Round 27 Review – League Two Men’s
Stoppage-time goals were the order of the weekend in Round 27 of the Football NSW League Two Men’s season; crucial battles across the ladder were decided late as the competition races towards an exciting finish.
Sunday, 6th August 2023
Match of the Round: Newcastle Jets 3-0 Sydney University SFC
A crucial match in the battle for the title saw the Newcastle Jets come away 3-0 winners at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to Sydney University SFC, who they completed the league double over.
Uni held the ball well early and had the first chance of the match – a free kick from 25 yards which went over the Jets’ goal.
The Jets’ first shot was not until the 14th minute when Caleb Trowbridge fired a shot wide of the right-hand post from 25 yards.
Good positioning from the Uni defence kept the Jets at bay early but the final ball was missing for both teams.
Yanni Plataniotis defended well for Uni early as the match entered a stalemate, but the Jets did start to hold the ball better.
In the 31st minute, the Jets’ Ezra Palombini and Joseph Smith had good interplay down the left flank; Smith got into the box but flashed his effort across goal.
Good pressure from Palombini forced Uni goalkeeper, Jasper Sarkies, to kick the ball into the Uni player and out for a goal-kick.
In the 39th minute, Uni had a deflected shot go out for a corner, while a minute later, Uni had a big shout for a penalty waved away following a collision in the box.
The Jets had worked into the half and continued to create chances, including one in the 42nd where the Jets’ players closed down Sarkies and in the end, a shot was taken from two yards, which was smothered by Sarkies.
At half-time, a change was needed to bring about a goal in the match.
Five minutes into the second half, a short corner routine by the Jets led to a long shot from Trowbridge, who fired over the goal from 25 yards.
The Jets had turned up the heat in the second half; Janni Rafty burst down the right for them and played the ball to captain Adam Zervas, who forced Sarkies into a good save down low; he was forced into save after save.
From the resulting corner to the back post, the header went back across goal and was headed on towards goal before it was saved by Sarkies on his line.
A few Jets players appealed that the ball had crossed the line but the referee ruled that it had not.
The Jets were rampant with chance after chance to start the second half.
Zervas continued to threaten as he flashed a ball across goal, while on another attack in the 62nd minute he fizzed a ball across goal, but the header from the arriving Jet was saved by Sarkies.
Rafty helped Newcastle out of tight spaces with his close ball control and dribbling.
The pressure from the Jets finally paid off in the 64th minute when miscommunication between the Uni defence and goalkeeper saw the visitors attack.
A long ball launched down the field by Jets’ goalkeeper, Noah James, found Palombini, who dribbled into the box and past the goalkeeper, who had tried to close the angle.
That left an empty net for Palombini to score into, which he did with his right foot; Newcastle led 1-0.
Captain Zervas thought he had doubled the Jets’ lead just three minutes later following a swift counter-attack from within their own half off a free-kick, but amidst the celebrations, the referee pulled the play back as the ball was rolling while the free-kick was taken.
Uni substitute Jordan Polyzos had a deflected effort caught by Jets’ goalkeeper, Noah James, while the Jets’ continued to attack with a dangerous ball across goal and a shot wide right from Palombini.
In the 75th minute, Rafty forced another strong block by Sarkies following a good run down the right; the Jets’ pressure also started to tell as Uni started to make mistakes when playing out from the back.
Rafty thought he had his goal in the 79th minute as he slid the ball into an empty net, but the linesman put his flag up for offside.
A few minutes later, a cross from the left just evaded Rafty at the back post as the Jets looked for the sealing goal late.
Uni substitute James Reed had a long shot go just past the left-hand post; they had pressured well late and created chances.
However, the result was sealed in the first minute of stoppage time.
Uni had played the ball back to Sarkies, who pondered too long on the ball and was pressed by Jets’ substitute, Xavier Bertoncello.
He won the ball six yards from goal, rounded the goalkeeper and scored from an acute angle to seal the win for the Jets.
However, that was not the end of the action.
Straight from kick-off, the Jets won the ball back and Zervas played the ball to Bertoncello.
He opened up his body and shot the ball into the bottom-right corner with his right foot, 20 yards from goal from the left, to settle the final score at 3-0 for the Jets.
A good save from James with virtually the last kick of the match sealed his clean sheet.
The Newcastle Jets did what they had to; a fourth clean sheet from their past five matches helped them to a 3-0 win, which kept them putting the pressure on UNSW FC at the top of the league.
Speaking post-match, Newcastle Jets Head Coach Damian Zane said the second half performance was better from his side in understanding how to not only attack Sydney Uni, but also defend them.
“The second half, we were a lot better… Once we started breaking lines, we were good and we were creating chances; some good goalkeeping or some better finishing and we probably could have had more earlier.”
Zane spoke on how his side identified the areas in which to attack Uni.
“Noah James recognised that (the Uni defence) were stepping out of line and there was a nice ball… Noah has been quite good, he has probably got a few assists this year.”
Speaking on their match next week and looking towards the end of the season, Zane said his side will keep fighting until the end as they chase the title and promotion.
“If we can get the three points there (against Hawkesbury City FC next week), I think we will be a good shot for second, at a minimum.”
Sydney University SFC Head Coach, Robert Fleming, spoke on the difference between the first and second half.
“In the second half, we have not really come out, we took 10-15 minutes to come out, played into what they wanted to do, made the game transitional.”
Fleming spoke, however, on the areas of his side’s play he was impressed with.
“When it comes to having the ball, I will back us against anybody to keep the ball, move the ball… And look to press on the right triggers, which we did.”
Looking to end the season on a high, Uni are hoping to pick up a few wins and finish as high up the ladder as they can.
“it is just a case of looking to capitalise on the good possession we have and the hard work the boys have and a little bit of luck… Ultimately, it has just been a frustrating season.”
The win kept the Jets kept the Jets six points behind league-leaders UNSW FC with a match in hand and kept them two points ahead of 3rd-placed Nepean FC in the battle for promotion and the play-off position, respectively.
Meanwhile, the loss kept Uni in 12th ahead of their final three matches of the season, level on points with Parramatta FC and the Western Rage behind them.
The Newcastle Jets will hope to capitalise on their match in hand over UNSW FC and close the gap to three points with two matches to play as they travel to face 6th-placed Prospect United SC next week.
Sydney University SFC, meanwhile, have a catch-up match at home against the Western Rage on Wednesday, 9th August before they host 11th-placed Hurstville FC two days later in Round 28.
Friday, 4th August 2023
Hawkesbury City FC 2-0 Inner West Hawks FC
The battle of the hawks saw Hawkesbury City FC continue their rise with a sixth consecutive win, this time 2-0 over Inner West Hawks FC, who lost a fifth straight match, at David Bertenshaw Field.
In the first 10-15 minutes, Inner West tried to build up from the back but gave Hawkesbury a few chances early.
Inner West defended well but the clearest chance of the first half fell to Hawkesbury’s Declan Cotter, who beat Inner West goalkeeper, Shunsuke Sugiura, one-on-one but had his effort cleared off the line.
Inner West created a few half chances and defended Hawkesbury’s early crosses into the box well; the match was 0-0 at half-time.
In the second half, Inner West were caught in possession, which allowed Vincent D’ermillio through on goal, who scored one-on-one against Sugiura to give Hawkesbury a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute.
Following that, a five-minute spell saw Harry Drew, Gregory Kondek, D’ermillio and Daniel Morsillo all have chances to score which were saved or cleared off the line; it could have been more if not for Sugiura.
Inner West changed some personnel in the second half but could not create apart from one good chance; they missed Hesan Soufi and Peter Yannopoulos in attack, as well as both Marcus Naoum and Marcus Apostolakis.
Then, in the first minute of stoppage time to end the match, Morsillo slipped a ball to D’ermillio, who rounded the keeper and took a shot, which was cleared off the line, but put in on the rebound by Drew, who sealed the 2-0 win for Hawkesbury.
Hawkesbury reversed their fortunes from their 4-1 loss to Inner West earlier in the season and continued their good form.
The win kept Hawkesbury flying up the ladder as they moved into 9th from 10th, while the loss meant Inner West stayed bottom of the league in 15th and were four points behind the Western Rage, Parramatta FC and Sydney University SFC.
Hawkesbury City FC will hope to bridge the six-point gap to the top half of the ladder with three matches to go as they travel to face 4th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic next week, while Inner West Hawks FC will hope to end their nine-match winless streak as they host the 14th-placed Western Rage in a match which could determine whether they finish the season in last.
Saturday, 5th August 2023
UNSW FC 2-0 South Coast Flame FC
The Village Green saw another win for the hosts as league-leaders UNSW FC went into the bye with a six-point lead over the Newcastle Jets courtesy of a 2-0 win over South Coast Flame FC, who they did the league double over.
UNSW had the perfect start when they defended a Flame attack and won the second ball in midfield, where a clearing header just over halfway found Keeghan Burke.
He played a ball through the heart of the Flame defence for Dominic Abruzzese, who slotted the ball into the corner past the onrushing Flame goalkeeper in the 3rd minute to give the league-leaders the early lead they wanted.
The hosts were strong for the first 20 minutes before the Flame worked their way into the match.
In the 25th minute, Alexander Alston tried to get on the end of a free-kick into the box but the ball was plucked out of the air by UNSW goalkeeper, Luke Del Vecchio, before a dangerous ball by Cody Waller a few minutes later evaded the Flame players in the box.
The clearest chance of the half for the Flame came in the 37th minute when a short free-kick from Matthew Mazevski led to a shot from 25 yards parried wide to the keeper’s right, before Alexander Alston’s shot on the rebound was saved once again by Del Vecchio, who kept UNSW in front.
UNSW had a few headers from corners in the first half which they could have done better with, including one which was tipped over the bar by Flame goalkeeper, Ruon Nakamura.
UNSW finished the half strong and took a 1-0 lead into the break.
In the second half, UNSW started well for the first 10-15 minutes before a good spell for the Flame.
They had a few crosses cleared by UNSW, a header wide by Cody Waller, an Adam Voloder shot deflected for a corner and a James Baldacchino header at the far post which went wide.
Halfway through the half, Mathias Da Silva Santos flashed a ball wide at the far post from just inside the box as UNSW looked for a crucial second goal.
In the 89th minute, UNSW capitalised late when the Flame threw bodies forward for a free-kick and hit on the counter through Max McAlpine, who had come onto the field just four minutes earlier.
He broke down the right and crossed the ball into the box for fellow substitute, Rick Aguilar, who finished well to give UNSW a 2-0 lead late.
Nakamura made a strong save late to deny the hosts another.
UNSW came away with the 2-0 victory, which left them a maximum of just four points away from the League Two Men’s title with two matches to play.
The loss for the Flame, meanwhile, dropped them from 8th to 10th.
UNSW FC will hope to have their six-point lead at the top maintained as they have their bye next week, while South Coast Flame FC will hope to have their say on the title race as they travel to face 3rd-placed Nepean FC next week.
Hurstville FC 1-1 Fraser Park FC
Late, late drama saw the spoils shared between Hurstville FC and Fraser Park FC at Penshurst Park.
In an even contest, Hurstville had more shots, particularly from outside the box, while Fraser Park struggled to penetrate the hosts and were hit on the counter.
Hurstville switched the play well and hurt Fraser Park with their ball movement.
Hurstville captain, Paul Gagro, played a cross to Lachlan Birrell, who played the ball to Daniel Kochina, who hit the ball over the bar from inside the box.
Alberto Gitierrez Gallardo had a header which went wide for Hurstville, while Jesse Gagro had a chance from a solo run which was blocked as the half ended scoreless.
The biggest chance of the second half for Hurstville came when Paul Gagro set up his brother Jesse Gagro, who missed a tap in at the far post.
The rain started to play a factor as it slowed up the pitch; Fraser Park’s left-back, Marcus Mallard, had a pass intercepted and Hurstville captain, Paul Gagro, crossed the ball from the left to Mouhamed Hamdache, who scored in the 78th minute to make it 1-0 to Hurstville.
However, there was late drama as in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Mallard leapt highest at the back post from a corner and headed the ball in to rescue a point for the visitors.
The last chance of the match fell to Sam Notarangelo, who moved to Fraser Park from Hurstville during the mid-season transfer window, who was played in behind before a challenge from Hurstville’s Juan Da Silva saw off the danger.
With eight first-grade players missing, Hurstville were just unable to hold on for the win in the end as Fraser Park rescued a draw, 1-1.
The draw kept Hurstville in 11th but put them four points clear of 12th-placed Sydney University SFC.
Meanwhile, the draw kept Fraser Park in 7th but moved them level on points with 6th-placed Prospect United SC and 5th-placed Bankstown United FC on 37 points, four points ahead of 8th-placed Camden Tigers FC.
Fraser Park FC will hope to climb into the top five as they host 5th-placed Bankstown United FC next week, while Hurstville FC will hope to climb as many as three places as they host the team just below them, 12th-placed Sydney University SFC.
Prospect United SC 2-4 Camden Tigers FC
Camden Tigers FC picked up a third win from five matches with a strong 4-2 away win over Prospect United SC at William Lawson Reserve.
The Tigers executed their game plan well early and hit the crossbar as well as the post.
Prospect tried to play around and through Camden but could not; good training sessions lately for Camden have led to good preparations and good wins.
Liam Gregory opened the scoring for the Tigers in the 24th minute after good press led to the Tigers winning the second ball in the middle of the field.
A ball was played in behind Prospect’s right-back, before the ball was cut back for Gregory to score; the Tigers led 1-0.
Prospect hit back in the 42nd minute, though, when a free-kick led to a goal-mouth scramble off the delivery; Marco Turpeinen scored to restore parity at half-time, 1-1.
The Tigers started the second half strongly, however, and Gregory pressed, won the ball and played it in for Jayden Russell, who scored to restore the Tigers’ lead, 2-1.
Seven minutes later, however, the Tigers turned the ball over in their back third and Jahnbek Bulut scored from just outside the box to level the match once again at 2-2.
From kick-off, however, the Tigers won a corner and a goal-mouth scramble led to Bayley Suters getting the final touch to give Camden the lead for the third time in the match, 3-2.
The final goal of the match came in the 80th minute when Jack Harris took a free-kick from just outside the Prospect box.
His shot direct from the free-kick deflected off the wall and deceived Prospect goalkeeper Archie Cerasoli to wrap up the victory for the Tigers, 4-2.
The Tigers defended well and held Prospect, who tried to hit on the counter.
Camden did not allow Prospect to play and for the work and the buy-in of the players, coach Dean Bradley was proud of them for executing or trying to execute what he asks of his side.
The win moved Camden up into 8th-place, four points behind 7th-placed Fraser Park FC, while the loss kept Prospect in 6th, level on 37 points with Bankstown United FC ahead of them in 5th and Fraser Park FC behind them in 7th.
Prospect United SC will hope to shake up the title race next week as they host the 2nd-placed Newcastle Jets, while Camden Tigers FC will hunt down a third-straight win as they host 13th-placed Parramatta FC in their penultimate match next week.
Western Rage 3-2 Bankstown United FC
The Western Rage did the league double over Bankstown United FC and continued their strong second half to the season with a 3-2 home win at Rydalmere Park.
The Rage started well in the first 20-25 minutes and had two goals to show for it, but had many more chances to add more.
The first goal came in the 9th minute when a cross from the left from Timothy Borg-Williams found Jacob Carluccio in the Bankstown box; he chested the ball and volleyed it into the top corner to give the Rage the early 1-0 lead.
Four minutes later, Borg-Williams was the provider once again as he played a ball in behind for Brent Flavin, who chipped the onrushing Bankstown goalkeeper to give the Rage their second goal early.
Bankstown jagged a goal back on the half-hour mark through Alejandro Salgiuera to reduce the deficit to one goal at half-time.
In the second half, the Rage settled following the first five minutes and played their football; the match was even until the last ten minutes.
Bankstown levelled the scores in the 84th minute from a corner; following a flick on and a goal-mouth scramble, Mitchell Cross continued his prolific season as he slotted the ball home from inside the six-yard-box to bring the score back to 2-2.
In the final six minutes, Bankstown pushed for the winner and held their shape.
Bankstown missed two chances late to take the lead, while defenders made last-second blocks for both sides.
Rage goalkeeper, Samuel Bortolazzo, did well to keep Bankstown out.
In a stop-start second half, both sides had periods where they were on top.
However, the deciding moment came in the second minute of stoppage-time; on the counter in a moment of transition, Carluccio scored his second of the match in a one-on-one to earn a three points for his side very late as the Rage came away 3-2 winners.
The win moved the Rage four-points clear of bottom-placed Inner West Hawks FC with a match in hand, while the loss meant Bankstown United stayed in 5th, level on points with Prospect United SC and Fraser Park FC.
The Rage play a catch-up match away to Sydney University SFC on Wednesday, 9th August before they travel to face Inner West Hawks FC in a match which will go a long way to deciding who will finish the season in last.
Bankstown United FC, meanwhile, will hope to recover well and respond to back-to-back defeats as they travel to face one of the sides chasing them on the ladder in 7th-placed Fraser Park FC.
Parramatta FC vs Gladesville Ryde Magic was abandoned due to a light failure.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
