Round 8 Review – League Two Men’s
A wet and wild weekend of action saw a few washouts amid multiple matches with late goals in Round Eight of 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round this week between Parramatta FC and Hurstville Zagreb FC was washed out, as was the matchup between Nepean FC and Sydney University SFC; nevertheless, here is the action from the rest of the matches.
Friday, 28th March 2025
Hawkesbury City FC 5-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
Hawkesbury City FC won a fourth match from their past five and went a fifth match in a row without defeat after a five-start performance over Gladesville Ryde Magic saw them record a 5-0 win.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Duncan Stewart and Harry Drew saw them set up Vincent Dermilio, who scored against the Magic once again when found the back of the net with a driven shot from just outside the box for his seventh goal of the season to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled in the 27th minute when 18-year-old Jude Bramhall rose highest from a corner and headed the ball home to give Hawkesbury a 2-0 advantage.
Stewart added a third Hawkesbury goal before half-time in the 36th minute when he got on the end of a cross from Dermilio and found the back of the net for a 3-0 Hawkesbury half-time lead.
Drew, who scored against the Magic last season, got himself on the scoresheet on the hour mark after he followed in a saved Dermilio shot and scored off the rebound to give the hosts a 4-0 advantage.
The 5-0 win was wrapped up by Drew, who scored his eighth goal of the season in the 78th minute after he capitalised on a Magic defensive error and found the back of the net.
The win for Hawkesbury was soured, however, after long-time player Gregory Kondek was forced to leave the field with a knee injury in the 65th minute.
The win for the Hawks saw them continue their rise up the ladder as they moved into the top half of the ladder, while the loss for the Magic was their third from their past four matches.
Hawkesbury will hope to continue their strong run of form when they travel to face Camden Tigers FC next week, while the Magic will hope to bounce back when they host Parramatta FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 5 (Vincent Dermilio 19’; Jude Bramhall 27’; Duncan Stewart 36’; Harry Drew 60’, 78’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Saturday, 29th March 2025
South Coast Flame FC 1-1 Inner West Hawks FC
A late goal for South Coast Flame FC saw them come away with a 1-1 draw at home to Inner West Hawks FC in an even contest.
The Hawks threatened early, with a chance to Jacob Palamidas blocked by Takayuki Kayano, before Palamidas fired an effort over from inside the box a few minutes later.
Inner West were rewarded for their pressure in the 41st minute when Lawrence Claxton delivered a pinpoint cross into the box for Peter Yannopoulos, who headed the ball home from five yards to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Two minutes after the break, the Flame almost hit back when Samuel Alston found William Provino in the box, who in turn found Jyden Harb, with the latter’s effort just going over the goal.
The Flame fired more shots, with Harrison James firing across goal and Provino also missing the target within minutes of each other.
In the final ten minutes, the Flame stepped up their attack with a free kick from Harb and a close-range effort from substitute Kade Kinsella almost brought the Flame level.
The hosts had ten shots in the second half and were rewarded in the 86th minute when Dylan Caton set up Kinsella, who finished the chance off to level the match at 1-1.
Caton was shown a second yellow card in the 88th minute, meaning the Flame had to see out the rest of regulation and stoppage time with ten men.
Deep into stoppage time, Hawks’ goalkeeper Gene Marantos had a clearance charged down by Harb, who saw his effort on goal following that go just wide.
The final kick of the match saw one last chance for the Hawks to win the match, when Tony Lo’s effort from just outside the box took a deflection and was saved at the near post by Flame goalkeeper, Nenad Vekic, with the ball scraping the top of the crossbar.
In the end, neither side was able to find a winner, with the points shared following a 1-1 draw.
The draw for the Flame saw them go a fifth-straight match without a loss, while the draw for the Hawks saw them respond from their last-start loss and extended their head-to-head unbeaten run against the Flame to five matches.
South Coast will hope to continue their strong run of form when they travel to face the league-leading Hurstville Zagreb FC in Round Nine, while Inner West will look to pick up the three points when they host Fraser Park FC.
South Coast Flame FC 1 (Kade Kinsella 86’; Dylan Caton 88’ red card)
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Peter Yannopoulos 41’)
Prospect United SC 2-0 Central Coast United FC
Prospect United SC won a fourth match from their past five after they defeated Central Coast United FC 2-0 at home.
A first half of few chances saw Prospect hold the ball well, while the Pirates’ hard work-rate out of possession kept the hosts at bay.
Central Coast had the biggest chance of the first half when a one-on-one chance saw Prospect goalkeeper Jude Azar pull off a strong save to keep the match scoreless at half-time.
The second half followed a similar pattern, but Prospect took a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute when Anthony Idehen found some space at the top of the box and found the top corner.
Three minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage when a clearance from Central Coast goalkeeper Zayd Husain only went as far as Prospect’s Reo Hirose, who chipped Husain from 30 yards to give Prospect a 2-0 win.
The win for Prospect saw them move near the top of the table as their strong run of form continued, with this match bringing their third clean sheet of the season, while the loss for Central Coast was their seventh in a row as they stayed near the bottom.
Prospect will hope to continue their strong form when they travel to face Nepean FC next week, while Central Coast will hope to end their losing streak when they take on Granville Rage away from home.
Prospect United SC 2 (Anthony Idehen 56’; Reo Hirose 59’)
Central Coast United FC 0
Fraser Park FC 2-1 Bankstown United FC
Fraser Park responded to back-to-back losses with a late winner bringing them a 2-1 home win over Bankstown United FC.
The hosts started the match positively with chances just going wide in the opening 20 minutes and took the lead in the 30th minute when Francis Mcalpine found Christian Dos Santos, who hit the ball first-time past Bankstown goalkeeper Sebastian La Luz to give Fraser Park a 1-0 lead.
Fraser Park continued to press and created another big chance through Dos Santos in the 42nd minute, but this time he was denied by La Luz at point-blank range, with Fraser Park taking their one-goal advantage into half-time.
Both teams pressed for goals in the second half, with Fraser Park missing two big chances in the 65th and 68th minute, respectively, to double their lead.
Bankstown responded in the 83rd minute when substitute Raoel Yakub’s free kick was met by Mitchell Edmunds, who scored with a well-timed header past substitute Fraser Park goalkeeper Harry Kovacs, who had come into the match four minutes earlier, as Bankstown levelled the match at 1-1.
Fraser Park continued to press, however, and found the late winner in the 88th minute when substitute Matthew Lecce dribbled on the left edge of the box and fired the ball home at the near post to give Fraser Park a 2-1 win.
The win for Fraser Park saw them get back to winning ways while the loss for Bankstown followed back-to-back wins.
Fraser Park will hope to win back-to-back matches for the second time this season when they travel to face Inner West Hawks FC next week, while Bankstown will look for a response when they host Dunbar Rovers FC.
Fraser Park FC 2 (Christian Dos Santos 30’; Matthew Lecce 88’)
Bankstown United FC 1 (Mitchell Edmunds 83’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 2-3 Camden Tigers FC
An 89th minute winner was the difference in this five-goal thriller with Camden Tigers FC coming from behind to record a big 3-2 away win over Dunbar Rovers FC.
An inexperienced Dunbar side, with ten players our injured, saw them field many under-20s players, with Dunbar unable to put away their first-half chances.
Camden took a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute when Aidan Quigley picked up the ball outside the box and fired a shot into the top corner of the goal.
Dunbar responded before half-time, however, in the second minute of stoppage time when they were awarded a penalty which was converted by Henry Eastwood, for a 1-1 half-time score.
Dunbar took a 2-1 lead in the 66th minute when Paul Gautier found the back of the net for the hosts to see them take the lead for the first time in the match.
Camden responded in the 79th minute through Shaun Irwin, who found the top corner with a shot from outside the box to level the contest at 2-2.
The Tigers kept pushing and found the winner in the 89th minute when Jack Harris headed home at the back post to give Camden a big 3-2 away win over Dunbar.
The loss for Dunbar saw them lose back-to-back matches for the first time this season and saw them lose in a match they had scored in for the first time, while the win for Camden saw them end a six-match winless run.
Dunbar will hope to avoid a third-straight loss when they travel to face Bankstown United FC next week, while Camden will look to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season when they host Hawkesbury City FC.
Dunbar Rovers FC 2 (Henry Eastwood 45+2’; Paul Gautier 66’)
Camden Tigers FC 3 (Aidan Quigley 45’; Shaun Irwin 79’; Jack Harris 89’)
Granville Rage had a bye in Round Eight, while Hurstville Zagreb FC were knocked out of the Australia Cup mid-week following a 1-0 away loss to Sydney CBD.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
