Round 17 Review – League Two Men’s
More big results and plenty of late action headlined Round 17 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with the drama as raw as ever.
The Match of the Round this week epitomised that when Dunbar Rovers FC scored a stoppage-time winner away to Fraser Park FC.
Saturday, 31st May 2025
Match of the Round: Fraser Park FC 0-1 Dunbar Rovers FC
A 95th minute winner was the difference between these two sides as Dunbar Rovers FC had late jubilation away to Fraser Park FC for a big win.
Dunbar had chances early in the match which went over, while Fraser Park had a shot off a low cross from close range saved by Dunbar goalkeeper, Benjamin Wrigley.
In the 25th minute, Dunbar’s Bastian Monroy was substituted following a shoulder injury, meaning Dunbar had to adjust for the rest of the match.
Fraser Park had the next two chances in the match in the 31st and 34th minutes, respectively, with the latter shot on target and deflected for a corner.
In the 43rd minute, Dunbar had another chance when they won the ball up the field and fired a shot over.
The match took a turn in the 45th minute when a foul by a Fraser Park saw a retaliation from Dunbar’s Dylan-Goran Bozicevic, who received a red card which reduced Dunbar to ten men.
Dunbar put in a big tackle to stop a dangerous Fraser Park counterattack inside the box as both sides went into half-time scoreless.
Fraser Park started the second half strongly with the first shot of the half going just wide in the 46th minute.
One minute later, Dunbar’s Paul Gautier was played in behind and had his shot saved well by the onrusing Fraser Park goalkeeper, Jayden Pham.
In the 53rd minute, Fraser Park had a shot from range saved well by Wrigley.
Three minutes later, Dunbar’s Gautier was played through and beat his defender before he fired a shot on goal which struck the left post and trickled along the goal line before it eventually stayed out.
Fraser Park fired back with consecutive shots in the 60th and 61st minute, while Dunbar had a chance six minutes later which went wide left.
The two sides continued to trade blows with Fraser Park heading another chance wide, before Dunbar’s Zachary Marino’s fired wide left from range and Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato fired a shot across the left post in the 77th and 82nd minutes, respectively.
In the first minute of stoppage-time, Fraser Park had a chance saved by Wrigley as the match looked as though it was headed for a goalless draw.
The match took yet another turn in the fourth minute of stoppage-time when Fraser Park’s Gregory Ehiozee was shown a second yellow card for bringing down a Dunbar attacker, reducing both sides to ten men.
In the fifth minute of stoppage-time, Dunbar had joy when a free kick delivered into the box and evaded many players before it fell to Marinos, who slotted the ball home with the final touch of the match to give Dunbar a 1-0 away win at the death.
The loss for Fraser Park saw them drop from 10th to 11th, while the win for Dunbar saw them rise from 7th into 6th.
Fraser Park will hope to respond when they host 13th-placed Fraser Park FC in Round 18, while Dunbar will hope to enjoy the win and build on it after their bye.
Fraser Park FC 0 (Gregory Ehiozee 90+4’ red card)
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Zachary Marinos 90+5’; Dylan-Goran Bozicevic 45’ red card)
Central Coast United FC 0-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
Neither Central Coast United FC nor Gladesville Ryde Magic could be separated as the two sides played out a nil-all draw.
Gladesville started the match strongly with strong diagonal balls and good one-on-one play as they looked to start strongly with good crossed into the box, as well as three dangerous corners.
Central Coast fired back and had four first-half shots, two on target and two off, as Gladesville’s seven first-half shots also failed to yield a goal, the two sides going into half-time scoreless.
In the second half, Central Coast had seven shots to four, attacking with threat on multiple occasions as they looked for the breakthrough.
Their biggest cthance of the match saw Jack Ragen fire a shot on goal, which Magic goalkeeper Lucas Mazereeuw get a fingertip save to before the ball thundered off the bottom of the crossbar and away.
Mazereeuw pulled off three other big saves in the contest to keep the Magic’s clean sheet as both the Pirates and the Magic settled for a 0-0 draw, the Magic going four head-to-head matches unbeaten against Central Coast.
The point for the Pirates saw them rise one spot from 14th to 13th on the ladder, while for the Magic it saw them drop one place from 9th to 10th.
Central Coast will hope to build off their third-straight draw when they travel to face 10th-placed Fraser Park FC, while the Magic will hope to cause an upset when they travel to face the league-leading Hurstville Zagreb FC.
Central Coast United FC 0
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Sydney University SFC 0-1 Hurstville Zagreb FC
Hurstville Zagreb FC continued on their quest for the league title after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sydney University SFC, their fifth win in a row over the students.
University started strong and showed their intent with an early chance after a run in behind but they shot wide.
Hurstville started to control the ball but were unable to break down the University defence, their biggest chance of the first half seeing Hesan Soufi fire a shot from close range which was well saved by University goalkeeper Jasper Sarkies.
Just before half-time, Hurstville had another chance through Michael Neill but he had his one-on-one chance cleared off the line, with both sides scoreless at half-time.
University defended well to start the second half, but a Hurstville substitute made his presence felt on the field for the crucial moment in the 72nd minute.
Substitute Jesse Gagro drove the ball forward and took a long touch, which Sarkies failed to take hold of; the ball came loose and Nikola Todoroski pounced on it and slotted the ball home his tenth goal of the season to give Hurstville a 1-0 lead.
Hurstville had chances on transition following that but could not find a second goal, while University threw players forward and went direct late.
The students had a big chance when Zac Kalogerou got a dangerous shot away which was blocked by the Hurstville defence, while late on they also failed to convert with a good chance, as Hurstville grabbed a tough 1-0 win.
The loss for the students saw them drop to six points behind 14th-placed Camden Tigers FC, while the win for Hurstville was their fifth-straight against the students as they maintained their nine-point lead atop the ladder.
Sydney University will hope to continue to show improvement and fight when they host 3rd-placed Parramatta FC next week, while Hurstville will hope to continue on their title charge when they host 10th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Sydney University SFC 0
Hurstville Zagreb FC 1 (Nikola Todoroski 72’)
Hawkesbury City FC 5-2 Prospect United SC
Hawkesbury City FC picked up a big win for their season following a strong 5-2 home win over Prospect United SC to shake up the top half of the ladder.
The Hawks came out firing with a goal in the 2nd minute when they intercepted a Prospect pass and played Duncan Stewart through on goal; he finished well to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead.
In the 17th minute, it was deja vu for the Hawks when the same play saw Stewart played in behind once again, where he finished to give Hawkesbury a 2-0 lead.
The Hawks added a third goal in the 40th minute when Vincent Dermilio got on the end of a cross to score his 12th goal of the season for a 3-0 Hawks lead at the break.
Nine minutes after half-time, Dermilio finished his double for his 13th goal of the season for a 4-0 Hawks lead.
Prospect scored a consolation goal in the 62nd minute when a shot from range from Jakob Petterson took a deflection off Nathan Niski into the back of his own net, Prospect on the scoresheet at 4-1 down.
In the 85th minute, a free kick from Declan Cotter was headed home strongly by Jude Bramhall for a 5-1 lead.
Prospect grabbed another consolation goal two minutes later when a long range shot from Praneet Singh slipped through the grasp of Hawks’ goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer and just over the line to make the final scoreline read 5-2 in Hawkesbury’s favour.
The win for the Hawks saw them remain in 5th but close the gap to those above them, while the loss for Prospect saw them drop from 3rd to 4th.
Hawkesbury will hope to continue to climb to those above them on the ladder when they travel to face 7th-placed Granville Rage next week, whole Prospect will hope to bounce back when they make the trip to face 2nd-placed South Coast Flame FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 5 (Duncan Stewart 2’, 17’; Vincent Dermilio 40’, 54’; Jude Bramhall 85’)
Prospect United SC 2 (Nathan Niski 62’ own goal; Praneet Singh 87’)
Parramatta FC 0-0 Granville Rage
Granville Rage held on for 50 minutes with ten men as they and Parramatta FC could not be separated in a 0-0 draw in the western Sydney derby.
With both teams having played mid-week, Parramatta turned over the ball on a few occasions but Granville were unable to convert from half-chances.
16-year-old Riley Carmody-Smith made his first start in first grade for Parramatta and had strong distribution to go with well-timed challenges in the Eagles’ side.
Christopher Arditti had a chance for the hosts when he received the ball off Marco Sama, who had held the ball up well and squared it to him, but Arditti was unable to make the most of the chance.
Parramatta captain Travis Oughtred had a chance from the second ball off a corner, but his header from the edge of the box narrowly missed the goal.
The dynamic of the match changed in the 40th minute when Jad Moussa was shown a red card, Granville down to ten men for the remainder of the contest.
Ali Chamsin had a big chance for Parramatta just before the break following a collision in the box and a scrambled clearance fell to him, but he was unable to score from close range.
In the second half, Parramatta continued to create chances but were unable to find the back of the net, with Jordan Gomez pulling the strings in midfield.
Granville almost snatched the winning goal late when Ante Tomic stole the ball off the Parramatta defence but his shot went wide.
In the end, neither side was able to find the decisive moment as the match finished scoreless.
The point for Parramatta saw them rise to 3rd as they went a sixth-straight match unbeaten, while for Granville the draw saw them rise from 8th to 7th.
Granville also fell in the seventh and final preliminary round of the Australia Cup mid-week, where they fell to a tight 1-0 loss away to Sydney United 58, a goal from United’s Mason Wells the difference.
Parramatta will hope to turn their draws into wins when they travel to face last-placed Sydney University SFC next week, while Granville will hope to grab their first win in four matches when they host 5th-placed Hawkesbury City FC.
Parramatta FC 0
Granville Rage 0 (Jad Moussa 40’ red card)
Camden Tigers FC 2-3 Nepean FC
Nepean FC grabbed back-to-back wins after theyHeld off Camden Tigers FC late for a big 3-2 away win.
Leonard Abdo scored in the 4th minute following a lapse of concentration from Camden to give Nepean a 1-0 lead early.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Mathew Crossley scored to give Nepean a 2-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, Jeff Mcfadden ensured Nepean took a commanding position in the match with a 3-0 lead.
Camden banded together to try and turn the match around; they found a goal through Matthew Lane in the 75th minute in their attempt to do that.
Nepean were reduced to ten men late when substitute Munyaradzi Muchemwa was shown a red card and Camden capitalised with a second goal in the second minute of stoppage-time through Avisai Vunisasaro.
In the end, the Camden comeback fell short as Nepean grabbed a big 3-2 away win.
The loss for Camden saw them drop from 13th to 14th as they went eighth-straight matches without a win, while the victory for Nepean saw them gain back-to-back wins as they rose from 11th into 9th.
Camden will hope to bring more fight when they travel to face 8th-placed Bankstown United FC next week, while Nepean will hunt a third-straight win when they travel to take on 12th-placed Inner West Hawks FC.
Camden Tigers FC 2 (Brendan Lane 75’; Avisai Vunisasaro 90+2’)
Nepean FC 3 (Leonard Abdo 4’; Mathew Crossley 33’; Jeff Mcfadden 51’)
Bankstown United FC 0-3 South Coast Flame FC
A light failure delay could not stop South Coast Flame FC, who recorded a strong 3-0 away win over Bankstown United FC to improve their league position once more.
After seven minutes, the match was delayed when a power failure hit Padstow Park causing a delay of an hour to ensue.
From the restart, the Flame had a chance through Liam Unicomb, who fired a shot from 25 yards, but saw his effort caught by Bankstown goalkeeper Sebastian La Luz.
Josh Gersbach got on the end of a half-cleared Marie Gauthier free kick and fired a shot on goal which took a slight deflection, with Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic adjusting well to keep the ball out.
Midway through the half, the Flame’s Harry James combined well with Unicomb, the latter’s cross taking a deflection and flying towards goal before La Luz pulled off a big save to keep it out.
Mitchell Edmunds had a big chance to give Bankstown a 1-0 lead, but instead it was at the other end in the 30th minute where Unicomb played Dylan Caton in on the right; his cross was met in the middle of the box by Kade Kinsella, who slotted the ball into the far-post corner of the goal for a 1-0 Flame lead.
The Flame doubled their lead before the break when a short corner saw Jyden Harb dribble the ball along the goal line before he fired a low cross into the box; Takayuki Kayano slotted home from the scramble to give the Flame a 2-0 half-time lead.
Both sides started the second half strongly, with Bankstown’s Marie Gauthier firing a free kick just wide, while at the other end Adam Timpano-Voloder forced La Luz into a strong legs save, before Harb was unable to put away the follow-up attempt.
La Luz pulled off a double save when he kept out respective shots from Kinsella and Alexander Alston, while at the other end a Gauthier free kick found Nathan Manno, who saw his header hit the post and stay out.
In the 70th minute, Timpano-Voloder squared the ball to Harrison James, who scored to give the Flame a 3-0 lead.
Bankstown were reduced to ten men in the 79th minute when Gersbach was shown a second yellow card, meaning Bankstown played the rest of the match with ten men.
Vekic pulled off a big double save late off shots from Gauthier and Steven Wright to keep the Flame’s third clean sheet in a row as they came away with a 3-0 win over Bankstown.
The loss for Bankstown saw them drop from 6th to 8th, while the win for the Flame saw them stay in 2nd.
Bankstown will hope to find a response when they host 14th-placed Camden Tigers FC next week, while South Coast will look to continue their strong form when they host 4th-placed Prospect United SC.
Bankstown United FC 0
South Coast Flame FC 3 (Kade Kinsella 30’; Takayuki Kayano 42’; Harrison James 70’)
12th-placed Inner West Hawks FC had a bye in Round 17.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
