Round 24 Review – NPL 2 NSW Men’s
On a blustery weekend, the winds of change blew through the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition, and we have a new leader for the first time in two months.
There’s plenty to keep us occupied, as both the race for the finals and the relegation battle also look set to go down to the wire.
Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans v North Shore Mariners
Sixth placed Blacktown Spartans hosted league leaders North Shore Mariners in our featured game at Blacktown Football Park. The Spartans were looking to keep Northern Tigers at bay in the fight for the top six, and North Shore knew that only a win would guarantee them top spot at the conclusion of this round.
These teams couldn’t be separated, with 1-1 the final score. North Shore hit the front just after halftime following an opportunistic strike from Rainer Smahel, but the Spartans equalised on 74 minutes through Mason Ireland.
Chances were at a premium in the early exchanges as both defences were on top. In the second minute Mariners top scorer Mitchell Smith had a shot blocked by Dau Akol, and on the quarter hour Lachlan Rose appeared to be through on goal when Connor Eldridge set him up, however he was stopped by an excellent tackle from James Scott.
Spartans then had a fantastic chance to draw first blood on 25 minutes, as a penalty was awarded for a foul on Ireland by Braden Cheng. North Shore goalkeeper Ryan Wood came up big to keep the game scoreless, diving low to his left to save Eldridge’s spot kick.
The penalty aside, both backlines were doing a good job of protecting their goalkeepers. Just past the half hour, Mitchell Smith was able to beat a defender, only for his shot to be deflected behind by Malcolm Ward. At the other end, Ireland found space in the box on 40 minutes but had a similar result, Smahel getting in the way this time.
There was another close call for the Spartans just before the break, as Eldridge played a Rose corner kick back across the face of goal towards Richard Blanco, who headed against the post.
The hosts were made to pay for those missed opportunities early in the second half after Mitchell Smith won a corner through sheer persistence. Scott rose highest to meet Nathan Separovic’s cross and was denied by Ward’s goal line clearance, Smahel following up to lash the rebound into the net.
Paul Hubbard’s men almost grabbed a quick equaliser in fortuitous circumstances on 54 minutes. A left wing cross from Eldridge rebounded off the crossbar, and Adam Voloder sent the rebound across the face of goal.
Four minutes later, Marquin Smith went close with a volley from an acute angle. The Mariners forward would then have a great opportunity to double his team’s lead in the 65th minute when they were awarded a spot kick of their own, Mitchell Smith proving too quick for Blanco on this occasion. However, just like Eldridge in the first half, Marquin Smith failed from 12 yards, firing the spot kick over the crossbar.
Just over a quarter of an hour remained when the scores were levelled. Eldridge played his part in the goal, outjumping a couple of opponents to head Shun Tokuno’s corner kick towards goal. His first effort was blocked on the line by Brian Jamba, and his second header came back off the crossbar, but the third time was a charm for the Spartans as Ireland headed in from point blank range.
In the final ten minutes, North Shore had long range efforts from Marquin Smith, skipper Ricky Woodward and Daniel Saric, while Hugh Brown was able to save a Mitchell Smith header. The Spartans also had aerial chances in the closing stages, with both Kane Roberge and Eldridge heading wide from Tokuno free kicks.
Blacktown Spartans remain in sixth place after the draw, and they will look to take another step towards finals football on Sunday – they travel up to Pluim Park to face Central Coast Mariners. North Shore drop into second place, and Joe Haywood’s side will be aiming for a better result next weekend against Rydalmere Lions.
Match Stats
Blacktown Spartans 1 (Mason Ireland 74’) vs North Shore Mariners 1 (Rainer Smahel 49’)
Saturday 10 August 2019
at Blacktown Football Park
Blacktown Spartans: 40. Hugh BROWN, 4. Adam VOLODER (2. Shun TOKUNO 65’), 5. Malcolm WARD, 6. Lewis FRASER, 7. Joshua ORCHARD, 12. Connor ELDRIDGE, 13. Richard BLANCO (c), 14. Finley HAYHURST, 15. Lachlan ROSE (11. Christian TORRELLI 84’), 16. Dau AKOL, 19. Mason IRELAND (17. Kane ROBERGE 76’)
Unused substitutes: 3. Reece KILPIN, 10. Alessandro PECORA
North Shore Mariners: 1. Ryan WOOD, 2. Rainer SMAHEL, 4. James SCOTT, 6. Ricky WOODWARD (c), 7. Hugo FORLICO (15. Joshua MBAKWE 32’), 8. Brian JAMBA, 10. Marquin SMITH, 11. Nathan SEPAROVIC (3. Chris LINDSAY 88’), 12. Braden CHENG (19. Daniel SARIC 75’), 18. Mitchell SMITH, 22. Sean EVE
Unused substitutes: 21. Joel TINKER, 23. Damir PRODANOVIC
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 5 (Aaron Peterson 22’, Asmir Kadric 28’, Jack Fulton 41’, Amar Adilovic 68’, Goran Subara 79’) vs Macarthur Rams 0
Bonnyrigg White Eagles stretched their unbeaten run to ten matches in the Saturday afternoon fixture, comfortably defeating Macarthur Rams at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
The White Eagles forward line did the damage in the opening period. Aaron Peterson opened the scoring midway through the first half, then Asmir Kadric extended his scoring streak to six consecutive games just before the half hour. Jack Fulton grabbed his first goal since joining Bonnyrigg with halftime approaching to give his side a three goal lead at the interval.
It was more of the same for the hosts in the second half. Amar Adilovic made it four on 68 minutes, and central defender Goran Subara rounded off the scoring eleven minutes from time.
The win not only secures finals football for Bonnyrigg, but it also means they have scored eighteen goals and conceded only once in their last four home matches. For Macarthur, their search for a win goes on, and they travel to Seymour Shaw next weekend to take on St George City FA.
GHFA Spirit FC 1 (Ahmed Sweedan 54’) vs Central Coast Mariners 2 (57’, 74’ – Joey Jevtic, Jordan Smylie)
Central Coast Mariners came from behind at Christie Park to extend their undefeated streak to four matches.
Neither outfit was able to take control in a tense opening stanza, with the game remaining scoreless until halftime. Spirit then went 1-0 up on 54 minutes when some lovely combination play released Ahmed Sweedan, who dribbled around the goalkeeper and found the empty net. The Mariners response was almost immediate, and a nice Joey Jevtic free kick brought his side on level terms.
Central Coast hit the front in the 74th minute after a swift counter attack was finished by Jordan Smylie – his ninth goal of the year. Nick Montgomery’s young team, featuring 1st Grade debutants Jake Chidiac and Jake Jovanovski, were able to see out the remainder on the contest, keeping their finals chances alive for another round. However, they will need to defeat Blacktown Spartans on Sunday to have any chance of postseason action.
Hills United 5 (Nathan Rayner x 2, Wade Giovenali, Daine Merrin, Alexander Vlismas) vs Canterbury Bankstown FC 0
Hills United are back on top of the league after scoring five at Lily Homes Stadium for the second week in a row.
United goalkeeper Shaun Catlin was forced into an early save, but from then on the hosts dominated proceedings. Their front four of Daniel Fogarty, Nathan Rayner, Jordan Parfait and Wade Giovenali ran the show, and fullback Eoin Montford also impressed with several overlapping runs.
The game was effectively over after a 16 minute first half blitz in which Hills scored four times. Rayner grabbed a quickfire double, Giovenali scored a goal worthy of his impressive midfield performance, and skipper Daine Merrin also found the net off a corner kick.
Halftime substitute Alex Vlismas made it 5-0 early in the second half, and the north-west Sydney outfit could even had more, but Giovenali, Fogarty and Kento Sakurai were all denied by impressive one on one saves.
Next week, Hills travel to Ilinden Sports Centre to face St George FC, while Canterbury have their final home fixture of the season against Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
Northern Tigers 1 (Jordan Ferrier 40’) vs Mounties Wanderers 1 (Sean Rooney 27’)
Northern Tigers and Mounties shared the points on a chilly evening at North Turramurra Recreation Area.
The hosts had the upper hand in the early stages, winning a multitude of corners and having numerous shots. However, it was Mounties who struck first. Sean Rooney had gone close from an earlier free kick, and when he was presented with a second dead ball opportunity he took full advantage, firing his side into the lead.
Adam Hett’s men kept pushing, drawing level just before the break after a neat move resulted in the Tigers winning a spot kick. Defender Jordan Ferrier kept his composure, stroking the penalty into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.
More Tigers pressure in the second half yielded no reward, and it appeared to be one of those nights for the northern suburbs outfit. For their part, Mounties had chances of their own, going closest when Jake Ingle hit the crossbar from 25 yards.
The draw sees the Tigers remain in seventh ahead of a huge Wednesday night meeting with Western Sydney Wanderers. Mounties move up a place to fourth and have another big away trip to Sydney’s north next weekend – they face Spirit FC on Saturday.
Rydalmere Lions 1 (Christian Long 89’) vs St George FC 1 (Marcus Beattie 33’)
There was late drama in the Sunday afternoon fixture at Valentine Sports Park, as Rydalmere and St George FC settled for a point each.
Rydalmere had the lion’s share of the early chances. The best of these came on ten minutes: Sam Perre crossed for Garang Awac, who outmuscled a defender but couldn’t hit the target.
Despite Perre, Awac and Kuot Maliet all looking lively, the Saints managed to hit the front in the 33rd minute. A clever header from Juan Carlos Romero released Marcus Beattie, and the in-form winger made no mistake to put St George FC 1-0 up.
The Saints almost doubled their lead in first half stoppage time when a loose ball fell to Kevin Lopes, however Harrick Sinpraseuth showed incredible reflexes to tip his shot onto the crossbar.
After the break, Rydalmere were mainly restricted to efforts from distance, while St George FC had some good chances on the counter. Matias da Silva Santos was through on goal with 64 minutes played but didn’t get enough on his attempted lob, and a couple of minutes later Ali Nasreddine and Hussein Akil combined to set up Beattie, who stung Sinpraseuth’s palms with a low strike.
The second half introduction of Christian Long would eventually pay off for Chris Camilleri’s side, and as time ran down he intercepted a weak backpass, dribbled around Saints goalkeeper Anthony Costa and finished from an acute angle.
In the earlier games, St George FC won in the U18s and Rydalmere were victorious in the U20s, meaning Rydalmere have extended their Club Championship buffer over the Saints to nine points.
The match between Western Sydney Wanderers and St George City FA has been postponed and will be covered in a later Review.
By Eric Subijano
Twitter – @eric_subijano
