Round 1 Review – NPL 4 NSW Men’s
Round 1 of the National Premier League 4 NSW Men’s competition has officially taken flight and has left us with many talking points.
From Newcastle Jets’ masterclass, to Fraser Park’s impressive start all the way to Hurstville FC upsetting UNSW in a round full of entertaining football.
Hawkesbury City FC vs Nepean FC (Match of the Round)
The opening game of the NPL 4 season didn’t disappoint in a game that went right to the final whistle with a 10-man Nepean holding on to a 1-0 win at David Bertenshaw Field.
The game started off in a rapid pace with both teams pushing on the counter-attack and trying to assert their dominance during the game.
The first real chance of the game came in the fifteenth minute from Callum Elliot who beat his man at the edge of the box and went through on goal only to miss hit his shot directly at Tom Hamilton.
Nepean responded nearly minutes later as Mitchell Mclintock’s pass across goal called Daniel Schwarzer into the action. His excellent finger-tip save denied an open goal for Majid Eslami at the back post keeping the scores level for the interim.
The teams settled into the game for the remainder of the opening period and went into half-time 0-0.
Ben Welch opened the scoring for Nepean in the 46th minute after a brilliant header at the back-stick left the Hawkesbury defence stranded.
Hawkesbury started on their pursuit for an equaliser and pushed the Nepean defence to its limits, Brad Gibson came extremely close for the hosts when he was on the receiving end of a Keiran Pace cross – his header narrowly missing the top bar.
Nepean were reduced to ten men in the 60th minute when Zeke Prisuda was shown a second yellow when pursued a dangerous counter attack against James Mawein.
The red card didn’t stop Nepean from pushing forward coming agonisingly close in the 73rd minute when Rory McGeown’s long range shot curled just over the bar.
From the resulting goal-kick Hawkesbury built a dangerous attack, culminating in another long-range effort this time from Mawein, his shot sailed past the keeper but was denied by the post and was cleared by the Nepean defence.
Hawkesbury pushed through the last minutes of the game camping in Nepean’s half with an abundance of crosses and shots.
In the last minute of the game James Thurtell found some space in the box and had an open header from the six-yard box but forced Hamilton into a world-class save to deny the defender of a game tying goal and keeping his side’s clean-sheet, walking away with the three points.
Hawkesbury City FC 0
Nepean FC 1 (WELCH 46’)
Parramatta FC vs Camden Tigers 1-0
Parramatta survived a drama filled matchup with Camden which included a red-card, nine yellows and one missed penalty.
Parramatta were thrown a spanner in the works early on as Clement Ebahece Waoci was sent off after a heavy collision escalated into an altercation with Nicholas Mugridge in the 22nd minute.
Even with ten men, Parramatta still looked the more likely to score and quickly adapted to playing in a makeshift formation to assert their dominance on the match. This was until Camden were awarded a penalty which was brilliantly saved by Nikola Bratic.
Late in the second half a Parramatta corner was deflected away, perfectly attained by Charles Abou Serhal, his shot sailing into the inside of the post for a match winning goal.
South Coast Flame FC vs Newcastle Jets FC 0-5
Newcastle Jets rose to all pre-season expectations in a comprehensive victory at Ian McLennan Park against the Flame.
Jordan Lennon opened the scoring for the visitors in the 16th minute when a cross went through the Flame’s defence and fell straight to his feet for an easy finish.
South Coast came close to equalising moments later, however Jack Balmforth’s effort curled just over the sticks.
Newcastle capitalised on the back of this when Sascha Montefiore put in a perfect cross for the exciting youngster Adam Zervas who made no mistake and neatly tucked away his shot for his sides second.
The Jets continued to mount pressure on their opposition and forced a free kick from long range which was sensationally put away by Joseph Langlios, an early contender for goal of the year.
Montefiore found himself on the other side of a pin-point cross in the 61st minute and placed himself on the goal scorer’s list, giving his side a four goal advantage.
The Jets rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute when substitute Archie Finn was gifted an open goal for the fifth of the night.
Fraser Park SC vs Prospect United SC 2-0
Fraser Park’s title defence has got off to an impressive start with a tough victory against Prospect at home.
The premiers came out of the gates flying with an early 5th minute goal after Shu Torihara’s shot hit the post and fell perfectly to Matteo Pandolfo for the opening goal.
They continued their early pressure and forced a mistake on the Prospect defence when a miss-hit clearance found Cam Philpot who neatly put his shot away to double his side’s advantage.
At the half-hour mark Fraser Park were shown false hope of a third, immediately having it crossed off due to an offside. Philpot’s second prematurely falling short.
Prospect turned the game around during the second half and mounted a significant amount of pressure on Fraser Park for the majority of the half but were unable to get the final touch on their attacks to take home the win.
Hurstville FC vs UNSW FC 1-0
In the first surprise of the season Hurstville shocked UNSW in a wild back and forth encounter.
UNSW opened up the match dominating the large share of possessions and chances putting Hurstville’s defence on the back foot early.
However shortly after the opening fifteen minutes Hurstville turned the game around with a period of dominance leading to the opening goal in 25th minute when a counter-attack sprung from a Michael Rutherford clearance, sent his side up the field and found Caleb Bartier who netted his side’s opener.
The two sides battled for the lion’s share of possession throughout the second half. Paul Gagro almost doubled his sides advantage when he made a break down line and found himself one-on-one with Conor Win who managed to keep his side in the game forcing a miss from Gagro.
UNSW dominated the last period of the game and were left heartbroken after a multitude of shots from close range were blocked and eventually cleared by the scrambling Hurstville defence.
Western Rage vs Western NSW 1-0
Rounding off this week’s action was the Western derby, these two teams had a scrappy encounter that saw Western Rage walk away with the win breaking the hearts of the wounded Western NSW outfit.
Western NSW impressed during the opening half leading with the majority of chances and possession.
James Christie’s missed header late in the first half was the best opportunity of the game for Mark Rooke’s men who went into the break wanting to capitalise on their chances.
Western Rage began to slowly get themselves back into the game during the second half, capitalising on the fatigue beginning to set in on their opposition.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 85th minute when Daniel Bortolazzo made a run down the line and squared it perfectly to Leonardo De Leo giving the Rage a moment to remember as they ran away with all three points.
Mark Rooke was extremely disappointed with the final result and felt unlucky to not go home with at least a point, but was still happy with his sides performance considering the circumstances.
-Written by NPL 4 Men’s Writer, Dominic Criniti
