Round 26 Review – League Two Men’s
The Newcastle Jets inched closer to the league title and automatic promotion following Round 26 of the 2024 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, while big results elsewhere shook up the crucial battle for 2nd.
The Match of the Round this week followed Fraser Park FC vs Inner West Hawks FC, where the Hawks picked up the three points in their bid for that 2nd spot.
Saturday, 27th July 2024
Match of the Round: Fraser Park FC 0-4 Inner West Hawks FC
Inner West Hawks FC kept up their chase for the all-important 2nd place this season with a big 4-0 away win over Fraser Park FC, which meant they also completed the league double.
The Hawks started the match strongly when in the 15th minute, Sidhya Malhotra took a strong shot on from outside the box, which hit the underside of the crossbar and went into the back of the net – he scored his first goal for the Hawks to give them a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Matthew Morris followed suit after half-time with his first goal for the Hawks – a cross from Tomohiro Ishii found Peter Yannopoulos, who played it back to Morris, who then curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box to double the visitors’ lead in the 48th minute.
One minute later, Takuma Hirano continued his prolific debut season for the Hawks when a quick throw-in from Yannopoulos found him, before he ran in behind the Fraser Park defence and slotted the ball home for his 21st goal of the season to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead.
The Hawks had 20 shots to 8 in the match, with 11 of their shots on target, as their attack fired, and their defence stood strong to deny the hosts many chances.
The Hawks rounded out the scoring in the 79th minute Ishii found Yannopoulos, who combined with Hesan Soufi in midfield, before Hirano crossed the ball to Michael Morrow, who also scored his first goal for the Hawks to give them a 4-0 away win.
The loss for Fraser Park dropped them from 9th to 10th, while the win for the Hawks was crucial and kept their 2nd-place charge going – they moved to 49 points, level with 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC and just two points behind 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC.
Fraser Park will hope to end their four-match winless streak when they travel to face 13th-placed Prospect United SC in Round 27, while the Hawks will play the biggest match of their season when they travel to face the title-chasing, unbeaten Newcastle Jets in a top-of-the-table blockbuster.
Fraser Park FC 0
Inner West Hawks FC 4 (Sidhya Malholtra 15’; Matthew Morris 48’; Takuma Hirano 49’; Michael Morrow 76’)
Friday, 26th July 2024
Mounties Wanderers FC 1-2 Camden Tigers FC
Camden Tigers FC claimed one of their biggest wins of the season in a 2-1 come-from-behind win over promotion-chasing Mounties Wanderers FC, who had their strong position for 2nd place take a hit.
Mounties had a strong start to the match and missed a few early opportunities but hit the lead in the 19th minute when Nikola Todoroski set up Aidan Taouil to give Mounties an early 1-0 lead.
The match changed in the 33rd minute when Eijin Kishimoto was shown a straight red card for a late challenge off the ball, which meant Mounties had to play the remainder of the match with ten men.
Camden capitalised on their extra-man advantage almost immediately in the 36th minute when Mounties failed to clear the ball and Joshua Mazurkiewicz converted following the goalmouth scramble to level the match at 1-1 at half-time.
Mounties could not get into a rhythm with ten men after half-time and Camden took advantage in the 52nd minute from a free-kick from distance – Aidan Quigley took the shot on directly from the free-kick and found the back of the net to give the Tigers a big 2-1 lead.
The Camden side put a game plan in place to see out the match and executed it to grab all three points in the contest.
Mounties pushed for the equaliser late but were unable to find the finish, with Camden goalkeeper Joshua Glasson making a few big saves, as the young Camden team came away with the big 2-1 away win.
The loss for Mounties saw them drop from 2nd to 3rd on 49 points, two points behind 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC as their promotion hopes took a hit, while the win for Camden ended a 10-match winless streak and saw them rise one spot to 12th.
Mounties will hope to respond after their bye in Round 27, while Camden will hunt back-to-back wins for the second time this season when they host last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Mounties Wanderers FC 1 (Aiden Taouil 19’; Eijin Kishimoto 33’ red card)
Camden Tigers FC 2 (Joshua Mazurkiewicz 36’; Aidan Quigley 52’)
Saturday, 27th July 2024
Granville Rage 1-4 Newcastle Jets
The Newcastle Jets moved to within one win of securing the league title after a strong 4-1 away win over Granville Rage, which also meant they completed the league double.
The Jets’ squad strength was on with seven different players starting than in their Round 11 matchup with the Rage and they started the match strongly.
Jordan Bayliss pulled off a few strong saves for the Jets early to keep the scores level.
The Jets opened the scoring through Xavier Bertoncello in the 26th minute following some fast combination passes on the counter – Bertoncello scored his 12th goal of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled in the 32nd minute when Wil Southcombe converted with a header as the Jets edged closer to another match unbeaten, ahead 2-0 at half-time.
Southcombe turned provider in the 47th minute when he played a delicate ball to Will Dobson, who scored with a spectacular finish to continue his strong season and give the Jets a 3-0 lead.
Ante Tomic helped the Rage hit back in the 61st minute after he scored his 14th goal of the season, this one from the penalty spot, to make the score read 3-1.
The Jets had 24 shots to 13 in the match and rounded out the scoring in the 77th minute when Southcombe scored his second goal of the match, to go with his assist, after he slotted the ball low and hard into the back of the net to wrap up a strong 4-1 Jets win.
The loss for the Rage saw them drop from 7th to 8th, while the win for the Jets saw them move to 24 matches unbeaten and to 62 points – regardless of other results in Round 27, a win for the Jets would see them crowned the 2024 League Two Men’s Premiers and would see them promoted to the League One Men’s competition for 2025.
The Rage will hope to respond when they travel to face 5th-placed South Coast Flame FC next week, while the Jets will look to wrap up the title and influence the battle for 2nd when they host 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC.
Granville Rage 1 (Ante Tomic 61’ pen)
Newcastle Jets 4 (Xavier Bertoncello 26’; Wil Southcombe 32’, 77’; Will Dobson 47’)
Central Coast United FC 7-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
Central Coast United FC recorded their biggest win of the season and continued their hot streak to end the season after they defeated Gladesville Ryde Magic 7-0 at home.
The Pirates started the match positively and on the front foot and had a few chances early which they were unable to take.
Jack Ragen converted his chance in the 13th minute, however, to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead.
Gladesville had a good period in the first half where they delivered dangerous ball into the box, which forced the Pirates to defend bravely, clear crosses and block shots.
The Pirates continued to attack, themselves, and Cade Mapu was the beneficiary in the 33rd minute when he scored to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, nice combination play saw Alex Arbelo score to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
Mapu scored his second goal of the match and his 9th of the season to give the hosts a 4-0 lead, while they continued to attack.
Jack Regan completed his double in the 66th minute, before Barney Irvine-Rundle got in on the scoring action two minutes later to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead.
Arbelo completed his double in the first minute of stoppage time to wrap up the Pirates biggest win of the season – 7-0 over the Magic.
The win for the Pirates was their third in a row as their best run of the season continued, as they stayed in 6th place, just one point behind 5th-placed South Coast Flame FC, while the loss for the Magic kept them in last place on 12 points, two points behind 14th-placed Sydney University SFC.
Central Coast United will hope to continue their momentum when they travel to face 11th-placed Hawkesbury City FC in Round 27, while the Magic have a Round 23 catch-up match away to 9th-placed Parramatta FC midweek before they travel to face 12th-placed Camden Tigers FC in Round 27.
Central Coast United FC 7 (Jack Regan 13’, 66’; Cade Mapu 33’, 57’; Alex Arbelo 54’, 90+1’; Barney Irvine-Rundle 68’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Parramatta FC 5-1 Prospect United SC
Parramatta FC completed the league double and put in a strong showing in their 5-1 home win over local rivals Prospect United SC.
With Prospect captain Dimos Vlachos unavailable, defenders Daniel Mihaljovic and Shaan Birring injured, the club’s top goal scorer in 2024 Anthony Idehen departing the club, as well as Hristopher Neskovski being signed by League One Men’s side Hakoah Sydney City East FC, Prospect fielded a younger side for this match.
Parramatta capitalised on their early momentum when Jamie Bazevski scored to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Prospect had some good passages of play following that but were not able to find an equaliser.
Jordan Parfait scored in the 29th minute to give Parramatta a 2-0 lead in a contest they were finding joy in.
Jacob Basden also found the back of the net for the Eagles, in the 36th minute, which gave the hosts a 3-0 lead.
That lead soon became 4-0 when Parfait completed his double in the 39th minute as Parramatta completed a strong first half in style.
Prospect held the ball in the second half and looked to attack, but Parramatta scored their fifth goal of the match just after the hour mark through Ali Chamsin for a 5-0 lead.
Prospect scored a consolation goal in the 65th minute following good press from Tallon Zahra – he played a ball to the back post to substitute Jeremiah Dawo, who tapped the ball home with his first touch in the contest to make the scoreline read 5-1 at full-time.
The win for Parramatta was their second in three matches and saw them just from 11th tom 9th on the ladder, while the loss for Prospect saw them drop from 12th to 13th.
Parramatta will look for a third win in four matches when they host last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic in a Round 23 catch-up match before they host 7th-placed Hurstville FC in Round 27, while Prospect will hope to end their five-match winless streak when they host 10th-placed Fraser Park FC.
Parramatta FC 5 (Jamie Bazevski 7’; Jordan Parfait 29’, 39’; Jacob Basden 36’; Ali Chamsin 61’)
Prospect United SC 1 (Jeremiah Dawo 65’)
Hawkesbury City FC 3-4 Bankstown United FC
A Mitchell Cross hat-trick lifted a ten-man Bankstown United FC to a big 4-3 win over Hawkesbury City FC as their promotion hopes gained a big boost.
Bankstown drew first blood in the contest when Mitchell Edmunds was fouled in the penalty area – that brought Mitchell Cross to the spot, who continued his prolific season with a converted penalty to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Hawkesbury hit back in the 35th minute when Gregory Kondek found space inside the Bankstown box and calmly slotted the ball home to level the match at 1-1.
Three minutes later, Marie Gauthier beat his man on the left and hit a long shot across goal, which found the top-right far corner to give Bankstown the lead back at 2-1.
Right on the stroke of half-time, Cross finished off a chance from a ball delivered in from the right to give Bankstown a 3-1 half-time lead.
A midfield battle between the two sides saw a tight opening to the second half before Bankstown were reduced to ten men in the 58th minute when Bankstown left-back Alejandro Salgueira received a second yellow card.
One minute later, Hawkesbury’s Vincent D’Ermilio finished off a chance from inside the box to bring the deficit down to one goal for the hosts.
Three minutes later, Hawkesbury scored a near-identical goal to Gauthier’s in the first half when Blair Smith found the back of the net to level the match at 3-3.
Bankstown continued to attack on the counter from there with ten men, but it was from a corner in the 77th minute where they found their moment.
The corner found Cross, who rose above his markers in the box and headed the ball home powerfully for his 29th goal of the season, which put him four-goals clear in the Golden Boot race and gave Bankstown a big 4-3 away win over Hawkesbury.
The loss for Hawkesbury saw them drop from 10th to 11th on the ladder, while the win for Bankstown gave them a big boost in their promotion-playoff hopes as they moved up from 3rd to 2nd, two points ahead of both 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC and 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC.
Hawkesbury will look to respond when they host 7th-placed Hurstville FC in a Round 23 catch-up match before they host 6th-placed Central Coast United in Round 27, while Bankstown will look to continue their charge for 2nd when they travel to face 14th-placed Sydney University SFC.
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Gregory Kondek 35’; Vincent D’Ermilio 59’; Blair Smith 62’)
Bankstown United FC 4 (Mitchell Cross 15’ pen, 45’, 77’; Marie Gauthier 38’; Alejandro Salgueira 58’ red card)
Hurstville FC 2-1 Sydney University SFC
An early goal and a late goal helped Hurstville FC hold off Sydney University SFC for the three points in a big 2-1 home win as they completed the league double.
Hurstville took the early lead in the 2nd minute off a Jonathan Maras corner, which found Jacob Botic at the back post before he headed the ball home strongly to give the hosts the early advantage.
Hurstville held the ball well in the first half and forced University goalkeeper Jasper Sarkies into a few early saves.
Hurstville pressed to win the ball in midfield and higher up and also forced University to play the ball out from their half.
University had a golden chance to level the match just before half-time through a header off a corner, but Botic headed the ball off the line to keep Hurstville ahead 1-0 at the break.
University started the second half brightly and converted a chance in the 51st minute when a through ball to the back post found Peter Zervos, who just managed to slot his effort home to level the match at 1-1.
Hurstville hit back and continued to attack following that but could not find the goal that would put them back in the lead.
In the 87th minute, however, Hurstville attacked through Stephan Perak, who hit a long ball from a clearance which found Jonathan Maras, who controlled the ball and beat a few players before he spread the ball wide to George Salachoris.
He drove the ball to the front post to Andre Guzman, who got a touch on the ball before the ball went into the back of the net off University’s Samuel Paslis for a 2-1 win at the death.
The win for Hurstville was their third in a row and saw them rise from 8th to 7th on the ladder, while the loss for University kept them in 14th, two points ahead of last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Hurstville will hunt a fourth-straight win when they travel to face 11th-placed Hawkesbury City FC in a Round 23 catch-up match, before they travel to play against 9th-placed Parramatta FC in Round 27, while University will look to upset 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC when they host them in Round 27.
Hurstville FC 2 (Jacob Botic 2’; Samuel Paslis 87’ own goal)
Sydney University SFC 1 (Peter Zervos 51’)
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)
