Round 23 Review – League Two Men’s

Round 23 of the 2026 Football NSW League Two Men’s season saw more twists in the battle for promotion and the league title all-but secured.

The Match of the Round this week saw a dramatic western Sydney derby with Granville Rage coming from behind against Parramatta FC to shake up the battle for 2^nd.

Match of the Round: Parramatta FC 2-3 Granville Rage

Granville Rage earned a western Sydney derby win to savour, coming from behind to defeat Parramatta FC 3-2 in a big result in the battle for promotion.

After a cagey opening, Granville opened the scoring in the 27^th minute when a clearance from Parramatta goalkeeper Justin Biega fell straight to Granville’s Jamie Masson, who dribbled the ball through the midfield and wrong-footed Biega to score his first goal for Granville and put them 1-0 up.

Parramatta levelled the match seven minutes before half-time when a header from Granville back to their goalkeeper, Samuel Bortolazzo, was intercepted by Marco Sama, who kept his cool and slotted home his 16^th goal of the season.

The Eagles had a strong start to the second half when a free kick found Travis Oughtred in the box, who powered a header home under Bortolazzo to give Parramatta the lead for the first time in the match just two minutes into the second half.

Granville fought back once more and levelled the match again in the 56^th minute when Ante Tomic picked up the ball in the box and dispatched it from an acute angle, the score at 2-2.

Granville found the eventual winner on the hour mark when a corner found an unmarked Masson at the back post; the Brit headed the ball home to give Granville to keep their season alive and shake up the promotion race.

The loss for Parramatta was their third from their past five but saw them stay in 2^nd on 36 points, while the win for Granville saw them go seven matches unbeaten head-to-head with Parramatta and saw them rise from 8^th to 6^th on 32 points.

Parramatta will hope to bounce back when they travel to take on Inner West Hawks in Round 24, while Granville will hope to grab another big three points when they host Hawkesbury City FC.

Parramatta FC 2 (Marco Sama 38’; Travis Oughtred 47’)

Granville Rage 3 (Jamie Masson 27’, 60’; Ante Tomic 56’)

Fraser Park FC 3-1 Inner West Hawks FC

New signings and first-time goalscorers made their mark for Fraser Park FC in a big 3-1 win for the battle for promotion over Inner West Hawks FC.

After a strong start to the match by Inner West, a string of corners for Fraser Park paid off in the 28^th minute when new signing Michael Trajkovski found the back of the net, his first goal in his first match for Fraser Park giving them a 1-0 lead.

The Hawks regrouped after half-time and levelled the match in the 63^rd minute when Benjamin Jacobson found the back of the net from close range in his first start for the Hawks.

Fraser Park responded, however, with two goals in two minutes in the 68^th and 69^th minutes, respectively – Daniel Padoani struck from close range for his first Fraser Park goal in his second match, before Andrew Vlahadamis scored his first league goal for Fraser Park with a volley from outside the box for a 3-1 win.

The win for Fraser Park saw them remain in 5^th on 33 points, now three behind 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC, while the loss for Inner West saw them remain in 12^th on 25 points.

Fraser Park FC 3 (Michael Trajkovski 28’; Daniel Padoani 68’; Andrew Vlahadamis 69’)

Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Benjamin Jacobson 63’)

Mounties Wanderers FC 6-0 Camden Tigers FC

Mounties Wanderers FC moved within two points of the league title following a dominant 6-0 home win over Camden Tigers FC.

A strong first half from Mounties saw them go into the break 3-0 up, with two goals from Kento Awano in the 11^th and 34^th minutes, as well as one from Liam Youlley in the 14^th minute, giving them that advantage.

Jonathan Soares found the back of the net in the 51^st minute to extend Mounties’ advantage after the break.

The league’s top goal scorer this season, Patrick Antelmi, scored his 25^th and 26^th goals of the season in the 75^th and 78^th minutes to round out Mounties’ second 6-0 win of the season.

The win for Mounties saw them move to 56 points in 1^st, 20 points ahead of 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC, meaning one more win would give them the league title and promotion, while the loss for Camden saw them remain in last place on 9 points.

Mounties Wanderers FC 6 (Kento Awano 11’, 34’; Liam Youlley 14’; Jonathan Soares 51’; Patrick Antelmi 75’, 78’)

Camden Tigers FC 0

Hawkesbury City FC 0-8 Sydney University SFC

Sydney University SFC recorded their biggest-ever win in the League Two Men’s competition following an 8-0 victory away over Hawkesbury City FC.

A dominant first half from the students saw them take a 3-0 lead into the break, thanks to goals from Ko Tohara, Isaac Folkes and Jordi Fulete in the 15^th, 18^th and 33^rd minutes, respectively.

Folkes and Fulete completed their doubles in the second half with respective goals in the 63^rd and 68^th minutes, before Joe Foster extended University’s lead to 6-0 in the 72^nd minute off the bench.

University’s possession showed with their goals and Charles Hely-Hammond also recorded a double late, scoring in the 89^th minute and in the fifth minute of stoppage time to round out an 8-0 win for University.

The loss for Hawkesbury saw their promotion hopes take a bit as they fell from 6^th to 9^th on 30 points, while the win for University saw them move to 31 points, five points behind 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC, as they rose from 9^th to 7^th.

Hawkesbury City FC 0

Sydney University SFC 8 (Ko Tohara 15’; Isaac Folkes 18’, 63’; Jordi Fulete 33’, 68’; Joe Foster 72’; Charles Hely-Hammond 89’, 90+5’)

Bankstown United FC 0-1 South Coast Flame FC

South Coast Flame FC earned a big 1-0 win over Bankstown United FC to get themselves back in the hunt for promotion this season.

Bankstown had a long-range effort from Mitchell Gibbs saved early, before the Flame saw a shot from Lawrence Claxton strike the crossbar in a tense, goalless first half.

The Flame grabbed the breakthrough in the 63^rd minute when a ball played out wide on the right found Harry Lloyd, who found space and fired the ball into the back of the net at the far post to give the Flame a 1-0 lead.

With ten minutes to go, the Flame thought they had doubled their lead through Thomas Dunn, but he was found to be offside after he headed the ball home; however, the Flame ran out 1-0 winners.

The loss for Bankstown saw their winless run extend to eight matches as they remained in 14^th on 21 points, while the win for the Flame saw them rise from 10^th to 8^th on 30 points, six behind 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC.

Bankstown United FC 0

South Coast Flame FC 1 (Harry Lloyd 63’)

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 2-0 Gladsville Ryde Magic

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC made the most of their chances to close the gap to 2^nd on the ladder, earning an important 2-0 home win over Gladesville Ryde Magic.

In a quick start to the match, the White Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the 9^th minute when Danilo scored his third goal in three matches for the hosts.

A tight battle ensued from there, Bonnyrigg securing all three points in the third minute of second-half stoppage time when Daniel Bittar found the back of the net for the 12^th time this season to earn a 2-0 win for Bonnyrigg.

The win for Bonnyrigg saw them remain in 3^rd on 35 points but move to within one point of 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC, while the loss for Gladesville saw them remain in 13^th on 25 points.

Bonnyrigg will hope to earn another big win when they travel to take on South Coast Flame FC next week, while Gladesville host league-leading Mounties in what could be a title-deciding match.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 2 (Danilo Mizdrak 9’; Daniel Bittar 90+3’)

Gladesville Ryde Magic 0

Dunbar Rovers FC 3-0 Central Coast United FC

Dunbar Rovers FC earned a big win in their fight for promotion, coming out 3-0 winners over Central Coast United FC, whose promotion hopes took another hit.

After a strong attacking first half, Dunbar found the breakthrough in the 54^th minute when Daniel Goni delivered a ball into the box for Marco Turpeinen, who headed home his first goal in his first start for Dunbar for a 1-0 lead.

Dunbar doubled their lead in the 61^st minute when Dylan-Goran Bozicevic attack the near post off a set-piece routine and slot the ball home.

Substitute Erik Hamlat finished off a one-on-one chance in the 82^nd minute for a 3-0 Dunbar lead, while fellow substitute Zachary Marinos came close to adding a fourth – 3-0 the final score.

The win for Dunbar saw them remain in 4th on 34 points, now only two points behind 2^nd-placed Parramatta FC, while the loss for Central Coast saw them drop from 7^th to 10^th on 29 points.

Dunbar Rovers FC 3 (Marco Turpeinen 54’; Dylan-Goran Bozicevic 61’; Erik Hamlat 82’)

Central Coast United FC 0

11^th-placed Nepean FC had a bye in Round 23.

By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa