Round 23 Review – League Two Men’s
There were plenty of high scores and big results across the league in Round 23 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with the top sides once again continuing to fight hard in their battle for promotion this season.
The Match of the Round this week was a high-scoring affair, with promotion-hopeful South Coast Flame FC coming from behind to grab a statement win over Inner West Hawks FC.
Saturday, 12th July 2025
Match of the Round: Inner West Hawks FC 3-6 South Coast Flame FC
One of the highest-scoring matches of the season saw South Coast Flame FC come from two goals down to run away with a 6-3 away win over Inner West Hawks FC in a frantic Match of the Round, with a hat-trick hero for the Flame.
Inner West had the perfect start, with a goal after just 23 seconds – early press from the Hawks saw left-back Milo Haas break down the left and cross the ball to Tallon Zahra, who blasted the ball across goal and into the corner of the net for a 1-0 Hawks lead.
Liam Unicomb had a chance for the Flame in the 11th minute, but saw his shot smothered by Hawks goalkeeper Emmanuel Tseros, while at the other end Peter Yannopoulos was denied by a strong leg save from Flame goalkeeper, Nenad Vekic.
The Flame levelled the match in the 19th minute when Daniel Merola beat his defender and cut the ball back to Jyden Harb on the edge of the box; Harb took a shot on, with the ball taking a slight deflection and flying into the back of the net to level the contest at 1-1.
The Hawks had a chance to retake the lead following a corner, but Zahra’s half-volley struck the crossbar.
In the 27th minute, the Hawks re-took their lead when Hesan Soufi played Alexander Nicolosi through on goal; Nicolosi slotted the ball home to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
Four minutes later, the Hawks extended their lead to two goals when Lawrence Claxton intercepted a Flame pass and ran through the Flame midfield before he cut back and curled a shot into the back of the net from the edge of the box for a 3-1 Hawks lead.
South Coast responded in the 36th minute when Harb got through on goal but had a shot saved by Tseros; however, the ball rebounded to Adam Timpano-Voloder, who buried the chance to reduce the deficit to one goal.
The Flame looked to take the momentum and had a shot from Matthew Mazevski a few minutes later that had Tseros at full stretch to make the save.
At the other end, a cross from Peter Yannopoulos found Soufi in the six-yard-box, but the latter’s header struck the crossbar.
In the 45th minute, the Flame restored parity at 3-3 in a six-goal first half when Harb took on a few Hawks players and curled an effort into the back of the net off the underside of the crossbar to see the two teams level at 3-3 at half-time.
Four minutes after the break, a frantic bit of play saw Harb have a volley saved by Tseros, with the ball falling to Timpano-Voloder, who crossed the ball across goal to Harb again, who scored for his hat-trick and his 25th goal of the season to give the Flame the lead for the first time in the match, 4-3 up.
Three minutes later, Harb broke down the left and squared the ball to Mazevski, who in turn released Merola; he found the back of the net with a strike from the edge of the box to give the Flame a 5-3 lead.
On the hour mark, the Flame failed to clear a Hawks corner, with the ball falling to Zahra; he found the head of Flame defender Luke Hoefsloot, with Vekic called into action to make a full stretch save to deny the hosts a goal back.
In the 70th minute, Yannopoulos found space inside the box on the right and had his shot saved at the near post by Vekic, before his follow-up shot was also saved.
One minute later, at the other end, the Flame’s Thomas Dunn had a chance to add to the Flame’s goal tally but missed from inside the box.
The Flame did add a sixth goal, however, in the 81st minute, when a stray pass out from the back from the Hawks saw Merola pick up the ball and pick his spot to slot the ball home for a big 6-3 away win for the Flame.
The loss for the Hawks saw their winless run extend to five matches as they stayed in 12th on the ladder, while the win for the Flame was big as it saw them keep up in the race for 2nd as they stayed in 3rd, two points behind Prospect United SC.
Inner West will hope to end their winless run when they travel to face 9th-placed Fraser Park FC next week, while South Coast will hope to continue their hunt for 2nd when they host the league leaders, Hurstville Zagreb FC, in a crucial battle.
Inner West Hawks FC 3 (Tallon Zahra 1’; Alexander Nicolosi 27’; Lawrence Claxton 31’)
South Coast Flame FC 6 (Jyden Harb 19’, 45, 49’; Adam Timpano-Voloder 36’; Daniel Merola 52’, 81’)
Central Coast United FC 0-3 Prospect United SC
Prospect United SC picked up yet another important win in their pursuit of promotion this season with a 3-0 away success over Central Coast United FC.
Prospect had the perfect start in the 2nd minute when Praneet Singh found Andre Cavallaro in the box, who took one touch to set up the shot and fired the ball home with the second touch to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Anthony Idehen had two chances to add to Prospect’s score following that, with Central Coast goalkeeper Zayd Husain making himself big on the first attempt to deny Idehen and the second attempt going wide from the edge of the 18-yard-box.
Central Coast looked to fire back and hit the post from open play following a free kick in the 45th minute as they hunted an equaliser.
Prospect doubled their lead just before the break, in the second minute of stoppage time, when Dimos Vlachos picked up the ball on halfway and drove up the field, beating players along the way, and slotted the ball home from inside the box to give Prospect a 2-0 half-time lead.
The visitors added a third goal in the 50th minute when Vlachos played a through ball to Idehen, who slotted the ball home with a first-time shot into the roof of the net for a 3-0 lead.
Prospect had a few more chances following that, the biggest falling to Idehen, who had his shot from the edge of the box saved well to his left by Husain.
The loss for Central Coast saw their four-match unbeaten run end as they stayed in 13th on the ladder, while the win for Prospect saw them move to 41 points and maintain their two-point gap in 2nd ahead of the chasing pack.
Central Coast will hope to bounce back when they host 6th-placed Granville Rage next week, while Prospect will hope to continue in their fight for 2nd place when they host Nepean FC in a western Sydney derby.
Central Coast United FC 0
Prospect United SC 3 (Jacob Micallef 2’; Dimos Vlachos 45+2’; Anthony Idehen 50’)
Camden Tigers FC 2-2 Dunbar Rovers FC
A stoppage time goal from Dunbar Rovers FC saw them escape with a late 2-2 draw away to Camden Tigers FC in a back-and-forth match which had as much late drama as the reverse fixture.
Camden had the perfect start to the match when Avisai Vunisasaro scored to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
Dunbar responded in the 30th minute when Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato tipped the ball into the back of the net to restore parity at 1-1.
The Tigers hit the lead once again in the 40th minute through Oscar Coltman as they took a 2-1 lead into half-time.
After the break, Dunbar looked to play direct to stretch the Camden defence as they looked to level the scores once again.
Dunbar managed to do so with one of the last touches of the ball in the match in the fourth minute of stoppage time when a cross from Pansonato found the head of Jason Trajkovski, who headed home to rescue a point for Dunbar in a 2-2 draw.
The draw for Camden saw them snap a four-match losing streak as they stayed in last place, while the draw for Dunbar saw them remain in 8th on the ladder.
Camden will hope to continue to build and give minute to young players when they travel to face an old friend in 4th-placed Hawkesbury City FC, while Dunbar will hope to end their three-match winless run when they host 5th-placed Bankstown United FC.
Camden Tigers FC 2 (Avisai Vunisasaro 12’; Oscar Coltman 40’)
Dunbar Rovers FC 2 (Guilherme Mazurkievicz Pansonato 30’; Jason Trajkovski 90+4’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1-1 Hawkesbury City FC
The goals came late between Gladesville Ryde Magic and Hawkesbury City FC, with a goal apiece seeing the spoils shared between the sides in a late 1-1 draw.
Gladesville had a few corners early, while at the other end Hawkesbury had a Stuart Gosling shot blocked off the line before Vincent Dermilio struck the rebounded shot onto the post.
In the second half, the action was end-to-end with Hawkesbury substitute goalkeeper Jai Whitton pulling off two strong low saves to keep his clean sheet.
At the other end, Hawkesbury had two one-on-one chances to Duncan Stewart and Harry Drew, respectively, saved by Gladesville goalkeeper Lucas Mazereeuw.
In the 86th minute, Gladesville took the late lead when link-up play in the box saw substitute Genki Kohyama score for the Magic, just three minutes after coming off the bench for the hosts.
Three minutes later, however, Hawkesbury restored almost immediate parity in the match when substitute Declan Cotter found Drew with a cut back, Drew scoring his 16th goal of the season to level the match at 1-1.
Drew had a big one-on-one chance in the final minutes of the match but was unable to beat the diving Mazereeuw, with the save from the Magic goalkeeper earning them a point in the 1-1 draw.
The point for Gladesville saw them rise from 11th on the ladder into 10th, while the draw for Hawkesbury saw them stay in 4th as they fell to be four points behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC.
Gladesville will hope to continue to build when they travel to face 7th-placed Parramatta FC next week, while Hawkesbury will hope to close the gap to 2nd when they host an old friend in last-placed Camden Tigers FC.
Gladesville Ryde Magic 1 (Genki Kohyama 86’)
Hawkesbury City FC 1 (Harry Drew 89’)
Hurstville Zagreb FC 3-0 Parramatta FC
Hurstville Zagreb FC kept a fifth-straight home clean sheet and extend their winning streak to nine matches as their 3-0 home win over Parramatta FC saw them move a step closer to the league title and promotion.
Hurstville had the perfect start when new signing, young forward Alessandro Lacalandra, signed from NPL side Sydney United 58, delivered a cross into the box for Nikola Todoroski, who headed the ball home for a 1-0 Hurstville lead.
Following that, Parramatta looked to hold the ball while Hurstville looked to be dangerous going forward but lacked execution.
Hurstville ended the half strongly and forced Parramatta goalkeeper Harry Aquilina into a few strong saves, Hurstville 1-0 up at half-time.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Jonathan Maras broke down the left and played a ball into the box for Andre Guzman, who slotted the ball home for a 2-0 Hurstville lead.
Less than two minutes later, Hurstville added a third goal when James Tsokos won the ball in the middle of the field and played it for Nikola Todoroski; he slotted the ball home for his 12th goal of the season to give Hurstville a 3-0 lead.
Parramatta was reduced to ten men in the 82nd minute when Jordan Hassiem, just 17 minutes after coming off the bench, was shown a red card for violent conduct for striking an opponent off the ball.
Hurstville had a few more chances to add to their tally following that, but in the end picked up a 3-0 home win over Parramatta.
The win for Hurstville saw them maintain their 14-point lead at the top of the ladder as they moved to within three wins maximum of securing the league title and promotion, while the loss for Parramatta saw their winless run extend to seven matches.
Hurstville will hope to continue their quest for the league title when they play a Round 22 catch-up match away to 9th-placed Fraser Park FC on Wednesday, 16th July at 7:30pm at Fraser Park before their Round 24 match away to 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC, while Parramatta will hope to end their winless run when they host 10th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
Hurstville Zagreb FC 3 (Nikola Todoroski 3’, 61’; Andre Guzman 59’)
Parramatta FC 0 (Jordan Hassiem 82’ red card)
Bankstown United FC 1-0 Fraser Park FC
Bankstown United FC continued their rise up the ladder with a fourth-straight win following their tight 1-0 home win over Fraser Park FC.
Both teams played expansive football early and it was Fraser Park who had the better of the early chances, with Harry Skotadis having two one-on-one chances and having another chance hit the post in the opening 20 minutes.
Bankstown settled into the match from there and took the lead in the 33rd minute when an attack down their right saw the back cut back to Marie Gauthier in the middle; he lined up his shot and slotted the ball just inside the right post for his 10th goal of the season to give Bankstown a 1-0 lead at half-time.
In the second half, both teams had their fair share of shots with the respective goalkeeper for both sides called into action.
Fraser Park had a late chance in the 85th minute to earn a late draw in the match, once again through Skotadis, but Bankstown goalkeeper Sebastian La Luz pulled off another save to preserve Bankstown’s lead.
A last-minute scramble in the Bankstown box saw La Luz pull off two more saves as Bankstown earned a tight 1-0 home win over Fraser Park.
The win for Bankstown saw them rise one spot from 6th into 5th on the ladder, while the loss for Fraser Park saw them stay in 9th.
Bankstown will hope to continue their winning streak when they travel to take on 8th-placed Dunbar Rovers FC next week, while Fraser Park, meanwhile, have a catch-up match against Hurstville Zagreb FC mid-week before they return home to Fraser Park next week and will host a stadium revamp launch when they host 12th-placed Inner West Hawks FC.
Bankstown United FC 1 (Marie Gauthier 33’)
Fraser Park FC 0
Sunday, 13th July 2025
Sydney University SFC 4-0 Nepean FC
Sydney University SFC continued their strong form with a fourth win from their past six matches and scored their biggest win of the season in a 4-0 home success over Nepean FC.
University started strongly in the match in the 17th minute through Isaac Folkes, who scored to give the students a 1-0 half-time lead.
Following the break, University continued to attack and doubled their lead in the 52nd minute through Alistair Colvin.
That lead was added to in the 79th minute through Charles Hely-Hammond, who scored just five minutes after coming off the bench for the hosts.
University added a fourth goal in the 83rd minute through Folkes, who tripled his season goal tally in one match to give the students a big 4-0 home win over Nepean.
The win for University saw them build a four-point gap to last-placed Camden Tigers FC as they stayed in 14th, while the loss for Nepean saw them drop from 10th to 11th.
University will hope to continue their strong end to the season when they return after their Round 24 bye, while Nepean will hope to respond in a western Sydney derby when they travel to face 2nd-placed Prospect United SC.
Sydney University SFC 4 (Isaac Folkes 17’, 83’; Alistair Colvin 52’; Charles Hely-Hammond 79’)
Nepean FC 0
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
