Round 18 Review – League Two Men’s
Round Eighteen of the 2023 Football New South Wales League Two Men’s season saw the battle in the top half take another turn as the lead at the top extended to four points.
The Match of the Round saw Nepean FC put away Hawkesbury City FC in a clinical display, while elsewhere Bankstown United FC upset the top-two chasing Newcastle Jets.
Following that, Prospect United SC continued their unbeaten run as they held out against Parramatta FC for victory, before UNSW FC caught out Camden Tigers FC for their victory, while Hurstville FC and Inner West Hawks FC could not be separated.
The following day, Fraser Park FC held out late as they defeated South Coast Flame FC, while the Western Rage continued to show their fight in a high-scoring draw at home to Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Sydney University SFC had a bye this round.
Friday, 2nd June 2023
Match of the Round: Hawkesbury City FC 0-4 Nepean FC
Nepean FC were at their clinical best and kept their push for the top two powering forward as they beat Hawkesbury City FC 4-0 in front of a vocal crowd at David Bertenshaw Field.
Hawkesbury headed into the match in 14th place, while Nepean were 3rd; with local Hawkesbury commentary in attendance, the crowd had all the excitement they needed from the two commentators on a cold night.
Nepean kicked from left to right in the first half and were safe from an early free kick, before Hawkesbury’s Marco Turpeinen was offside early as he tried to get in behind the Nepean defence in an early show of his speed.
The first shot came in the 5th minute when Leonard Abdo played a ball into the box from the right for Nepean; Rory McGeown got on the end of it but sent the ball wide of the left-hand post on the half-volley.
Nepean pinned Hawkesbury back and a minute later, Abdo got on the end of a cross into the box from the left, into the corridor of uncertainty, as he headed the ball just wide of the left-hand post for Nepean.
From there, Hawkesbury started to press well to stop Nepean from playing out from the back.
Turpeinen had a first-time right-footed shot from just outside the box for Hawkesbury a few minutes later, which was saved well by the diving Nepean goalkeeper, Justin Biega, to his left.
Hawkesbury started to control possession for the next period of play following the opening minutes.
The Hawks continued to pressure Nepean with another shot which went over the goal, before Harry Drew tried a low drive for Hawkesbury, which went powerfully out for a goal kick.
The Hawkesbury defence held strong from a Nepean free kick, while Nepean defended well up the other end as Richard Stewart stopped a Hawkesbury counterattack.
Vincent D’Ermilio was played in behind in the 21st minute for Hawkesbury and took a shot which was deflected behind for a corner over the crossbar.
A minute later, the Hawks’ Gregory Kondek struck the ball wide of the left-hand post off a volley after the ball was played in on the edge of the area.
Good pressure from the Hawks’ players won possession back for the hosts.
However, in the 23rd minute, Nepean suffered an injury blow as Edward Stewart came off injured after he put in a last-ditch tackle to stop Turpeinen from getting in behind into the box; Matthew Crossley came on to replace him.
A few minutes later, D’Ermilio had back-to-back chances to create danger in the box; a run down the right followed by a cross into the middle was cleared for a corner, before a dangerous ball from him into the box took a touch as Biega cleared for Nepean.
However, following that period of Hawkesbury pressure, the opening goal came at the other end in the 28th minute.
Mitchell King made a strong run down the right flank for Nepean as he beat his man; his deflected right-footed cross following looped into the air.
Nepean substitute Crossley found space inside the box and headed the ball towards goal; it found the back of the net as the away fans erupted in applause.
Nepean took the 1-0 lead; the crowd came to life following that goal as the fog rolled in, which obstructed the vision at the ground.
Nepean were dangerous down the right flank as they continued to take Hawks players on and launch crosses into the box.
Richard Stewart had a header which went over the bar in the 32nd minute, while three minutes later Hawkesbury were denied a goal at the other end by a spectacular diving Biega save to his right, following a D’Ermilio break and a Hawks’ first-time shot.
Hawkesbury kept pressing well to win the ball high up the field; Stuart Gosling was a threat for the Hawks down the left as he continued his raid.
There was a little flashpoint in the match in the 39th minute as the crowd tried to entice the players from both sides to fire up.
Nepean were the quickest to react from a free kick from well within their own half; Luka Zepina shrugged off two defenders and used his pace and strength to get on the end of the ball forward.
He set himself up on the left-hand side of the goal inside the box and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner with his left foot to double Nepean lead before half-time, 2-0.
Two minutes later, at the other end, a shot from Gregory Kondek just dipped over the crossbar as the crowd ooo’d in excitement.
Strong defending from Hawkesbury on a Nepean counter kept them out again as the visitors asserted their dominance in the match; their dominance showed in the final minute of the first half.
Following a scramble in and around the box from a Nepean attacking corner, the ball fell to Crossley on the right inside the box, around ten yards from goal.
He took a powerful right-footed strike at goal, which evaded all the Hawks’ defenders crowding inside the box and past Hawks’ goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer into the back of the net as Crossley claimed his double.
The crowd erupted with applause from the Nepean fans, while the Hawks fans awaited the half-time whistle; that was the last meaningful action of the first half as the referee called for half-time following one minute of stoppage time.
Nepean FC took a 3-0 lead into the break and looked to claim victory following the break.
The visitors countered again in the 48th minute, which was stopped by a crucial D’Ermilio tackle.
Nepean also attacked from set pieces, as a header from a corner was gathered by Schwarzer under his crossbar.
The Hawkesbury defence held strong to stop multiple Nepean counterattacks.
Nepean’s Andre Cavallaro got on the end of a ball played in behind on a counter and fired a shot towards goal which was saved by Schwarzer.
Zepina also had a chance for Nepean from a free kick, but his header went powerfully over the crossbar as Hawkesbury held in the match.
The fog was hovering above the field as the match progressed and visibility became harder.
D’Ermilio and Drew had chances for Hawkesbury in quick succession; the latter’s attempt from a break was blocked in the box by a Nepean player as the crowd yelled “HANDBALL” to no avail.
In the 64th minute, a Nepean free kick launched into the box from the left flashed across the face of goal; no Nepean player was able to get on the end of it.
D’Ermilio was a menace in attack for Hawkesbury down the right in the match.
In the 68th minute, a long shot for Hawkesbury from Drew went over the crossbar, while a minute later Nepean had a shot in the box on the right which grazed the outside netting as the away fans almost cheered for a goal.
Fresh off the bench, Hawkesbury’s Kai Mcloughlin had a long shot following a strong play down the right which went straight into Biega’s gloves.
In the 76th minute, Declan Cotter, also right off the bench, had a long shot from 25 yards which fizzed just wide of the box following a penalty claim in the box for Hawkesbury.
The crowd was vocal for both sides the whole night; the Hawkesbury kids were on the fence cheering on their side for a goal late as the hosts made a double change.
However, a minute later, Nepean continued their dominance in the match with another goal, themselves.
Following an attack down the left edge, a ball launched into the mixer was met with a failed clearance by Hawkesbury.
Cavallaro was there on the rebound to slot the ball home for Nepean; his right-footed shot found the back of the net as Nepean showed their dominance in the match.
Nepean continued to push for goals as a shot from King went over the crossbar, before Nepean had the ball in the back of the net before the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
Nepean hit the outside of the right-hand post in the 88th minute through Abdo, while in stoppage time Schwarzer denied Nepean a fifth as he shifted quickly from his right to his left to deny a Nepean first-time shot.
Drew had the final say in the match with a shot from outside the box for Hawkesbury, which fizzed wide of the right-hand post.
Following the shot, the referee blew the whistle to signal full-time to rapturous applause from the away fans.
Despite Hawkesbury periods of possession and chances, Nepean had proved too strong and clinical with their opportunities as they claimed a 4-0 away victory.
Speaking post-match, Hawkesbury head coach Dean Bertenshaw said the scoreline did not reflect the match as a whole.
“Nepean got their chances and had a pretty high completion rate of scoring them, where we were unable to do that.”
Speaking on the crowd which came out to support both sides, Bertenshaw said it is great to have the people in the area who support the football.
“We have not been able to pay them back with what I would call our usual results, so hopefully that is going to change in the future.”
Bertenshaw said one pleasing aspect is the number of minutes the younger players are able to get, which will help them moving forward.
“We had three boys under 23 in the backline again, tonight, and starting matches, which is important… given time to learn from their mistakes and keep going, which is only good for the future.”
Nepean FC head coach, Steven Appleby, gave credit to Hawkesbury for the way they hung in the match and came out in the second half.
“We got the three goals in the first half which really sort of killed off the game, but full credit to Hawkesbury, they came out strong in the first 15 minutes of the second half, which was fair play to them, they did well there, put us under a bit of pressure.”
Speaking on Crossley, who came on early in the match and scored two goal, Appleby said he did a fantastic job and spoke on the mentalitiy of the team.
“The boys have been fantastic in training; our numbers have been reduced but they are getting on with it, they are listening to what we are doing and we are happy.”
Appleby, a former defender himself, said the most pleasing aspect of the night for Nepean was the clean sheet, but the most important thing was getting the three points.
“The last two weeks have not been good… tonight was important that we got the win.”
The win moved Nepean within three points of the second-placed Newcastle Jets, while the gap between Hawkesbury and last place was reduced to one point following the defeat.
Hawkesbury City FC will look to avoid dropping to last place as they host the 15th-placed Western Rage in an important clash, while Nepean will hope to continue their push towards the top two as they host Fraser Park FC in Round Nineteen.
Bankstown United FC 2-1 Newcastle Jets
There was a twist near the top of the table as Bankstown United FC came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over the high-flying Newcastle Jets.
The Jets took the very early lead as they scored just after the 60 second mark through Xavier Bertoncello.
For the goal, the Jets made their way to the byline and cut the ball back into the corridor of uncertainty inside the box.
The ball flew shin height towards Bertoncello inside the six-yard box, who was clinical with his finish with defenders all around him.
The Jets dominated the first 15 minutes of the half and had a few half-chances to score a second goal which they did not take.
Bankstown were determined, however, and held their shape well as they got back into the match; they defended higher up the pitch and had better field position.
Their play was rewarded with a goal in the 15th minute through Corey Freeman; a ball was played to Mitchell Cross, who held the ball up and sent Freeman in behind.
Freeman had a defender on him as the Jets’ goalkeeper, Ryan Furness, came to the edge of the box; Freeman turned them both and slotted the ball home from inside the box to level the score at 1-1.
Bankstown gained confidence from the goal, while the Jets continued to hold the ball.
With five players rotating up front for the Jets in a strong rotation with their midfield, Bankstown held on and scored a second goal in the 29th minute to take the lead.
Ali Nasreddine won the ball at left-back and played the ball into midfield in a one-two; he beat his man, playedd the ball into Cross and continued his diagonal run.
Cros gave Nasreddine the ball before he crossed the ball in for Marie Gauthier; from just outside the six-yard box, Gauthier slotted the ball home while he held off two defenders; Bankstown led 2-1.
Following the goal, the match was tight in a midfield battle until the end of the half.
Just after half-time, Bankstown hit the crossbar through a Mitchell Edmunds strike, while they had another goal from Cross disallowed for offside.
Bankstown’s good 15-minute spell led to another chance for Cross, before the Jets turned up the heat for the remained of the match as they threw men forward.
The Jets’ best chance of the half came at the end when a cross from the left found an unmarked player on the far post, who hit his shot wide.
Bankstown rode their luck at the end not to concede, while the Jets had a shout for a penalty waved away with 15 minutes to go.
Naturally midfielders, Raimond Coletta and Josh Gersbach played in defence due to injuries in the squad and put in a good, organised shift as they held out the Jets.
In the end, Bankstown were tough and resilient as they held on for a big 2-1 victory over one of the top sides in the competition; they remained unbeaten in their two fixtures against them this season.
The win kept Bankstown in the mix for the top six in 9th-place, while the loss kept the pressure on the Jets as they fell to four points behind 1st-placed UNSW FC, while 3rd-Nepean FC moved within three points of them.
Bankstown United FC will hope to knock off the top club in UNSW FC next week when they host them, while the Newcastle Jets will hope to claw back at UNSW FC as they make the tough away trip to face Camden Tigers FC.
Saturday, 3rd June 2023
Parramatta FC 0-1 Prospect United SC
Parramatta fell to a third-straight loss, while Prospect United SC did the league double over the hosts and continued their charge up the top half of the table as they came away with a 1-0 away win.
In a battle of attrition, Parramatta only had 11 fit first-grade players; six under-20s played in the match who had not played in first-grade before this season.
Parramatta had chances throughout the match; head coach Luis Contigiani said the lack of quality and composure in front of goal cost them.
Abdullatif Ghazal hit a shot straight at Prospect goalkeeper Jackson Jarnet in the first half in a one-on-one.
Both sides tried to play good attacking football in the match.
Without their top goal scorer Marco Sama, who is out injured for the rest of the season, Parramatta are missing his quality up front.
Prospect have injuries, themselves, and players looked a little flat on the ball due to their big minutes recently.
Rhys Osmond had two strikes in the first half which went over the bar as the sides entered the sheds level at half-time, 0-0.
Parramatta had three clear cut chances in the match but could not convert.
In the second half, Abdul Aljabery misqued his shot for Parramatta when one-on-one with Jarnet.
Prospect’s goal came in the 75th minute; Parramatta lacked composure on the ball and the urgency to clear the ball.
A Parramatta player delayed his decision on what to do in possession; Prospect pressed and won the ball.
A shot following that from Dimos Vlachos just inside the box was parried as Prospect’s Tallon Zahra reacted quickest and scored.
The Parramatta players tried hard under the circumstances but were unable to find a goal; the loss of many players meant they lacked the quality and depth up front.
Prospect held on in the end to claim an important 1-0 victory away from home.
The loss for Parramatta kept them in 10th but moved them three points behind Bankstown United FC in 9th, while the win for Prospect moved them four points clear of 5th-placed South Coast Flame FC and put them level on points with 3rd-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Parramatta will have the week off with the bye in Round Nineteen, while Prospect United SC will hope to continue their push for the top places as they host Hurstville FC.
UNSW FC 2-1 Camden Tigers FC
UNSW FC moved four points clear of the Newcastle Jets in first place on the ladder as they did the league double over Camden Tigers FC with a 2-1 home victory.
The Tigers started strong but UNSW caught them on a few transition moments.
Camden switched off in the 12th minute and expected a ball forward from UNSW to go out for a goal-kick.
Mathias Da Silva Santos and Max Mcalpine did well to keep the ball in before the latter cut the ball back into the box.
The cutback found the competition’s top goal scorer, Kevin Lopes, who slotted the ball home from six yards to grab his 14th goal of the season and give UNSW a 1-0 lead in the first half.
UNSW had the ascendancy in the match in the ten minutes following their goal.
The Tigers hit back in the 24th minute, however, after they won the ball down their right; a ball was then played to a Tigers striker, who held the ball up well.
He played the ball to Leandro Guzman, who hit a rocket of a shot with his left foot into the back of the net to level the score at 1-1.
A back-and-forth last 20 minutes of the match led to attacks from both sides, but both teams entered the sheds level at the break.
UNSW came out firing in the second half and retook the lead in the 50th minute.
From a quick UNSW free kick, the Tigers switched off as a through ball was played from Mitchell Mattison to Jack Fulton; he drilled the ball past Tigers’ goalkeeper Michael O’Rourke and gave UNSW a 2-1 lead.
The Tigers were slow in transition and had an up and down last 30 minutes of the match, where they created a few chances to equalise.
The Tigers pushed and almost scored another equaliser through Bailey Simpson, but his shot was saved strongly by UNSW goalkeeper, Luke Del Vecchio; UNSW held on in the end to claim the 2-1 victory.
Camden fought well in the match and will be confident from their performance to take on other teams in the league.
The win moved UNSW four points clear of the Newcastle Jets in 1st-place, while Camden moved down to 12th-place following the defeat.
UNSW FC will hope to further improve their position at the top of the league as they travel to face Bankstown United FC, while Camden Tigers FC will hope to take the fight to the Newcastle Jets as they host them next week.
Hurstville FC 0-0 Inner West Hawks FC
Neither Hurstville FC nor Inner West Hawks FC could find the breakthrough as the two sides settled for a 0-0 draw at Penshurst Park in their second stalemate against each other this season.
In an even start, the Hawks tried to catch Hurstville off guard with ball in behind down their left.
Hurstville kept possession but were wasteful in the final third; there were not many chances from either side in the first half.
However, the Hawks had a scramble from a corner, while Hurstville had multiple cut backs and crosses which were cleared.
Hurstville’s best chance of the half came from link-up play between Jesse Gagro and Paul Bittar, but the latter could not convert his chance.
In the second half, the Hawks waited for Hurstville errors so they could hit them on transition.
The Hawks sat back and defended with five at the back; the three centre-halves of Matthew Paras, Sidhya Malhotra and Marcus Naoum, who came on for the injured Christopher Phillips, frustrated Hurstville.
The hosts turned the ball over as they rushed their play; they could have created more chances with the possession they had.
The Hawks, meanwhile, had a chance from a free kick from Peter Yannopoulos, while Casper Liu also got in behind Hurstville a few times to no avail.
Jesse Gagro was played through on a one-on-one by his brother, captain Paul, but Jesse’s shot was saved by Hawks’ goalkeeper Shunsuke Sugiura with his foot.
Sam Notarangelo had a chance for Hurstville with five minutes to go in the match after Stipe Simundic cross the ball to him, but he hit the ball over the bar from in front of goal.
In an even match with limited chances, both sides had to settle for the 0-0 draw.
The result kept Hurstville in 8th-place, while the Hawks moved up one spot into 11th on the ladder.
Hurstville FC will look for a first win in five matches as they travel to face the high-flying Prospect United SC, while Inner West Hawks FC will hope to go four matches unbeaten as they host South Coast Flame FC next week.
Sunday, 4th June 2023
Fraser Park FC 1-0 South Coast Flame FC
Fraser Park FC responded to their worst defeat of the season and broke a five-match winless streak as they came away 1-0 winners at home over South Coast Flame FC.
It was a positive start from both teams and in the 2nd minute, a Flame corner saw James Baldacchino head the ball across goal before Fraser Park’s Hayato Sadamori headed the ball off the line.
A few minutes later, an Alexander Alston cross found Jayden Smileski on the far post; he found Adam Voloder with a header who put his header over the bar from close range under pressure.
In the 9th minute, Alexander Nicolosi had the ball in the back of the net for Fraser Park, but the flag was up for offside.
Fraser Park’s Samuel Paslis free kick on 16 minutes was parried by Flame goalkeeper, Seiya Miyamoto; Shu Torihara followed through with a header on goal which forced Miyamoto into a double save to deny the hosts.
In the 28th minute, the deadlock in the match was broken through Samuel Shepherd.
He went on a weaving run as a ball bounced off a defender and into his path; he dispatched his shot past Miyamoto and gave Fraser Park a 1-0 lead.
Just before half-time, Flame’s Chang Gyun Yoo clipped the outside of the Fraser Park post from range with a powerful effort as the hosts took a 1-0 lead into the break.
In the second half, Fraser Park had the first opportunity to score through Nicolosi who had a shot from just outside the box which went over the bar.
In the 73rd minute, Flame’s Matthew Mazevski let fly a powerful shot from 25 yards; it cannoned off the underside of the crossbar, but did not cross the goal line, before was cleared away.
The Flame pressed for the equaliser, which opened the match for Fraser Park to counterattack.
Nicolosi forced Miyamoto into another save with his left before Shepherd missed a good opportunity to seal the result as he blasted his effort over the goal.
In the 85th minute, Fraser Park were reduced to 10 men when Alexander Euripidou was sent off with a straight red card after a harsh challenge on Alexander Alson.
The Flame had one last chance at the end to try and earn a point; Mazevski’s free kick cleared the Fraser Park wall and forced Patrick Ferrara into a good save to deny the visitors.
Fraser Park held on in the end with 10 men to claim the victory, 1-0.
The win moved Fraser Park into 7th-place, while the defeat saw the Flame stay in 6th-place, one point ahead of Fraser Park.
Fraser Park FC will hope to push on as they travel to face Nepean FC next week, while the Flame will search for a first win in eight matches as they travel to face Inner West Hawks FC.
Western Rage 3-3 Gladesville Ryde Magic
The final match of the weekend saw a six-goal thriller; the Western Rage came from behind twice to grab a 3-3 draw with Gladesville Ryde Magic at Rydalmere Park.
The Rage were on top for the opening 20 minutes of the match; they closed the Magic down well and forced mistakes.
Jad Moussa had a one-on-one chance for the Rage; Magic goalkeeper Kiriakos Tohouroglou saved well to deny him.
Brent Flavin had a one-on-one a few minutes later but shot wide of the left post.
Timothy Borg-Williams also had a one-on-one for the Rage, but his left-footed shot went over the crossbar.
From there, the Magic worked their way into the match, but few chances followed.
However, in a strong 5-10 minute period for the Magic, they scored in the 33rd minute through 17-year-old Stefan Baker, who smashed the ball into the top-right corner following a good ball from David Ustimenko.
The Magic scored their second just three minutes later; Baliey Stevens led the counterattack for the Flame after a three-on-three.
The Rage were rattled as this was not common for them to concede like that; the Magic controlled the match.
However, in the last few minutes of the half, the Rage midfield of Declan Monro and Timothy Trainor worked a through ball to Jad Moussa, who sent the ball wide to Flavin.
His shot hit the crossbar, before the ball fell to Jacob Carluccio; he dummied in the box and was fouled for a penalty.
In first-half stoppage time, Flavin stuttered and slotted the penalty into the corner of the goal to make the score 2-1 to the Magic at half-time.
Adrian Razov played his first match in a long time for the Rage; he played 45 minutes at centre-half for the Rage and put in some important tackles to deny the Magic some chances in the first half before he was substituted at half-time.
The Rage lifted at the start of the second half and off a throw-in, Borg-Williams played the ball to Jason Najdovski, who crossed the ball into the box.
A header back across goal found Flavin, who smashed the ball into the back of the net to give the Rage the equaliser, 2-2.
The Magic pushed and had a chance to score when Ustimenko set up Baker again, but the latter’s shot went wide.
However, the Magic retook the lead in the 79th minute from a free kick.
Chris Gaitatzis curled the free kick towards the back post when the ball was headed into the back of the net by Kohki Hiyaoka to give the Magic a 3-2 lead late.
The Magic sat back following that goal; however, the Rage players showed character and pushed until the end.
Borg-Williams had a header for the Rage, which was saved by Miyamoto, while the match was end-to-end with chances both ways.
However, in the third minute of stoppage time, the Rage resilience paid off.
From an attacking corner, a ball was whipped into the box by the Rage; it was met with a powerful header by Borg-Williams, who got a goal he deserved for his hard work in the last action of the half to give the Rage a late draw.
It was the first time this season the Rage have scored three goals in a single match.
The draw moved Gladesville down one spot to 4th-place, while it helped the Rage close the gap on Hawkesbury City FC, who sit 14th, to two points.
The Western Rage will hope to go five matches unbeaten next week and move off the bottom of the ladder as they travel to face Hawkesbury City FC next week in a crucial clash, while Gladesville Ryde Magic will hope to claim victory as they travel to face Sydney University SFC in Round Nineteen.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Writer, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
