Round 27 Review – League One Men’s
Round 27 of the FNSW League One Men’s competition saw Blacktown Spartans crowned champions, while the fight for the promotion playoff places looks set to go down to the final day.
A 4-0 win for the Spartans at home was a performance worthy of a trophy, while the other top-four sides also secured victories and the bottom two played out a draw in another important round of action.
Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans 4-0 Inter Lions
Blacktown Spartans secured the 2026 League One Men’s Premiership in style with a 4-0 triumph over Inter Lions in front of their home fans.
They took the lead early through Aedon Kyra and the points never looked in danger from there in a comprehensive performance. Ahmad Taleb and Austen Booth were the other goal scorers either side of half-time.
Early signs suggested this would be more competitive than it turned out to be, with Inter Lions’ James Khoury having a shot blocked in the opening minute before Spartans scored with their first chance on goal seconds later.
That goal came from Aedon Kyra, who drove a left-footed effort into the bottom corner after receiving a pass from Darcy Ellem.
A key feature of their dominance was the work they were doing off the ball, particularly their high press.
The second goal came as a result of that pressure around 20 minutes later, with Felipe D’Agostini putting pressure on the goalkeeper enough for him to effectively hand the ball to Ahmad Taleb, who made no mistake with an easy finish.
The hosts completed their first-half dominance with a third goal just before the break. D’Agostini delivered a ball into the area from the left, which was turned home at the near post by a defender.
Proceedings played out in a more even fashion after the break, with Spartans adding a fourth courtesy of an Austen Booth header at the near post from a set piece.
Inter’s best chance came through a Mitchell Smith header which struck the crossbar. They were perhaps unlucky not to score for their efforts during the second half, although the game was well beyond them by that stage.
Blacktown Spartans 4 (Kyra 3’, Taleb 23’, Sfiligoi OG 43’, Booth 59’)
Inter Lions 0
Match of the Round: Prospect United 1-1 Western City Rangers
The survival fight looks like it is going down to the wire after a 1-1 draw between Prospect United and Western City Rangers at Valentine Sports Park.
Western City Rangers were the side to hold the lead after Reuben Awaritefe found the back of the net early in the second half, but they were made to pay for not adding a second as Prospect United finished the stronger side.
It did not take long for the action to get underway, with an offside flag denying the Rangers in the opening minute when Awaritefe thought he had given them the lead.
Prospect United’s first chance came inside five minutes at the other end from long range, but it did not trouble the goalkeeper.
The visitors created the better chances in the opening 45 minutes, with Awaritefe drawing the first big save from Prospect goalkeeper Stefan Giglio in the 16th minute as his header was denied by a diving stop.
Giglio was called into action again 10 minutes later to deny Chan Yelchan, whose cross nearly snuck in at the back post.
Prospect struggled with their execution in the final third, with their balls into the area failing to find their attackers. Both sides went into the break with plenty to think about heading into the second half.
Western City Rangers grabbed the goal they probably deserved in the 51st minute, with Awaritefe scoring at the near post after Rocco Pelle found him with a cut-back from the by-line.
The game then became stretched in the early stages of the second half, with Prospect showing more ambition going forward.
Dimos Vlachos nearly scored a Goal of the Season contender before the hour mark with a shot that had Rangers goalkeeper Dylan Niski worried, flashing just wide.
Chances followed at either end before the hosts found their equaliser from a set piece.
Vlachos struck a free-kick low to the right side of the wall, with Niski only able to parry the effort into the path of Jakob Petterson, who reacted first and made no mistake, finishing into an empty net.
Both sides then matched each other’s intensity during the final 15 minutes or so, with the chances drying up as the teams settled for a share of the points and their survival hopes went down to the wire.
Rangers next face Hills United before matches against Central Coast Mariners and Northern Tigers.
Prospect take on Rydalmere Lions next weekend, with their season concluding with clashes against Bankstown City and Hurstville Zagreb.
Prospect United 1 (Petterson 76’)
Western City Rangers 1 (Awaritefe 51’)
Elsewhere
Northern Tigers 2-1 Rydalmere Lions
Northern Tigers kept themselves in the driver’s seat when it comes to the second-place playoff spot with a 2-1 win over Rydalmere Lions at home.
A hard-fought contest saw their bench rise to the occasion, with Austin Oates scoring a crucial 78th-minute goal to secure the points after both teams traded goals in the first half.
It was a good performance from the outset, with the hosts creating chances throughout the 90 minutes.
Their in-form talisman Connor Rose opened the scoring early before Abbas Reda equalised for Rydalmere in the 36th minute.
The Tigers once again profited from their depth, with Jensen Vout and Tom Parkes both making a difference after coming on.
Oates scored the winner with a little over 10 minutes remaining, producing a nice volley into the bottom-right corner as the hosts inched that little bit closer to securing the playoff position.
Northern Tigers 2 (Rose 13’, Oates 78’)
Rydalmere Lions 1 (Reda 36’)
Bankstown City 2-0 Hurstville Zagreb
Bankstown City kept the pressure on Northern Tigers above them with a 2-0 win over Hurstville Zagreb at Jensen Park.
With their playoff hopes out of their hands, applying pressure on the Tigers above will be crucial, and they put together a controlled performance across the park, with Alec Urosevski and Fumoto Kamada scoring either side of half-time.
They got off to the perfect start with a goal two minutes in through Urosevski, with the striker profiting after a good combination on the left involving Kamada and Shun Maeta.
The Lions wrapped up the game in the second half through Kamada, who tapped home after Cakovski and Jesse Photi played a role in the build-up.
Tomi Uskok, Blake Ricciuto and Kamada were the standouts for Panni Nikas’ side as they controlled the game.
Bankstown City 2 (Urosevski 3’, Kamada 92’)
Hurstville Zagreb 0
Dulwich Hill 1-2 Macarthur Rams
It was indeed a good weekend for all four top sides as Macarthur Rams took out a 2-1 victory over Dulwich Hill away from home.
Keeping their faint top-two hopes alive, the visitors took the lead just after half-time before Takumi Kyutoku scored the winner in the 70th minute.
The Rams secured back-to-back wins for the first time since Rounds 17 and 18.
The result squares the ledger after Dulwich Hill took out the first meeting between the two sides back in Round 12.
The visitors took the lead on two occasions, with the second proving decisive. The first came from Paul Soravia in the 47th minute, his third goal in as many games, after Michael Martin cut the ball back to him.
Dulwich Hill equalised through Liam Spiropoulos in the 66th minute after he came off the bench and produced a long-range stunner.
The Rams then walked away with the spoils after Kyutoku scored in the 70th minute, heading home from a set piece.
Macarthur deserved the three points and now face a big fortnight ahead with matches against both of the top two sides.
Dulwich Hill 1 (Spiropoulos 66’)
Macarthur Rams 2 (Soravia 47’, Kyutoku 70’)
Hakoah FC 3-2 Bulls FC Academy
Hakoah FC continued their positive form of late with a 3-2 win over Bulls FC Academy at Hensley Athletic Field.
A typical end-of-season fixture from an entertainment perspective, the hosts recovered from going a goal down in the first half to take the three points, with a double substitution at half-time proving the difference.
Jordan Graoroski opened the scoring for the visitors inside 15 minutes after Bulls forced a turnover down the right side.
Bulls Academy held that advantage going into half-time.
The introduction of Sam Young and Eli Sheard turned the game, with Sheard scoring the equaliser in the 55th minute from a Valentin Cuny assist before Benjamin Fuchs gave Hakoah the lead five minutes later.
Bulls struck on the counter to equalise in the 86th minute through Alvaro Soto before Cuny netted a late winner with a delicate chip.
Hakoah FC 3 (Sheard 55’, Fuchs 60’, Cuny 90’)
Bulls FC Academy 2 (Graoroski 13’, Soto 86’)
Hills United 4-0 Canterbury Bankstown
A dominant first-half performance saw Hills United take out a four-goal win over Canterbury Bankstown at Valentine Sports Park.
Leading the way for the hosts was Jesse Michel, who has hit form towards the end of the campaign.
He opened the scoring before the quarter-hour mark with a one-on-one finish after a disguised Walid Moutaouakil ball found him in space.
The lead was doubled 13 minutes later through Cam Philp via a slight deflection.
Substitute Hunter Mateo played a crucial role in the lead-up, earning plaudits from his coaching staff post-match.
Hills’ third goal was scored by Michel before half-time after a ball fell to him inside the area.
The striker then completed his hat-trick late in the game, beating his marker to a Jordan Lane cross.
Hills United 4 (Michel 14’, 37’, 87’, Philp 26’)
Canterbury Bankstown 0
Newcastle Jets 1-1 Central Coast Mariners
Spoils were shared in the youth F3 derby as Central Coast Mariners came from a goal down against Newcastle Jets at Lake Macquarie.
The fixture was played at a good tempo, with both sides going at it. The hosts probably had the better of the first half and perhaps should have had a bigger lead after the opening half-hour.
Jesse Hill got Newcastle on the scoresheet after a good sequence of passes eight minutes in.
The Mariners then came into the contest late in the first half, with Max Miller finishing after a Luke Becvinoski ball in behind with virtually the last kick of the half.
The visitors were the better side in the second half, carrying the momentum from their goal, with a draw perhaps a fair result when all was said and done.
Neither side is in any real danger of relegation, with both sitting on 28 points, seven clear of Western City Rangers.
Newcastle Jets 1 (Hill 8’)
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Miller 45’)
By Justin Smith
