Round 8 Review – League Two Men’s
Round Eight of the 2024 Football NSW League Two Men’s season saw an avalanche of 34 goals across the seven matches as teams continued to make statements.
The Match of the Round this week saw Camden Tigers FC put in a five-star performance in their victory away over Sydney University SFC.
Saturday, 30th March 2024
Match of the Round: Sydney University SFC 1-5 Camden Tigers FC
Camden Tigers FC picked up the chocolates in the Match of the Round this week with a big 5-1 away victory over Sydney University SFC.
Camden had started the match brightly and capitalised off their first corner of the match in the 3rd minute; Francesco Giannetto floated the corner in from the right onto the head of Joshua Mazurkiewicz, who had made a smart run into the six-yard-box before he headed home to give Camden a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers had a multitude of corners early and had the next few shots after the goal; one from Mazurkiewicz with a tame header and the next from Avisai Vunisasaro, both collected by Uni goalkeeper, Jasper Sarkies.
Camden controlled possession in the opening 20 minutes, while Uni looked to win tackles and hit the Tigers on the counter.
Camden’s Bailey Simpson had a shot from range parried up into the air by Sarkies in the 19th minute, before a follow-up was headed wide.
Simpson had a goal ruled out for offside in the 20th minute, before Uni had a good spell of possession for the next five minutes.
Camden started to control the match again from the 26th minute and had a shot blocked and another fired over the goal in the following minutes.
The Tigers’ pressure told in the 30th minute following a corner which was not cleared by Uni; Camden played the ball back into the box for Jack Harris, who had his initial shot saved off the line before he slotted in the rebound from six yards to double Camden’s lead.
Camden struck once again two minutes later following a counter of a Uni free-kick; Simpson drove up the field with the ball, played a one-two, and flicked the ball past Sarkies with a dribble before he slotted the ball into the empty net; Camden led 3-0.
In the 35th minute, Camden had a shot from a tight angle six yards from goal go over the bar, before Uni had a shot at the other end off a free-kick go over the Tigers’ goal.
The biggest chance of the half for Uni came with the final shot of the first period when Marcus Del Vecchio hit the right post off a half-cleared free-kick; Camden took a 3-0 lead into the break.
Camden sat in a settled and compact defensive block in the match, which allowed them to have defensive stability as they looked to score early in the second half.
Jaefar Al Khulaifawi volleyed an effort over the Camden goal in the 49th minute, before Camden took control of the match for the next 25 minutes.
Camden scored their fourth goal in the 61st minute when good play from Joshua Dengate and Francesco Giannetto saw the latter in space; he passed the ball inside for Mazurkiewicz, who settled at the top of the box and struck the ball into the top-left corner to give Camden a 4-0 lead.
Vunisasaro had a shot for Camden blocked off the line eight minutes later, before Mazurkiewicz missed the top-left corner with a shot from the top of the box.
Just as the match had looked like it had settled into a late pattern of pietering out, Uni grabbed a goal back.
Uni’s Stephen Marinos won the ball 40 yards from goal and spotted Camden goalkeeper, Joshua Glasson, off his line and launched an audacious attempt at goal, which just went over Glasson and hit the back of the net of the right-hand post to make the score 4-1.
In the 79th minute, Camden’s Abdu Elmir countered and ran the length of the pitch before he took a shot which went out for a corner.
From that corner, Camden substitute Liam Gregory had his initial shot blocked before he thundered home the rebound to grab a fifth goal in a contest they had controlled.
The last shot of the match fell to Camden in the 85th minute when they hit the post after some slick play to get in behind the Uni defence but the margin of victory stayed at four goals.
After utilising the width of the pitch effectively with pace and being clinical from set pieces, Camden picked up a 5-1 away victory over Sydney University.
The result marked back-to-back weeks of four-goal winning margins for the Tigers, while Uni suffered a third loss in a row.
Speaking post-match, Sydney University Assistant Coach, Callum Pendleton, spoke on how his side is still trying to find that cohesive mix, both tactics-wise and where each player plays.
“We tried a different formation this week in the hope of creating more chances and playing to our strengths in wide areas on our big pitch, but unfortunately it was a case of that creating solid gaps in our defensive line… Camden were a little bit more hungry.”
Looking ahead to their match next week away to Parramatta FC, Pendleton said his side will be prepared for the challenge.
“It will be a case of trying to outplay them as a footballing side, rather than trying to out-run them.”
Camden Tigers head coach, Dean Bradley, meanwhile, said he was proud of his side’s performance
“We were more clinical in front of goal this week… When you put in a good performance, you get the result, simple as that.”
The Tigers play Bankstown United FC next week and will be ready for that challenge.
“We will watch how they are and then we will think what we can do to work around it.”
Sydney University will hope to end their three-match losing streak when they travel to face Parramatta FC next week, while Camden will hunt a third-straight win when they host Central Coast United FC.
Sydney University SFC 1 (Stephen Marinos 74’)
Camden Tigers FC 5 (Joshua Mazurkiewicz 2’, 61’; Jack Harris 29’; Bailey Simpson 31’; Liam Gregory 80’)
South Coast Flame FC 2-2 Central Coast United FC
The battle of the coasts ended with honours even as South Coast Flame FC and Central Coast United FC finished with a 2-2 draw.
The Flame struck with their first attack of the match in the 9th minute when Namito Tsuchiya beat his defender on the left and squared the ball across for Genki Iwata, who scored to give the Flame the early 1-0 advantage.
The Pirates struck back seven minutes later when a ball in behind the Flame defence by Euan Folland found Zac Pezzutto, who saw Flame goalkeeper Jordan Bruce off his line and chipped him to restore parity at 1-1.
Following a drinks break in the 26th minute in the hot Wollongong afternoon sun, the Pirates took full advantage.
Matthew Ingham was found wide for the Pirates; he played a ball across the face of goal to Pezzutto, who slotted the ball home first-time to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
On the half-hour mark, Tsuchiya had his effort smothered by Pirates’ goalkeeper, Zayd Husain, before Iwata had a shot cleared away a few minutes later.
For the rest of the half, the Pirates had the momentum as Matthew Ingham had a volley from outside the box which went over the bar, before Pezzutto had a shot from 15 yards saved by Bruce.
The Flame were 2-1 down at half-time but started the second half with plenty of possession, but the first real chances fell to the Pirates’ Ben Flakus, who had two efforts smothered by Bruce, before Folland hit Bruce at point-blank range.
The Flame held in the match late and were rewarded when Iwata played through the middle and played a ball over the top to susbtitute Jyden Harb, who ran onto the ball and slotted it through the legs of Husain to level the match at 2-2.
The Pirates had several corners late, while the last notable chance fell to the Flame through Iwata, who chipped the ball to the far post before it hit that post and bounced away; in the end, both sides shared the points in a 2-2 draw.
The draw for the Flame meant they went winless for a second week in a row, while for the Pirates, they went a third match unbeaten.
The 3rd-placed Flame face a big challenge when they travel to face 2nd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC next week, while for the Pirates they travel to face Camden Tigers FC following the Tigers’ back-to-back victories.
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Genki Iwata 9’; Jyden Harb 75’)
Central Coast United FC 2 (Zac Pezzutto 16’, 26’)
Gladesvile Ryde Magic 0-5 Parramatta FC
Parramatta won their first match in four rounds in a big way after an emphatic 5-0 away win over Gladesville Ryde Magic.
With Gabriel Contigiani, William Salinas and Jordan Parfait back, Parramatta had confidence early in the match and forced two good saves from Magic goalkeeper Vasos Kartambis early, one of those efforts hitting the post.
The Eagles picked up their first goal in the 8th minute through Parfait, who cut in from the right and found the back of the net from just inside the 18-yard-box to give Parramatta a 1-0 lead.
Parramatta doubled their lead less than six minutes later when Marco Sama had the ball near the 18-yard-box and played Ali Chamsin in behind, who took a touch and finished to boost the Eagles’ goal tally.
The Magic had chances of their own including a shit which hit the post and another which forced a good save from Parramatta goalkeeper, Jameson Hinwood, respectively, but they were unable to find a goal back.
Nathan Rayner departed the field with an ACL injury in the first half, but Parramatta added a third goal in the 44th minute when Bo Hyun Chun had a free-kick from a tight angle just outside the 18-yard-box and rocketed his effort in at the near post to give Parramatta a 3-0 lead at half-time.
Tarek Elrich played at the heart of the midfield in the match and won many tackles as Parramatta defended stoutly.
In the second half, Parramatta added a fourth goal in the 65th minute when Sama had a shot which was parried by Kartambis straight to Contigianni; he slotted the ball across the goalkeeper to the far post to give Parramatta a 4-0 lead.
Parramatta lost their way at times, trying to play the incisive pass on every attack, but played to their strengths when they settled on the ball and moved the Magic around.
The scoring for Parramatta was wrapped up by Jordan Parfait four minutes later when he got the ball on the left-hand side of the field and tucked the ball into the far post; Parramatta picked up the big 5-0 away victory.
The win for Parramatta was their first since Round Four as they look to push on, while the loss for the Magic was their third in a row and a fourth in five.
Parramatta FC will hope to pick up back-to-back victories when they host Sydney University SFC next week, while Gladesville Ryde Magic will hope to end their losing streak when they travel to face Fraser Park FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Parramatta FC 5 (Jordan Parfait 8’, 69’; Ali Chamsin 14’; Bo Hyun Chun 44’; Gabriel Contigiani 65’)
Hurstville FC 1-3 Hawkesbury City FC
The away side once again picked up the victory in this head-to-head battle as Hawkesbury City FC held off Hurstville FC for a 3-1 away win.
Hurstville started strong in the match with their midfield and forwards combining well for good early play.
The hosts had a good chance in the 10th minute when George Salachoris slid in at the back post but hit the ball over the goal as the scores remained level early.
Salachoris had another chance in the opening 20 minutes from six yards but missed the targer once more as Hurstville powered on early.
Hurstville’s Jacob Ritchie had a header saved, while his teammates Juan Da Silva and Conor Earley both had shots saved.
Hawkesbury settled and restricted Hurstville to long shots from there, where Earley excelled for Hurstville without finding a goal.
The longer the match went on, the more Hawkesbury attacked with purpose, and they forced Hurstville goalkeeper Michael Rutherford into a good save.
Hawkesbury took the lead just before half-time in transition; Hurstville had lost the ball and the away side capitalised through Vincent D’Ermilio to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
In the second half, Hawkesbury hurt Hurstville on the counter and following a counter, Hawkesbury won a corner in the 58th minute; D’Ermilio capitalised off the set piece and doubled the Hawks’ lead.
Hurstville made substitutions and pushed hard late; they were rewarded with a goal to Andre Guzman in the 75th minute when he scored off a rebound as the hosts halved their deficit late.
The hosts pushed hard for an equaliser, but another error led to them conceding another goal on transition, this time to Harry Drew, who wrapped up the scoring and the 3-1 away victory for Hawkesbury.
The win for Hawkesbury was their first in three matches as they moved off the bottom of the ladder, while Hurstville replaced them at the bottom following the loss.
Hurstville FC will hope to bounce back when they travel to face Prospect United SC next week, while Hawkesbury City FC will hunt back-to-back victories for the first time in 2024 when they travel to face Granville Rage.
Hawkesbury also had success in the third round of preliminaries in the Australia Cup mid-week as they picked up a 7-2 home win over Marayong FC, with a hat-trick to Vincent D’Ermilio, two goals to Harry Drew, two goals to Daniel Morsillo.
Hurstville FC 1 (Andre Guzman 75’)
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Vincent D’Ermilio 43’, 58’; Harry Drew 80’)
Inner West Hawks FC 2-3 Mounties Wanderers FC
Mounties Wanderers FC responded to their first loss of the season last week with a big 3-2 away victory over another side in form to start the season in Inner West Hawks FC.
Mounties took an early lead in the 2nd minute through Yuki Kanai, who continued his run of form and goals; he converted after a cross played into the box fell to him to give Mounties a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks struck back in the 9th minute, however, after the league’s top goal scorer, Takuma Hirano was fouled in the box; he stepped up to take the penalty and dispatched his 13th goal of the season to level the contest for the Hawks.
Mounties hit back as quickly in the 15th minute when they countered after the Hawks had lost the ball in the midfield; Kanai finished off the move to give Mounties a 2-1 lead.
The visitors took a two-goal lead into half-time following a quick throw-in, which allowed Brima Kamara in behind the Hawks defence before he scored to add to Mounties’ advantage.
The Hawks looked for a way back into the match and pulled a goal back in the 75th minute through Peter Yannopoulos after he scored from outside the box.
Hirano hit the crossbar late for the Hawks, who also had a few other chances to level the match late, but Mounties held on for a big 3-2 away victory.
The win for Mounties saw them bounce back from their last-start loss away to the Newcastle Jets as they moved them into 2nd place, while the loss for the Hawks was their first since Round One and kept them in 4th place.
Inner West Hawks FC will hope to bounce back from the loss as they travel to face Bankstown United FC next week, while Mounties Wanderers FC face another tough challenge as they host South Coast Flame FC.
Inner West Hawks FC 2 (Takuma Hirano 9’; Peter Yannopoulos 75’)
Mounties Wanderers FC 3 (Yuki Kanai 2’, 15’; Brima Kamara 31’)
Prospect United SC 3-1 Granville Rage
Prospect United SC picked up back-to-back victories for the first time this season as they held off Granville Rage 3-1 in a tight western Sydney derby.
Prospect absorbed the early pressure from Granville, who played a direct, physical game early – Prospect defended well, and Brendan Allen denied the Rage with two saves.
Anthony Idehen and Hristopher Neskovski caused problems for the Rage defence and that told in the 33rd minute when a foul in the box saw the former step up and dispatch the spot kick to put Prospect 1-0 up.
Similarly, in the 42nd minute, Granville had fouled Prospect in the penalty area once again, which brought Idehen to the spot; he put the ball into the back of the net from the spot to double Prospect’s lead at half-time.
In the second half, the Prospect defence stood up and withstood the pressure from the Granville attack.
The Rage did grab a goal back, however, in the 77th minute, through their main threat in attack, Nikola Todoroski, as the deficit was halved for Granville.
Prospect saw out the victory with a third goal, however, in the 85th minute when Reo Hirose found the bottom corner with a strike which sealed the three points for Prospect and a 3-1 win.
The win for Prospect was their third from their past four matches as they look to power on, while for Granville the loss was their first since Round Three.
Prospect United SC will hope to continue their good run of form when they host Hurstville FC in Round Nine, while Granville Rage will hope to respond when they host Hawkesbury City FC.
Prospect United SC 3 (Anthony Idehen 33’, 42’; Reo Hirose 85’)
Granville Rage 1 (Nikola Todoroski 77’)
Sunday, 31st March 2024
Newcastle Jets 6-0 Bankstown United FC
The Newcastle Jets recorded their equal-biggest win of the season, margin-wise, after a hat-trick hero helped them down Bankstown United FC 6-0 at home.
The Jets took the lead in the 12th minute through Alex Nunes, who slotted the ball home early to give the Jets a 1-0 advantage.
1-0 soon became 2-0 in the 19th minute when Janni Rafty converted to double the Jets’ lead.
Four minutes later, Nunes grabbed a second goal of the match as Newcastle continued to show their firepower in front of goal.
The scoring in the first half continued in the 29th minute when Wil Southcombe scored to give Newcastle a 4-0 lead.
The Jets took a 5-0 lead into half-time when Will Dobson scored in the first minute of stoppage time.
Nunes completed his hat-trick for the Jets in the 77th minute as he took home the match ball, progressing his lead as the Jets’ top goal scorer this season; the Jets put on a clinical display as they emerged 6-0 winners at home.
The win for the Jets kept them unbeaten at the top of the ladder after their opening eight matches, while for Bankstown the loss saw them remain in 5th as they lost for the first time since Round Two.
The Newcastle Jets will remain unbeaten for another week, at least, as they have their bye in Round Nine, while Bankstown United FC will hope to return to their winning form when they host the formidable Inner West Hawks FC.
Newcastle Jets 6 (Alex Nunes 12’, 23’, 77’; Janni Rafty 19’; Wil Southcombe 29’; Will Dobson 46’)
Bankstown United FC 0
Fraser Park FC had a bye this week and dropped from 13th to 14th.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)
