Round 30 Review – League Two Men’s
A dramatic final round of fixtures saw the battle for second place come down to the wire in Round 30 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, where Prospect United SC sealed second place and their spot in the League One Men’s/League Two Men’s Promotion/Relegation Playoff following a tense 90 minutes across the city.
The Match of the Round this week saw South Coast Flame FC unable to do their part of the deal in their fight for second place as they were held to a draw away to Fraser Park FC.
Saturday, 30th August 2025
Match of the Round: Fraser Park FC 2-2 South Coast Flame FC
South Coast Flame FC were unable to do their part and claim victory over Fraser Park FC in their battle for 2nd, the Flame held to a 2-2 draw away from home in a result which ultimately secured their spot in 3rd regardless of other results elsewhere.
The Flame had the perfect start within the first 60 seconds of the match when the ball was played to Jyden Harb, who had his left-footed shot on target partially saved by Fraser Park goalkeeper Amaro Ferreira before the ball trickled across the goal line to give the Flame a 1-0 lead, which saw them rise to 2nd on the live ladder.
In the 9th minute, the Flame had their next chance following a counterattack through Adam Timpano-Voloder, who found Harb, but the latter could not keep his shot down.
South Coast continued to press and following good pressure from Harb, released Liam Unicomb, who shot just wide in the 17th minute.
Nine minutes later, the Flame had another chance when Thomas Dunn stunned the hands of Ferreira from a tight angle, while moments later Fraser Park’s Alexis Wenzel put in a dangerous cross which just missed the far post.
In the 31st minute, news from Prospect’s match against Bankstown United FC came in, with Prospect taking a 1-0 lead, putting them back into 2nd, with the Flame players unaware on the field as they battled for their own win.
Fraser Park worked their way into the match and had the next three chances in the ten minutes that followed, with chances from Matthew Lecce, Francis Mcalpine and Benjamin Astudillo missing the mark.
However, the hosts levelled the match in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when a free-kick delivered into the box was not dealt with by the Flame, with Fraser Park’s Riki Sheather getting a toe to the ball and scoring his first goal for his new club to level the match at 1-1 at half-time.
The Flame almost had the perfect start to the second half in the opening minute when Dunn was played in behind down the right and worked his way into the box, but with only Ferreira to beat, shot the ball just past the far-left post.
The two teams continued to trade chances, with Fraser Park’s Harry Skotadis having a shot on target at the near left post saved by Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic in the 52nd minute, before Dunn had back-to-back chances for the Flame, with the first blocked and the second saved by Ferreira in the 61st minute.
By this point, Bankstown had taken a 2-1 lead against Prospect in the other match, meaning a Flame lead would have seen them in 2nd again at this point.
The Flame had consecutive chances in the 64th minute when Dunn had a shot inside the box saved, before a shot from range from Unicomb went just wide of the left post.
Disaster struck for the Flame in the 69th minute, however, when Fraser Park’s Christian Dos Santos received the ball near the Flame box, shrugged off Samuel Alston and curled the ball into the top-right corner of the goal from the top-left edge of the box to give Fraser Park what was a potential promotion-deciding goal late.
Six minutes later, news came in that Prospect had completed a comeback against Bankstown and now had a 3-2 lead, further adding insult to injury for the Flame in their pursuit of a comeback themselves.
South Coast levelled the match in the 79th minute in wonder circumstances when Harb stepped up to take a free kick from 30 yards out and launched the ball into the top-left corner of the goal to restore parity and get the Flame back on track for a late comeback, the 20-year-old winning the Golden Boot with his 29th goal of the season from 27 matches played.
In the end, the Flame could not find a winning goal, while Prospect did their part to guarantee 2nd with a 5-2 win in their match, as Fraser Park and South Coast drew 2-2.
The draw for Fraser Park saw them stay in and finish the season in 9th place on 36 points, an improvement on their 13th-placed finish with 27 points from 2024.
The draw for the Flame, meanwhile, saw them fall just short of the all-important 2nd place as they finished in 3rd place on 51 points, four points behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC, with their finish an improvement on their 6th-placed finish with 47 points from 2024.
Fraser Park FC 2 (Riki Sheather 45+2’; Christian Dos Santos 75’)
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Jyden Harb 1’, 79’)
Sydney University SFC 3-0 Inner West Hawks FC
Sydney University SFC ended their season on a high with a 3-0 home win over Inner West Hawks FC, a team who they snapped an eight-straight head-to-head winless streak against.
The students got forward and attacked quickly in the 11th minute through Joseph Roddy, who opened the scoring for the hosts to put them in the ascendancy early, 1-0 up.
Jesse Hirschowitz doubled University’s lead in the 27th minute in similar fashion, taking advantage of the pressure the hosts applied to give them a 2-0 lead.
Three minutes later, University had a 3-0 lead when Jethro Thornton found the back of the net to put the hosts in a commanding position at half-time.
Inner West had chances throughout the match, with their best opportunities coming from an offside goal and a chance which saw Jasper Sarkies pull off a strong save to keep University’s clean sheet in-tact, his save sending the ball just over the crossbar.
In the second half, both sides had their moments to create chances but did not threaten either goal, with University coming away 3-0 winners to end their season.
The win for University was their seventh from their past eleven matches as they ended the season on a high in as they rose from 13th place to 11th place on 27 points, an improvement on their 14th-placed finish with 20 points from 2024.
The loss for the Hawks, meanwhile, saw them finish the season in 10th place on 31 points, a drop from their 4th-placed finish with 53 points from 2024.
Sydney University SFC 3 (Joseph Roddy 11’; Jesse Hirschowitz 27’; Jethro Thornton 30’)
Inner West Hawks FC 0
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-2 Camden Tigers FC
Camden Tigers FC held on late to secure a 2-1 win over Gladesville Ryde Magic, a result which saw them avoid a last-placed finish in 2025.
The Tigers came into the match with the goal to get off the bottom of the ladder and took a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute through Aidan Quigley to do just that, provisionally.
The Tigers doubled their lead in the second half in the 79th minute through Darcy Wilson, the 19-year-old scoring his first goal for Camden to give them a 2-0 lead.
An error from Camden in the 83rd minute saw them punished by the Magic’s Thomas Hutcheson, who scored to get the Magic back into the contest at 2-1 down.
Despite going down to ten men in the second minute of stoppage time when Cameran Ha received a second yellow card on the night, the Tigers held on for a 2-1 away win over the Magic.
The loss for the Magic saw them lose six-straight matches to end the season as they dropped one spot and finished the year in 13th place on 25 points, up from their last-placed finish on 12 points from 2024.
The win for the Tigers, meanwhile, was their third from their past four matches as they finished the year with a flourish and rose from last place to 14th on 24 points, down from their 10th-placed finish with 34 points from 2024.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Thomas Hutcheson 83’)
Camden Tigers FC 2 (Aidan Quigley 34’; Darcy Wilson 79’; Cameron Ha 90+2’ red card)
Hawkesbury City FC 4-2 Parramatta FC
Hawkesbury City FC ended their season on a high note following a 4-2 home win over Parramatta FC in the battle of the birds.
Parramatta took the lead in the 18th minute when a looping cross found Ethan Oliver unmarked on the back post to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Hawkesbury restored parity when a free kick delivered into the box by Harry Drew found the head of Harrison Fox, who scored his first goal for the Hawks since his move from Nepean FC to level the match at 1-1 at half-time.
Two minutes after the break, the Hawks took the lead for the first time when Zane Hickman delivered a cross into the box which was headed home by Duncan Stewart.
The Hawks took a 3-1 lead in the 74th minute when a low cross from Stewart was dummied over by Vincent Dermilio as he left the ball for Harry Drew to score his 21st goal of the season, the Golden Boot runner-up giving the Hawks a two-goal buffer.
Five minutes later, the Eagles responded when they were awarded a penalty following a foul from Stuart Gosling on a Parramatta attacker; Marco Sama stepped up and slotted the ball home for his 20th goal of the season to reduce the deficit to one goal at 3-2 down.
In the 89th minute, Gosling made up for his penalty concession when he ran onto the ball from 30 yards out and smashed the ball into the back of the net to give Hawkesbury a 4-2 win over Parramatta.
The win for Hawkesbury saw them finish the season in 6th on 45 points, an improvement on their 12th-placed finish on 28 points from 2024.
The loss for Parramatta, meanwhile, saw them drop one spot to end the season in 8th place on 36 points, which is the exact same position and points total they finished with following the 2024 season.
Hawkesbury City FC 4 (Harrison Fox 20’; Duncan Stewart 47’; Harry Drew 74’; Stuart Gosling 89’)
Parramatta FC 2 (Ethan Oliver 18’; Marco Sama 79’ pen)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 1-1 Granville Rage
Hurstville Zagreb FC lifted the League Two Men’s trophy for 2025 following their 1-1 home draw to Granville Rage as the Premiers ended the season on a 16-match unbeaten streak.
Granville controlled possession in the first half and had a few shots which went wide, while their best chance fell to Andre Guzman, who had his shot cleared off the goal line, as the two teams went into half-time scoreless.
In the second half, Hurstville looked to drive the Rage back but were hit on the counter in the 56th minute, where a ball cut back to Yuto Shinagawa saw him finish the chance off from close range to give Granville a 1-0 lead.
Hurstville threw players forward late and found success in the 81st minute when Jesse Gagro broke through the Rage defence and was fouled inside the penalty area; he then stepped up and converted the spot kick he earned to give the Premiers a 1-1 draw to end their season.
The draw for Hurstville saw them finish the season as Premiers on 70 points, 15 points clear of 2nd-placed Prospect United SC, as they showed a big improvement from their 7th-placed finish on 38 points from 2024 and were promoted to the League One Men’s competition for the 2026 season.
The draw for Granville, meanwhile, saw them finish the season in 4th place on 47 points, which is an improvement on their 9th-placed finish with 35 points from 2024 and their best league finish in over ten years.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 1 (Jesse Gagro 81’ pen)
Granville Rage 1 (Yuto Shinagawa 56’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 1-1 Nepean FC
Dunbar Rovers FC and Nepean FC could not be separated to end the season, with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw in a battle between the two relegated sides from the end of the 2024 season.
Dunbar took a 1-0 lead with their first shot on target in the 15th minute through Paul Gautier, who scored his 11th goal of the season to put Dunbar in the ascendancy at the break.
Nepean struck back in the 55th minute, however, when Alexander Purves found the back of the net to level the match at 1-1.
Despite second half chances for both sides, the two teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
The draw for Dunbar saw them finish the season in the top half of the ladder in 7th on 39 points in their first season in the League Two Men’s competition since their relegation.
The draw for Nepean, meanwhile, saw them drop one spot and finish the season in 12th on 27 points, following on from their relegation to the League Two Men’s competition at the end of 2024.
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Paul Gautier 15’)
Nepean FC 1 (Alexander Purves 55’)
Prospect United SC 5-2 Bankstown United FC
Prospect United SC secured their 2nd-placed finish and their spot in the League One Men’s/League Two Men’s Promotion/Relegation Playoff following a comeback 5-2 home win over Bankstown United FC.
Prospect dropped to 3rd within the first minute of the match after South Coast Flame FC took the lead in the opening minute of their match against Fraser Park FC, with the pressure on Prospect to hold up their end of the deal to claim victory for 2nd spot.
That drop lasted only 30 minutes, however, when Andre Cavallaro dribbled forward and played in Praneet Singh, who scored with a first-time shot from ten yards out to give Prospect a 1-0 lead as they rose back up to 2nd on the live ladder.
Prospect had a goal disallowed shortly after for Shaan Birring, who headed home from a corner, with an infringement spotted on Bankstown goalkeeper, Mitchell Evans, as the hosts took a 1-0 lead into half-time.
Bankstown struck back in the 49th minute when 2024 Golden Boot winner Mitchell Cross capitalised on a long ball and converted following second phase play to level the match at 1-1.
In the 56th minute, a similar scenario saw Cross capitalise again to give Bankstown a 2-1 lead over the promotion hopefuls, with the live result in the Flame vs Fraser Park match still seeing them hold onto 2nd at that point.
Prospect found an equaliser in the 63rd minute through Singh, who pressed high, won the ball and scored with the outside of his foot one-on-one with Evans, Prospect’s leading goal scorer scoring his 15th goal of the season.
In the 75th minute, Prospect put their destiny back into their own hands when Anthony Idehen found space and hit a strong shot which hit the post, which saw the ball rebound to Cavallaro, who tapped the ball home from six yards to give Prospect a 3-2 lead and an uncatchable position in 2nd on the live ladder.
Prospect all-but sealed their spot in 2nd in the 81st minute when Jacob Micallef found space inside the box, cut onto his right foot and rifled a shot into the top corner for his first goal for the season and for Prospect, as they took a 4-2 lead.
The celebrations started early for Prospect in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Idehen beat the offside trap and got on the end of a pass from Lachlan Cremona; Idehen took a touch inside the box and slotted the ball away to give Prospect a 5-2 win over Bankstown.
The win for Prospect saw them clinch a 2nd-placed finish on 55 points, four points ahead of 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC, as they improved on their 11th-placed finish on 28 points from 2024 and prepared for the Promotion/Relegation Playoff two-legged tie against League One Men’s side Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC.
The loss for Bankstown, meanwhile, saw them drop from 4th to finish the season in 5th on 46 points, a drop from their 3rd-placed finish on 58 points from 2024.
Prospect United SC 5 (Praneet Singh 31’, 63’; Andre Cavallaro 75’; Jacob Micallef 81’; Anthony Idehen 90+5’)
Bankstown United FC 2 (Mitchell Cross 49’, 56’)
Central Coast United FC had a bye in Round 30 and dropped from 14th to finish the season in last place on 22 points, a drop from their 5th-placed finish on 50 points from 2024.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
