Round 30 Review – League Two Men’s
The 2023 Football NSW League Two Men’s season ended with a bang, with crucial final positions decided amongst 26 goals scored on the final matchday, as UNSW FC lifted the Championship trophy.
The Match of the Round this week saw Nepean FC secure the crucial 2nd-place spot ahead of the Newcastle Jets at home to Sydney University SFC thanks to a powerful performance.
Gladesville Ryde Magic had their bye this week and finished the season on 46 points in 4th place, three points ahead of 5th-placed Fraser Park FC and seven points behind the 3rd-placed Newcastle Jets.
Friday, 25th August 2023
Match of the Round: Nepean FC 3-0 Sydney University SFC
A full-house at Wanderers Football Park cheered on Nepean FC, who ensured they claimed the crucial promotion-playoff position of a 2nd-place finish on the ladder ahead of the Newcastle Jets thanks to a strong 3-0 home win over Sydney University SFC, who they did the league double over.
The match kicked off at the same time as the 3rd-placed Newcastle Jets away match to Hawkesbury City FC, which meant the drama was high for the whole 90 minutes.
Both teams had harmless headers in what was a tame first ten minutes of the match, where the likes of Lachlan Sepping and Richard Stewart did well to beat the strong University press; however, the visitors had success in winning the ball back across the pitch.
Nepean also pressed well as both sides looked up to the match, physically.
The biggest chance early came in the 15th minute when Stewart played a long ball to Jack Hoban, who then played a good ball to Mathew Crossley; the latter’s shot was blocked at the last second by the University defence, who held on to parity early.
Two minutes later, Sepping shot just over the University bar following good play from Kye Soares and Stewart.
Nepean continued to threaten as they pressed and looked to capitalise on any sloppiness playing out from the back, while in the 20th minute Hoban almost scored the opening goal for Nepean but his effort was smothered behind for a corner.
Nepean looked strong in defence with their solid defensive shape; Soares tracked back well in midfield to stop a few University counterattacks.
Then, Nepean took the all-important lead just after the half-hour mark.
The ball had been switched long by right-full-back Stewart to the left wing; after losing possession, Nepean pressed and won the ball back quickly.
Leonard Abdo collected the ball on the left wing and settled himself for a shot towards the top-right corner; he took the shot on from 22 yards out and rifled the sshot into the top-right corner as the crowd erupted – Nepean took the crucial 1-0 lead.
Nepean pressed following that goal as two minutes later, Sepping had a shot deflected wide, while from the resulting corner Mitchell King had a strong header on target claimed down low by University goalkeeper, Jasper Sarkies.
In the 38th minute, University pressed well and won the ball, which led to a shot from 22 yards from Brett Wilson, which was straight at Nepean goalkeeper, Justin Biega.
Five minutes later, Nepean’s Paolo Laxamana won the ball down the left flank for Nepean and drove into the University penalty area; he passed the ball to Sepping, who forced Sarkies to claim the ball well down low to his right.
Desperate University defence stopped Nepean from scoring more goals late in the half as the hosts took a 1-0 lead into half-time; following their goal, Nepean had the ascendancy in the clash.
The drums came out from the Nepean fans at half-time as the atmosphere ramped up as Nepean threatened four minutes into the half through Laxamana, who had passed the ball to Stewart; he floated a ball to Harrison Fox, whose header on target was saved by the outstretched leg of Sarkies.
Nepean pressed; a throw-in from the right was collected by Laxamana, who lofted a pass back towards the edge of the box.
Sepping ran onto the ball and unleashed a powerful right-footed volley from just inside the 18-yard-box, which flew beautifully into the top-right cornet; Nepean had one hand on 2nd-place.
In the 56th minute, a golden chance for a third goal went begging for Nepean when Abdo received the ball 10 yards from goal on the left but curled his effort just over the bar when he aimed for the top-right corner.
Sepping tried to catch out Sarkies from halfway in the 63rd minute as Nepean looked to seal their spot in the promotion-playoff position.
Four minutes later, Nepean had lost the ball in midfield and then regathered through Sepping, who drove into the vacant space between the defensive and midfield lines of University.
He unleashed Abdo into space down the left, who drove into the box and squared the ball back towards Sepping, who had made a good, late run into the box.
He slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to rapturous applause for his ninth goal of the season; the goal all-but-sealed 2nd-place for Nepean.
Sepping almost had a hat-trick two minutes later when Hoban broke in behind the University defence down the right and crossed the ball to Sepping; however, he slipped from about six yards out as he took his shot on.
The drums and chanting increased from both ends of the stands as the crowd started celebrating early for Nepean, who had all the momentum in the second half.
In the 74th minute, Nepean beat the offside trap from University once more as they broke in behind but shot over the goal.
Nine minutes later, there was almost a calamity of a fourth goal for Nepean as a backheeled back-pass from a University defender to their goalkeeper left Sarkies stranded; he just got to the ball in time to block a shot from a Nepean attacker.
The Nepean defence held firm and nulified University in the second half; the last attempt of the match came from University, who had a shot direct from a free kick from 30 yards tipped over the crossbar by Biega, who kept his clean sheet.
After three added minutes, the referee blew for full-time, which confirmed Nepean FC as 2nd-place finishers in what was Hoban’s 250th match for the club across all age divisions.
Speaking post-match, Nepean FC Head Coach, Stephen Appleby said he was proud of his side for how they approached the match.
“We are all about clean sheets, the boys love clean sheets… we have quite a strong backline, so we just need to keep that momentum going into the playoffs now.”
Appleby spoke on the mentality that helped Nepean to a 2nd-place finish, as well as how they managed to stay undefeated in their past thirteen matches.
“We just drove it into the boys each game… we need to be going the same consistency, better, and we distilled into the boys the winning mentality… you look at the GPS, what they do each week, and it is over 13, 14 kilometres each game.”
Looking ahead to the two-legged playoff tie against League One’s Mounties Wanderers FC, Appleby said his side are looking forward to it.
“We are going in with the same mentality… we are one of the first four teams in the playoff [system], which is great from the club’s point of view and hopefully it brings people to come and watch [the two matches].”
Nepean FC finished the season in 2nd place with 57 points, four ahead of the 3rd-placed Newcastle Jets; they will take on League One side Mounties Wanderers FC, who finished 15th in League One for 2023, across two legs for a place in the 2024 League One Men’s competition.
The promotion/relegation playoff matches will be played across two legs, one home and away for Nepean, with the times and dates to be confirmed.
As for Sydney University SFC, they finished the season in 13th-place on 25 points, level with 14th-placed Parramatta FC, one ahead of last-placed Inner West Hawks FC and three behind the 12th-placed Western Rage; they will hope to bring in players in key areas and build for a strong challenge next season.
Hawkesbury City FC 2-0 Newcastle Jets
Hawkesbury City FC ended the season ten matches unbeaten and took one of their biggest scalps on the year with a 2-0 victory over the Newcastle Jets, who failed to win in their pursuit of 2nd place.
Hawkesbury changed shape early on to absorb the Jets’ early pressure, who had a shout for a penalty waved away after one of their players was bundled over at the byline when he put a cross in, but the referee deemed there to not be enough contact.
The second half saw more action as 15 minutes in, Hawkesbury attacked hard and won a penalty in the 65th minute through Gregory Kondek, who was fouled from behind with his right foot taken out as he volleyed the ball with his left in the box.
Vincent D’ermillio stepped up and smashed the ball into the roof of the net to give Hawkesbury a 1-0 lead, which was not only important at David Bertenshaw Field but also had reverberations out at Wanderers Football Park.
From there, the Jets started to attack hard and looked dangerous through Ezra Palombini and Xavier Bertoncello, while Angus Muddle played well for the visitors.
Hawkesbury goalkeeper, Daniel Schwarzer, pulled off two good saves to deny Palombini and Bertoncello, respectively.
Declan Cotter was sent off for Hawkesbury for a second yellow card in the 89th minute but that did not dampen the mood of the hosts.
The Jets pushed late for the equaliser, which Hawkesbury capitalised on in the 93rd minute through an angled ball from Harry Drew to D’ermillio, who finished well in the bottom corner for his ninth goal of the season to seal the three points for the hosts.
A large crowd cheered on the hosts until the final whistle, which was met with a loud applause as Hawkesbury defeated the Jets 2-0 to finish the season with a bang.
Local player, 17-year-old Jude Bramhall, played most of the second half in the Hawks midfield and was one of the players who helped contribute towards the victory.
The win for the Hawks meant they finished the season on 38 points in 8th place, one point behind 7th-placed Camden Tigers FC and one point ahead of 9th-placed Bankstown United FC; their strong second half to the season saw them rise from last to mid-table, where they pushed on, learned to tidy up mistakes and showed their ability to take the match to any team in the league.
The loss for the Jets, meanwhile, meant they finished outside of the top two; they will hope to recharge and find a way to push on next season as they finished this one in 3rd place on 53 points, four behind 2nd-placed Nepean FC and seven ahead of 4th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Saturday, 26th August 2023
Parramatta FC 2-4 South Coast Flame FC
South Coast Flame FC ensured their season ended with a win after they came from behind to secure a 4-3 away win over Parramatta FC.
Parramatta took the early lead in the 9th minute when they pinched the ball from the Flame and countered; good build-up play to Youssef Badr down the left saw him attack wide inside the Flame penalty box before he crossed the ball to Tacettin Kumsuz, who scored.
The hosts started well but were forced into an early change in midfield when Kerim Kumsuz was injured and replaced by Daniel Alessi.
For the visitors, they pushed Jacob Poscoliero from defence into midfield as they looked to take control of the match.
A lack of experience and poor marking from the hosts saw the Flame build into the match; the Flame were more intense in the match and held the ball.
The Flame struck back in the 43rd minute when Alexander Alston got past a Parramatta defender on the left, got to the byline and pulled the ball back for Cody Waller, who tapped the ball home to level the match at half-time.
In the 68th minute, the Flame took the lead when a repetition of corners saw a Matthew Mazevski corner fly into the box towards a lot of jumping players, where Levi Durks rose, but the own goal was scored in the end by Parramatta’s Gabriel Contigiani.
Five minutes later, the Flame had their third when Adam Voloder got on the end of a Mazevski corner from the left and headed the ball down before he slotted the ball home on the second attempt to give the Flame a 3-1 lead with his ninth goal of the season.
The Flame built into the match and had field position, while Parramatta tried to counter through Badr.
Voloder had a one-on-one shot from outside the box which missed the target as the Flame looked to seal the result late.
They did that when Durks attacked on the right, turned his marker, and was fouled inside the box for a penalty; Jacob Gjorsevski stepped up and slotted the spot-kick low into the bottom-left corner, just past the outstretched arms of Parramatta goalkeeper, Jameson Hinwood, for his seventh goal of the season.
Parramatta could not handle the rotation of the Flame players and could not shift across to stop the wide two-on-ones as the Flame came out 4-2 winners away from home.
The result meant Parramatta finished the season winless from their last six matches and finished on 25 points in 14th place, one point ahead of last-placed Inner West Hawks FC and level on points with 13th-placed Sydney University SFC; they will hope to sign a few quality players to strengthen in key areas for next season.
The win for the Flame ended a three-match losing streak and ensured they ended the season on a high as they look to build on a solid foundation despite their up-and-down season; they finished the season on 33 points in 11th place, one point behind 10th-placed Hurstville FC and five points ahead of the 12th-placed Western Rage.
UNSW FC 1-0 Hurstville FC
UNSW FC’s celebratory match following their title triumph last week saw them pick up a 1-0 home win over Hurstville FC in front of a large crowd at The Village Green.
The match started even as UNSW looked to make runs off their striker, Kevin Lopes, while Hurstville created good passing combinations but lacked the pass from the midfield to the attack.
UNSW threatened off set pieces and were dangerous with balls into the box as they looked to attack.
In a low energy match in the dead-rubber, it was lit up by a goal for UNSW in the 36th minute for Cristhian Martinez, who latched on to a bouncing ball outside the box following a corner and shot a tracer bullet of a shot into the bottom-right corner from the left of the goal to give UNSW a 1-0 lead.
Hurstville tried to press higher in the second half and forced UNSW to play long, but Hurstville did not handle the long ball which allowed UNSW to get out of the press by playing direct.
The visitors built into the half and pressed UNSW, where one chance from Julian Bittar missed the target when he had the option to pas inside to two other waiting Hurstville players.
UNSW defended set pieces well as Hurstville had a chance cleared off the line and another chance blasted over late by George Salachoris.
Jesse Gagro had two headers glanced over the bar while they tested UNSW goalkeeper, Luke Del Vecchio, on a few occasions, including from a Daniel Kochina volley, but were unable to test Del Vecchio too much.
Yianna Nioplias headed wide late, as did Salachoris as both sides had their shots on goal, while a key chance for UNSW fell to Lopes following a cross from Max Mcalpine, but Lopes volleyed the effort to Hurstville goalkeeper, Michael Rutherford, before Thomas Powell had one chance towards the end of the match.
In the end, UNSW came away 1-0 winners in a match where both teams will be happy to come out of the clash with no injuries or suspensions.
UNSW’s Kevin Lopes finished the season as the Golden Boot winner with 23 goals, two ahead of Bankstown United FC’s Mitchell Cross.
UNSW lifted the league trophy following the match as their celebrations continued; the 2023 Champions finished top with 62 points, five ahead of 2nd-placed Nepean FC and will enjoy their success before they prepare for life in the 2024 League One Men’s competition.
For Hurstville, they finished the season on 34 points in 10th place, three points behind 9th-placed Bankstown United FC and one ahead of 11th-placed South Coast Flame FC; following a frustrating season for them with injuries and a knack of not picking up results despite strong performances or because of mistakes, they will hope to build on their foundation, where they know where to improve.
Prospect United SC 1-1 Inner West Hawks FC
Prospect United SC ended their season in a stalemate while Inner West Hawks finished in last place following the 1-1 draw between the two sides at William Lawson Park.
Two suspensions and three injuries from the previous week meant Prospect had a lot of changes for the clash, where 18-year-old Shaan Birring made his debut at centre-half.
Prospect held the ball well in the first half and created three chances to score but it was in the second half where Prospect came out firing.
In the 53rd minute, Predrag Bojic saw Inner West Hawks goalkeeper, Shunsuke Sugiura off his line and chipped him from 40 yards to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
However, that lead lasted less than three minutes as the Hawks struck back through Johnavon Manurung, who laced the ball from 25 yards into the top-right corner with a dipping shot to restore parity.
The Hawks hit well on the counterattack as they moved Tony Lo up front; they had a header from Manurung which went just over, as well as an open goal chance for captain Christopher Phillips which they could not take.
Prospect had a few scrambles inside the Hawks’ penalty area cleared as they threatened from set pieces, while Prospect had another two chances late but were unable to convert.
Connor Skanavis was given his starting debut for Inner West Hawks at left wing-back and dealt well as he pushed forward and tracked back in a good debut.
Following an intense second half, the two sides could not be separated as the match finished 1-1.
The result meant Prospect United finished the season on 41 points in 6th place, two points behind 5th-placed Fraser Park FC and two points ahead of 7th-placed Camden Tigers FC; it was a season of ‘what if’ for Prospect, who could not capitalise on their strong first half of the season and fell away in the end.
For Inner West Hawks FC, they finished the season on 24 points in last place, one point behind both 14th-placed Parramatta FC and 13th-placed Sydney University SFC; they will hope injuries do not strike next season and will hope to have a less interrupted season, including a full pre-season with their coach, Bill Condoleon, as they look for marked improvement next year.
Fraser Park FC 2-1 Western Rage
Fraser Park FC ended their strong season on a high with a 2-1 home win over the Western Rage, whose strong second half to the season ended in defeat.
In an even first half, both teams had half-chances which they could not convert; Fraser Park could not find the weakness in the Rage system nor exploit it as the match was scoreless at half-time.
However, in the 46th minute, Shu Torihara was brought down inside the penalty area for Fraser Park; Samuel Shepherd stepped up and sent Rage goalkeeper, Samuel Bortolazzo, the wrong way as he slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner to give Fraser Park a 1-0 lead with his ninth goal of the season.
The hosts had a few chances to score a second goal but conceded in the 76th minute when a set piece was latched onto by Daniel Cooper, who scored to level the match for the visitors.
However, less than four minutes later, Fraser Park retook the lead when substitute Jakub Buris put a corner into the Rage box, which was flicked on towards the far post and into the back of the net by Alexis Wenzel, who ensured Fraser Park emerged victorious in the clash.
In a clean game where good football was played in good spirits, Fraser Park ended their season on a high with a close 2-1 win over the Rage.
Fraser Park ended their season on 43 points in 5th place, three points behind 4th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic and two points ahead of 6th-placed Prospect United SC; their intention was to finish higher and challenge for the league title, but it was a step in the right direction nonetheless and will be happy with the eight players who played first grade from their under-20s system.
The Western Rage finished the season on 28 points in 12th place, five points behind 11th-placed South Coast Flame FC and three points ahead of both 13th-placed Sydney University SFC and 14th-placed Parramatta FC, respectively; they will continue to improve, have shown plenty of character and marked improvement in the second half of the season and have done well to move away from last place.
Camden Tigers FC 6-3 Bankstown United FC
The best was saved until last as one of the matches of the season saw Camden Tigers FC come out 6-3 winners over Bankstown United FC at Ron Dime Memorial Reserve.
Bankstown started on top in the match despite missing the league second-top goal scorer with 21 goals, Mitchell Cross, through injury and scored in the 8th minute through Josh Gersbach, who scored his first goal of the season from 18 yards with a shot which found the right-side of the goal’s side netting following a half-cleared corner.
In a battle which was back-and-forth, Camden struck back in the 14th minute when Jayden Russell received the ball outside the 18-yard-box and shot from right to left to restore parity.
However, in the 22nd minute, Bankstown’s sixth central defender of the season to be injured saw Matthew Paras taken off with a knee injury.
Camden looked to capitalise in the 25th minute when Aidan Quigley won the ball, crossed it to Abdu Elmir, who sent Bailey Simpson down the left; he jinked inside, cut onto his left foot, and shot near post to score and gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Bankstown were the next to score, however, in the 37th minute as under-18s player Piero Solinas got on the end of the ball after the Tigers had turned it over; he passed the ball to Corey Freeman, who scored to restore parity in the match for Bankstown.
However, one minute later Camden pressed and played on following what Bankstown through was a foul by the Camden attackers as Marko Jez slotted the ball home to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead at half-time.
Four minutes into the second half, Simpson grabbed his double following confusion between the Bankstown defence and goalkeeper; he snuck in and scored with a header to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
Russell then scored his second goal in the 52nd minute when an attack down the Tigers right found Russell through a diagonal ball; he drilled the ball home low from outside the box with his left foot through a floating effort at ankle height for the Tigers’ fifth goal of the night and his eight of the season.
The Tigers were relentless and in the 57th minute, rounded off their scoring through Simpson again, who completed his hat-trick.
A ball was played through to Simpson down the left flank; he ran on into the box and slotted the ball home to collect the match ball; the Tigers were up for the match and were enthusiastic as they got the better of Bankstown.
Bankstown worked their way into the match from there and were awarded a penalty in the 85th minute after a foul in the box.
Gersbach stepped up and slotted the ball home for his second goal of the night, but the Tigers claimed all three points courtesy of a 6-3 victory in a thrilling encounter to end the regular season.
The result meant Camden finished the season with four-straight wins and they placed in the top half of the ladder with 39 points in 7th place, two points behind 6th-placed Prospect United SC and one point ahead of 8th-placed Hawkesbury City FC; they will hope to continue their attacking power next season, where a few additions to help defensively could see them mount a real challenge in the top half next year.
For Bankstown, they finished the season with five-straight losses on 37 points in 9th place, one point behind 8th-placed Hawkesbury City FC and three points ahead of 10th-placed Hurstville FC; they will hope to have a season less riddled with injuries next season and will hope to have the depth to challenge higher up the league, while they will be happy with the progress of their youth players into first-grade.
End-of-season final note –
The 2023 League Two Men’s season has been a pleasure to cover for Football NSW; the league has provided games of high drama, has storylines across the players and clubs both because of matches and through personal stories, and has provided a title race which has been as close as it has been fun.
A personal thank you to all the clubs for their communication and support throughout the year, and another thank you to the people who have read the previews, reviews, and the features throughout this season.
Each team can be proud of their efforts; the highs and lows are what make the league so exciting, where anyone could beat anyone, and next season promises to provide an even closer competition as the clubs build for the future – here is to an even better competition in 2024.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
