Round 10 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
Round 10 of the National Premier Leagues NSW season lived up to expectations with another massive weekend of action.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers were back in form with a emphatic four goal win against Bonnyrigg White Eagles Which helped them back to the top of the ladder, albeit temporarily.
Sydney Olympic wasn’t going to let their rivals take their position at the summit easily and claimed a 5-1 win of their own with a spectacular domination of Wollongong Wolves to help them leapfrog APIA by three points.
Blacktown City, Sutherland Sharks and Rockdale City Suns were all other winners in Round 10 as the week’s matches were wrapped up on Sunday night.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 1 – APIA Leichhardt Tigers 5 at Bonnyrigg Sports Ground
APIA Leichhardt have returned to winning ways in emphatic style with a comprehensive 5-1 domination of Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Bonnyrigg Sports ground on Saturday night.
Jordan Murray was the star of the evening, picking up a hat-trick while winger Corey Bizco scored a brace.
Murray struck twice in two minutes mid-way through the first half before Bonnyrigg’s Korean import Jewook Woo fired for Bonnyrigg to ensure the home side trailed 2-1 at the interval.
However, Woo’s goal turned out to be nothing more than a consolation as APIA raced away in the second stanza with Bizco netting twice before Murray claimed his third.
The match was a tale of two teams, a magnificent and free-flowing Tigers and a disappointing White Eagles.
It was the perfect response from APIA after last week’s shock 1-0 loss to Sydney United 58 as they fight to regain top spot on the National Premier Leagues NSW ladder.
Manly United 1 – Sydney United 58 1 at Cromer Park
Manly United and Sydney United 58 fought out a tight 1-1 draw at a soggy Cromer Park on Saturday night.
The contest sprung to life in the second half after a dour showing from both sides in the opening stanza.
United 58’s second half substitute Glen Trifiro’s 70th minute effort cancelled out Dominic Ferguson’s strike after 56 minutes, while a penalty save from Thomas Manos ensured the spoils were shared.
It will be the hosts who view the stalemate as two points dropped, as they maintained possession for extended periods early on, and engineered more clear-cut sights on goal late.
Regardless, Manly’s unbeaten run now stretches to seven matches, while Sydney United continue to whisk aside their off-field concerns to sit in fourth place on the ladder.
Blacktown City 1 – Sydney FC 0 at Lily Homes Stadium
Blacktown City claimed a third win in a row after Danny Choi’s second half strike saw off Sydney FC 1-0 in their clash at Lily’s Football Stadium on Saturday evening.
Choi guided in his first goal of the season four minutes after the half time interval to settle any simmering nerves around Seven Hills and ultimately defeat the visiting Sky Blues who had impressively gone toe to toe with the competition heavyweights throughout the contest.
Mark Crittenden’s side now tighten their grip in the top three and remain two points behind leaders APIA Leichhardt Tigers following their big win over Bonnyrigg on Saturday evening, with second placed Sydney Olympic set to face Wollongong Wolves later on Sunday afternoon.
The win is also Blacktown’s first shutout in five matches and despite Crittenden’s men lacking a degree of sharpness in the final third, City will take plenty of positives from a defensive standpoint particularly after a run of matches that has seen the side lose twice to Marconi Stallions and Sydney Olympic and concede five goals in their last two.
Marconi Stallions 0 – Sutherland Sharks 2 at Marconi Stallion
A Joshua Da Silva brace has helped Sutherland Sharks FC take a bite out of Marconi Stallion’s top five chances, as the visitors prevailed 2-0 at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a brilliant smash and grab result for the Sharks who held out a relentless Marconi attack and took the lead through two counter-attacking goals on either side of the interval.
The Stallions were reduced to 10 men after 38 minutes when Sean O’Connell was sent off but it didn’t stop them dominating the fixture.
However, it proved to be little consolation for the Peter Tsekenis coached side who suffered yet another frustrating defeat when the result could’ve easily gone the other way.
Sydney Olympic 5- Wollongong Wolves 1 at Belmore Sports Ground
Sydney Olympic kept their three point lead at the top of the National Premier Leagues NSW competition with a comprehensive 5-1 domination of Wollongong Wolves at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday.
It was an impressive performance from Olympic highlighted by three incredible goals which all could be contenders for goal of the season.
The hosts went ahead early through Radovan Pavicevic before extending their advantage with a stunning scorpion flick from Thomas Whiteside.
Wollongong pulled one back on halftime to go into the break with real hope of overturning the deficit, but were finished off by Alejandro Sanchez Lopez, who scored twice and set up another for Pavicevic as Olympic ran out 5-1 winners.
Rockdale City Suns 3 – Hakoah Sydney City Suns 0 at Ilinden Sports Centre
Rockdale City Suns have roared back into form with a solid 3-0 win against Hakoah Sydney City East at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
It was a rampant Rockdale performance with a Jordan Figon brace and Harris Gaitatzis poached goal at the death enough to secure a much needed three competition points for the Paul Reid coached side.
Figon netted after only five minutes to settle the nerves of a shaky Suns side, but they weren’t going to have it all their way with an injury ravaged Hakoah side putting up fierce resistance.
Indeed, the visitors would probably have counted themselves unlucky to go into the half-time break a goal behind after profligate finishing left them scoreless.
Rockdale wrapped up the win late when a Gaitatzis strike and a solo Figon ensured Hakoah would go home empty handed.