Round 3 Review – League Two Men’s
There was no shortage of action in Round Three of the 2025 FNSW League Two Men’s season, with more big score lines and unbelievable goals.
The Match of the Round this week saw South Coast Flame FC bounce back from their Round Two defeat with a tight victory over Prospect United SC.
Saturday, 22nd February 2025
Match of the Round: Prospect United SC 1-2 South Coast Flame FC
South Coast Flame FC went a fifth-straight head-to-head match unbeaten over Prospect United SC after they held on for a 2-1 away win.
Daniel Merola got the ball rolling for the Flame in the 5th minute when he forced a strong save from Prospect goalkeeper Jude Azar, and the Flame player soon had a goal to reward his strong start.
Just two minutes later, the Flame took a 1-0 lead in extraordinary circumstances when a clearance down the left from Azar fell straight into the path of Merola, who took the opportunity from 30 yards with Azar off his line and floated the ball into the back of the net from range.
Prospect almost hit straight back a few minutes later when a failed clearance from the Flame defence fell to Prospect’s Andre Cavallaro, but his effort went wide of the post.
The Flame had Prospect pinned into their own half in the opening 20 minutes, but after that Prospect looked to hold the ball better and create.
In the 32nd minute, Prospect’s Anthony Idehen shrugged off his defender and worked his way into the box down the left, before he forced a strong save from Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic.
The Flame had a golden chance to double their lead in the 38th minute when high press from the Flame inside the Prospect box saw them win the ball and square it to Jyden Harb, but Harb’s effort on goal was saved well down low by Azar.
Prospect had one final chance to end the first half, with slick build-up play resulting in a wide shot, as they went into half-time 1-0 down to the Flame.
After the break, Prospect had another chance through Idehen, but his attempted header saw the ball hit his shoulder and go out.
In the 56th minute, the Flame were inches away from their second goal when
In the 56th minute, the Flame were inches away from their second goal when Adam Timpano-Voloder had a shot inside the box take a deflection and go just wide of the left post with Azar wrong-footed.
The Flame had another shot from range go over before they doubled their lead in the 66th minute.
After winning the ball back in their own half, the Flame worked the ball forward down their left – Harb composed himself on the ball, cut onto his right foot and and placed his effort into the back of the net from outside the box to give the Flame a 2-0 lead.
Prospect hit back seven minutes later, however, when Praneet Singh kept the ball well down the right and worked his way to the by-line – he squared the ball into the middle for substitute Jakob Petterson, who scored with his first touch within two minutes of coming on to give Prospect hope in the match at 2-1 down.
Idehen had a chance to level the match for Prospect in the 75th minute but had his effort parried behind at full-stretch by Vekic.
Four minutes later, a strong save from Azar kept Flame substitute Kade Kinsella at bay.
The rest of the match saw the Flame defend well on the ground as they picked up their second win of the season in a tight affair, 2-1.
Speaking after the match, Prospect Head Coach Darren Camilleri said he was proud of his side’s intensity in the contest.
“Hopefully we can take that intensity into next week’s game and we can look to score the first goal or two.”
Camilleri hopes to use his side’s hurt to motivate them to take on Dunbar Rovers FC away from home in Round Three.
“Hopefully we hurt enough today from this game, hurt and feel it, and then look to bring the intensity next week.”
The loss for Prospect was their first of the season, while for the Flame their record improved to two wins and one loss.
Prospect will hope to put away their chances when they travel to face Dunbar Rovers FC in Round Four, while the Flame will look to build on this win when they host Nepean FC.
Prospect United SC 1 (Jakob Petterson 73’)
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Daniel Merola 7’; Jyden Harb 66’)
Friday, 21st February 2025
Central Coast United FC 1-3 Fraser Park FC
Fraser Park FC picked up their first win of the season following their 3-1 away success over Central Coast United FC.
Central Coast goalkeeper Zayd Husain made two big saves in the opening two minutes, both off Christian Dos Santos strikes to keep the scores level early.
Fraser Park made the most of their early pressure in the 10th minute, however, when Francis Mcalpine scored with a header in his first start of the season to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Central Coast battled and had a shot go straight at Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira shortly after.
Fraser Park soon had their second goal in the 24th minute when a cross from Dos Santos found his opposite winger in Harry Skotadis, who placed his shot into the opposite corner to give Fraser Park a 2-0 lead.
Both team’s goalkeepers were called into action to make point-blank saves before half-time as Fraser Park took a 2-0 advantage into the break.
Following substitutes from both sides, in the 63rd minute McAlpine scored his brace with his strike aimed at the left post going into the back of the net off it to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Central Coast responded four minutes later, however, when Harry McCalmont finished off a well-worked move down the left by Bret Sibanda, with the former scoring at the far post to make the score line read 3-1 to Fraser Park at full-time.
The loss for Central Coast was their second in a row, while the win for Fraser Park was their first of the season.
Central Coast will hope to return to winning ways when they host Parramatta FC in Round Four, while Fraser Park will look to build off their first win when they make the short trip to face Sydney University SFC.
Central Coast United FC 1 (Harry McCalmont 67’)
Fraser Park FC 3 (Francis Mcalpine 10’, 63’; Harry Skotadis 24’)
Hawkesbury City FC 1-7 Granville Rage
Granville Rage won their fourth-straight head-to-head match over Hawkesbury in emphatic fashion following their 7-1 road win, with a hat-trick hero to emphasise their victory.
Following on from their match last week where they played with nine men by the end of the match, the intensity and pace from Granville hurt them early.
Timothy Borg-Williams scored two goals on quick counter-attacks within the first 14 minutes to give the Rage and early 2-0 advantage.
Anthony Gallo also scored on the counter to give the Rage a 3-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, Aamir Kadric and Will Lee-Harvey made the most of their chances to give the Rage a 5-0 lead by the hour mark.
Harry Drew scored a consolation goal for the hosts in the 67th minute to get the hosts on the scoresheet.
Borg-Williams followed up his double in Round Two with a hat-trick in Round Three, his third goal coming in the 75th minute to give the Rage a 6-1 lead.
The Rage wrapped up the 7-1 win in the fourth minute of stoppage-time through Kadric, who scored a double in the match.
The loss for Hawkesbury saw them stay winless to start the season, while the Rage scored a combined 13 goals from their past two matches as they looked to continue their way on the up.
Hawkesbury will hope to tighten up with the return of key players when they travel to face Inner West Hawks FC in a battle of the birds, while Granville will hope to continue their high-scoring ways when they host Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Hawkesbury City FC 1 (Harry Drew 67’)
Granville Rage 7 (Timothy Borg-Williams 8’, 14’, 75’; Anthony Gallo 41’; Asmir Kadric 57’, 90+4’; Will Lee-Harvey 60’)
Saturday, 22nd February 2025
Gladesville Ryde Magic 3-1 Hurstville Zagreb FC
Gladesville won back-to-back home matches and gave Hurstville Zagreb FC their first loss of the season following a big 3-1 win.
Gladesville looked to defend well early and hurt Hurstville with long balls over the top, winning the second ball, and the Magic made the most of their chances early.
In the 16th minute, a cross from the Magic was not cleared by the Hurstville defence and fell to Bonmyeong Koo at the back post, who scored to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The Magic doubled their lead in the 25th minute when a failed clearance by Hurstville fell to Genki Kohyama, who slotted the ball home to put the hosts in command.
Following that, Hurstville looked to control possession and created chances through Andre Guzman, Michael Neill and Declan Sheldon.
Hurstville pulled a goal back in the 43rd minute through Neill, who broke through the Magic defence and slotted the ball home to make the score line read 2-1 to Gladesville at half-time.
Hurstville looked to mount pressure on Gladesville after the break, but were once again undone on the counter in the 69th minute when Daniel Sramek scored to give Gladesville a 3-1 lead.
Hurstville held the ball to end the match, with their best chance coming late to Nikola Todoroski who had an effort cleared off the line, but Gladesville held on for the 3-1 win.
The result meant Gladesville won back-to-back matches, while the loss for Hurstville was their first of the season.
Gladesville will hope to win a third-straight match when they travel to face Granville Rage in Round Four, while Hurstville will hope the result is a wake-up call as they prepare to host Camden Tigers FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 3 (Bonmyeong Koo 16’; Genki Kohyama 25’; Daniel Sramek 69’)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 1 (Michael Neill 43’)
Parramatta FC 3-0 Sydney University SFC
Parramatta FC picked up their second win and second clean sheets of the season following a 3-0 victory over Sydney University SFC.
University had a few half-chances in the opening ten minutes but found themselves 1-0 down in the 14th minute when a low shot from Parramatta’s Marco Sama wrong-footed University goalkeeper Kota Arakawa.
Parramatta had a few chances to double their lead in the first half, catching University out playing out from the back, with Arakawa, stepping in well for the injured Jasper Sarkies, making a few good saves to keep the visitors in the match.
University were competitive to start the season half, with Parramatta unable to finish chances on the counter early.
The visitors had a good chance to level the match in the second half when a ball was played to Joe Roddy, but Parramatta smothered the chance.
Parramatta winger Yusuf Ayden doubled the host’s lead in the 79th minute when he cut inside and placed the ball into the bottom corner.
The hosts scored their third goal in the 89th minute following a good save from Arakawa which resulted in a corner – that corner saw the ball played to the edge of the box, where Navid Alizada got past a few defenders to secure a 3-0 win for Parramatta.
Parramatta picked up their second win of the season, while University lost a third-straight match to start the year.
Parramatta will hope to build off their win when they
Parramatta will hope to build off their win when they travel to face Central Coast United FC next week, while University will hope to grab their first win when they host Fraser Park FC.
Parramatta FC 3 (Marco Sama 14’; Yusuf Ayden 79’; Navid Alizada 89’)
Sydney University SFC 0
Camden Tigers FC 1-5 Bankstown United FC
A match which lived up to its expectations saw Bankstown United FC pick up a big 5-1 away win over Camden Tigers FC.
Bankstown took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when Mitchell Cross found space in the Camden box and guided his effort home.
Camden hit back five minutes later, however, when a shot from Avisai Vunisasaro took a deflection and found the back of the net to level the match at 1-1 at half-time.
After the break, Bankstown applied pressure and found the lead once again in the 48th minute through Anthony Proia, before they added a third goal in the 58th minute through captain Mitchell Edmunds, who scored with a rocket of a shot from outside the box.
Camden were reduced to ten men when Andrew Head received his second yellow card of the match.
Bankstown made the most of their extra-man advantage with goals to Nathan Manno and Sean Robertson in the 70th and 90th minutes, respectively, to wrap up a bit 5-1 win.
Camden lost their second match of the season, while Bankstown recorded back-to-back wins.
Camden will hope to respond when they host Hurstville Zagreb FC in Round Four, while Bankstown have a bye.
Camden Tigers FC 1 (Avisai Vunisasaro 15’; Andrew Head 61’ red card)
Bankstown United FC 5 (Mitchell Cross 10’; Anthony Proia 48’; Mitchell Edmunds 58’; Nathan Manno 70’; Sean Robertson 90’)
Nepean FC 1-1 Inner West Hawks FC
Nepean FC left it late but salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Inner West Hawks FC to round out the week.
In a physical and end-to-end match, both sides had early chances in the contest.
Hawks’ goalkeeper Gene Marantos made a few good early saves to keep the Hawks in the match.
The Hawks took the lead in the 40th minute when a ball crossed into the box fell to Jack Haslam, who volleyed the ball home from five metres out.
Lawrence Claxton and Peter Phillips also had chances in the first half but could not convert, with the Hawks taking a 1-0 lead into half-time.
After the break, the Hawks kept pressing for a second goal but could not find it.
Nepean pressed at the other end and were rewarded in the 87th when they were awarded a penalty.
Mathew Crossley converted from the spot to rescue a point for Nepean in the 1-1 draw.
Despite their possession in the match, Nepean, who stuck to their game plan on the night, were unable to find a winner.
Nepean stayed undefeated after three matches, while the Hawks picked up their first point of the season.
Nepean will hope to continue their strong start to the season when they travel to face South Coast Flame FC in Round Four, while Inner West host Hawkesbury City FC in the battle of the Hawks.
Nepean FC 1 (Mathew Crossley 87’ pen)
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Jack Haslam 40’)
Dunbar Rovers FC had a bye in Round Three.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
