Round 25 Review – League Two Men’s
Some more big results helped to further shape the top of the table in what is turning out to be a remarkable season for one side, with a big race to 2nd place tightening more every week.
The Match of the Round this week saw Hawkesbury City FC claim their first-ever Stroke Recovery Cup after they defeated Gladesville Ryde Magic for the honour.
Saturday, 20th July 2024
Match of the Round: Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-3 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury City FC claimed their first-ever Stroke Recovery Cup after they came from behind to secure a 3-1 win over Gladesville Ryde Magic in what was also 51-year-old goalkeeper Kyriakos Tohouroglou’s final match of his footballing career in what was his 270th match for the Magic.
Before the start of the match, in front of the large crowd Tohouroglou was given a guard of honour by the Magic’s SAP players, the Magic’s youth players, former teammates of Tohouroglou and the first-grade squads of both teams, while his opposite number and long-time friendly rival, Daniel Schwarzer, walked onto the field with him.
The match started evenly with neither side taking their chance with shots at goal, but following that, both Magic goalkeeper Tohouroglou and Hawks goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer made key one-on-one saves to keep the scores level.
Gladesville hit the front in the 27th minute when a free kick saw the ball rebound to Stefan Baker, who scored with a header on the second attempt after the initial effort hit the crossbar to give the Magic a 1-0 lead at half-time.
The Hawks responded quickly after the break in the 48th minute when Zac Miletic scored following a cross to level the scores at 1-1.
Stuart Gosling gave the Hawks the lead for the first time in the match in the 63rd minute when he scored with a low-driven effort to give the Hawks the 2-1 advantage.
Gosling turned provider in stoppage time when he slipped Harry Drew in behind the Magic defence – he scored in the one-on-one situation to secure the three points and the Stroke Recovery Cup for Hawkesbury in a 3-1 away win.
Tohouroglou also made multiple saves in the contest and was replaced in stoppage time to thunderous applause as he exited the field for the final time as a player, where a hug between him and Schwarzer, as well as a final wave to the crowd, saw him end his career.
The loss for the Magic saw them remain in last place, two points behind 14th-placed Sydney University SFC, while the win for the Hawks saw them rise from 12th to 10th on the ladder.
The Magic will look to move on from the emotional match and look to end their five-match losing streak when they travel to face 6th-placed Central Coast United FC next week, while Hawkesbury will hope to win back-to-back matches when they host 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Stefan Baker 27’)
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Zac Miletic 48’; Stuart Gosling 63’; Harry Drew 90+1’)
Friday, 19th July 2024
Hurstville FC 4-1 Camden Tigers FC
Hurstville FC won back-to-back matches and completed the league double following a 4-1 home win over a ten-man Camden Tigers FC.
The hosts started the match by playing quick, counterattacking football and were rewarded in the 4th minute when Jonathan Maras found Declan Sheldon at the back post from a corner, who headed it back towards the centre of the goal before Jacob Botic headed the ball home to give Hurstville an early 1-0 lead.
Camden were unable to break down the Hurstville defence in the first half as the hosts took a 1-0 lead into the break.
Just after the hour mark, Hurstville were rewarded a penalty when a cross into the box was handled by a Camden player.
Mouhamed Hamdache stepped up to take it in the 66th minute but had his effort saved by Camden goalkeeper Joshua Glasson before he slotted home the rebound to give Hurstville a 2-0 lead.
Camden were reduced to ten men in the 76th minute when substitute Joshua Dengate put in a dangerous challenge on Hurstville’s Jacob Botic’s leg and was shown a straight-red card.
From the resulting free-kick, Hamdache took the shot on, which deflected off the wall and into the box, where Jonathan Maras was running into before he slotted the ball past the oncoming Glasson to give Hurstville a 3-1 lead.
Hurstville added their fourth and final goal of the match in the 83rd minute when Jonathan Maras crossed the ball to Andre Guzman in the box, who headed the ball across Glasson into the far-right side of the goal to give Hurstville a 4-0 lead.
Camden scored a consolation goal in the second minute of stoppage time when a through ball was played in behind the Hurstville defence, before the ball was cut across from the left to Camden substitute Jack Zitignani, who slotted the ball home to make the scoreline read 4-1 at the end of the match.
The win for Hurstville saw them stay in 8th place but also saw them close the gap to 7th-placed Granville Rage above them to just two points, while the loss for Camden saw them remain in 13th.
Hurstville will hope to win three-straight matches for the second time this season when they host 14th-placed Sydney University SFC next week, while Camden will hope to end their ten-match winless streak when they travel to face 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC.
Hurstville FC 4 (Jacob Botic 4’; Mouhamed Hamdache 66’; Jonathan Maras 77’; Andre Guzman 83’)
Camden Tigers FC 1 (Jack Zitignani 90+2’; Joshua Dengate 76’ red card)
Saturday, 20th July 2024
Central Coast United FC 1-0 Parramatta FC
Central Coast United FC won a fifth match from their past six after they snuck away with a 1-0 home win over Parramatta FC to complete the league double.
Parramatta held a lot of possession in the match but could not break through into the final third as Central Coast made the most of their limited opportunities.
With the match even at half-time and into the final minutes of the match, Parramatta had attempted a clearance which saw the ball fall back to the Pirates in the 85th minute.
Yuki Morikawa scored with five minutes to go in the match to give the Pirates a 1-0 home win over the Eagles.
Despite having 15 shots to five in the match, Parramatta were unable to put the ball in the back of the net as they lost.
The win for Central Coast United saw their rise in form continue as they stayed in 6th-place on the ladder, four points behind 5th-placed South Coast Flame FC with a match in hand, while the loss for Parramatta saw them drop from 10th to 11th as they lost a third match from their past four.
The Pirates will hope to continue hunting down the top six when they host last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic, while Parramatta will look for a response when they host 12th-placed Prospect United SC in the western Sydney derby.
Central Coast United FC 1 (Yuki Morikawa 85’)
Parramatta FC 0
Bankstown United FC 3-3 Mounties Wanderers FC
Late, late drama between the two teams currently sitting 2nd and 3rd on the ladder saw both teams settle for a 3-3 draw in an enthralling contest.
The best chance in the early exchanges of the match fell to Mounties’ Brima Kamara, who had his shot well saved by Bankstown goalkeeper, Mitchell Evans.
At the other end, Bankstown had a good chance when Raoel Yakub had his shot saved in the top corner by Mounties goalkeeper, Roberto D’Angelo.
Mounties took the lead in the 27th minute when a long back from the Mounties backline found Kamara, who got in behind and had his shot saved by Evans, before the rebound fell to Berisha, who calmly finished the chance to give Mounties a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Bankstown restored parity in the 62nd minute when a corner fell to Daniel Slane, who was unmarked at the back post, and slammed home a volley through players at the far post to draw Bankstown level at 1-1.
Mounties re-took their lead, however, in the 69th minute when a Mounties corner was driven into the far post area to Eijin Kishimoto, who out-jumped all the Bankstown players and headed the ball home to give Mounties a 2-1 lead.
Both teams continued to attack but in the 85th minute, Mounties’ Yuki Kanai found space on the left and beat his defender before he blasted the ball past Evans for his 24th goal of the season to give Mounties a late 3-1 lead.
Just one minute later, however, Bankstown pulled a goal back when a corner found Corey Freeman in the box at the back post – he headed the ball home to set up a grandstand finish with the score at 3-2.
Deep into stoppage time, in the 98th minute, Bankstown’s Marie Gauthier drove down the left side of the box and crossed the ball in before it was handled by a Mounties player and a penalty was given to Bankstown.
The league’s top goal scorer this season in Mitchell Cross made no mistake from the spot as he scored his 26th goal of the season and helped Bankstown complete their second comeback in as many games to snatch a 3-3 draw at the death.
The draw for Bankstown kept them in 2nd place on 48 points, two points ahead of Mounties Wanderers FC in 3rd, who have a match in hand, but also saw them fall to be 11 points behind the league-leading Newcastle Jets.
Bankstown will hope to still be in 2nd place when they travel to face 10th-placed Hawkesbury City FC next week, while Mounties have a Round 21 catch-up match away to 9th-placed Fraser Park FC mid-week before they host 13th-placed Camden Tigers FC in Round 26.
Bankstown United FC 3 (Daniel Slane 62’; Corey Freeman 86’; Mitchell Cross 90+8’ pen)
Mounties Wanderers FC 3 (Fikret Berisha 27’; Eijin Kishimoto 69’; Yuki Kanai 85’)
Fraser Park FC 0-0 South Coast Flame FC
Neither Fraser Park FC nor South Coast Flame FC were able to find the breakthrough as both sides settled for a 0-0 draw in a tight match.
The Flame’s Matthew Mazevski was bright with the ball early and the Flame created some good early chances, but Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira pulled off some strong saves to keep his sides’ clean sheet.
Francis Mcalpine had a few shots for Fraser Park in the first half, including a header which saw well saved by Flame goalkeeper Jordan Bruce.
The Flame hit back with a big chance of their own to Genki Iwata, but his effort went wide from ten yards out.
Six matches in the space of two weeks took its toll on the Fraser Park players, with Matthew Lecce forced off in the first half.
Blake Timillero had a snap-shot from the edge of the box for Fraser Park saved by Bruce before Michael Trajkovski had a chance to chip Ferreira but could not do so.
Shu Torihara had an effort for Fraser Park saved by Bruce before right on half-time Mcalpine drove solo with the ball towards goal but shot his effort over the bar as the two teams went into half-time scoreless.
In the second half, Fraser Park created some good goal-scoring opportunities but were unable to finish.
The Flame had a headed chance to Trajkovski which went over the bar before Samuel Alston had a chance in the 58th minute but could not keep his shot down.
Fraser Park’s final chance of the match fell to substitute Harry Skotadis, but his effort was saved in a stretched effort by Bruce.
The Flame had the last chance of the match, which saw the Fraser Park defence scramble to hold on for their clean sheet as the match finished in a 0-0 draw.
The draw for Fraser Park saw their unbeaten streak extend to five matches and saw them stay in 9th place on 29 points, while the draw for the Flame saw their promotion hopes take yet another hit as they stayed in 5th place on 42 points, six points behind 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC, who also have a match in hand over them.
Fraser Park will hope to continue their unbeaten run when they host 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC in a mid-week Round 21 catch-up match, before they host 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC in Round 26, while the Flame have a bye.
Fraser Park FC 0
South Coast Flame FC 0
Inner West Hawks FC 3-2 Granville Rage
Inner West Hawks FC picked up a big win in their battle for promotion this season after they held off Granville Rage 3-2 at home.
Takuma Hirano opened the scoring for the Hawks from the penalty spot when he was fouled in the penalty area in the 2nd minute after a ball was played in for him by Peter Phillips – Hirano made no mistake from the spot as he gave the Hawks the early 1-0 advantage.
Ten minutes later, Granville restored parity in the match when Ante Tomic found the back of the net from a free kick from outside the box to ensure the two sides went into half-time level.
Just four minutes into the second half, Peter Yannopoulos gave the Hawks the lead back after a cross from Peter Phillips from the left found Yannopoulos at the back post – he converted his chance to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
Hesan Soufi scored the Hawks’ third goal just before the hour mark when Yannopoulos played a long ball from midfield to him – Soufi converted with a shot from outside the box to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead.
The Rage pulled a goal back through Timothy Borg-Williams in the 71st minute but in a match where the Hawks had 19 shots to the Rage’s 11, it was the Hawks who came away with the 3-2 win.
Michael Sada was also shown a red card from the bench for the Rage in stoppage time towards the end of the match.
The win for the Hawks boosted their promotion hopes as they stayed in 4th place on 46 points but were now level with 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC and two points behind 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC, while the loss for the Rage saw them stay in 7th but drop to six points behind 6th-placed Central Coast United FC.
The Hawks will hope to do their part to stay in the promotion battle when they travel to face 9th-placed Fraser Park FC next week, while the Rage will hope to cause the biggest upset of the season when they host the unbeaten, top-of-the-table Newcastle Jets.
Inner West Hawks FC 3 (Takuma Hirano 2’ pen; Peter Yannopoulos 49’; Hesan Soufi 59’)
Granville Rage 2 (Ante Tomic 12’; Timothy Borg-Williams 71’; Michael Sada 90+4’ red card)
Sunday, 21st July 2024
Newcastle Jets 1-0 Sydney University SFC
The Newcastle Jets left it until late to grab a winner but continued their unbeaten season following a 1-0 home win over Sydney University SFC.
University kept the match tight and did not allow the Jets to play through them to score early, while the hosts tried their best to break down a resolute University defence.
With the scores level at half-time, the away side made multiple changes at and shortly after half-time to keep their fresh legs in the match.
With the Jets having 20 shots in the contest and University having 15, there was plenty of action in the match, but the major moment in the match happened in the 78th minute.
The Jets’ Max Wettig scored to give the Jets a late 1-0 lead at home over the students.
University had a penalty shout turned down in the match and were unable to find a late equaliser as the Jets ran out 1-0 winners in what was their fourth-straight head-to-head clean sheet against University.
The win for the Jets was their 18th of the season as they moved to within five matches of an unbeaten season and opened up an 11-point gap at the top of the table over 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC, while the loss for University saw them stay in 14th place, two points ahead of last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
The Newcastle Jets will hope to continue their remarkable unbeaten season and move a step closer to the league title and promotion when they travel to face 7th-placed Granville Rage, while University will hope to stay off the bottom of the ladder when they travel to play against 8th-placed Hurstville FC.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Max Wettig 78’)
Sydney University SFC 0
Prospect United SC had a bye in Round 25 and dropped from 11th to 12th.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)