Round 25 Review – League Two Men’s
The battle for second was confirmed to go down to the final round following Round 29 of the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season, with two teams left in the battle for that crucial spot.
The Match of the Round this week saw a frantic finish as Prospect United SC missed their chance to secure a second away win to Sydney University SFC, with two late goals bringing all the drama.
Saturday, 23rd August 2025
Match of the Round: Sydney University SFC 1-1 Prospect United SC
Two stoppage time goals to end the match saw the spoils shared in dramatic circumstances between Sydney University SFC and Prospect United SC, with the latter’s hopes of a 2nd-placed finish coming down to the final match week.
The first half hour of the match was even, with neither side able to fashion many chances until the 31st minute, when Prospect’s Andre Cavallaro shot wide right from outside the box.
A tough playing surface meant both sides relied on balls over the top, as well as winning the second ball in challenges, with the only other notable chance of the half coming for Prospect in the 33rd minute when Dimos Vlachos shot wide right.
Following a first half where neither side could create many chances on the rough surface, the two teams entered half-time scoreless.
In the second half, Prospect started spritely and had a chance in the 53rd minute when Praneet Singh headed over the bar following strong individual play down the left and a good ball into the box.
Five minutes later, University had an attempt on target following second phase play from a corner, when Elliott Breakspear headed the ball on target, with the ball collected by Prospect goalkeeper, Brenden Allen.
In the 65th minute, a crucial interception from Prospect’s Jackson Atanasovski stopped a dangerous cutback from University inside the Prospect box.
The intensity from both sides ramped up towards the end of the match, with Prospect’s Singh firing a powerful shot on target from outside the box, caught by University goalkeeper Jasper Sarkies, the first of those intense moments.
Following that, University’s Isaac Folkes had back-to-back chances in the 79th and 81st minute, respectively, when he took a low shot on target, collected by Allen, and a shot wide from outside the box.
In the 90th minute, a strong save from Sarkies denied Prospect once again as they hunted for the late winner which would secure them 2nd spot.
However, University had other plans and in the first minute of stoppage time broke Prospect hearts when a wayward pass from Prospect’s Vlachos saw the ball go straight to University’s Folkes near the Prospect defence.
From there, Folkes played the ball outside wide right to substitute Zachary Khater, who placed the ball along the ground with a precise finish into the bottom-left corner of the goal to give the students what looked to be a 1-0 win very late.
However, Prospect fought back and it was Vlachos who immediately made up for his mistake in the third minute of stoppage time when he received the ball just outside the University box and fired the ball into the near top-right corner of the goal to the shock of everyone in attendance to rescue a point for Prospect in a 1-1 draw.
Speaking post-match, Prospect head coach Darren Camilleri was proud of the fight his side showed, with players missing through injury and personal circumstances, and was out for the win in the contest.
“With ten minutes to go, I changed to four at the back and I brought on more wingers because I wanted to win it today.”
Needing just one win from their final three matches to finish 2nd, Camilleri said the pressure has had its effect on the side.
“I think everyone has been thinking about it way too much, they are restricting their decision-making because they do not want to lose; we want to play, and we want to win.”
With a crucial match at home to Bankstown to end the season, Camilleri hopes his side can get the job done at home to finish 2nd.
“I am glad we are playing at home, we might have players from our youth come and support; either way, it has been a successful season.”
The point for University saw them go three matches without defeat as they ensured they avoided a last-placed finish and stayed in 13th, while the point for Prospect saw their lead over 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC reduced to just two points with one match to play as the fight for 2nd pushed into the final match week.
University will hope to end their season on a positive note when they host 10th-placed Inner West Hawks FC, while Prospect will hope to secure 2nd in the final match of the season when they host 4th-placed Bankstown United FC.
Sydney University SFC 1 (Zachary Khater 90+1’)
Prospect United SC 1 (Dimos Vlachos 90+3’)
Thursday, 21st August 2025
Granville Rage 5-5 Fraser Park FC
A ten-goal thriller saw the spoils shared between Granville Rage and Fraser Park FC in a 5-5 draw, with a hat-trick hero and two stoppage-time goals among the action, with the result confirming Granville’s mathematical knock out of 2nd-place contention.
Francis Mcalpine continued his strong season for Fraser Park to give them the lead in the 7th minute to shock the promotion-hopeful Rage early.
Mcalpine completed his double for his 14th goal of the season in the 45th minute, with Fraser Park’s top scorer for 2025 giving them a 2-0 half-time lead.
Benjamin Astudillo extended Fraser Park’s lead to three in the 52nd minute as the away side looked to run away with the match.
However, substitutes from both sides on the hour mark changes the match, with Granville’s Timothy Trainor scoring with his first touch off the bench to reduce their deficit to two goals.
Ante Tomic grabbed another goal back for Granville in the 74th minute when he capitalised on a defensive lapse down Fraser Park’s right to get within one goal of Fraser Park.
Granville levelled the match one minute later through Anthony Zullo, who scored with an opportunistic strike less than three minutes after coming off the bench to level the scores at 3-3.
Two minutes later, however, Mcalpine completed his hat-trick, his second in as many weeks, to take him to 17 goals for the season and to give Fraser Park the lead once more at 4-3 up.
Granville fought back once more and equalised in the 89th minute through Timothy Borg-Williams, who scored his 18th goal of the season to give the Rage’s hopes of a late winner a big boost.
The Rage were in dreamland when they were awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time; the penalty was dispatched by Ante Tomic, who celebrated by holding his shirt aloft for the travelling fans as the Rage looked to keep themselves in play-off promotion contention late.
However, heartbreak struck just two minutes later when Paul Apostolopoulos got on the end of a ball played to him ahead of Rage goalkeeper Branko Vidakovic and scored in dramatic circumstances, repeating the celebration the Rage had just displayed, but in front of the Fraser Park fans.
In the end, the ten-goal thriller ended with five goals apiece as Granville’s hopes of September football came to an end.
The draw for Granville saw them move to 46 points, six behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC with two matches to play but with a far inferior goal difference of 24 to six as they fell from 4th to 5th, while the draw for Fraser Park saw them drop from 8th to 9th.
Granville will hope to end their season on a positive note when they look to dampen premiers Hurstville’s trophy lift away in the final round, while Fraser Park will hope to fight for a top-half finish and have their say on who finishes 2nd when they host promotion-hopeful 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC.
Granville Rage 5 (Timothy Trainor 61’; Ante Tomic 74’, 90+5’ pen; Anthony Zullo 75’; Timothy Borg-Williams 89’)
Fraser Park FC 5 (Francis Mcalpine 7’, 45’, 77’; Benjamin Astudillo 52’; Paul Apostolopoulos 90+7’)
Saturday, 23rd August 2025
Parramatta FC 0-3 Dunbar Rovers FC
A first-half hat-trick hero was to thank for Dunbar Rovers FC as they snapped a seven-match winless run in style away to Parramatta FC in a 3-0 away win.
Dunbar earned a penalty in the 5th minute when Colin Callil was fouled in the box by Omar Naboulsi; Callil stepped up and converted the spot kick he had earned to give Dunbar a 1-0 lead early.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Callil received the ball off a cross from Dion Bregianos and slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
Callil, adding to his first goal for Dunbar last week, added a hat-trick in his third match for Dunbar in the 40th minute when he beat two defenders on the edge of the box and fired a shot into the top corner of the goal off the crossbar to give Dunbar a 3-0 lead at half-time.
In the second half, Dunbar held the ball well, while Parramatta also had their chances but were unable to find the back of the net, with Dunbar running out 3-0 winners.
The loss for Parramatta was their fourth from their past five matches and saw them stay in 7th, while the win for Dunbar saw them snap a seven-match winless run as they rose from 9th into 8th.
Parramatta will hope to end the season on a positive note when they travel to take on 6th-placed Hawkesbury City FC, while Dunbar will also hope to end the season positively when they host 11th-placed Nepean FC.
Parramatta FC 0
Dunbar Rovers FC 3 (Colin Callil 5’ pen, 33’, 40’)
South Coast Flame FC 1-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
South Coast Flame FC gave their hopes of a promotion play-off berth a big boost with a 1-0 home win over Gladesville Ryde Magic.
The Flame started strongly with early chances to Thomas Dunn and Harry James, who had shots saved by Gladesville goalkeeper Lucas Mazereeuw and go wide, respectively.
Gladesville’s first chance of the match saw Matt Ashcroft flock on a floated ball, but Flame goalkeeper Nenad Vekic gathered the effort.
The Flame continued to push and had a chance in the 25th minute when Liam Unicomb cut the ball back to Jyden Harb, who shot his effort wide.
The breakthrough in the match came in the 38th minute when an attack down the right saw the ball crossed into the Gladesville box; the ball fell to Alexander Alston, who scored in his 100th first-grade appearance with a left-footed finish to give the Flame a 1-0 lead.
A few minutes later, Samuel Alston had back-to-back chances, with the first a chip which nearly found the back of the net and the second a strike which struck the post.
Both teams continued to attack, with Gladesville’s Kyle Bennett missing a shot from inside the box just before the hour mark, before Matt Ashcroft had a shot saved by Vekic.
In the 76th minute, the Flame had a big chance to extend their lead when a quick break saw the ball fall to Harb, who had his shot saved well at the near post by Mazereeuw.
Disaster nearly struck for the Flame in the 89th minute when combination play on the edge of the box saw Christopher Ganiatsas with the ball inside the box with only Vekic to beat; however, the shot from Ganiatsas was saved by Vekic before the ball was cleared off the line.
Down the other end, a shot from the Flame’s Kade Kinsella was scrambled off the line by the Gladesville defence.
In the end, the Flame did enough to secure the three points with a big 1-0 home win over the Magic.
The win for the Flame saw them move to 50 points, two points behind 2nd-placed Prospect United SC and with a better goal difference heading into the final match week, while the loss for the Magic was their fifth in a row as they stayed in 12th.
The Flame will hope to secure what could be a season-defining win when they travel to face 9th-placed Fraser Park FC next week with their promotion play-off hopes on the line, while the Magic will hope to end their season on a win when they host last-placed Camden Tigers FC.
South Coast Flame FC 1 (Alexander Alston 38’)
Gladesville Ryde Magic 0
Camden Tigers FC 4-0 Central Coast United FC
Camden Tigers FC won a second match from their past three and gave themselves a shot of escaping a last-placed finish with a 4-0 home win over Central Coast United FC, the team they will hope to overtake in the final round of the season.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the 11th minute through good build-up play, which was finished off by Francesco Giannetto, as the hosts started strongly.
Camden doubled their lead ten minutes later when Bailey Simpson found the back of the net, the Tigers’ leading goal scorer in 2025 adding to his tally.
Simpson completed his double, his second of the season, to take his goal tally to 13 goals for the year to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead at half-time.
Following the break, the Tigers added a fourth goal in the 63rd minute through Oscar Coltman, who scored off the bench to secure a 4-0 win for the Tigers in their final home match of the season.
The win for the Tigers took them to 21 points, just one point behind 14th-placed Central Coast United FC with one round to go, while the loss for the Pirates saw them end their season on a loss.
Camden will hope to avoid a last-placed finish in 2025 when they travel to take on 12th-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic next week, while Central Coast will have to hope and wait as they have a bye in Round 30.
Camden Tigers FC 4 (Francesco Giannetto 11’; Bailey Simpson 21’, 36’; Oscar Coltman 63’)
Central Coast United FC 0
Inner West Hawks FC 1-4 Bankstown United FC
Bankstown United FC ended a three-match winless run in style following a 4-1 away win, playing with ten men for 83 minutes, over a ten-man Inner West Hawks FC, whose five-match unbeaten run came to an end.
The visitors had a rough start early when Tyron Geany received a red card in the 7th minute for violent conduct after an elbow to the head of Peter Kontis.
However, Bankstown found the opening goal just three minutes later when a shot from outside the box by Mitchell Edmunds was deflected into the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead early.
Bankstown doubled their lead in the 27th minute in similar style, this time through Mitchell Cross, the 2024 League Two Men’s Golden Boot winner adding to his season tally as Bankstown took a 2-0 lead into half-time.
After the break, Bankstown added a third goal in the 55th minute when Sean Robertson found the back of the net.
The Hawks pulled a goal back in the 75th minute when a cross from Hesan Soufi found Peter Yannopoulos, who in turn knocked the ball back for Angelo Pezzano, who found the back of the net to reduce the deficit to 3-1.
Pezzano was also shown a red card in the 80th minute as both sides ended the match with ten men.
Bankstown secured the 4-1 win in the 87th minute when Cross found the back of the net to score his 14th goal and complete his first double of the season.
The loss for the Hawks saw their five-match unbeaten run end as they stayed in 10th, while the win for Bankstown was their first since Round 25 as they rose from 5th to 4th.
Inner West Hawks will hope to end their season on a positive note when they travel to take on 13th-placed Sydney University SFC next week, while Bankstown will hope to secure a 4th-placed finish and have their say on the promotion battle when they travel to take on 2nd-placed Prospect United SC.
Inner West Hawks FC 1 (Angelo Pezzano 75’; 80’ red card)
Bankstown United FC 4 (Mitchell Edmunds 10’; Mitchell Cross 27’, 87’; Sean Robertson 55’; Tyron Geany 7’ red card)
Nepean FC vs Hawkesbury City FC was postponed and will be played on Tuesday, 26th August at 8pm at Jamison Park.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
