Round 9 Review – League Two Men’s
The teams near the top continued to fire in Round Nine of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, while elsewhere there were also some big results with some hat-trick heroes.
The Match of the Round this week saw Nepean FC and Prospect United SC unable to be separated in a fiery western Sydney derby.
Saturday, 5th April 2025
Match of the Round: Nepean FC 1-1 Prospect United SC
A western Sydney derby which never disappoints saw both Nepean FC and Prospect United SC walk away with a point each in a 1-1 draw.
Prospect created the first few chances in the match, with the first shot on target before a shot from Reo Hirose from outside the box went over the goal.
The match took a turn in the 30th minute, however, when Anthony Idehen received the ball following good Prospect build-up play and drove into the box before he was fouled by Brohym Abdul Massih and a penalty was given.
Idehen stepped up and converted the spot kick, scoring down the right while sending Nepean goalkeeper Samuel Jansons the wrong way to give Prospect a 1-0 lead.
Prospect continued to create in the first half with pressure from Andre Cavallaro resulting in him winning the ball and sending a shot wide in the 36th minute.
The away side created two more chances to end the half, both to Idehen who fired a shot wide and on target, respectively, to end the half.
Prospect created eight shots to one in the first half and took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
The away side had a big chance to double their lead in the 49th minute when a header from Richard Stewart was flicked on and saved by a diving Jansons.
Two minutes later, Nepean hit back through a set piece of their own when a free-kick was delivered in from the left by William DiMartino straight to Munyaradzi, who made a smart run across the goal and headed the ball home to restore parity for the hosts.
Both teams looked dangerous with plenty of attacks in the opening passages of play in the second half, with Prospect’s Jacob Micallef heading wide at the back post and Nepean’s Abdullah Alyas shooting over the goal.
A long period followed with plenty of stoppages and not many forays forward with the match turning into a tussle.
In the 84th minute, Prospect’s Jacob Petterson had a first-time shot from close range blocked by the Nepean defence, before the hosts also created when they had a shot on target saved.
Prospect’s final chance of the match saw Tallon Zahra have a shot blocked behind for a corner, while in stoppage time a dangerous Nepean cross into the box evaded their attackers.
In the end, despite Prospect’s 15 shots and Nepean’s eight, neither side was able to find a winner as a physical western Sydney derby ended in a 1-1 draw.
Speaking post-match, Nepean head coach Harry Tsironis was pleased with the performance of his side and was happy to welcome back important players.
“It was good to welcome back key players in key positions and that made a big difference tonight.”
Prospect United SC head coach, Darren Camilleri, meanwhile said that he was happy with his side’s first-half performance but knows his team can do better to close out matches.
“I was really happy for the first half but then we started sloppy in the second half and we started giving the ball away.”
The draw for Nepean saw them snap a four-match losing streak, while the draw for Prospect was their first of the season and saw them remain unbeaten away from home.
Nepean will hope to build off this performance when they return after their Round 10 bye, while Prospect will hope to grab all three points when they host Granville Rage in another western Sydney derby.
Nepean FC 1 (Munyaradzi Muchemwa 51’)
Prospect United SC 1 (Anthony Idehen 31’ pen)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-4 Parramatta FC
Parramatta FC won a fifth-straight match, kept their third clean sheet of the season and held Gladesville Ryde Magic scoreless for a third-straight head-to-head match after a 4-0 away win.
The away side got off to a strong start when Travis Oughtred scored to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
That lead was doubled in the 45th minute when the prolific Marco Sama scored to give Parramatta a 2-0 half-time lead following a tight half where they had three shots to two.
Parramatta stepped up their attack in the second half and converted for a 3-0 lead in the 55th minute once again through Marco Sama, who had a double.
After holding the majority of possession and creating more chances on target in the match, Parramatta rounded out the 4-0 win in the 80th minute through Louis Bozanic.
The loss for Gladesville was their fourth from their past five matches, while the win for Parramatta was their fifth in a row.
Gladesville will hope to find a response when they travel to face Fraser Park FC in Round 10, while Parramatta will hope to extend their winning streak when they host South Coast Flame FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Parramatta FC 4 (Travis Oughtred 19’; Marco Sama 45’, 55’; Louis Bozanic 80’)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 4-0 South Coast Flame FC
A Hesan Soufi hat-trick led the ladder-leading Hurstville Zagreb FC to a big 4-0 home win over South Coast Flame FC.
Hurstville were unable to make the most of their opportunities in the first half, before the Flame were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute off a throw-in after Harry James was fouled in the box.
The Flame missed the resulting penalty attempt by Kade Kinsella, who hit the post with his effort, as the match stayed scoreless.
South Coast held a lot of the ball for the rest of the half but were unable to find a big chance against a resolute Hurstville defence as the first half ended scoreless.
Hurstville pressed to start the second half and took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute when Hesan Soufi won the ball on the halfway line and launched a shot at goal which saw the ball sail over Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic’s head.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 66th minute when Nikola Todoroski got in behind the Flame defence and cut the ball back for Soufi, who scored for a quick-fire second goal.
Soufi and Michael O’Neill continued to create for the hosts, who took a 3-0 lead in the 78th minute when those two combined, O’Neill finishing well to put the hosts in a commanding position.
Soufi completed his hat-trick and wrapped up a 4-0 Hurstville win when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box following a corner, where he volleyed it into the top corner to complete the strong win.
The victory for Hurstville saw them remain on top of the league after winning their sixth match from eight so far this season.
The loss for the Flame, meanwhile, saw their five-match unbeaten streak end, while they also failed to score in a match for the first time this season.
Hurstville will hope to continue to fire at the top when they travel to face Hawkesbury City FC in Round Ten, while the Flame will hope to bounce back when they make the trip to face Parramatta FC.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 4 (Hesan Soufi 55’, 66’, 87’; Michael Neill 78’)
South Coast Flame FC 0
Granville Rage 4-0 Central Coast United FC
Granville Rage returned from their bye with their third clean sheet of the season after a big 4-0 home win over Central Coast United FC, who they beat for the first time in three attempts.
Timothy Borg-Williams opened the scoring for the hosts early on, finding the back of the net in the 14th minute to give Granville a perfect start.
After having 12 shots to nine in the first half, Granville doubled their lead in the 65th minute when Anthony Gallo found the back of the net.
The hosts added a third in the 83rd minute when Ante Tomic converted a penalty, before they rounded out a strong 4-0 win with a Borg-Williams goal in the 89th minute.
The win for Granville was their fifth from eight matches this season while they also kept back-to-back clean sheets, while the loss for the Pirates was their eighth in a row.
Granville will hope to continue their strong form when they travel to face Prospect United SC in a western Sydney derby, while the Pirates will hope to end their losing streak when they make the trip to face Bankstown United FC.
Granville Rage 4 (Timothy Borg-Williams 14’, 89’; Anthony Gallo 65’; Ante Tomic 83’ pen)
Central Coast United FC 0
Bankstown United FC 2-2 Dunbar Rovers FC
A late goal for Dunbar Rovers FC saw them salvage a point away to Bankstown United FC.
Dunbar held majority of possession in the match but didn’t make it count until the second half in the 56th minute when 17-year-old Bastian Lawrence crossed the ball for Paul Gautier, who scored to give he visitors a 1-0 lead.
In the 64th minute, Bankstown capitalised on a Dunbar mistake to level the match at 1-1 through Marie Gauthier.
Four minutes later, Gauthier grabbed a double after he found the back of the net from a corner to give Bankstown the lead for the first time in the match at 2-1 up.
Gauthier completed his double in the 84th minute to salvage a point for Dunbar, finding the back of the net to make the scoreline read 2-2 at full-time.
The draw for Bankstown saw them respond from their last-start loss, while for Dunbar they ended a run of back-to-back losses with the draw.
Bankstown will hope to grab all three points when they host Central Coast United FC in Round Ten, while Dunbar host Sydney University SFC.
Bankstown United FC 2 (Marie Gauthier 64’, 68’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 2 (Paul Gautier 56’, 84’)
Inner West Hawks FC 1-3 Fraser Park FC
Fraser Park FC built off a strong performance from the week prior to win a first head-to-head match in three against Inner West Hawks FC in a 3-1 win with a hat-trick hero.
Fraser Park opened the scoring in the 4th minute when good build-up play down the left by Shu Torihara and Christian Dos Santos saw them set up Francis Mcalpine, who finished well to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Fraser Park continued to push and had a strong free-kick by Stavros Palapanis saved, before Dos Santos had his shot saved on the follow-up.
Fraser Park doubled their advantage in the 12th minute when they cleared a Hawks’ corner up field towards McAlpine; he capitalised on miscommunication between Christopher Phillips and Gene Marantos, snatching the ball and finding the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.
The Hawks pushed back and had a shot from Peter Yannopoulos hot the post shortly after.
In the 40th minute, the Hawks grabbed a goal back when a well-worked move down the left saw Yannopoulos play Peter Phillips in, who scored to reduce the deficit to one goal at half-time.
After the break, both teams created chances with neither able to find their clinical edge in front of goal, with Inner West’s biggest chance seeing substitute Jack Haslam heading the ball just over the bar.
In the 90th minute, Mcalpine picked up the ball near halfway and beat three Hawks players before he found the back of the net to score his first-ever hat-trick for Fraser Park in a 3-1 win.
The loss for the Hawks saw them go three matches without a win, while the victory for Fraser Park saw them win back-to-back matches for the second time this season.
Inner West will hope to turn their fortunes around when they take on Camden Tigers FC away, while Fraser Park will hunt a third-straight win when they host Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Peter Phillips 40’)
Fraser Park FC 3 (Francis Mcalpine 4’, 12’, 90’)
Camden Tigers FC 1-3 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury City FC continued the trend between these two sides, becoming the fifth-straight away side to win in this match-up against Camden Tigers FC after they recorded a 3-1 win.
Vincent Dermilio scored his eighth goal of the season for Hawkesbury in the 6th minute when he crossed the ball into the box, which Camden goalkeeper Michael O’Rourke was unable to deal with as the ball found the back of the net for an early 1-0 Hawks lead.
Harry Drew almost found the back of the net shortly after but sent his effort over the bar, before Camden created many chances in the following 30 minutes.
Camden were rewarded for their pressure with a penalty off a corner in the 54th minute through a James Thurtell handball; John Fahmi converted from the spot to level the match at 1-1.
Camden pushed following that but Hawkesbury hit the lead again in the 61st minute after making some substitutions, but it was Nathan Niski who played Harry Drew in to score his ninth goal of the season.
Hawkesbury secured the 3-1 win in the 71st minute in spectacular style when Declan Cotter found the back of the net from 35 yards to give Hawkesbury the three points.
The loss for Camden saw them unable to build off their last-start win, while the win for Hawkesbury saw them go six matches without defeat, with five wins from those.
Camden will hope to find a response when they host Inner West Hawks FC next week, while Hawkesbury will hope to pick up another win when they host the league-leading Hurstville Zagreb FC.
Camden Tigers FC 1 (John Fahmi 54’ pen)
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Vincent Dermilio 6’; Harry Drew 61’; Declan Cotter 71’)
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
