NSW Premier League Pre-Season Cup Round 3 Review

Pool 1
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 4-1 Marconi Stallions @ Bonnyrigg Sports Club
All eyes were on Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday evening as Bonnyrigg White Eagles exacted revenge against Marconi Stallions in a replay of the 2012 NSW Premier League Final.
Brian Brown was very happy with his side’s performance as they prevailed by a 4-1 scoreline against the side that were crowned 2012 Champions on the same ground in October.
The hosts took the lead through a Robbie Younis freekick before a 35-yard Adrian Ucchino wonder goal gave them a 2-0 lead at the break.
Micky Simonovic pulled a goal back from the visitors soon after the restart before Younis restored the two goal buffer from the penalty spot.
Marconi missed a penalty of their own before new signing Howard Fondyke wrapped up the scoring for Bonnyrigg; the former Perth Glory youth player finding the net after his trial period proved successful in the preseason cup’s earlier rounds.
Blacktown Spartans 1-2 Rockdale City Suns @ Blacktown Football Park
Rockdale City Suns preseason continued to improve on Saturday as they notched up their first win of the campaign at Blacktown Spartans.
All goals came in the first half; the visitors coming out on top 2-1 in a tightly contested match.
The hosts looked to be in the driver’s seat when Tyson Rhodes opened the scoring for the hosts only for Richie Cardozo to draw Rockdale level from the penalty spot with his third goal in three appearances.
David Talevski put his side into the lead soon after and his side went on to hold their 2-1 lead at both half and full time.
Blacktown City FC 2-2 Manly United @ Lily Homes Stadium
A spirited Manly United performance saw the visitors twice fight back from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against Blacktown City at Lily Homes Stadium.
Craig Midgely can be proud of his squad’s resilience after twice being pegged back by a side who have recruited smartly throughout the off season.
Goals to Matthew Mayora and Ray Miller were cancelled out by Jamie Gosling and Scott Balderson equalisers; the latter coming in the final ten minutes of what was an encouraging match for the visitors.
Pool 2
Central Coast Mariners Academy 1-2 Sydney Olympic @ Mariners Centre of Excellence
A late flurry of goals saw Sydney Olympic past Central Coast Mariners Academy by a 2-1 scoreline at the Mariners Centre of Excellence in a physically testing encounter.
Both sides created chances yet neither could open the scoring in the first half as both sides went at each other in the humid conditions.
Troy Danaskos broke the deadlock after the interval before James Monie appeared to have rescued a point when he came off the bench to equalise with seven minutes remaining.
With the match appearing destined for a draw the visitors grabbed a late winner as Elsid Barkhousir headed his side back into the lead in the closing moments much to the despair of Central Coast keeper Jordan Nikolovski who had a sound game for the home side. Nikolovski, who travels from Sydney, has been one of the Central Coast standout players in recent weeks as he hopes to assure the number one spot at the club.
The match will be an encouraging for both sides as the newcomers in Mariners Academy are showing they can be competitive against experienced opposition while Olympic look to have found their winning formula with their blend of experience and young blood making it three wins from three.
Sutherland Sharks 2-1 South Coast Wolves @ Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks returned to winning ways on Saturday as they held off a South Coast Wolves comeback to prevail 2-1 in slippery conditions at Seymour Shaw.
The morning’s downpour ensured the sides contested the match on a slick pitch which made things difficult for both sides.
Panni Nikas netted his fifth preseason goal to open the scoring for the hosts with a flicked header from a Nick Tsattalios free kick.
Peter Simonovski kept his cool in a one-on-one situation to equalise for Wolves before Brad Boardman produced a well-placed finish from the edge of the box to claim all three points.
A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers 0-5 Sydney United 58 FC @ Ian McLennan Park
A clinical Sydney United 58 FC routed their opposition on Sunday afternoon’s fixture, hammering APIA Leichardt Tigers 5-0 in what proved to be a comprehensive victory for the travelling team.
Chances fell to both sides throughout a seemingly even first half before United netted three times in quick succession in the lead up to the interval.
Luka Glavas was the hero of the day with a superbly taken hat-trick; the first goal of which came from the spot after Glavas was felled by the keeper before dusting himself off to sink the ensuing penalty.
Japanese import and former Blacktown City FC striker Yuchi Yamauchi doubled United’s advantage with a sublime finish into the top corner before Glavas grabbed his second and United’s third after weaving his way past the Tigers defence and calmly slotting his finish into the back of the net.
Soon after the restart the enigmatic striker bagged his third, connecting with a well weighted throughball and tucking the ball home before Yamauchi grabbed a brace of his own after collecting an unconvincing clearance and beating the keeper to complete a crushing win for the visitors.

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-By Michael Shoolman