Round 4 Review – League Two Men’s
There were season-firsts and much success for many away teams in Round Four of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with plenty of talking points to come out of it.
The Match of the Round this week saw the first scoreless draw of the season when neither Hurstville Zagreb FC nor Camden Tigers FC could be separated.
Friday, 28th February 2025
Match of the Round: Hurstville Zagreb FC 0-0 Camden Tigers FC
The first scoreless draw of the season came despite a few big chances in the match between Hurstville Zagreb FC and Camden Tigers FC.
A stop-start first half saw the first real chance come in the 18th minute when Hurstville ran in behind the Camden defence but had their shot on goal turned away for a corner.
The next chance came just after the half-hour mark when a strong run down the left from Camden saw the ball cut back into the middle of the Hurstville box to Darcy Wilson, who had a shot on target blocked by the Hurstville defence.
In the 35th minute, Hurstville’s Paul Gagro got in behind following smart and quick play with two other Hurstville players but fired a powerful shot wide right at the near post with just the Camden goalkeeper, Michael O’Rourke, to beat.
A minute later, Hurstville had the ball in the back of the net through Hesan Soufi but the flag went up for offside; that was the final chance of a first half of limited opportunities, where Hurstville nullified Camden in attack but were unable to take their few chances in the first half against a strong Camden defence, with the two teams going into the break scoreless.
After half-time, Camden had the first attempt through Charlie Connell, who shot wide right of the post in the 55th minute, before Hurstville back two consecutive attempts three minutes later which were blocked away.
Just after the hour mark, Camden had another shot when smart play down the left saw the ball go into the box to Francesco Giannetto, but his effort hit the side-netting.
At the other end, Hurstville launched dangerous balls repeatedly into the box, with one from Jonathan Maras in the 68th minute just missing his teammates in the middle, while another six minutes later from the right just floated over the head of Nikola Todoroski.
Camden’s Jack Harris slid in well repeatedly throughout the match to stop Hurstville from getting in behind more frequently, with the hosts having more shots go wide of the target late, one through Matteo Guerra.
The closest either team came to scoring happened in the 89th minute when Todoroski got the ball for Hurstville outside the box and lined up a shot, which took a slight deflection and just went past the right post.
In the 90th minute and into stoppage-time, O’Rourke saved well for Camden to deny the hosts, before a ricochet in the box from Hurstville’s eighth corner of the match saw the ball cleared away by Camden.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Hurstville’s 20th and final shot of the match saw a well-worked header in the box whiz wide right of the post.
Despite many chances in the match neither team was able to find a goal, with Hurstville’s intensity unable to lead to a goal and Camden’s proud defence stepping up when needed – for the first time in 2025, a match in the competition ended 0-0.
Speaking post-match, Hurstville captain Paul Gagro took responsibility, saying he wants to be better in front of goal after his miss in the match.
“I will take full responsibility because I had the best chance of the game, I am the captain and it is my job to put that away… fuming, to be honest… it definitely feels like a loss.”
Gagro will hope to lead his team to put those chances away and lead his side to success in the matches to come.
“If you want to be a team competing at the top, you have to win games like that… we just could not break the deadlock today and I take full responsibility for it.”
Camden Tigers head coach Dean Bradley, meanwhile, was proud of the effort his side put in and said their gameplan worked perfectly to not concede in the match for their first clean sheet of the season.
“We gave an under-16s his debut tonight, a lot of the kids off the bench were under 18, so it is a great result for us, nil-all – I said to my assistant, if we can go there tonight and grind out a nil-all and not concede considering last week’s (5-1 home loss to Bankstown United FC), it is good for us.”
With players to come back, Camden will hope the results continue to go in a positive direction from here.
“I can’t not be proud of them, considering the number of injuries we have.”
Hurstville will hope to regroup but also build off their third clean sheet in four matches as they prepare to take on Nepean FC in Round Five, while Camden will hope to build off their first clean sheet of the season as they face Granville Rage.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 0
Camden Tigers FC 0
Saturday, 1st March 2025
Central Coast United FC 1-2 Parramatta FC
Parramatta FC won a third match out of four to start the season after a 2-1 comeback win over Central Coast United FC, who lost a third-straight match.
On a hot day with an early kick-off on the central coast, the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute through Ben Flakus, who scored his second goal of the season for Central Coast United.
Parramatta pushed with nine shots in the first half and pulled a goal back before half-time through Jordan Parfait, who scored his first goal of the season to level the match at 1-1 at half-time.
After the break, Parramatta came from behind quickly and took the 2-1 lead through Louis Bozanic to give the visitors the perfect start to the second half.
Central Coast worked their way into the match with six shots but were unable to find a goal to level the contest.
In the end, Parramatta held on for a big 2-1 away win over Central Coast United.
The loss for Central Coast was their third in a row, while for Parramatta the win was their third in four matches to start the season and their first away from home.
Central Coast will hope to end their losing streak when they host Inner West Hawks FC in Round Five, while Parramatta will look to win a fourth match in five when they host Bankstown United FC.
Central Coast United FC 1 (Ben Flakus 20’)
Parramatta FC 2 (Jordan Parfait 35’; Louis Bozanic 47’)
South Coast Flame FC 3-1 Nepean FC
South Coast Flame FC continued their strong start to the season and handed Nepean FC their first loss of the season following a 3-1 comeback victory.
Nepean took the early lead in the match in the 5th minute when a ball into the box from Nepean was headed home by Mathew Crossley to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
The Flame looked to hit back with a chance to Jyden Harb following a ball over the top from Luke Hoefsloot, but Harb’s chip on goal went over the crossbar.
Jack Hoban was dangerous for Nepean early, with back-to-back chances going wide and being saved well, respectively.
Adam Timpano-Voloder stepped up for the Flame after that, with consecutive chances saved and going over the goal, respectively.
Just before half-time, the Flame almost drew level through Kade Kinsella, who had a low drive to the corner saved well with one hand by Nepean goalkeeper, Luke Cotten.
After the break, in the 49th minute, the Flame levelled the match at 1-1 when a bouncing ball inside the Nepean box was pounced on by Harry James, who buried his chance for the hosts.
Two minutes later, an interchange of passing on the edge of the Nepean box saw Daniel Merola work his way inside before he tucked the ball into the back of the net towards the far post to give the Flame a 2-1 lead.
The Flame secured the three points in the 67th minute when substitute Ben Caroutas held the ball up on the by-line and cut it back to James, who scored his second to give the Flame a 3-1 lead.
A few minutes later, James had the chance to score a hat-trick but had his header from twelve yards go over the goal.
The Flame saw out the rest of the match to record a 3-1 home win over Nepean.
The win for the Flame was their third in four matches, while the loss for Nepean was their first of the season.
South Coast Flame FC have a bye in Round Five, while Nepean will hope to bounce back from their loss when they host Hurstville Zagreb FC.
South Coast Flame FC 3 (Harrison James 49’, 67’; Daniel Merola 51’)
Nepean FC 1 (Mathew Crossley 5’)
Granville Rage 0-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
Granville Rage and Gladesville Ryde Magic could not be separated with the two teams playing out a 0-0 draw at Rydalmere Park.
In a tight match, there were not many chances in the first half with both sides getting three shots on target each.
After the break, the match had more chances before the game really opened up in the final twenty minutes.
A double-save from Magic goalkeeper Lucas Mazereeuw kept the visitors’ clean sheet intact late in the match to earn a point for his side.
Despite both teams having eleven shots on target each in the contest, neither was able to make their mark as the points were shared in the nil-all draw.
The draw for Granville saw them go a third match unbeaten and also pick up their first clean sheet of the season, while for the Magic it was a similar story as they moved to three matches without a loss.
Granville will hope to extend their unbeaten streak to four matches when they travel to face Camden Tigers FC in Round Five, while Gladesville will look to do the same when they host Dunbar Rovers FC.
Granville Rage 0
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Inner West Hawks FC 0-3 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury City FC reversed their head-to-head fortunes over Inner West Hawks FC with their first win and first clean sheet of the season following a 3-0 away success.
Hawkesbury started strongly when in the 8th minute, a cross into the box down low to Ryan Faulkner was finished off to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
In the 22nd minute, a similar situation saw Duncan Stewart convert to give Hawkesbury a 2-0 advantage at half-time.
After the break, Inner West came out strongly and had a chance through Christian Cirino, who forced Hawkesbury goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer into a strong save towards the top corner of the goal to deny the hosts.
The hosts had another chance when a deflected effort on goal was pushed behind by Schwarzer for a corner.
Hawkesbury sealed the match in the 54th minute when a ball down the field from Schwarzer found Vincent Dermilio, who scored his third goal of the season to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Hawkesbury also had another potential goal for Stewart ruled out late for offside, but collected their first win of the season, 3-0 over Inner West.
The loss for Inner West saw them go winless from their first three matches, while the win for Hawkesbury was their first of the season.
Inner West will hope to win their first match of the year when they travel to face Central Coast United FC in Round Five, while Hawkesbury will hope to win back-to-back matches when they host Sydney University SFC.
Inner West Hawks FC 0
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Ryan Faulkner 8’; Duncan Stewart 22’; Vincent Dermilio 54’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 0-4 Prospect United SC
Prospect United SC responded to their last-start defeat with their first away win of the season, 4-0 over Dunbar Rovers FC.
Prospect kicked off the scoring in the 17th minute when Ritchie Stewart found Andre Cavallaro in behind, who in turn found Reo Hirose who fired home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled before half-time when, in the 39th minute, Stewart found space down the left and put a cross into the box for Praneet Singh, who headed home to give the visitors a 2-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, Prospect added a third goal when Hirose and Singh combined well down the right and found Jakob Petterson in the middle with a cross – Petterson headed home to give Prospect a 3-0 lead.
Cavallaro rounded out the 4-0 win in the 63rd minute following team pressure, which saw him pick up a misplaced Dunbar pass and slot the ball home under pressure to round out the Prospect victory.
The loss for Dunbar was their second in three matches to start the season, while for Prospect they picked up back-to-back wins.
Dunbar will hope to regroup as they travel to face Gladesville Ryde Magic in Round Five, while Prospect will hope to win a third-straight match when they host Fraser Park FC.
Dunbar Rovers FC 0
Prospect United SC 4 (Reo Hirose 17’; Praneet Singh 39’; Jakob Petterson 54’; Andre Cavallaro 63’)
Sunday, 2nd March 2025
Sydney University SFC 4-5 Fraser Park FC
The highest-scoring match of the season so far saw an absolute thriller with the lead exchanged multiple times as Fraser Park FC came out on top over Sydney University SFC in a 5-4 away win.
Fraser Park took the early 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when Christian Dos Santos scored his first goal of the season.
Less than a minute later, Sydney University levelled the match at 1-1 when Jasper Teggins found the back of the net from range.
With the scores level at half-time, University took less than five minutes to find the lead for the first time when Hamza Sweedan found the back of the net from range to give University the 2-1 advantage.
Fraser Park responded in the 59th and 62nd minutes, however, when goals from Shu Torihara and Stavros Palapanis, respectively, put Fraser Park back in the lead at 3-2.
Torihara then completed his brace two minutes later, Fraser Park scoring three goals in the space of five minutes, after he beat three players and found the top-left corner to give Fraser Park a 4-2 lead.
Sweedan then completed his brace for University after he beat three Fraser Park players and found the top-left corner to get University back into the match at 4-3 down in the 72nd minute.
Fraser Park restored their two-goal lead in the 76th minute when Francis Mcalpine finished off a chance from close range to give Fraser Park a 5-3 lead.
University did not give up on the contest, however, and scored to make the scoreline read 5-4 in the 80th minute after Joseph Roddy also beat three Fraser Park players and found the top-left corner of the goal.
Fraser Park held on in the final ten minutes with a big chance for University thwarted on the line by Fraser Park’s Gregory Ehiozee to keep Fraser Park in the lead late.
The visitors held on in a match which had a bit of everything to win the nine-goal thriller, 5-4.
The loss for University was their fourth in a row to start the season, while Fraser Park picked up back-to-back wins.
University will look to win their first match of the season when they travel to face Hawkesbury City FC in Round Five, while Fraser Park will hunt a third-straight win when they make the trip to take on Prospect United SC.
Sydney University SFC 4 (Jasper Teggins 24’; Hamza Sweedan 50’, 72’; Joseph Roddy 80’)
Fraser Park FC 5 (Christian Dos Santos 23’; Shu Torihara 59’, 64’; Stavros Palapanis 62’; Francis Mcalpine 76’)
Bankstown United FC had a bye in Round Four.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
