Round 1 Review – League Two Men’s
A whopping 27 goals were scored in the opening 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s round, with action ranging from large scorelines, to late goals, to big comebacks.
The Match of the Round this week saw Parramatta FC hold off Inner West Hawks FC in the battle of the birds in a fiery affair at a wet Melita Stadium.
Saturday, 8th February 2025
Match of the Round: Parramatta FC 1-0 Inner West Hawks FC
Parramatta FC’s tenure under new Head Coach Stamati Glaro got off to a strong start with a 1-0 home win over Inner West Hawks FC in a well-fought contest with a fiery finish, with both teams seeing red in the contest.
In the wet, Parramatta started on fire off a corner in the 6th minute, delivered into the box by Jordan Gomez, which evaded Hawks’ goalkeeper Gene Marantos in the six-yard-box and fell to Parramatta’s Christopher Arditti at the back post.
He took his big chance and thundered home a strong right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Both sides traded blows after that, with two shots from Hawks’ Louis Bozanic going wide and shots from Parramatta’s Marco Sama and Thomas Nicholas going wide, respectfully.
The end of the half saw more chances for the Eagles, with Jordan Parfait having a strong shot saved to the right of Marantos in the Hawks’ goal just after the half-hour mark, before he also hit an effort over the goal from the resulting corner.
The Hawks had one final chance in first-half stoppage time, but a dangerous ball into the box evaded all the Hawks attackers, with the half ending with the score 1-0 to Parramatta.
After the break, Parramatta had an early chance on target saved, before the Hawks had three attempts in four minutes go wide of the target as they searched for a way back into the contest.
Parramatta hit back with the next four attempts in the match, with their biggest chance coming in the 80th minute, where repeated attempts on target by the Parramatta players saw a final shot cleared off the line by Marantos.
In the 85th minute, the Hawks were reduced to ten men when they lost a player due to injury and had already used all of their subs.
Throughout the contest, Parramatta had made many runs in behind to create chances but were caught offside on multiple occasions as they looked to double their lead.
Eight minutes of stoppage time were added to the match and in that time is where the contest came to a fiery conclusion.
Following a challenge, a bit of push and shove was exchanged between a few of the Eagles and Hawks players.
The result of that brawl saw Angelo Pezzano sent off for the Hawks and Jordan Hassiem shown red for the Eagles – the Eagles finished the match with ten men, while the Hawks ended up with nine men following the earlier injury.
Parramatta started their season with a strong result against the Hawks in a well-controlled 1-0 win with a fiery finish, with a result which meant they moved to seven matches unbeaten head-to-head against the Hawks.
Speaking post-match, Parramatta defender Tarek Elrich said it took the pressure off to get the early goal in the season.
“I think it just takes a bit of pressure off the boys; it is always nice to get the first goal of the season and to get it nice and early was good.”
Speaking on the end of the match, Elrich spoke on how he will ensure the squad’s discipline is reinforced after that incident.
“Discipline is very big on the way I approach myself in games, so I do not like our players getting sent off… I will definitely be having a word to Jordan (Hassiem) and the boys because that is something we do not want to be known for.”
Hawks player Peter Yannopoulos, meanwhile, said his side should have defended better for the goal they conceded.
“Poor marking, in the end… as a team effort, it was pretty poor.”
On the red card incident, Yannopoulos did not see exactly what happened but talked through his understanding of the situation.
“In the league that we are in, everyone is fighting for those second (balls), everyone is trying to win, so these things can happen.”
Parramatta FC will hope to win back-to-back matches to start the season when they travel to face Granville Rage in the western Sydney derby, while Inner West Hawks FC have a bye in Round two.
Parramatta FC 1 (Christopher Arditti 7’; Jordan Hassiem 90+5’ red card)
Inner West Hawks FC 0 (Angelo Pezzano 90+5’ red card)
Friday, 7th February 2025
Hurstville Zagreb FC 2-0 Dunbar Rovers FC
Hurstville Zagreb FC started their season on the front foot after a strong 2-0 win over ten-man Dunbar Rovers at Penshurst Park.
A cagey start saw the match played in the middle-third of the pitch, before Hurstville started to gain more possession but lacked the final ball into the box.
Declan Sheldon missed a header from close range in the first half before Jesse Gagro shot wide with an effort.
Dunbar were direct in their approach and had a few chances from corner but were not able to test Michael Rutherford in the Hurstville goal.
Dunbar were reduced to ten men in the 35th minute when Jesse Gagro was fouled just outside the box while making a run in behind by the last defender, Gianni Costantino, who received a red card for his challenge and meant Dunbar had to change their game plan.
Hurstville had a few half-chances to end the half but lacked execution as the half ended scoreless.
Hurstville started the second half strongly with a chance to Jonathan Maras, who hit a shot wide early, but they took their chance in the 59th minute.
Samuel Shainfeld played Declan Sheldon in behind before the latter whipped a cross into the box for Jacob Botic, who headed the ball home to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
New signing Nikola Todoroski came off the bench with an immediate impact in the 63rd minute when he was played a ball by Shainfeld and chipped Dunbar goalkeeper Benjamin Wrigley to give Hurstville a 2-0 lead.
Todoroski and Andre Guzman had good chances saved late by Wrigley, who kept the deficit to two goals.
Dunbar had a big chance to score late in the match but their shot was saved well by Hurstville’s Michael Rutherford down to his right to keep the hosts’ clean sheet intact in a big 2-0 win.
Hurstville will hope to score back-to-back wins to start the year when they host Sydney University SFC in Round Two, while Dunbar will look to bounce back from their loss when they host Fraser Park FC.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 2 (Jacob Botic 59’; Nikola Todoroski 63’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 0 (Gianni Costantino 35’ red card)
Hawkesbury City FC 2-2 Bankstown United FC
A late goal for Bankstown United FC saw them salvage a point away to Hawkesbury City FC in a tight match which finished 2-2.
In a fast and physical match, both teams pushed hard to have the ascendancy when it came to field position.
Bankstown goalkeeper Mitchell Evans pulled off some big saves early to deny Hawkesbury, saving shots from Vincent Dermilio and Harry Drew to keep the scores level.
Bankstown took a 1-0 lead on the stroke of half-time when Harry Stavris headed home a strong effort from a corner to reward the visitor’s resilience before the break.
The Hawks came out strongly in the second half, with a quick goal to Harry Drew in the 47th minute levelling the contest.
Hawkesbury took the lead for the first time in the match on the hour mark when Dermilio finished off his chance to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage.
Bankstown did not give up the fight, however, and in the 85th minute were rewarded a penalty, which 2024’s Golden Boot winner Mitchell Cross converted with conviction to ensure the contest ended 2-2, and extended their unbeaten streak against Hawkesbury to six matches.
Hawkesbury will hope to have a good start to the season away from home when they face Prospect United SC in Round Two, while Bankstown will make the tough trip down the coast when they visit South Coast United FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 2 (Harry Drew 47’; Vincent Dermilio 60’)
Bankstown United FC 2 (Harry Stavris 44’; Mitchell Cross 85’ pen)
Saturday, 8th February 2025
Central Coast United FC 2-1 Sydney University SFC
Central Coast United FC got their season off to a strong start with a 2-1 home win over Sydney University SFC in comeback victory.
In a tight first half, Central Coast enjoyed more of the ball, with University soaking up the pressure and winning the ball back to counter, which led to them creating a few chances, stopped by the Central Coast defence on the break.
The hosts had an early header to Zac Pezzutto, but his effort went over the bar.
Central Coast goalkeeper Zayd Husain made a good save to deny the students off a header from a corner in the first half.
Central Coast were unable to break down University with shots from range in a first half which ended scoreless.
University took a 1-0 lead in the 65th minute when Stefan Visscher turned and finished in the box to net his first goal for the club on his debut.
Central Coast responded and after building some pressure through crosses, found success with one in the 73rd minute through Ben Flakus, who got on the end of a Michael Singh cross on the right from six yards out and scored to level the match at 1-1.
The Pirates scored the winner in the 82nd minute when Cayleb Murray got on the end of a Mark Partridge cross with a diving header at full stretch to win the match for the hosts.
Central Coast had a few chances late to add a third, while the students also had a chance with a strong volley which was handles well by Hussein to keep it out.
In a tight match, where Central Coast held possession and University struck on the counter, it was the hosts who came away with a 2-1 win to start their season, which was the same scoreline as their home match in 2024 against University.
Central Coast will hope to go two-for-two to start the season when they travel to face Gladesville Ryde Magic in Round Two, while University will look to grab their first win when they make another away trip in Round Two, this time to Hurstville Zagreb FC.
Central Coast United FC 2 (Ben Flakus 73’; Cayleb Murray 75’)
Sydney University SFC 1 (Stefan Visscher 65’)
Camden Tigers FC 5-1 Fraser Park FC
Camden Tigers FC put on a five-star performance in their 5-1 win over ten-man Fraser Park FC to kick off the new season at Ron Dine Memorial Reserve.
The warning signs for Fraser Park were shown early when a strike from Camden was saved at point-blank range by Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira in the 7th minute.
Camden put Fraser Park to the sword from there with the opening goal in the 9th minute from Avisai Vunisasaro.
Following that, just two minutes later, Camden’s highest goal scorer from 2024, Bailey Simpson, scored to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Two became three in the 20th minute when Dean Mugridge scored for the Tigers, before a fourth was added just 22 minutes into the match by Cameron Ha.
Lightning struck in the 23rd minute, with the match temporarily suspended while the storm passed over, which gave Fraser Park the chance to regroup and make a few tweaks.
A goalkeeping error from Camden in the 60th minute gave William Wright the chance score for Fraser Park to make the scoreline read 4-1.
Zac Ribeiro was shown a red card for Fraser Park in the 65th minute, leaving the visitors with ten men for the remainder of the contest.
Ferreira kept out four good chances from Camden in the second half to ensure his Fraser Park side did not suffer a bigger defeat.
However, a late goalkeeping error from Ferreira helped Camden score their fifth goal of the night, this time through Simpson once again, to give the Tigers a strong 5-1 win to start the year.
Camden will hope to gain confidence from this result as they prepare to face Nepean FC next week, while Fraser Park will look to make amends in the local grudge match away to Dunbar Rovers FC.
Camden Tigers FC 5 (Avisai Vunisasaro 9’; Bailey Simpson 11’, 86’; Dean Mugridge 20’; Cameron Ha 22’)
Fraser Park FC 1 (William Wright 60’; Zac Ribeiro 65’ red card)
South Coast Flame FC 7-0 Granville Rage
South Coast Flame FC sent out a statement in their opening match of the season with their biggest win in their nine-year history – a 7-0 home win over Granville Rage to start the year.
The Flame were rewarded for their early pressure after just four minutes when Jyden Harb charged down an attempted clearance from Rage goalkeeper Samuel Bortolazzo, with the ball deflecting into the back of the Rage goal to give the Flame a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Flame Captain Matthew Mazevski found Adam Timpano-Voloder on the edge of the box, who slotted the ball home to double the Flame’s lead.
Both teams traded shots from there, with the Rage’s Yuto Shinagawa volleying over and the Flame’s Kade Kinsella also firing over.
In the 34th minute, Harb scored his second after being played in by Dylan Caton after rounding Bortolazzo to give the Flame a 3-0 lead.
On the stroke of half-time, Harb was brought down in the Rage box, with Kinsella slotting the ball home from the spot to give the Flame a 4-0 half-time lead.
Two minutes after the break, Timpano-Voloder curled an effort from the edge of the box into the far corner for the Flame’s fifth goal of the match.
Harb had another shot shortly after saved by Bortolazzo, before Asmir Kadric headed over at the other end from close range for the Rage.
The Flame had a sixth goal in the 64th minute when Harry James slipped a ball to Kinsella at the back post, who scored to give the Flame’s dream night more fuel.
Flame substitute Ben Caroutas rounded out the record-breaking night for the Flame in the 90th minute after he drove into the box and finished his chance to give the Flame a 7-0 home win to start the season.
The Flame will hope to build off the back of their historic night when they host Bankstown United FC in Round Two, while the Rage will hope to make amends for the defeat when they host Parramatta FC in the western Sydney derby.
South Coast Flame FC 7 (Jyden Harb 7’, 34’; Adam Timpano-Voloder 7’, 47’; Kade Kinsella 45+2’ pen, 64’; Ben Caroutas 90’)
Granville Rage 0
Nepean FC 3-1 Gladesville Ryde Magic
Nepean FC got their season off to a strong start with a 3-1 home win over ten-man Gladesville Ryde Magic at Cook Park.
Gladesville were reduced to ten men in the 8th minute when Mandlenkosi Ndlovu was shown a red card, which meant the Magic had to play all-but eight minutes of the match with ten men.
After that, the Magic did their best to absorb the Nepean attacks with a strong defensive shape, but Nepean managed to work their way around that shape on two occasions in the first half to earn penalties in the 17th and 41st minutes, respectively, which were both converted by Mathew Crossley to give Nepean a 2-0 half-time lead.
Nepean scored a third goal in the 57th minute through Munyaradzi Muchemwa to all-but secure the three points in the contest.
The Magic pushed forward late and were rewarded with a penalty of their own, which was converted by Bonmyeong Koo to make the scoreline read 3-1 at the end of the match.
Nepean will hope to score back-to-back wins to start the season when they host Camden Tigers FC in Round Two, while the Magic will look to respond when they host Central Coast United FC.
Nepean FC 3 (Mathew Crossley 17’ pen, 41’ pen; Munyaradzi Muchemwa 57’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Bonmyeong Koo 62’ pen, Mandlenkosi Ndlovu 8’ red card)
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
