Round 20 Review – League Two Men’s
Some big results shook up the top half of the table amid another rain-affected weekend in Round 20 of the 2024 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round between Sydney University SFC and Gladesville Ryde Magic, as well as the match between Hawkesbury City FC and Fraser Park FC, were washed out, so here is the best of the rest of the action.
Saturday, 15th June 2024
Central Coast United FC 1-0 Mounties Wanderers FC
Central Coast United FC shook up the promotion race with a big 1-0 home win over Mounties Wanderers FC, whose eight-match unbeaten streak came to an end.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Zac Pezzutto found the back of the net to give Central Coast United a big 1-0 lead early, which they took into half-time.
Mounties made a double-change at half-time as they looked to take control of the match in the second half.
However, they were unable to find a goal back in the match as Central Coast United ran out tight 1-0 winners at home.
The win for Central Coast United lifted them from 7th into 6th on 26 points, while the loss for Mounties kept them in 2nd on 39 points, but they dropped to be eight points behind the league-leading Newcastle Jets.
Central Coast United FC will hope to build on their win as they host Granville Rage in Round 20, while Mounties Wanderers FC will look to bounce back from their first defeat since Round 02 when they travel to face Fraser Park FC.
Central Coast United FC 1 (Zac Pezzutto 22’)
Mounties Wanderers FC 0
Inner West Hawks FC 1-1 Parramatta FC
10-man Parramatta FC came away with a tight come-from-behind 1-1 draw away to Inner West Hawks FC at Arlington Oval.
The match was a tight and physical affair where both sides had limited chances on their respective goals, with 10 shots for the Hawks and 7 shots for the Eagles.
The Hawks took the lead in the final minute of the first half following a mistake from Parramatta’s right full-back, Blake Stewart – Hawks captain Sidhya Malhotra played a ball over the top of the Parramatta defence to the left and Peter Yannopoulos volleyed it home into the far-right corner for the 1-0 lead for the Hawks.
The Hawks were very physical in the match and were up for the contest – they played direct with lots of energy.
The final third was missing for Parramatta, meanwhile, while their build-up play was pleasing for their side, but the Hawks led 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, the Hawks looked dangerous through Lawrence Claxton and Tomohiro Ishii.
In a physical second half, Parramatta had their chance to level the match in the 84th minute when centre-half Gabriel Contigiani was put up front – he earned a penalty after he was fouled in the box by Ishii – Contigiani’s aerial threat caused problems for the Hawks’ defence.
Half-time substitute Youssef Badr slotted the penalty home to level the match at 1-1 late for Parramatta.
The Eagles were reduced to ten men late when Mouhammed Bakr was shown a second yellow card following a second late challenge.
The Eagles utilised their time management in stoppage-time and saw out the rest of the match with 10 men to rescue a 1-1 draw away to the Hawks.
The draw for the Hawks ended their five-match winning streak but saw them close the gap to 3rd-placed Bankstown United FC to one point, and the margin to 2nd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC to two points, while the draw for Parramatta saw them stay in 11th in a packed ladder.
Inner West Hawks will hope to continue to close the gap to the top three when they host 12th-placed Hawkesbury City FC in Round 21, while Parramatta have a mid-week Round 19 catch-up match away to Camden Tigers FC, before they look to topple the top-of-the-table, unbeaten Newcastle Jets away in Round 21.
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Peter Yannopoulos 45’)
Parramatta FC 1 (Youssef Badr 84’ pen; Mouhammed Bakr 87’ red card)
Prospect United SC 3-1 Camden Tigers FC
Prospect United SC ended their five-match losing streak after a big 3-1 home win over Camden Tigers FC, who they did the league double over.
Prospect took the lead in the 10th minute when Shaan Birring played a 45-yard diagonal ball in behind to Dante Soares, who won the 50/50 challenge and played in Anthony Idehen, who slotted the ball home to give Prospect a 1-0 lead.
Idehen scored his 13th goal of the season when Tallon Zahra and Dimos Vlachos combined for Jacob Micallef, who crossed the ball in for Idehen, who volleyed the ball home to double the hosts’ lead.
Prospect made the score 3-0 in the 37th minute when a corner taken by Leo Hirose found Birring at the back post, who headed the ball home.
Camden got a goal back in the 42nd minute when a cross into the box was not cleared by Prospect – the ball fell to Jordan Cracknell after a scramble in the box, where he slotted the ball home from eight yards out to make the score 3-1 at half-time.
Despite multiple attempts for both sides in the second half, in a match where Prospect had 15 shots and Camden 12 shots, neither side was able to affect the score as the match ended in Prospect’s favour, 3-1.
The win for Prospect ensured they rose above Camden into 8th on the ladder on 23 points, while the loss for Camden dropped them from 9th to 10th on 21 points.
Prospect will hope to win back-to-back matches when they travel to face South Coast Flame FC next week, while Camden will hope to win their first match in five when they travel to face Parramatta FC in a mid-week Round 19 catch-up match, before they face Bankstown United FC at home.
Prospect United SC 3 (Anthony Idehen 10’, 16’; Shaan Birring 36’)
Camden Tigers FC 1 (Jordan Cracknell 42’)
Hurstville FC 1-2 Granville Rage
Granville Rage continued their resurgence with a third-straight win after they defeated Hurstville FC 2-1 away from home as they completed the league double.
Hurstville drove forward with the ball early but the Rage started to force the hosts into turnovers and win the second balls as they looked to cause Hurstville problems.
The Rage hit the post twice in a good period for them, while Hurstville lost their shape and composure on the ball.
Nikola Todoroski capitalised for the Rage in the 42nd off a corner when he volleyed the ball, which took a deflection, into the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Hurstville came out strong in the second half but the Rage continued look to win the second balls and make the match difficult for the hosts.
Hurstville levelled the match in the 70th minute when Jesse Gagro volleyed the ball home following some high pressure in the box.
The hosts continued to hunt for he winner, while the Rage did the same, and the visitors forced Hurstville into turnovers.
Hurstville were reduced to 10 men in the 82nd minute when Jesse Gagro received a second yellow card for a high foot.
The Rage capitalised on their extra-man advantage in the 87th minute when a corner was played into the near post and was slotted into the back of the net by Welkson Souza Bispo to give the Rage a 2-1 lead late.
The Rage saw out their lead into the final minutes of the match and through stoppage time to claim a big 2-1 away win.
The loss for Hurstville was their first in three matches and saw them drop from 6th to 8th, while the Rage won a third-straight match and jumped from 8th into 7th ahead of Hurstville.
Hurstville will hope to bounce back swiftly when they travel to face Gladesville Ryde Magic next week, while the Rage will hunt down a fourth-straight win when they travel to face Central Coast United FC.
Hurstville FC 1 (Jesse Gagro 70’, 82’ red card)
Granville Rage 2 (Nikola Todoroski 42’; Welkson Souza Bispo 87’)
Sunday, 16th June 2024
Newcastle Jets 3-1 South Coast Flame FC
The Newcastle Jets’ unbeaten season continued into a 19th match after they claimed a strong 3-1 home win over South Coast Flame FC.
The Jets dominated the midfield battle early and took the lead in the 15th minute when they countered through Xavier Bertoncello – he used his pace to evade the Flame defenders and launched a thunderous shot into the roof of the net from just outside the box to give Newcastle a 1-0 lead.
The Jets doubled their advantage in the 35th minute when a back-pass from the Flame was intercepted by the Jets, before it was squared to Janni Rafty, who tucked the ball into the back of the net to give the Jets a 2-0 lead.
The hosts continued to pepper the Flame goal, with Flame goalkeeper Rocco Zinatto pulling off multiple saves to keep the Jets from adding to their lead, while Jets’ captain Ben Van Dorssen, who had recently signed his first professional contract with the Jets, solid at the back.
The Flame weathered the early Jets storm and has a few half chances themselves through Yianni Perkatis, Jyden Barb and Genki Iwata, but were unable to pull a goal back.
The Jets added a third goal in the 39th minute when the Jets hit the Flame on transition again – Kierry James thundered his shot from a tight angle past Zinatto to give the Jets a 3-0 lead.
In the final minute of the first half, the Flame did pull a goal back when Yianni Perkatis found space and launched a shot from around 30 yards from goal – the ball found the back of the net as the Flame ensured they only went into half-time 3-1 down.
The Flame enjoyed some sustained pressure and possession to start the second half and thought they had grabbed a second goal when Iwata found Michael Trajkovski in the box, who slotted the ball home, but the latter was adjudged offside.
South Coast had a penalty shout waved away while neither side was able to create many chances in the second half.
The Newcastle Jets kept their unbeaten season going and claimed another big scalp as the Flame went down in their trip up the coast – 3-1 the final score.
The win for the Jets saw them move to 47 points and extend their lead to eight points at the top of the table as their quest to win the league and gain automatic promotion took another step forward, while the loss for the Flame saw them stay in 5th on 32 points, five points behind 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC.
The Jets will hope to continue their unbeaten season when they host Parramatta FC next week, while the Flame will hunt down their first win in three matches when they host Prospect United SC.
Newcastle Jets 3 (Xavier Bertoncello 15’; Janni Rafty 35’; Kierry James 39’)
South Coast Flame FC 1 (Yianni Perkatis 45’)
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)
