Round 28 Review – League Two Men’s
More big results in the race for promotion ensured the final few weeks of the 2024 FNSW League Two Men’s season would be full of drama following Round 28’s action.
The Match of the Round this week saw Mounties Wanderers FC take a big stride forward in their pursuit of 2nd place in their big home win over Hurstville FC.
Saturday, 10th August 2024
Match of the Round: Mounties Wanderers FC 3-1 Hurstville FC
Mounties Wanderers FC took a big step forward in their battle for 2nd this season with a big 3-1 home victory over Hurstville FC.
The hosts started the match strongly with a goal in the 9th minute to Nikola Todoroski – he capitalised off some good build-up play from Yuki Kanai, who beat a few defenders down the right wing and crossed the ball into the middle for Todoroski, who scored to give Mounties an early 1-0 lead.
Mounties won a penalty in the first half but were unable to take advantage, with the attempt from the spot saved by Hurstville goalkeeper, Michael Rutherford.
Hurstville were structured and made the match difficult for Mounties, but the hosts continued to push forward and were rewarded from some build-up play down the right once more in the 34th minute.
This time, Dany Ghetti sent the cross into the box for Todoroski, who once again took his chance inside the box to double Mounties’ lead at 2-0 at half-time.
Hurstville had success down their right flank many times in the first half but missed the final pass in their build-up play.
After the break, Mounties did not take their chances and Hurstville continued to compete – Hurstville pulled a goal back in the 70th minute when Mouhamed Hamdache finished off a counterattack after good play from Alexander Morabito and Jonathan Maras to halve the deficit at 2-1.
Mounties hit straight back and retook their two-goal lead in the 75th minute when Ghetti and Brima Kamara combined down the right wing, with Fikret Berisha the beneficiary in the middle from a good header after he made a late run into the box – Berisha’s goal secured the 3-1 home win for Mounties.
Mounties completed the league double over Hurstville, winning both matches by a 3-1 scoreline.
The win for Mounties saw them close to within two points of 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC with a match in hand and move two points clear of 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC, while the loss for Hurstville saw them suffer back-to-back defeats for the first time since Round 17 as they dropped from 7th to 9th.
Mounties have a crucial Round 23 catch-up match in their final home match of the season to Inner West Hawks FC in their bid for 2nd place this season before they travel to face 14th-placed Sydney University SFC next week, while Hurstville will look to return to winning ways when they travel to take on the in-form 5th-placed Central Coast United FC.
Mounties Wanderers FC 3 (Nikola Todoroski 9’, 34’; Fikret Berisha 75’)
Hurstville FC 1 (Mouhamed Hamdache 70’)
Central Coast United FC 4-1 Fraser Park FC
Central Coast United FC continued to be the form team of the competition and racked up a fifth-straight win after their 4-1 home success over Fraser Park FC.
Fraser Park started strongly in the match in the first 15 minutes and created a few chances, but it was the Pirates who took the lead in the 26th minute when they were awarded a free kick.
Jack Ragen stepped up from 25 yards out and blasted the ball direct from the free kick into the back of the net for one of the goals of the season so far to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Cayleb Murray doubled the hosts lead in the 39th minute when he got on the end of some fast build-up play and scored from inside the box to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Fraser Park made three changes at the break and started the second half strongly, with a goal in the 48th minute to Matthew Lecce, who scored with one of his first touches of the match off the bench, with his shot going in at the right post to make the score read 2-1.
Central Coast, however, continued to hurt Fraser Park with pace out wide and grabbed a third goal through Daniel Mcfarlane, whose shot from about 30 yards skidded along the ground and found the back of the net for a 3-1 Pirates lead.
Ben Flakus came off the bench and scored his 9th goal of the season when he took one the Fraser Park defence one-on-one and slotted the ball home to give the Pirates a 4-1 win.
The win for the Pirates was their fifth in a row and saw them rise from 6th to 5th on the ladder, two points behind 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC, who have a match in hand, while the loss for Fraser Park saw them stay in 11th.
Central Coast United will hope to win a sixth-straight match when they host 9th-placed Hurstville FC next week, while Fraser Park will look to end a six-match winless streak when they look to be the only team to take down the Premiers, the Newcastle Jets, when they travel away.
Central Coast United FC 4 (Jack Ragen 26’; Cayleb Murray 39’; Daniel Mcfarlane 60’; Ben Flakus 90+2’)
Fraser Park FC 1 (Matthew Lecce 48’)
Hawkesbury City FC 1-2 Parramatta FC
Parramatta FC continued their best run of their season with a fourth-straight win after they came from behind to grab a 2-1 away win over Hawkesbury City FC in a battle of the birds as they completed the league double.
The Hawks started the match strongly and were rewarded in the 26th minute when Nathan Niski crossed a ball into the box for James Thurtell, who thundered a volley in from close range to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the break.
Parramatta made three changes at half-time and were rewarded almost immediately in the 52nd minute when substitute Bo Hyun Chun beat Hawkesbury goalkeeper, Daniel Schwarzer, with a long-range free kick to level the match at 1-1.
Bo Hyun Chun was the difference-maker once again in the 64th minute when he found the back of the net from the top of the box to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
Parramatta continued to attack and had a one-on-one chance to Jordan Parfait saved by Schwarzer, while at the other end Hawkesbury substitute Brad Gibson had a chance to level the match but could not find the back of the net as the match finished Parramatta’s way, 2-1.
The loss for Hawkesbury saw them go four matches without a win as they stayed in 12th, while Parramatta’s rise continued with a fourth-straight win as they rose from 8th to 7th.
Hawkesbury will hope to respond when they host 6th-placed South Coast Flame FC next week, while Parramatta will look to continue their strong form when they travel to face 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 1 (James Thurtell 26’)
Parramatta FC 2 (Bo Hyun Chun 52’, 64’)
Camden Tigers FC 2-1 South Coast Flame FC
Camden Tigers FC continued their best run of the season so far with a third-straight win after they put out South Coast Flame FC in a big 2-1 home win.
The Tigers went out with a strong intent to be solid defensively for as long as they could in the match and took that mentality into half-time with the scores locked at 0-0.
Camden’s gameplan worked when they hit the lead in the 64th minute through Avisai Vunisasaro, who scored in back-to-back matches to give the hosts a big 1-0 lead.
The Flame made a few changes and levelled the match at 1-1 in the 78th minute when Jay De Gouveia found himself on the scoresheet as the Flame looked to come from behind.
Camden responded quickly though in the 83rd minute through Bailey Simpson, who scored his 9th goal of the season to give Camden the 2-1 home win late.
The win for Camden was their third in a row and saw them close in on the sides ahead of them on the ladder, while the loss for the Flame saw them drop from 5th to 6th, two points behind 5th-placed Central Coast United FC.
Camden will hope to win a fourth-straight match and have their say on the promotion race when they travel to face 4th-placed Inner West Hawks FC, while the Flame will hope to finish as high as they can this season when they travel to face 12th-placed Hawkesbury City FC.
Camden Tigers FC 2 (Avisai Vunisasaro 64’; Bailey Simpson 83’)
South Coast Flame FC 1 (Jay De Gouveia 78’)
Granville Rage 5-4 Bankstown United FC
Granville Rage threw another twist into the promotion race in a match where they came from behind twice and grabbed a 5-4 home win over Bankstown United FC, who had their promotion hopes take a big hit.
The Rage started well with strong build-up play down the left from Adrian Neoklis, who found Asmir Kadric – he scored to give the Rage a big 1-0 lead early in the 4th minute.
Bankstown hit back one minute later through Mitchell Edmunds, who made the most of a mistake at the back from the Rage and scored to level the match at 1-1.
Bankstown hit the lead for the first time in the match in the 17th minute when Mitchell Cross converted a penalty to give Bankstown a 2-1 lead.
The Rage responded from the penalty spot, themselves, in the 20th minute, when Ante Tomic converted from the spot kick to level the match at 2-2 in a frantic start.
Bankstown took a 3-2 lead into half-time when Edmunds completed his double in the 34th minute – he made the most of a counterattacking opportunity and finished off the move to help Bankstown take the one-goal advantage into the second half.
After the break, the Rage levelled the match once again, this time at 3-3, when Timothy Trainor scored a volley across goal in the 79th minute.
The Rage took the lead four minutes later through Kadric, who scored from outside the box to set up the Rage for a big upset win.
The Rage wrapped up the victory in the first minute of stoppage time when George Issa, who was playing in his final home match for the club, converted from another penalty to give the Rage a 5-3 lead.
Bankstown scored a consolation goal from the spot through Mitchell Cross in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but that just made the final score read 5-4 to the Rage.
The win for the Rage saw them snap their three-match losing streak as they rose from 9th into 8th, while the loss for Bankstown was their first in five matches as they stayed in 2nd, but opened themselves up to being overtaken ahead of the penultimate match week by 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC, who have a match in hand.
The Rage will have the week off with a bye in Round 29, while Bankstown will hope to respond straight away in their quest for promotion when they host the high-flying, 7th-placed Parramatta FC next week.
Granville Rage 5 (Asmir Kadric 4’, 83’; Ante Tomic 20’ pen; Timothy Trainor 79’; George Issa 90+1’ pen)
Bankstown United FC 4 (Mitchell Edmunds 5’, 34’; Mitchell Cross 17’ pen, 90+7’ pen)
Sunday, 11th August 2024
Newcastle Jets 5-2 Gladesville Ryde Magic
The Newcastle Jets moved to within two matches of an undefeated season after they came from behind to grab a 5-2 home win over Gladesville Ryde Magic, who were resigned to a last-placed finish for the season following the defeat.
Genki Kohyama gave the Magic a dream start in Newcastle when he scored to give them a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.
The Jets hit back through Wil Southcombe, who levelled the match for the Jets in the 35th minute to ease their concerns before the break.
That goal opened up the match for the Jets, who took the lead four minutes later through Kierry James as they looked to assert themselves in the contest.
One minute before half-time, the Jets took a 3-1 lead when Taye Power-O’Toole found the back of the net to give the Jets a 3-1 advantage at half-time.
After the break, Kohyama completed his double in the 78th minute to give the Magic some hope in the match once again to make the score read 3-2 to the hosts.
The Jets stayed calm, however, and Southcombe was the beneficiary with his second goal in the 83rd minute to give the Jets some breathing room at 4-2 up.
The Jets wrapped up the victory from the penalty spot after they were awarded a penalty – Tyler Frost was shown a red card for the Magic as Angus Muddle made no mistake from the spot to wrap up a 5-2 home win for the Jets.
The win for the Jets saw them move to within two matches of an unbeaten season as they looked to continue to create history, while the loss for the Magic saw them fall an unassailable five points behind 14th-placed Sydney University SFC at the bottom of the ladder with only one match to play for them.
The Jets will look to go a whole season unbeaten at home when they host 11th-placed Fraser Park FC in their final home match of the season next week, while the Magic will hope to find some positives when they host 13th-placed Prospect United SC.
Newcastle Jets 5 (Wil Southcombe 35’, 83’; Kierry James 39’; Taye Power-O’Toole 44’; Angus Muddle 90’ pen)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 2 (Genki Kohyama 20’, 78’; Tyler Frost 90’ red card)
Sydney University SFC 1-0 Prospect United SC
Sydney University SFC avoided a last-placed finish this season after a tight 1-0 home win over Prospect United SC.
Prospect suffered some bad luck early, with Blake Steward replaced early following an injury, forcing them to make early alterations.
Joseph Roddy capitalised on a good piece of play in the 32nd minute to give University a 1-0 lead in the contest.
Prospect were forced into another change with Tallon Zahra leaving the field injured, with more alterations to the Prospect side before half-time.
After the break, Prospect came out with intent and hit the post through Shaan Birring off a set piece, before Blake Mottram headed just over the crossbar from inside the box.
Debutant Prospect goalkeeper Jude Azar kept the visitors in the contest with two big saves down to deny University from scoring more goals in the contest with Prospect throwing numbers forward late.
University saw out the match and earned a 1-0 home win over Prospect, which was their second home win in three matches.
The win for University saw them create an unassailable five-point gap over last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic and will finish the season in 14th place, while the loss for Prospect saw them stay in 13th.
University will hope to continue to have their say on the promotion race when they host 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC next week, while Prospect will hope to step up in their final home match of the season when they travel to face last-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Sydney University SFC 1 (Joseph Roddy 32’)
Prospect United SC 0
Inner West Hawks FC had their bye in Round 28 and stayed in 4th place.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)
