Round 28 Review – League Two Men’s
The promotion/relegation playoff spot was all-but sealed for Parramatta FC following Round 28 of the 2026 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with a massive weekend of results once again shifting the ladder.
The Match of the Round this week saw Parramatta FC all-but secure 2nd place after a dominant victory over Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, whose promotion hopes were dashed.
Match of the Round: Parramatta FC 4-0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC
Parramatta FC all-but mathematically secured their spot in 2nd place and in the promotion/relegation playoff after a dominant 4-0 home win over Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, whose promotion hopes ended with this loss.
Parramatta started the scoring early in the 7th minute after Alistair McKie intercepted a pass and charged down the sideline before playing a ball into the box which found Dean O’Donnell, who finished well to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later following a Bonnyrigg set piece which they cleared; Declan Reynor sent O’Donnell through, who in turn found Marco Sama, who released McKie to put a ball into the box for Mahamed Osman to head home.
Parramatta had a third goal before half-time when Travis Oughtred intercepted a pass and found Sama with a long ball, who played O’Donnell in first-time; O’Donnell took one touch and slotted the ball home for his second goal of the match, giving Parramatta a 3-0.
The hosts had a few more chances to add to their goal tally before the break but settled for a 3-0 lead at the half.
Sama had a big chance saved in the second half by Bonnyrigg goalkeeper Bayden Irwin-D’Amico, who denied the hosts from extending their advantage.
Parramatta rounded out the 4-0 win in the 81st minute, Sama stepping up and slotting home a penalty after he was fouled in the box by Irwin-D’Amico.
The win for Parramatta all-but secured their spot in 2nd place and a spot in the promotion/relegation playoff, sitting on 51 points, six ahead of 3rd-placed Fraser Park FC with two matches to play and a goal difference which is +18 better, while the loss for Bonnyrigg ended their promotion hopes and saw them drop from 3rd to 5th.
Parramatta will look to mathematically secure 2nd-place when they travel to take on Fraser Park FC next week, while Bonnyrigg will hope to bounce back when they host Inner West Hawks FC.
Parramatta FC 4 (Dean O’Donnell 7’, 30’; Mahamed Osman 9’; Marco Sama 81’ pen)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 0
Nepean FC 3-5 Hawkesbury City FC
Hawkesbury City FC came from two goals down to claim western Sydney bragging rights in an eight-goal thriller, running out 5-3 winners over Nepean FC to extend their unbeaten head-to-head run to four matches.
Harrison Fox hit a left-footed volley which rebounded off Nepean goalkeeper Brendan Allen for the opening goal for Hawkesbury, before a finish from Toby Witjes, a run in behind and finish from Jack Hoban and a header from Levi Green gave Nepean a 3-1 half-time lead.
Hawkesbury responded with three goals in nine minutes between the 47th and 56th minute; first Harrison Fox scored with a left-footed volley, then Adrian Arcuri tapped home a Vincent D’Ermilio cross to level the match at 3-3, before Arcuri got on the end of a Wade Giovenali ball over the top to complete his double and give the visitors a 4-3 lead.
Lincoln Gilmour secured the 5-3 win for Hawkesbury in the 64th minute, slotting the ball home from a free kick from 20 yards.
The loss for Nepean saw them remain in 12th, while the win for Hawkesbury saw them remain in 10th.
Nepean FC 3 (Toby Witjes 22’; Jack Hoban 34’; Levi Green 40’)
Hawkesbury City FC 5 (Brendan Allen 9’ own goal; Harrison Fox 47’; Adrian Arcuri 52’, 56’; Lincoln Gilmour 64’)
Fraser Park FC 2-1 Central Coast United FC
10-man Fraser Park FC kept their slim chances of a 2nd-placed finish alive following a tight 2-1 home win over 10-man Central Coast United FC.
Both sides created chances in the first half before the match changed on the stroke of half-time; Central Coast were reduced to ten men in the 45th minute when Benjamin Walker was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Fraser Park’s Christian Dos Santos.
Fraser Park broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute when Mason Fernandez slotted the ball home at the third attempt after two saves, but the hosts were also reduced to ten men in the 66th minute when Nicholas Sullivan received a second yellow card.
Fernandez was at the double for Fraser Park in the 78th minute, tapping home at the far post from a set piece for a 2-0 lead; Central Coast got a goal back in the 82nd minute when Noah Block headed home, but Fraser Park ran out 2-1 winners.
The win for Fraser Park saw them rise from 4th to 3rd on the ladder, six points behind 2nd-placed Parramatta FC with two matches left to play, while the loss for Central Coast saw them remain in 7th.
Fraser Park FC 2 (Mason Fernandez 53’, 75’; Nicholas Sullivan 66’ red card)
Central Coast United FC 1 (Noah Block 82’; Benjamin Waller 45’ red card)
Inner West Hawks FC 1-4 Mounties Wanderers FC
Mounties Wanderers FC came from behind to record a 4-1 win away to Inner West Hawks FC, extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Inner West opened the scoring following a Matthew Morris through ball to Peter Phillips in the 32nd minute; Phillips scored to give the Hawks a 1-0 half-time lead.
Mounties came out with attacking intent in the second half, Patrick Antelmi scoring his 30th goal of the season to extend his lead in the golden boot race a minute into the second half to level the match.
Three goals in eleven minutes, from the 66th to the 77th, from Jonathan Soares, Luke Raso and Jake Mcging saw Mounties complete the comeback and secure a big 4-1 win away from home.
The loss for Inner West saw them remain in 11th place, while the win for Premiers Mounties saw them win a twenty-second match from twenty-six this season.
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Peter Phillips 32’)
Mounties Wanderers FC 4 (Patrick Antelmi 46’; Jonathan Soares 66’; Luke Raso 70’; Jake Mcging 77’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 2-0 Bankstown United FC
Gladesville Ryde Magic snapped a seven-match losing streak, with a strong first-half performance in attack giving them a 2-0 home win over Bankstown United FC.
Ryan French opened the scoring for Gladesville in the 31st minute and completed his double four minutes later to give the Magic a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Bankstown controlled possession in the match but were unable to put away their chances.
In the end, Gladesville held out and took out the 2-0 win over Bankstown to get revenge for their loss to them earlier in the season.
The win for Gladesville saw them remain in 13th, while the loss for Bankstown saw them remain in 14th.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 2 (Ryan French 31’, 35’)
Bankstown United FC 0
Granville Rage 1-2 South Coast Flame FC
South Coast Flame FC came from behind to defeat Granville Rage for a fifth-straight head-to-head match, snapping a three-match losing streak in the process, in a 2-1 win.
Following an attacking start from the Flame, Granville opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Rhett Desilva won the ball down the left, shrugged off two challenges and fired the ball low into the back of the net at the near post.
The Flame continued to attack in the second half and found the equaliser in the 60th minute when the ball fell to George Lewis on the edge of the penalty area; he struck the ball on the half volley, sending it into the back of the net to level the match at 1-1.
South Coast completed the comeback and found the winner in the 82nd minute through Matthew Mazevski, who whipped a free kick into the box and into the back of the net, the ball clipping the far post on its way in to give the Flame a 2-1 win.
The loss for Granville saw them remain in 6th and saw their promotion hopes end, while the win for the Flame saw them remain in 9th.
Granville Rage 1 (Rhett Desilva 15’)
South Coast Flame FC 2 (George Lewis 60’; Matthew Mazevski 82’)
Sydney University SFC 0-1 Dunbar Rovers FC
Dunbar Rovers FC claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sydney University SFC in a result which they needed but was not enough to keep their promotion hopes alive.
A tight first half saw neither side able to break the deadlock, both teams heading into half-time scoreless.
Dunbar opened the scoring late in the 78th minute from the penalty spot, Marco Turpeinen slotting the ball away for his second goal for Dunbar since his mid-season transfer.
Dunbar saw out the rest of the match to get revenge over University, defeating them 1-0 away from home.
The loss for University saw them remain in 8th, while the win for Dunbar saw them rise from 5th to 4th, but saw their promotion hopes end after Parramatta’s earlier win; Dunbar sit on 44 points with two matches to play, seven points behind Parramatta.
Sydney University SFC 0
Dunbar Rovers FC 1 (Marco Turpeinen 78’ pen)
15th-placed Camden Tigers FC had a bye in Round 28.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
