Round 28 Review – League One Men’s

Saturday proved to be a significant moving day in the FNSW League One Men’s competition, with the Round 28 results going a long way towards determining the fight for the promotion playoff positions at either end of the table.

Emerging as the big winners from the weekend were Northern Tigers, who drew with Bulls FC Academy to strengthen their position in second, and Prospect United, who defeated Rydalmere Lions to keep their survival hopes alive. Meanwhile, Bankstown City and Western City Rangers now have plenty of work to do with just two rounds remaining.

Match of the Round: Inter Lions 2-0 Bankstown City

Inter Lions completed the season double over Bankstown City with a 2-0 victory at home, dealing the visitors a major blow to their promotion playoff hopes.

Proving their first victory over their counterparts was no fluke, Owen Duke gave Inter the lead with a delicate finish before a stunning Thomas Whiffen free-kick sealed the result after Tomi Uskok was shown a red card just moments earlier.

It did not always look like it was going to finish that way, with the visitors starting the better of the two sides when it came to creating chances.

Their first opportunity was perhaps their best of the game, with Bai Antoniou hitting the crossbar with a header from a Fumoto Kamada cross.

Kamada was the most likely player from a Bankstown City perspective to create something, although their attacking efforts were often blunted by an Inter Lions defence well organised by Brian Jamba and Zac Sfiligoi.

Alec Urosevski and Antoniou both forced saves from Evan Davis during the next 15 minutes, although neither effort looked destined to find the back of the net.

Inter Lions’ goal in the 40th minute proved to be the turning point, with the hosts creating the better chances from then on.

Duke ran onto a ball in behind that was not dealt with by the Bankstown defence before producing a delicate finish over the goalkeeper to give Inter the lead.

The hosts were strong across the park and matched the occasion, with Vincent Fedele particularly impressive on the ball and often finding space in front of the Bankstown defence.

He went close early in the second half, with his effort narrowly missing the target.

Bankstown were largely unable to capitalise on their possession dominance, aside from a Jesse Photi header with under 20 minutes remaining that was saved by Davis.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men shortly afterwards.

Uskok brought down Duke as he raced through on goal with 10 minutes remaining, with the resulting free-kick worthy of the hosts’ second.

Whiffen stepped up and produced a dipping left-footed free-kick that found the near side of the net to put the game beyond doubt.

Inter Lions saw out the remainder of the match to claim a big scalp, while Bankstown City now need to rely on favours from both Macarthur Rams and Western City Rangers if they are to finish in the promotion playoff spot.

Inter Lions 2 (Duke 40’, Whiffen 81’)
Bankstown City 0

Elsewhere

Bulls FC Academy 1-1 Northern Tigers

Northern Tigers came from a goal down to take a crucial point against Bulls FC Academy at Sydney United Sports Centre.

The point was enough to give them a significant advantage over Bankstown City heading into the final two games, with Alen Aganovic scoring the crucial equaliser after Henrique Oliveira had given the hosts an early second-half lead.

Up against a strong academy outfit fielded by Bulls, it was a solid defensive performance that set the tone for the visitors.

The first half played out scoreless before the hosts took the lead early in the second half.

Highly rated prospect Oliveira was the scorer, with his long-range effort bouncing awkwardly in front of the goalkeeper before finding the back of the net.

The equaliser came eight minutes later through Aganovic from a set piece.

There was no further change to the scoreboard, with the visitors inching ever closer to the playoff spot and now requiring just one more win from their remaining two games.

Bulls Academy 1 (Oliveira 47’)
Northern Tigers 1 (Aganovic 55’)

Rydalmere Lions 0-3 Prospect United

It was not only the promotion race which saw significant action, with Prospect United securing their third win of the season with a 3-0 victory over Rydalmere Lions away from home.

A result which has been coming for a while now, Prospect scored twice early to set the game up for themselves before seeing it out and keeping their fourth clean sheet of the season.

They came out of the blocks well, with two or three early raids on goal resulting in set-piece opportunities without a finish.

Their breakthrough came just after 10 minutes through Liam Bajada, who snuck in at the back post to put Prospect ahead.

Bajada then turned provider for the second, which came as a result of a high press.

His shot was saved into the path of Ethan Elcham, who made no mistake with the tap-in finish.

The visitors were good value for their lead, with Rydalmere making changes at half-time.

Antonio Orlando capped off the win with a third, arriving late into the box before providing the finish around the hour mark.

Rydalmere Lions 0
Prospect United 3 (Bajada 11’, Elcham 39’, Orlando 62’)

Western City Rangers 1-2 Hills United

Hills United dealt Western City Rangers’ survival hopes another blow with a 2-1 victory at Popondetta Park on Saturday evening.

Securing back-to-back wins, the two sides exchanged goals in the first half before Walid Moutaouakkil scored the winner in the second half.

Western City Rangers now sit two points behind Prospect United with two games remaining.

It did not start well for the hosts, who conceded early from a set piece, with Jordan Small, who was the standout for the visitors, finding the back of the net from the corner of the 18-yard box.

Western City Rangers fought their way back into proceedings, with Reuben Awaritefe heading home a pinpoint cross to make it 1-1.

Hills restored their lead midway through the second half when Moutaouakkil finished after a couple of goal-line clearances.

The visitors held on, largely thanks to the efforts of Byron Ginn and Daniel-Ray Djurovic, who kept the Rangers threat at bay.

Western City Rangers 1 (Awaritefe 22’)
Hills United 2 (Small 7’, Moutaouakkil 65’)

Macarthur Rams 0-2 Blacktown Spartans

Blacktown Spartans extended their winning streak to eight games with a 2-0 victory over Macarthur Rams at Lynwood Park.

It was a disappointing result for the home side, who felt they deserved more from their performance, while the visitors managed the game well after taking the lead and playing out the second half with 10 men.

The opening of the fixture was physical, with the Rams attempting to gain the upper hand before being matched by the Spartans’ resolve.

Spartans delivered a counter-punch from a set piece after the quarter-hour mark, with Aedon Kyra heading home from close range.

Kyra remains well on track for the Golden Boot and added another two goals here.

The Rams had two good chances in the first half through Michael Martin and Paul Soravia, with those missed opportunities proving even more costly early in the second half.

Darcy Ellem won the ball high up the field and set up Kyra, who scored again to double the advantage.

The Rams were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage during the second half, with Olivier Beltran-Woodward also missing a penalty.

Macarthur Rams 0
Blacktown Spartans 2 (Kyra 18’, 46’)

Newcastle Jets 1-3 Dulwich Hill

Dulwich Hill secured their place in the 2027 competition with a 3-1 victory away from home against Newcastle Jets Academy.

Missing a total of seven players from their starting squad, Dulwich’s youth players, many of whom are home-grown, rose to the occasion to pick up the three points, with Marcus Lal scoring a brace.

In truth, it could have been more for the visitors, who missed another three or four clear-cut chances in front of goal.

Their first goal came just before the half-hour mark through Jonathan Green, who finished at the back post from a Marcus Lal ball across the face of goal.

That lead doubled before half-time, with Lal scoring himself with a headed finish from a Dylan Lamour cross from deep.

Lal completed his brace in the 74th minute, scoring from outside the box.

The Jets scored a consolation goal in the final few minutes through Kai Thompson, with the academy side perhaps needing another result to secure safety.

Newcastle Jets 1 (Thompson 89’)
Dulwich Hill 3 (Green 27’, Lal 42’, 74’)

Canterbury Bankstown 4-3 Hakoah FC

Canterbury Bankstown and Hakoah FC played out a high-scoring shootout at Jensen Park, with the hosts taking the spoils by a 4-3 margin.

It finished a little closer than the hosts would have liked, as Canterbury controlled the opening 65 minutes of the contest.

The Berries opened the scoring after four minutes through John Fotopoulos, who finished from an Aleks Zevevic cut-back after a Patrick Savor through ball.

Hakoah equalised in the 34th minute through Nicholas Tooley after a quick transition, before the Berries restored their lead five minutes later through a Fikret Berisha header from a Fotopoulos cross.

Hakoah remained clinical when chances came their way, keeping themselves in the contest, with Valentin Cuny scoring their second equaliser in the 56th minute.

Two quick-fire goals from Dejan Bakrdanikoski and Jake Mcleod then put the hosts 4-2 ahead before Tooley grabbed a consolation in the 90th minute.

Canterbury Bankstown 4 (Fotopoulos 4’, Berisha 39’, Bakrdanikoski 75’, Mcleod 78’)
Hakoah FC 3 (Tooley 34’, 90’, Cuny 56’)

Central Coast Mariners 1-0 Hurstville Zagreb

Central Coast Mariners secured their first win since Round 15 with a late goal seeing them emerge 1-0 victors over Hurstville Zagreb.

Removing any doubt about their position in the league, it was a good performance from Phillipe Bernabo-Madrid’s side, who created chances throughout.

It took them a while to adjust to the visitors’ approach in the first half, but neither side was able to break the deadlock before half-time.

Chances came at both ends before the pressure from the hosts eventually paid off late.

The decisive moment came from the penalty spot, with Luke Becvinovski slotting home after Jesse Mantell won the spot-kick.

Hurstville pushed hard from that point forward, but the Mariners held on to preserve their clean sheet and secure three valuable points.

Central Coast Mariners 1 (Becvinovski 81’)
Hurstville Zagreb 0

By Justin Smith