Round 21 Review – League Two Men’s
There were big results at both ends of the ladder with the final third of the season underway in Round 21 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with a runaway leader at the top extending their lead and a swapping of positions at the bottom.
The Match of the Round this week focused on the league leaders, Hurstville Zagreb FC, and their big home win over a side hopeful of promotion this season in Prospect United SC.
Friday, 27th June 2025
Match of the Round: Hurstville Zagreb FC 2-0 Prospect United SC
Runaway league leaders Hurstville Zagreb FC continued their quest for the league title and promotion after a strong 2-0 home win over promotion-chasing Prospect United SC.
Following a fast start where both teams looked to move the ball quickly, Prospect looked to win loose balls better early in the contest.
After that, Hurstville came into the match and had a few shots which were blocked or saved for corners, with one notable chance for Nikola Todoroski which was saved well down low by Prospect goalkeeper Brenden Allen to his right.
Prospect had a good chance to score following a dangerous ball into the box, but Hurstville defender Luke Vlastelica blocked the ball.
Hurstville struck the first blow in the match in the 19th minute when Declan Sheldon put the ball into the box for Michael Neill, who in turn headed the ball down for Todoroski; Todoroski volleyed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to score his tenth goal of the season and give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
In the 38th minute, Hurstville was dealt an injury blow when goalkeeper Michael Rutherford came out for the ball and fell, coming off injured, with Prospect’s Mathew Crossley, newly acquired from Nepean FC, missing the chance Rutherford had tried to stop.
The hosts took a big 1-0 lead into the break following a first half where they made the most of their chance.
In the second half, Prospect started strongly and looked to get in behind Hurstville, who did well to nullify that threat.
Prospect had chances to Jamie Dib, who had a tame shot from inside the box, and to Praneet Singh, who hit the post directly from a free kick, as they looked to level the contest.
In the 58th minute, however, Hurstville doubled their lead when Derek Daly and Andre Guzman combined well, the latter whipping the ball into the box for Neill, who headed home from inside the six-yard-box for a 2-0 Hurstville lead.
Prospect worked hard to get back into the match and had a big chance when a short corner saw a shot fall to one of their players at the far post, but he missed the goal from close range.
Hurstville made substitutes to continue to be dangerous going forward, while their defence shut out the Prospect attack and saw out the rest of the match for a big 2-0 home win.
The win for Hurstville saw them move to 52 points for the season, 17 points clear of three different sides behind them on 35 points, as they won an eighth-straight match and kept a fifth clean sheet from their past six matches, while the loss for Prospect saw them stay in 3rd place, level on points with 2nd-placed South Coast Flame FC and 4th-placed Hawkesbury City FC.
Hurstville will hope to continue their charge towards the league title and promotion when they travel to face 9th-placed Fraser Park FC next week, while Prospect will hope to pick up a big win in their battle for 2nd when they host last-placed Camden Tigers FC.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 2 (Nikola Todoroski 19’; Michael Neill 58’)
Prospect United SC 0
Saturday, 28th June 2025
Central Coast United FC 3-2 Dunbar Rovers FC
Central Coast United FC won back-to-back matches for the first time this season after they held on late for a strong 3-2 home win over Dunbar Rovers FC.
The hosts controlled the middle of the field and found success in the 17th minute when Ben Flakus found the back of the net for a 1-0 Pirates lead at half-time.
Shortly after the break, Dunbar had a big chance to level the match through half-time substitute Erik Hamlet, but was denied by a strong one-on-one save by Pirates goalkeeper, Zayd Husain.
Flakus completed his double in the match in the 64th minute to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, Jay Goodwin scored his fifth goal from his past four matches, capitalising on a Dunbar mistake to give Central Coast a 3-0 advantage.
Dunbar grabbed a goal back in the 73rd minute through 19-year-old substitute Jack Crotty, who scored his first goal for the senior side in spectacular fashion with a bicycle kick to give the visitors hope of a comeback.
In the 86th minute, Dunbar were awarded and then converted a penalty through Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato to reduce the deficit to one goal late.
Central Coast saw out the rest of the match, however, to record a big 3-2 home win over Dunbar.
The win for Central Coast saw them remain in 13th but close the gap to the teams above them, while the loss for Dunbar saw them drop from 7th to 8th.
Central Coast will hope to continue their strong form when they travel to take on 2nd-placed South Coast Flame FC, while Dunbar will hope to respond when they host 4th-placed Hawkesbury City FC.
Central Coast United FC 3 (Ben Flakus 17’, 64’; Jay Goodwin 71’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 2 (Jack Crotty 73’; Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato 86’ pen)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-2 Bankstown United FC
Late drama saw Bankstown United FC record a 2-1 away win over Gladesville Ryde Magic, with their talisman scoring a stoppage time winner for them to see them complete the league double and win a sixth-straight match over the magic.
Following a first half where neither side was able to find their clinical edge, both teams went into the break scoreless.
In the second half, Bankstown struck first following some substitutes in the 70th minute, with one of them in new signing William Bailey finding the back of the net within six minutes of coming on, the Brit scoring in his first appearance in the League Two Men’s competition.
Gladesville levelled the match late in the 89th minute through Sidhya Malhotra to give the Magic hope of salvaging a point late.
That hope was diminished in the third minute of stoppage time, however, when Bankstown’s talisman, Mitchell Cross, scored his first goal since returning from injury to give Bankstown a 2-1 away win over the Magic.
The loss for the Magic saw them go six matches without a win as they stayed in 11th place, while the win for Bankstown saw them rise into the top half of the ladder from 8th into 7th.
Gladesville will hope to end their winless run when they travel to face 12th-placed Inner West Hawks FC next week, while Bankstown will hope to go a fifth-straight match unbeaten when they travel to face 14th-placed Sydney University SFC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Sidhya Malhotra 89’)
Bankstown United FC 2 (William Bailey 70’; Mitchell Cross 90+3’)
Parramatta FC 1-2 Nepean FC
Nepean FC snapped a three-match losing streak after they held on late for a big 2-1 away win in the western Sydney derby over Parramatta FC, who moved to be six matches without a win.
Nepean looked to play long early, while Parramatta had two strong chances for Marco Sama; first, he had a one-on-one chance but was unable to convert, while the second saw him launch a low shot which was saved well by Nepean goalkeeper, Luke Cotten.
The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when Toby Witjes played the ball to Jack Hoban, who got inside his defender and fired a shot from the edge of the box into the back of the net at the far post.
Hoban completed his double for Nepean in the 44th minute when the visitors won the ball and played a ball across the face of goal to Hoban, who got to the ball ahead of the Parramatta defenders to give Nepean a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Parramatta made a few changes at the break to get back into the contest and forced Cotten into a few saves early in the second half.
The hosts pulled a goal back in the 77th minute when Jahnbek Bulut beat his man and played a ball across the face of goal to Christopher Arditti, who found the back of the net to reduce the deficit to one goal.
Parramatta had chances to level the match late through set pieces but were not able to find an equaliser in the match.
Witjes also had a chance to increase the margin of victory for Nepean late but was not able to.
In the end, Nepean held on for a big 3-2 away win over Parramatta FC in the western Sydney derby.
The loss for Parramatta saw them stay in 6th place, while the win for Nepean saw them stay in 10th.
Parramatta will hope to turn their season around when they return after their Round 22 bye, while Nepean will hope to back up this derby win with another when they host 5th-placed Granville Rage.
Parramatta FC 1 (Christopher Arditti 77’)
Nepean FC 2 (Jack Hoban 23’, 44’)
Hawkesbury City FC 4-2 South Coast Flame FC
Hawkesbury City FC held off a South Coast Flame FC comeback twice to record a big three points regarding the top two this season in a 4-2 home win.
Both sides had chances in the first half, with Harry Drew and Vincent Dermilio firing shots at goal for the Hawks and Jyden Harb firing over the goal for the Flame.
The Hawks scored the only goal of the first half in the 28th minute when a corner delivered into the box saw two shots blocked before Ryan Faulkner bundled the ball over the line to give his side a 1-0 lead.
The Flame had late chances in the half to Harry James and Kade Kinsella, but neither were able to find the back of the net, the Hawks 1-0 up at half-time.
South Coast levelled the match just six minutes into the second half when Takayuki Kayano intercepted a ball in midfield and played it to Harb, who found the back of the net from range, the league’s top scorer in 2025 finding the back of the net for a 22nd time and for an 11th-straight match.
The Flame looked to build on that goal and had two good chances to Liam Unicomb, but were not able to take the lead.
On the hour mark, Hawkesbury re-took the lead when Dermilio found Drew, who got through on goal and scored in a one-on-one situation for his 14th goal of the season to give Hawkesbury a 2-1 lead.
Just four minutes later, the Flame levelled the match once again when a shot from Adam Timpano-Voloder was saved by Hawkesbury goalkeeper Daniel Schwarzer, but the ball fell to Kinsella, who scored on the rebound to level the match at 2-2.
Another four minutes later, the Hawks took the lead for the third time in the match when a partially cleared corner saw the ball fall to Tobias Elliott-Orr, who chipped the ball into the back of the net to give Hawkesbury a 3-2 lead.
Hawkesbury secured the 4-2 win in the 75th minute when Drew latched onto the ball and drew Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic in before he played the ball to Dermilio, who scored his 16th goal of the season to ensure the win for Hawkesbury.
The victory for the Hawks saw them stay in 4th but go level on points with both Prospect United SC and South Coast Flame FC ahead of them in 3rd and 2nd, respectively, while the loss for the Flame saw them fall to be 17 points behind the league-leading Hurstville Zagreb FC as they stayed in 2nd on goal difference.
Hawkesbury will hope to continue their fight for the top two this season when they travel to face 8th-placed Dunbar Rovers FC next week, while South Coast will hope to retain their spot in 2nd on the ladder when they host 13th-placed Central Coast United FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 4 (Ryan Faulkner 28’; Harry Drew 60’; Tobias Elliott-Orr 68’; Vincent Dermilio 75’)
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Jyden Harb 51’; Kade Kinsella 64’)
Granville Rage 0-0 Inner West Hawks FC
Neither Granville Rage nor Inner West Hawks FC could be separated, with the two sides playing out a 0-0 draw, a result which ended a run of five-straight head-to-head wins for the Hawks over the Rage.
Following a first half where both sides struggled to create on a tough playing surface, neither side was able to fashion a big chance on goal.
Inner West had a chance to take the lead after the break through Peter Kontis, but his effort from just outside the box hit the crossbar.
Late in the match, Granville had a chance to grab all three points through Asmir Kadric, but his shot hit the crossbar.
In the end, neither side was able to create the winning chance in the match, with the two sides settling for a point in the nil-all draw.
The point for Granville saw them go six matches unbeaten as they stayed in 5th, while for Inner West they stayed in 12th.
Granville will hope to continue their unbeaten run when they travel to take on 10th-placed Nepean FC in a western Sydney derby, while Inner West will hope to grab all three points when they host 11th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Granville Rage 0
Inner West Hawks FC 0
Camden Tigers FC 0-2 Sydney University SFC
Sydney University SFC continued their resurgence and moved off the bottom of the ladder for the first time since Round Two after a big 2-0 away win over Camden Tigers FC, who fell to last place in their spot.
Camden almost took a lead into half-time when they had a shot on goal, but the University defence scrambled the ball clear to ensure the two teams headed into the sheds scoreless at the break.
University found the lead in the 58th minute when Charles Hely-Hammond and Gregory John combined to get the ball to Riley Egerton, who scored with his right foot from the edge of the box into the bottom-right corner for his first senior goal for the students to give them a 1-0 lead.
In the 73rd minute, Jethro Thornton put the students in a commanding position in the match, poking the ball home following a scramble in the box to give University a 2-0 lead.
Camden were not able to get past the University defence, with Corey Twining stepping up to ensure the students kept their clean sheet in a big 2-0 win.
The loss for Camden saw them fall from 14th into last place for the first time this season, while the win for University saw them rise out of last place for the first time since Round Two as they rose into 14th following their third win from their past four matches.
Camden will hope to cause an upset in Round 22 when they travel to face 3rd-placed Prospect United SC, while University will hope to continue their strong run of form when they host 7th-placed Bankstown United FC.
Camden Tigers FC 0
Sydney University SFC 2 (Riley Egerton 58’; Jethro Thornton 73’)
9th-placed Fraser Park FC had a bye in Round 21.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
