Round 26 Review – League Two Men’s
A wet and wild Saturday of action saw two washouts amid 25 goals in five matches as the battle for 2nd took yet more twists and turns in Round 26 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round this week saw the newly crowned premiers, Hurstville Zagreb FC, flex their muscles with their biggest win of the season against the promotion-hopeful Bankstown United FC.
Saturday, 2nd August 2025
Match of the Round: Bankstown United FC 1-6 Hurstville Zagreb FC
Premiers Hurstville Zagreb FC celebrated their title win last week with their biggest win of the season this week in a 6-1 away victory over Bankstown United FC, whose promotion hopes took a big hit, in a match which was not only rained on, but also rained goals, as Hurstville completed the league double.
The newly-crowned Premiers struck first in the 7th minute when a run in behind down the left by Jacob Botic saw him have a shot on goal saved by Bankstown goalkeeper Mitchell Evans, but only into the path of Hurstville’s Daniel Sramek, who slotted the ball home to give Hurstville a 1-0 lead in their title celebrations.
Hurstville doubled their lead in quick-time in the 13th minute; following strong build-up play from Alessandro Lacalandra, a tackle from the Bankstown defence saw the ball fall to Hurstville’s Botic, who settled himself from the edge of the box and placed the ball into the bottom-right corner with a composed right-footed finish to double Hurstville’s lead.
Bankstown looked to hit back with the next three chances in the match, respectively, with a shot from Sean Robertson on target blocked, a header on target claimed by Hurstville goalkeeper Luke Babic, and a shot on goal from Marie Gauthier which took a deflection off a Hurstville defender, loop into the air and hit the crossbar.
Following that, Hurstville added a third goal in the 35th minute when their pressure saw them pounce on a loose ball in defence by Bankstown through captain Jesse Gagro; he won the ball and settled before he looped the ball into the back of the net to give Hurstville a 3-0 lead.
Bankstown got a goal back almost immediately in the 37th minute when Mitchell Cross got on the end of a ball played for him down the field and shrugged off the Hurstville defence before he fired a shot on goal; the ball was straight at Babic, but went through his hands and under his legs into the back of the net to give Bankstown a goal back before half-time.
Hurstville, however, regained their three-goal lead three minutes later when they earned a free-kick 20 yards from goal; Lacalandra stepped up and placed the ball into the top-right corner of the goal to give Hurstville a 4-1 lead.
Hurstville added a fifth goal on the stroke of half-time in the 45th minute when more pressure saw them win the ball through Jesse Gagro; he steadied himself in front of goal and chipped the onrushing Evans to give Hurstville a 5-1 lead at the break.
The visitors continued to push after the break and were rewarded in the 64th minute when a corner delivered in from Joshua Lazzaro found the head of Luke Vlastelica in the middle of the box; he headed the ball into the back of the net to give Hurstville a 6-1 lead.
Following that, Hurstville had a shot on target from a throw-in blocked in the 73rd minute, before Bankstown had a shot saved and a shot go wide left from range in the 75th and 87th minute respectively.
In the end, Hurstville flexed their muscles amid their new premiership win, all the while denting Bankstown’s hopes of joining them in the League One Men’s competition next season, with a big 6-1 away win.
Speaking post-match, Hurstville captain Paul Gagro was proud and pleased with his sides’ performance and quality, owing it to the depth in the squad.
“We made six to seven changes to the lineup tonight, not because we were taking the game easy, but because we trust our squad and have so much quality; the boys that came in deserve to be playing more but the standards have been incredibly high this season so it has not been easy.”
Gagro was pleased with the standards his side set this season and how they continued that into this match.
“I do not know if everyone thought we would just take it easy tonight because we have achieved our goal of winning the league, but this team is built on fight and passion; we have set very high standards for ourselves and you cannot just turn that switch off.”
Speaking on Bankstown, Gagro knew Hurstville would be up for a challenge and was pleased his side stepped up to take the match to Bankstown.
“We have had some intense battles against Bankstown over the last couple of years and we knew they were pushing for their own promotion aspirations, so I knew the boys would be fired up to get the win.”
The win for Hurstville saw them maintain their premiership-winning margin atop the league of 17 points, while the loss for Bankstown was their first in seven and saw them fall six points behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC as they fell from 4th to 5th.
Hurstville will hope to go a fourteenth-straight match unbeaten when they travel to take on 10th-placed Inner West Hawks FC next week, while Bankstown will hope to bounce back from their defeat when they travel to face 12th-placed Nepean FC.
Bankstown United FC 1 (Mitchell Cross 37’)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 6 (Daniel Sramek 7’; Jacob Botic 13’; Jesse Gagro 35’, 45’; Alessandro Lacalandra 40’; Luke Vlastelica 64’)
Fraser Park FC 3-3 Hawkesbury City FC
Fraser Park FC came from behind twice in the rain to earn a 3-3 draw at home to Hawkesbury City FC, whose promotion hopes took another hit.
Hawkesbury started the match strongly and took the lead in the 13th minute when Harry Drew got on the end of a through ball down the right and slotted the ball home to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Fraser Park responded with a Christian Dos Santos strike which hit the post before they levelled the match in the 36th minute when four players in attack played one-touch passes to each other and set up Harry Skotadis, who scored for a 1-1 half-time scoreline.
In the second half, Hawkesbury re-took the lead in the 50th minute from the penalty spot following a foul on Clement Ebahece Waoci, the penalty converted by Drew for his second goal of the night and 19th of the season for a 2-1 Hawkesbury lead.
The visitors extended their lead in the 58th minute when they countered Fraser Park with the final ball played by Drew to Ebahece Waoci, who slotted the ball home for a 3-1 Hawkesbury lead.
Fraser Park looked to respond from there and had chances through Matthew Lecce and Dos Santos, respectively, blocked.
The hosts grabbed a goal back in the 73rd minute when Benjamin Astudillo got on the end of a corner and poked the ball home from close range to reduce the deficit to one goal at 3-2 down.
Eight minutes later, Fraser Park completed the comeback when a corner delivered into the box was put home with a bicycle kick by Paul Apostolopoulos to level the match at 3-3.
Both teams pressed for the winner, with chances to Hawkesbury’s Drew and Fraser Park’s Dos Santos saved by goalkeepers Jude Azar and Daniel Schwarzer, respectively.
Hawkesbury had a chance in the second minute of stoppage time to grab all three points through Ebahece Waoci, but his header towards the far top corner was saved at full stretch by Azar.
In the end, in the rain, Fraser Park were able to come from behind twice to grab a point at home in a result which further dented Hawkesbury’s promotion hopes.
The draw for Fraser Park saw them stay in 9th, while for Hawkesbury it saw them go five matches without a win as they stayed in 6th.
Fraser Park will hope to bring the same fight when they travel to face 7th-placed Parramatta FC next week, while Hawkesbury will hope to snap their winless run when they host 14th-placed Central Coast United FC.
Fraser Park FC 3 (Harry Skotadis 36’; Benjamin Astudillo 73’; Paul Apostolopoulos 81’)
Hawkesbury City FC 3 (Harry Drew 13’, 50’ pen; Clement Ebahece Waoci 58’)
Sydney University SFC 1-3 Granville Rage
10-man Granville Rage gave their hopes of promotion another boost through a hat-trick hero in their 3-1 away win over a Sydney University SFC as they completed the league double.
Granville struck first in the 17th minute on the counter through Timothy Borg-Williams, who scored for a fourth week in a row to give the Rage a 1-0 lead.
The visitors hit University on transition again just two minutes later, through Borg-Williams once again, to double their lead and go 2-0 up.
University tried to break down the Rage defence in the first half but could not, as the Rage took full advantage.
The Rage were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute and Borg-Williams stepped up to take it; he slotted the ball home to complete his hat-trick and score his 17th goal of the season to give Granville a 3-0 lead at half-time.
After the break, Granville was reduced to ten men in the 58th minute when a sliding tackle from Will Lee-Harvey resulted in him receiving a red card.
University grabbed a goal back in the match late in the 80th minute through Saamuel Riedel, who scored his first senior goal for the club to get University back into the match at 3-1 down.
The hosts had a chance late to Charles Hely-Hammond from close range but could not find another goal back as Granville grabbed a big 3-1 away win.
The loss for University saw their back-to-back win streak end as they stayed in 13th, while the win for the Rage saw them rise one spot from 5th to 4th as they stayed six points behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC in the fight for promotion.
University will hope to respond when they travel to take on 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC next week, while Granville will look to go eleven matches unbeaten when they host 8th-placed Dunbar Rovers FC.
Sydney University SFC 1 (Samuel Riedel 80’)
Granville Rage 3 (Timothy Borg-Williams 17’, 19’, 28’ pen; Will Lee Harvey 58’ red card)
Dunbar Rovers FC 1-1 Inner West Hawks FC
A stoppage-time equaliser from Dunbar Rovers FC saw them escape with a late 1-1 draw at home to Inner West Hawks FC in another match played in heavy rain.
Following a goalless first half, Inner West took the lead in the 58th minute when strong build-up play resulted in Hesan Soufi playing the ball to Lawrence Claxton in behind, who chipped Dunbar goalkeeper Benjamin Wrigley to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Dunbar, however, fought back late and in the third minute of stoppage time found the equaliser through Dion Bregianos, who in just his seventh match for Dunbar scored his first goal to earn a point for Dunbar in a 1-1 draw.
The draw for Dunbar saw them stay in 8th, while for Inner West it saw them remain in 10th.
Dunbar will look to bring the same fight shown in this match when they travel to face 4th-placed Granville Rage, while the Hawks will look to go a fourth match unbeaten when they host the premiers, Hurstville Zagreb FC.
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Dion Bregianos 90+3’)
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Lawrence Claxton 58’)
Prospect United SC 5-1 Parramatta FC
Prospect United SC continued to lead the charge for 2nd this season following a big 5-1 home win over western Sydney rivals, Parramatta FC, with a haul of goals to one player among the action, as they completed the league double and grabbed their biggest win of the season.
Prospect opened the scoring in the 35th minute when a cross from mid-season signing Tom Ruperto was punched away by Parramatta goalkeeper Harry Aquilina, but only into the path of Richard Stewart, who scored his first goal of the season for a 1-0 Prospect lead.
Prospect doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Reo Hirose played the ball in behind to Praneet Singh, who in turn crossed the ball into the box for Anthony Idehen, who slotted the ball away for his 10th goal of the season to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Parramatta responded in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when a free-kick from range by Tarket Elrich found the back of the net to reduce the deficit for the Eagles to one goal at half-time, 2-1 the score.
After the break, Prospect regained their two-goal advantage in the 50th minute when Hirose found Stewart at the back post, who slotted the ball home for a 3-1 Prospect lead.
Stewart completed his hat-trick in the 61st minute when Hirose and Stewart combined once again, Stewart getting on the end of the ball in behind and striking the ball first-time into the back of the net for a 4-1 Prospect lead.
Prospect took a 5-1 lead in the 72nd minute when combination play outside the box saw Ruperto deliver a cross in for Stewart, who volleyed the ball home to complete his haul.
Prospect goalkeeper Brenden Allen pulled off a big save with 10 minutes to go and a double save in the final minute to give Prospect a big 5-1 home win over Parramatta.
The win for Prospect saw them go five matches unbeaten as they extended their lead in 2nd to the teams below them to six points, while the loss for Parramatta saw them lose back-to-back matches as they stayed in 7th.
Prospect will hope to continue to maintain their strong position in 2nd when they travel to face 11th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic next week, while Parramatta will hope to bounce back when they host 9th-placed Fraser Park FC.
Prospect United SC 5 (Richard Stewart 35’, 50’, 61’, 72’; Anthony Idehen 40’)
Parramatta FC 1 (Tarek Elrich 45+2’)
Central Coast United FC vs Nepean FC and Camden Tigers FC vs South Coast Flame FC were both washed out and will be played at a later date.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
