Round 24 Review – League Two Men’s
The Football New South Wales League Two Men’s season reached 80% completion this week in Round 24 with the top teams flexing their muscles as the race for the top two continued.
The Match of the Round this week saw Gladesville Ryde Magic get back to winning ways in style at home against Hurstville FC thanks to a strong second half.
Earlier, Nepean FC put in a five-star performance at home to Camden Tigers FC, Sydney University SFC and Fraser Park FC could not be separated, which was followed by Parramatta FC’s crucial win away to Inner West Hawks FC.
Elsewhere, the Newcastle Jets’ long trip down south was rewarded with victory over South Coast Flame FC, extremely late drama saw league-leaders UNSW FC overcome the Western Rage away, and Hawkesbury City FC continued their hot streak with victory away to Prospect United SC.
Bankstown United FC had a bye this round and remained in 5th place.
Saturday, 15th July 2023
Match of the Round: Gladesville Ryde Magic 4-0 Hurstville FC
Christie Park, known as ‘The Arctic Circle,’ saw Gladesville Ryde Magic win their first match in four weeks with a strong 4-0 home victory over Hurstville FC to keep their chances of a top-two finish alive, while the visitors fell to a third-straight loss.
The Magic started strongly and missed a big chance in the opening minute of the match as they showed their intentions early; Davis Ustimenko had crossed the ball to Chrisopher Guyot on the right-hand side, but Guyot’s shot was off target.
The Magic had their first shot on target saved in the 7th minute as they continued to attack early.
They had another shot deflected out for a corner, while at the other end Hurstville had earned a free kick 20 yards from goal on the left of the box.
Jullian Bittar took the free kick, which was collected well down low to his right by Magic goalkeeper, Joshua Sarina.
The next ten minutes were quiet as good defending by the Magic kept Hurstville at bay; the hosts were compact in defence and dealt with the quick feet of the Hurstville attackers well.
In the 27th minute, a left-footed strike from Hurstville captain Paul Gagro off a free kick was blocked away from goal, while at the other end Guyot got on the end of some good play on the right and launched a strong strike inside the box which was saved well down low by Hurstville goalkeeper, Matthew Massarotto.
Seven minutes later, Bittar took a shot direct from a free kick, 25 yards from goal on the right, which went just over the crossbar in a close chance for the visitors.
Paul Gagro and Bittar continued their good combination play down the right side of attack in the 37th minute; Gagro passed the ball to Bittar who fired a shot at goal from 20 yards but the ball flashed across goal away from the left-hand post for Hurstville.
The visitors pressed well high up the field and won the ball back on multiple occasions.
Sarina commanded his box well in the final five minutes of the first half as he collected a dangerous corner, while at the other end a quick Magic attack resulted in a shot which deflected off a Hurstville defender and hit the crossbar as it went behind for a corner.
However, neither side created any clear-cut chances as they ended the first half scoreless.
To start the second half, there was a period of around eight minutes where both teams looked to find their feet, but the Magic had come out the strong of the two sides with the ball.
In the 53rd minute, Kohki Hiyaoka took a heavy touch which sent him away from goal in a good opportunity for the hosts; a goal kick followed.
From that goal kick, David Ustimenko won the ball in midfield and drove down the left flank. He played a short ball to Guyot who cut inside onto his right foot from the left side of the goal outside the box. After steadying himself, he curled the ball into the top-right corner of the goal from the top of the box in a stunning strike which gave the Magic a 1-0 lead to immense celebrations among their players.
However, the Magic’s strong start to the second half did not stop there as they looked for another goal on their next possession.
Just three minutes after the opening goal, Guyot passed the ball to Adrian Johnathan on the right flank, who found himself in a lot of space as he cut inside onto his weaker left foot.
He attempted a weak cross into the box, which wobbled through the air and floated over the top of Massarotto, just dipping under the crossbar into the top-left corner of the goal in a cross-turned-goal. The Magic players erupted in celebration as they had doubled their lead in quickfire fashion to start the second half.
The 2-0 lead was a just reward for the Magic’s start to the second half.
On the hour mark, Hiyaoka and Ustimenko combined as the former crossed to the latter, but Ustimenko could not get good contact of the ball as he headed wide.
Three minutes later, Guyot was involved again as he passed the ball to Hiyaoka, who drove into the box and fired a right-footed shot over the crossbar as the Magic continued their raid.
Hurstville defended well to stop substitute Oscar Felipe Neto Rava from putting a good cross into the box for the Magic.
In the 66th minute, Ustimenko crossed the ball to Hiyaoka from the left into the six-yard-box; Hiyaoka headed home and celebrated but the sideline official had correctly adjudged Hiyaoka to be offside.
A minute later, the Magic continued to attack through Ustimenko, who got in behind off a Hiyaoka ball and ran into the box but fired a shot over the crossbar from close range. He hid in his shirt knowing he could have done better with the effort.
The Magic defence held firm as Hurstville looked for a foothold in the match, but the Magic fired at the other end.
In the 71st minute, Ustimenko made a marauding run down the right flank; he used his speed and stood up a Hurstville defender on that edge.
He passed the ball to Hiyaoka inside the box, who took a good first touch to control and settle the ball, before he feigned to shoot on his right foot and cut back onto his left, which sat the defender in front of him down.
He fired a shot towards goal with his left foot, which flew past the outstretched arms of Massarotto into the bottom-right corner of the goal in a superb show of skill and composure; the Magic had the match wrapped up at 3-0 with 20 minutes to go.
Hurstville held the ball well following the third goal and that led to a calmer period in the match where the Magic were happy to sit off the visitors.
In the 79th minute, a Hurstville shot went over the crossbar while Sarina marshalled the young defence in front of him to help limit the Hurstville opportunities.
Hurstville fired wide from a long shot three minutes later, while at the other end a Magic header from a corner went just wide of the right-hand post.
Hurstville had another shot from outside the box which powered wide in the 86th minute, but there was one final goal to come in the match.
In the 89th minute, Magic substitute Munya Muchemwa received the ball from Guyot on the right after a quick attack down the field.
He had a lot of space inside the Hurstville penalty box and worked the ball onto his left foot; he took a shot at the near post, which snuck under Massarotto and into the back of the net.
The Magic had a fourth goal, further asserting their dominance in the match.
After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to signal full-time; the Magic powered on with a strong 4-0 home victory over Hurstville.
Speaking post-match, the Man of the Match with one goal and two assists, 17-year-old Christopher Guyot, said the Magic had spoken at half-time about how to take advantage of Hurstville in the match through limiting their own turnovers.
“If we get the ball, can we keep it? First pass, second pass, can we do our plans?”
Guyot spoke on how his side caught out Hurstville off their mistakes throughout the match and kept them out at the other end.
“We punished their mistakes, which was good, we caught them out, especially in the wide areas… my boy Tyler [Frost], my right-back… and Josh [Sarina] in goal, kept his first clean sheet today, which was good.”
Speaking on his goal and two assist, Guyot was happy with his goal and proud of the work his teammates put in for their other goals; he smiled as he gave his answer.
“Edge of the box, you are playing No.10, you do what you have got to do… it was good from the boys to be clinical today against a team that beat us last time.”
Meanwhile, Hurstville captain Paul Gagro knew where his team won and lost that match.
“We just lacked the final pass, but we got into their box heaps of times, [but] the second half was a disaster, we did not execute what we wanted to do and made way too many errors.”
He spoke on how the nature of the goals they conceded and how they can improve.
“All their goals came from our mistakes which is disappointing.”
Gagro was stark in his assessment of the match.
“We did not execute and deserve to lose.”
The win kept the Magic in 4th, five points behind the 3rd-placed Newcastle Jets, while the loss moved Hurstville down to 9th.
Gladesville Ryde Magic will hope to keep pace with the top two and build some momentum as they make the tough away trip to face 10th-placed Camden Tigers FC next week, while Hurstville FC will hope to respond at home to the bottom-placed Western Rage in Round Twenty-Five.
Friday, 14th July 2023
Nepean FC 5-0 Camden Tigers FC
Nepean FC moved to eight matches unbeaten after a five-star performance in their 5-0 win at home over Camden Tigers FC at Wanderers Football Park, whose three-match unbeaten run ended.
Camden started the match strongly as they forced Nepean goalkeeper Justin Biega into a few strong one-handed saves early on.
One of those saves was from a Brendon Lane strike from close range, while the other was from a Jayden Russell header.
However, following a strong opening period from the Tigers, Nepean took the lead in the 16th minute through the in-form Lachlan Sepping,
He countered from just outside Nepean’s 18-yard-box and scored past Tigers’ goalkeeper, Evan Martin, to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead, which followed into half-time.
In the second half, Nepean started the stronger of the two sides and scored in the 48th minute through Nepean’s top goal scorer, Mathew Crossley.
From there, the Tigers could not manage the match and turned the ball over on many occasions; they could not hold their shape as they chased the match.
In the 64th minute, Luke Zepina found the back of the net as the Tigers opened up.
The home side wrapped up their performance in style late against a Tigers side desperate for a goal as Harrison Fox scored in the 86th minute, while two minutes later Sepping picked up his double to seal the 5-0 win.
Jayden Russell hit the post for the Tigers in their closest attempt late in the match, but they were unable to find a goal on the night.
The win kept the pressure on UNSW FC in first place as Nepean maintained their second-place spot on the ladder, while for Camden the loss dropped them to 10th place.
Nepean face a very tough task in the team chasing them in the battle for the title next week as they travel to face the 3rd-placed Newcastle Jets away from home, who are only one point behind them in a genuine promotion six-pointer, while Camden Tigers FC will hope to bounce back at home to 4th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Saturday, 15th July 2023
Sydney University SFC 0-0 Fraser Park FC
Neither Sydney University SFC and Fraser Park FC at the University Ground as the two sides responded to defeats last week with a scoreless draw.
University started well, held the ball early on and had good field position but were unable to create any clear-cut chances against the Fraser Park defence.
The students did have one good chance in the first half but were unable to convert.
Fraser Park, meanwhile, looked to hit Uni on the counter but the students pressed well to force turnovers or force Fraser Park into playing long balls out of defence; Fraser Park looked to cause issues for Uni down their left flank in attack.
In the second half, Fraser Park were better on the ball, while Uni looked to play through the visitors’ press, which they did on multiple occasions, but were unable to create any clear-cut chances from that.
Fraser Park started to create a few chances and had a lot of opportunities in the final 20 minutes.
There were a few half chances for both sides and a few shouts for handball, but Uni were unable to find the finishing touch in the Fraser Park box.
On his first-grade debut, Seisa Melbourne almost scored the winner after Samuel Shepherd beat his man on the right and crossed the ball in for him, but Melbourne’s effort was cleared off the goal line by the Uni defence.
Shepherd also created a chance when he crossed the ball into the box for Melbourne, who backheeled the ball into Uni goalkeeper, Jasper Sarkies, hands.
The last chance of the match fell to Fraser Park as Shu Torihara crossed the ball to Shepherd, who headed the ball over the Uni crossbar late.
Despite a few good chances at both ends for both sides, neither were able to find the breakthrough as the match ended 0-0.
The draw kept Fraser Park in 7th place and moved them to four points behind 6th-placed Prospect United SC and 5th-placed Bankstown United FC respectively, while Uni dropped to 12th-place, level with 13th-placed Parramatta FC on 24 points and one point behind 11th-placed Hawkesbury City FC.
Sydney University SFC will look to return to winning ways in the derby match against ladder-leaders UNSW FC next week, where the two sides will compete for the annual Kennard Cup, while Fraser Park FC will look for a first win in four matches as they play a catch-up match on Tuesday, 18th July away to Prospect United SC, before they host 14th-placed Inner West Hawks FC next week.
Inner West Hawks FC 0-2 Parramatta FC
Parramatta FC picked up back-to-back wins for only the second time this season as they overcame Inner West Hawks FC 2-0 at Arlington Oval in the battle of the birds.
The visitors hit the lead early in the 7th minute; a rocket of a shot, 30 yards from goal off the left side was powered in at the near post by Tacettin Kumsuz as Parramatta looked to build straight off their victory last week.
The Hawks tried to circulate the ball to respond to their early setback, but the Parramatta backline shifted quickly to deal with Hawks balls over the top of the Parramatta defence.
Hassan Abudareb played well in the first half, controlling his part of the pitch as Parramatta took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
In the second half, the Hawks had a lot of the ball while zonal marking from Parramatta ensured the Hawks could not find space around their box.
Parramatta kept the ball well in the final third, which is something they have been working on as an area to improve lately.
Then, in the 70th minute, Parramatta found the second goal that wrapped up the match.
Muamer Mesanovic crossed the ball high into the box direct from a free-kick and Parramatta captain Blake Steward scored with a header to double the visitors’ advantage late in the match.
From there, the Hawks attacked a lot, but Parramatta weathered the Hawks’ storm in the final 15 minutes, which included attempts from set pieces.
Parramatta combated the Hawks’ back three well to cause them problems, while the Hawks tried to overload and play through Parramatta, but the Eagles’ zonal marking stopped them.
16-year-old Noorulah Afzaly took a good shot late for Parramatta from outside the 18-yard-box, which was parried by Hawks’ goalkeeper, Shunsuke Sugiura, while Ethan Kerak missed a one-on-one chance for Parramatta late.
In the end, Parramatta found the two goals which ensured a league double over the Hawks in a 2-0 win.
The win kept Parramatta in 13th place but put a four-point gap between them and the Hawks, who stayed 14th and fell to six matches without a win.
Parramatta FC will look for a third-straight win for the second time this season as they host the high-flying 5th-placed Bankstown United FC, while Inner West Hawks FC will hope to stop their fall as they travel to face 7th-placed Fraser Park FC.
South Coast Flame FC 0-3 Newcastle Jets
The Newcastle Jets picked up an important victory in the longest away trip in the league as they defeated the struggling South Coast Flame FC 3-0 at Sir Ian McLennan Oval.
The Flame had an early chance when Benjamin Caroutas picked out Adam Voloder, but his left-footed shot went straight into the arms of Jets’ goalkeeper and captain, Noah James.
In the 15th minute, the Jets broke down the Flame defence through a weaving Ezra Palombini run into the box. The ball fell to Ben Van Dorssen who had two back-to-back shots blocked and saved by the Flame.
Ten minutes later, the Jets’ Jacob Dowse swung a cross into the box, but Flame captain James Baldacchino headed the ball away.
Two minutes later, the Jets threatened again as Dowse put another ball across goal, which just evaded Xavier Bertoncello.
The Jets continued to attack as Bertoncello brought down a long ball and volleyed an effort just wide of the Flame goal.
However, the Jets’ pressure told in the 32nd minute as Dowse broke free and fired the ball past Flame goalkeeper, Ruon Nakamura, which rebounded off the post and fell straight to Bertoncello, who reacted quickly and slotted home the rebound to give the Jets a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, a back-pass was intercepted by Bertoncello, before he drew out Nakamura and squared the ball to Ezra Palombini, who scored a tap in at the back post to give the Jets a 2-0 lead.
The Flame looked to fire back following a failed Jets clearance through Cody Waller, but his effort just before half-time went wide of the post.
In the second half, the result was wrapped up in the 53rd minute when Bertoncello passed the ball well to half-time substitute Adam Zervas, who fired the ball into the back of the net from 30 yards to give the Jets a 3-0 lead.
The Flame continued to battle on, however, as Adam Voloder had a left-footed shot saved well by James on the hour mark.
In the 75th minute, Jacob Gjorsevki found space on the edge of the box and curled a shot towards the corner of the goal, but James pulled off a strong one-handed save to deny the Flame once again.
Five minutes later, Samuel Alston stung the hands of James with a shot as the Jets held off waves of Flame attacks late.
In the last moments of the match, Ryan Chard was on hand following a spilled attempted claim from James, but Chard put the ball over the crossbar from a few yards from goal with his reaction shot.
The Jets held firm to secure the three points in the gruelling away trip, 3-0.
The result ensured the Jets kept pace with the teams around them as they maintained 3rd spot, while the Flame fell to a fourth-straight loss and moved to twelve matches without a win as they stayed in 8th place.
The Newcastle Jets host 2nd-placed Nepean FC next week in a crucial battle for both teams’ title chances, while the Flame will hope to end their fall as they travel to face the in-form Hawkesbury City FC.
Western Rage 4-5 UNSW FC
The equal-highest-scoring match of the season saw late drama as league leaders UNSW FC scored two goals in the dying moments to secure a 5-4 away win over the bottom-placed Western Rage at Rydalmere Park.
The team at the bottom of the league shocked the league leaders early as Jad Moussa scored in the 3rd minute to give the hosts the early advantage in the match.
Moussa picked up his second goal just nine minutes later as the biggest upset of the season looked to be on the cards for the hosts.
However, UNSW’s Sean Woods pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 23rd minute on his starting debut after he slotted home a one-on-one chance.
Following that, the league’s top goal scorer, Kevin Lopes, ensured the sides went into half-time level at 2-2 after he volleyed the ball home from a Jack Fulton cross.
The Rage came out firing in the second half and scored in the opening minute through Daniel Cooper as they retook the lead, 3-2.
The Rage fired again just seven minutes later as Moussa completed his hat-trick to give the Rage a 4-2 lead.
However, the lead was cut to one goal again just three minutes later in a frantic match as Lopes scored with a header from a second ball off an attacking corner to reduce the deficit to 4-3 for UNSW, as he reclaimed his spot at the top of the goal scoring charts for the season.
The match looked destined to finish in the Rage’s favour, but they finished the match with ten men as one of their players had to leave the field concussed as the match entered stoppage time.
In added time, Lopes had the chance to secure the comeback with a hat-trick after UNSW were awarded a penalty; however, he missed as the ball went out for a corner in the 98th minute.
From the resulting corner, Lopes got on the end of the cross and powered a bullet header into the back of the net to equalise in the dying stages of the match as he extended his lead at the top of the goal scoring charts with his 20th goal of the season.
However, the match was not destined to end in a draw as UNSW attacked again.
The visitors had won a corner and with one of the final actions of the match, the ball was delivered into the box by Domenic Abruzzese.
UNSW captain Luke Burke found space in the box and powered home the header in the 100th minute of the match to give UNSW the most dramatic of late victories, 5-4.
Following 13 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to signal full-time.
In a true show of their champion quality and fight, UNSW fought until the very end and picked up the crucial victory, 5-4, away to the Western Rage who will feel hard done by in one of the matches of the season.
The victory ensured UNSW kept their three-point lead over 2nd-placed Nepean FC intact, while for the Rage they remained two points behind Inner West Hawks FC.
UNSW FC will hope to continue to show their fight as they host 12th-placed Sydney University SFC in the Kennard Cup derby match next week, while the Western Rage will hope to continue to display their attacking threat and potentially move off the bottom of the ladder as they travel to face 9th-placed Hurstville FC next week.
Sunday, 16th July 2023
Prospect United SC 1-2 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury City FC continued their run as the league’s in-form side as they came away with a tight 2-1 victory away to Prospect United SC, who’s top two hopes took another hit at William Lawson Park.
The Hawks came out firing and were rewarded with a goal in just the second minute of the match; following a quick counterattack, Vincent D’Ermilio scored to give the Hawks an early lead.
In the 15th minute, the Hawks countered from deep within their own half again as Prospect failed to make challenges to deny them; Harry Drew finished off the counter after he received the ball from a cut-back to give the Hawks an early 2-0 lead.
More chances continued for both teams in the match as Stuart Gosling came off the bench early for Hawkesbury and hit the crossbar, while Marco Turpeinen nearly scored for Prospect against his old club.
Both sides scrambled well in defence, before Tallon Zahra scored with a right-footed shot from the top of the box in the 28th minute to reduce the deficit for Prospect at half-time to 2-1.
In the second half, Prospect attacked through long balls to their wingers, while the Hawks scrambled well in defence.
Both goalkeepers made strong saves throughout the night, but the biggest save came following a penalty late for Prospect.
Prospect captain David Muller stepped up and took the penalty, but it was saved by Hawkesbury’s Daniel Schwarzer, who ensured the Hawks took home the three points.
Despite Prospect’s weight of corners and chances, they were unable to find the equaliser, while Hawkesbury had chances of their own to extend their lead in the second half.
The win was Hawkesbury’s fourth in a row and moved them into 11th place, while the loss dropped Prospect back to 6th.
Prospect United SC play a catch-up match at home to 7th-placed Fraser Park FC on Tuesday, July 18th, before they have the bye next week, while Hawkesbury City FC will chase a fifth-straight win as they host 8th-placed South Coast Flame FC in Round Twenty-Five.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Writer, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
