Round 22 Review – League Two Men’s
Big twists and turns in the battle for promotion saw the fight for second change complexion once more, while the league leaders continued to fire in Round 22 of the 2026 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round this week saw a tight contest at the other end of the ladder, Inner West Hawks FC sealing victory late over Camden Tigers FC.
Match of the Round: Inner West Hawks FC 1-0 Camden Tigers FC
A late goal for Inner West Hawks FC saw them come away with the three points over Camden Tigers FC in a tight 1-0 win to get revenge.
Camden started the match strongly, creating a few chances which had to be dealt with by the Hawks defence early on.
The Hawks first big chance came through Peter Yannopolous, who got on the end of a through ball from Peter Kontis and struck the post from a tight angle.
Neither side was able to take their chances in the first half, the teams heading into the break level at 0-0.
The second half saw the chances dry up for both sides, with neither team able to assert themselves in the match.
The decisive moment in the match came in the 82nd minute when a Hawks corner delivered into the box by substitute Emmanuel Tzanakes was not cleared by the Camden defence, giving Bonmyeong Koo the chance to poke the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 Hawks win.
The win for Inner West saw them rise from 13th up to 12th on the ladder and saw them snap a five-match winless streak, while the loss for Camden was their first in four matches as they continue their hunt for their second win of the season.
Inner West will hope to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since Round 10 when they travel to take on Fraser Park FC, while Camden will hope to shock the league leaders when they travel to take on Mounties Wanderers FC.
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Bonmyeong Koo 82’)
Camden Tigers FC 0
Nepean FC 2-4 Mounties Wanderers FC
Mounties Wanderers FC continued their charge towards the league title and promotion with a strong 4-2 away win over Nepean FC.
The league’s top scorer this season, Patrick Antelmi, continued to fire with a double in the first half, his 23rd and 24th goals of the season putting him nine goals ahead of any other player and giving Mounties a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Nepean fought back with two goals in four minutes in the second half just after the hour mark, with Luke Williams and Toby Witjes bringing Nepean back level in the contest at 2-2.
Mounties did not panic, however, and stayed composed, the experience of Liam Youlley and Abraham Majok seeing them score in the 69th and 73rd minutes, respectively, to earn a big 4-2 away win over Nepean.
The loss for Nepean saw them drop from 10th to 11th on 27 points, while the win for Mounties saw them maintain their 17-point lead atop the ladder with 53 points, putting them a maximum of eight points away from the title and promotion.
Nepean FC 2 (Luke Williams 62’; Toby Witjes 65’)
Mounties Wanderers FC 4 (Patrick Antelmi 36’, 41’; Liam Youlley 69’; Abraham Majok 73’)
Sydney University SFC 1-1 Bankstown United FC
Neither Sydney University SFC nor Bankstown United FC could be separated, the two sides scoring in either half to settle for a 1-1 draw.
University created multiple chances to start the match, but Bankstown found the opening goal in the 18th minute when Mitchell Cross headed the ball home from a corner for a 1-0 lead.
University fought back early in the second half, Freddie Clunas getting on the end of a team move and slotting the ball home in the 49th minute for his first goal in his first match for University to get them level.
Both sides had their chances to win the match late, but in the end both teams had to settle for the 1-1 draw.
The draw for University saw them remain in 9th on 28 points, while the draw for Bankstown saw them remain in 14th on 21 points.
Sydney University SFC 1 (Freddie Clunas 49’)
Bankstown United FC 1 (Mitchell Cross 18’)
Hawkesbury City FC 1-2 Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC put themselves back into a strong spot in the hunt for promotion with a 2-1 away win over Hawkesbury City FC, whose promotion hopes took a hit.
Bonnyrigg opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Daniel Bittar made a break down the right and crossed the ball into the box, where the ball eventually fell to new signing Danilo Mizdrak to slot home for a 1-0 lead.
Hawkesbury fired back just eight minutes later when Vincent Dermilio pressed and won the ball high, playing it to Harry Drew who cut inside and found the back of the net from the top of the box to level the match at 1-1.
The hosts were only level for four minutes, however, Bonnyrigg countering off a corner through Mizdrak; the former Bankstown City FC player and Sydney FC youth product finishing off the counter to give Bonnyrigg a 2-1 win, despite plenty of pressure from Hawkesbury in the second half.
The loss for Hawkesbury saw them drop from 5th to 6th on 30 points, six behind 2nd-placed Parramatta FC, while the win for Bonnyrigg saw them rise from 6th to 3rd on 32 points, four points behind 2nd-placed Parramatta FC.
Hawkesbury City FC 1 (Harry Drew 20’)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 2 (Danilo Mizdrak 12’, 24’)
South Coast Flame FC 1-0 Central Coast United FC
South Coast Flame FC won their first match in eight to upset the in-form Central Coast United FC, who lost their first match in ten, the Flame running out 1-0 winners.
Both sides had chances to start the match, but the Flame made the most of theirs in the 21st minute when Denim Nou received the ball on the edge of the box; the former Wollongong Wolves FC player fired the ball into the back of the net from the top of the box to give the Flame a 1-0 lead.
Both Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic and Central Coast goalkeeper Tadhg Callary were forced into big saves in the first half, the Flame 1-0 up at the break.
South Coast created more chances late to no avail, while Matthew Hatch was sent off deep into stoppage time for Central Coast to compound their pain, the Flame running out winners by the sole goal to nil.
The win for the Flame saw them go six head-to-head matches unbeaten against the Pirates and rise from 12th to 10th on 27 points, while the loss for Central Coast saw their five-match winning and nine-match unbeaten run end as they remained in 7th on 29 points.
South Coast Flame FC 1 (Denim Nou 21’)
Central Coast United FC 0 (Matthew Hatch 90+5’ red card)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-2 Parramatta FC
Parramatta FC came out on top in a late flurry to the match to earn a big 2-1 away win over Gladesville Ryde Magic to boost their chance of promotion.
After a goalless first half, Parramatta broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when new signing Emre Savas, from Rydalmere Lions FC, found Marco Sama in the box, who turned and found the back of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Gladesville fired back five minutes later from a free kick, Thomas Hutcheson stepping up from 30 yards, floating the ball into the box and finding the back of the net off the post to level the match at 1-1.
The Eagles fought back in the 74th minute when a ball played into the Magic box saw Travis Oughtred square a header to Darragh Reynor, who slotted the ball home low to earn a 2-1 away win for Parramatta.
The loss for Gladesville saw them drop from 11th to 13th on 25 points, while the win for Parramatta saw them further extend their lead in 2nd over the chasing pack to four points, the Eagles sitting on 36 points in the fight for the promotion playoff.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Thomas Hutcheson 69’)
Parramatta FC 2 (Marco Sama 64’; Darragh Reynor 74’)
Granville Rage 1-1 Dunbar Rovers FC
A result which will help neither side in their fight for promotion saw Granville Rage and Dunbar Rovers FC play out a 1-1 draw.
Granville opened the scoring against the run of possession in the 30th minute through Jad Moussa, who capitalised on his chance to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Dunbar looked to target Granville out wide in the second half, pressing high, and created multiple chances which were stopped by Rage goalkeeper Samuel Bortolazzo.
Dunbar’s pressure paid off in the 75th minute, however, when they were awarded a penalty; Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato stepped up and slotted the ball home from the spot to earn a point for Dunbar in a 1-1 draw.
The draw for Granville saw them remain in 8th on 29 points, while the point for Dunbar saw them remain in 4th on 31 points, five points behind 2nd-placed Parramatta FC.
Granville Rage 1 (Jad Moussa 30’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato 75’ pen)
Fraser Park FC had a bye in Round 22 and dropped from 3rd to 5th on 30 points.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
