round.
South Coast Flame FC 1-3 Sydney University SFC
Sydney University claimed their first win since Round One as they ended South Coast Flame’s unbeaten start to the season courtesy of a 3-1 win away.
Both sides started the match with good attacking intent as Sydney University’s Jethro Thornton unleashed a powerful shot after three minutes which was saved well by Seiya Miyamoto.
In the 12th minute, Jasper Sarkies produced two high quality saves for University as he denied Adam Voloder from close range and Flame captain James Baldacchino from a corner.
Ryan Chard then misses a close chance from a corner as his flick-on fell just wide of the University goal.
After 20 minutes, Flame’s Chang Gyun Yoo fired a shot just wide before Thornton had another effort which hit the crossbar.
In the 30th minute, Mamady Conde and James Reed combined well for University inside the box before the latter fired an effort over the bar from ten yards out.
After a period of high pressure, the Flame took the lead after 36 minutes through Voloder.
He was found with a ball on the left flank as he mesmerised his defender before he cut inside and curled a shot into the top corner of the net.
University responded well, however, as Reed forced an acrobatic save from Miyamoto.
A minute later, Miyamoto saved a one-on-one effort from Thornton.
With the last kick of the half, a high cross was played into the box before it was fumbled by Miyamoto as Caelan Hinckson levelled the scores.
In a game of two halves, University came out for the second half strong.
The complexion of the match changed after Jackson Fredericks latched onto a long ball and took a touch before he found the back of the net with his effort; University led 2-1.
In the 57th minute, the Flame thought they had found the equaliser through Benjamin Caroutas but he was ruled offside in the build-up.
Two minutes later, Brett Wilson finished from close range to ensure University took home all three points.
The Flame tried to get back into the match late as Matthew Mazevski had a long-range effort which Sarkies tipped over the bar, as University won 3-1.
South Coast Flame FC will look to bounce back from their first loss as they travel to face Bankstown United FC, while Sydney University SFC will hope to continue their momentum away to Prospect United SC.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Writer, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
