Round 5 Review – League Two Men’s
The final undefeated team fell amidst some more big results in Round Five of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round this week saw Hawkesbury City FC pick up an emotional win over Sydney University SFC to secure back-to-back victories.
Friday, 7th March 2025
Match of the Round: Hawkesbury City FC 2-1 Sydney University SFC
Hawkesbury City FC held on late to secure a 2-1 home win over Sydney University SFC in an emotional match for the club.
University had a good start through Peter Zervos and Joseph Roddy, but the first shot on target of the match came from Hawkesbury’s Jude Bramhall, who fired a shot on goal for University goalkeeper Jasper Sarkies to collect.
The Hawks dominated early possession and field position and were rewarded for that pressure in the 27th minute with their sixth shot on target.
After the Hawks had won the ball back in the University half, the ball was played wide left to Duncan Stewart, who drove towards the University penalty area and cut the ball back to Vincent Dermilio, who made a late run into the box and smashed the ball home to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
University looked dangerous from headers in the first half, with an attempt late cleared away by Hawkesbury but in a half which saw eight shots to five, the Hawks’ dominance in possession and field position saw them take a 1-0 lead into half-time.
Neither side was able to create a big chance to start the second half, but that changed just after the hour mark.
In the 61st minute, a Hawkesbury throw-in saw the ball go to Caleb Micallef who found Harry Drew at the back post – Drew finished well to double the hosts’ lead with their first shot on target of the second half.
Six minutes later, a strong run from University was stopped by a sweeping Hawkesbury goalkeeper in Daniel Schwarzer, while at the other end Hawks’ substitute Zachary Reardon had a shot on goal saved by Sarkies.
University’s biggest chance to score so far came in the 73rd minute when substitute Sam York played a curling ball along the ground to Roddy, who got in behind the Hawks defence but just placed his effort wide of the right post.
Dermilio and Declan Cotter had chances following that for Hawkesbury, while for University they kept pushing and had a shot from a free-kick from Zachary Kalogerou which just went over the goal.
With three under-20s players coming on as substitutes for University, they combined to make an impact in the 85th minute.
Following a break forward, substitute Riley Egerton got the ball out wide left and drove to the byline before he cut the ball back to Charles Hely-Hammond in the box, who had his initial effort saved but put the ball in the back of the net on the rebound to give the students a lifeline in the match.
University finished the match fast and had one final attempt deflect wide left for a corner in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.
In the end, Hawkesbury held off the fast-finishing Sydney University to pick up back-to-back wins, this one being 2-1.
After the match, Hawkesbury City Head Coach Dean Bertenshaw was proud of his side for grabbing the three points, especially because of the sudden passing of Dennis Pavlovic from a medical episode mid-week, who had been at the club for the past 15 years, coaching across multiple age divisions and being a cornerstone of the club.
“There is no doubt that the dedication just went through the roof because the team loved Dennis and they wanted to try to win this game at home more than normal… we just wanted to put in a good performance at home for the people and for Dennis, because that is what he would have wanted.”
The end of the match saw University get back into the contest and Bertenshaw also spoke on that.
“[University] got what they deserved, which was the goal, and then we hung on, which is what I thought we deserved, too.”
The win for the Hawks was their second in a row as they look to continue their rise, while the loss for the students was their fifth-straight to start the season.
The Hawks have an early match against South Coast Flame FC next week as they hunt a third-straight win in Round Six, while University will hunt their first win of the season when they host Camden Tigers FC.
Hawkesbury are also in Australia Cup action in the third round of preliminaries when they host Sutherland Shire Football Association club, Caringbah Redbacks Football Club, on Wednesday, 12th March.
Hawkesbury City FC 2 (Vincent Dermilio 27’; Harry Drew 61’)
Sydney University SFC 1 (Charles Hely-Hammond 86’)
Saturday, 8th March 2025
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-1 Dunbar Rovers FC
Dunbar Rovers FC picked up their first clean sheet and first away win of the season as they saw off Gladesville Ryde Magic for a 1-0 win in a tight match.
A contrast of styles saw Gladesville happy to defend with Dunbar holding the majority of possession in the match.
Dunbar scored in the 40th minute to take the lead when defender Julian Dal Bianco played a pass to Aoba Forsyth on the left, who then crossed the ball into the box for Daniel Paridis – he powered his effort into the roof of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at half-time.
In the second half, Dunbar had a big chance to take a 2-0 lead when Jason Trajkovski turned his defender and was fouled in the box, but the resulting penalty taken by Adrian Paez was saved well by Gladesville goalkeeper, Lucas Mazereeuw.
Dunbar were reduced to ten men in the 70th minute when Zachary Marinos was shown a second yellow card for time-wasting.
Despite that, in a match where the two teams had nine and eight shots on target, respectively, Dunbar saw out the rest of the match with ten men to secure a big 1-0 away win.
The loss for Gladesville was their first since the opening round of the season, while the win for Dunbar was their first since Round Two.
Gladesville will hope for a response when they travel to face Bankstown United FC in Round Six, while Dunbar will look to win back-to-back matches when they host Central Coast United FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Daniel Paridis 40’; Zachary Marinos 70’ red card)
Parramatta FC 2-1 Bankstown United FC
Parramatta FC continued their strong start to the season and snapped a four-match winless head-to-head run against Bankstown United FC with a big 2-1 home win.
Parramatta started the match strongly and after being awarded a penalty in the 15th minute, converted through Jordan Parfait to take an early 1-0 lead in the contest.
In a tight first half where both teams managed two shots on target each, the Eagles took the 1-0 lead into the break.
After half-time, Parramatta continued to hold the ball well but both teams created multiple chances to grab goals.
Bankstown levelled the match in the 65th minute when Mitchell Cross scored his fourth goal in four matches to make the scoreline read 1-1.
Parramatta pushed back, however, and in the 89th minute were awarded another penalty – this time, Navid Alizada stepped up and converted from the spot to give Parramatta a late 2-1 win over Bankstown.
The win for Parramatta was their fourth in five matches to start the season as they moved to the top of the table, while the loss for Bankstown was their first of the season as the final unbeaten side in the competition fell.
Parramatta will hope to continue their strong start to the season when they face local rivals Nepean FC in Round Six, while Bankstown will hope to respond when they host Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Parramatta FC 2 (Jordan Parfait 15’ pen; Navid Alizada 89’ pen)
Bankstown United FC 1 (Mitchell Cross 65’)
Nepean FC 2-4 Hurstville Zagreb FC
Hurstville Zagreb FC got back to winning ways and condemned Nepean FC to back-to-back losses after a they held off Nepean for a 4-2 away win.
Hurstville started the match strongly and were rewarded nine minutes in when Hesan Soufi crossed the ball into the box and found Jesse Gagro, who chested the ball down and lobbed the ball into the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled in the 19th minute when Samuel Shainfeld won the ball and played Paul Gagro in behind, who in turn crossed the ball to Nikola Todoroski who scored to strengthen Hurstville’s start.
Nepean hit back in the 27th minute when Mathew Crossley continued his strong start to the season after he scored off a rebound to make the scoreline read 2-1 to Hurstville.
In the 45th minute, an Olimpico from Jack Hutchings saw Nepean get the score back level at 2-2 at half-time.
After the break, Soufi was involved once more when he picked up the ball in the 55th minute and turned inside before he bent his shot into the top-right corner to give Hurstville their lead back at 3-2.
Hurstville made four substitutes shortly after taking the lead and they contributed well, helping a counterattack in the 68th minute which resulted in the ball falling to Andre Guzman on the edge of the box, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net to give Hurstville a 4-2 lead.
Jonathan Maras was the man running the midfield for Hurstville all match, showing aggression and winning the ball – he helped set up Hurstville well in this contest away to Nepean, which they won 4-2 in the end.
The loss for Nepean was their second in a row and saw them go three matches without a win, while the victory for Hurstville was their first in three matches as they got back to winning ways.
Nepean will hope to pick up the win in a western Sydney derby when they host Parramatta FC in Round Six, while Hurstville will hope to pick up the three points when they travel to take on Prospect United SC.
Nepean FC 2 (Mathew Crossley 27’; Jack Hutchings 45’)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 4 (Jesse Gagro 9’; Nikola Todoroski 19’; Hesan Soufi 55’; Andre Guzman 68’)
Camden Tigers FC 1-2 Granville Rage
Granville won their first head-to-head match in their past five matches against Camden Tigers FC after they held off the Tigers for a 2-1 away win.
An early defensive error from Camden saw Granville take a 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute through Ante Tomic as the Rage continued their strong attacking start to the season.
That lead was doubled in the 41st minute when Timothy Borg-Williams found the back of the net following another Tigers’ defensive error to give Granville a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Camden made a few personnel changes early in the second half and that paid off in the 65th minute when substitute Bailey Simpson scored to get Camden back into the match at 2-1 down.
That was how the match ended, however, with Granville picking up the three points in a 2-1 win.
The loss for the Tigers saw them go a fourth match without a win, while the victory for the Rage saw them go a fourth match unbeaten.
Camden will hope to end their winless run when they travel to face Sydney University SFC in Round Five, while Granville will look to continue their strong form when they travel to face Inner West Hawks FC.
Camden are also in Australia Cup preliminary action in the third round when they host Eastern Suburbs Football Association club, Glebe Gorillas, on Tuesday 11th March, while Granville host North West Sydney Football Association club, Macquarie Dragons FC, on Wednesday 12th March.
Camden Tigers FC 1 (Bailey Simpson 65’)
Granville Rage 2 (Ante Tomic 2’; Timothy Borg-Williams 41’)
Sunday, 9th March 2025
Central Coast United FC 0-2 Inner West Hawks FC
In a week which saw Inner West Hawks FC Head Coach Jim Patikas resign, the Hawks recorded their first win of the season and kept their first clean sheet of the year in doing so after they came away with a 2-0 away win over Central Coast United FC.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a short corner from Jacob Palamidas found Jeremy Siarakas, who hit a near-post shot from outside the box which found the back of the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks extended their lead to two goals in the 64th minute when Palamidas played a through ball in behind to Peter Yannopoulos, who slotted the ball home to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
In a match where the Hawks’ midfield of Palamidas and Emmanuel Tzanakes looked to control the contest, the Hawks came away with a 2-0 win.
The loss for Central Coast was their third in a row, while the win for the Hawks was their first of the season in their fourth match.
The Pirates will hope to regroup and have more energy when they travel to face Dunbar Rovers FC in Round Six, while the Hawks will look to build off their first win of the season when they host Granville Rage.
Central Coast also went out of the Australia Cup mid-week in the third preliminary round after they fell 2-1 away to Blacktown & Districts Football Association club, Marayong FC.
Central Coast United FC 0
Inner West Hawks FC 2 (Jeremy Siarakas 12’; Peter Yannopoulos 64’)
Prospect United SC 2-0 Fraser Park FC
Prospect United SC picked up a third win from their past four matches after they came away with a 2-0 home win over Fraser Park FC, who they went a third match unbeaten against.
Prospect had ten shots on target, including three big chances, in the first half but were unable to find the back of the net early.
After the break, Prospect opened the scoring in the 58th minute when a Ritchie Stewart cross was dropped by Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira and fell to Praneet Singh, who scored with a first-time finish from twelve yards to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled in the 68th minute when Anthony Idehen found Singh in space – the latter rifled the ball home to give Prospect a 2-0 win at home in a match where they had 22 shots to four.
The win for Prospect was their third of the season, while the loss for Fraser Park was their first in three weeks following back-to-back wins.
Prospect will hope to win a third-straight match when they host Hurstville Zagreb FC in Round Six, while Fraser Park FC have a bye.
Prospect United SC 2 (Praneet Singh 58’, 68’)
Fraser Park FC 0
South Coast Flame FC had a bye in Round Five.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
