Round 11 Review – NPL NSW Men’s 20’s
It was a good weekend for competition leaders Sutherland Sharks, who laid down a premiership marker with the 3-0 dismantling of second-placed Blacktown City at Seymour Shaw, while third-placed Sydney FC dropped points at home to bottom-placed Rockdale City Suns.
The reigning champions now hold six point gap over Blacktown City heading into the second half of the regular season.
Match of the Round
Sydney United 58 v Sydney Olympic, Saturday 5.30pm at Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney United 58 ended a six-match losing streak after coming from behind to defeat rivals Sydney Olympic 3-1 at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday evening.
The Reds found themselves trailing at half time following Taewoo Jung’s superbly taken 21st minute strike but restored parity early in the second period in bizarre fashion when an Olympic clearance rebounded in off the head of Kyle Cimenti before Dimitrios Petratos netted a fine goal on debut to nudge the hosts in front with fifteen minutes remaining.
Sam Perre then completed the comeback and sealed a huge win for United 58 in stunning style after catching Olympic goalkeeper Ezequiel Consoni off his line with a pinpoint strike from just inside the Blues’ half with one of the final kicks of the game.
The victory is United 58’s first win since a 4-0 drubbing of Rockdale City Suns back in round three and although the side appeared to be heading for their seventh defeat in a row after being outplayed by their opponents in the first half, the Reds mustered a doggedly determined performance following Cimenti’s fortunate equalizer and finished the stronger of the two sides.
United 58 move into sixth position as a result of the win, and it should bolster Miro Vlastelica’s side entering the second half of the regular campaign, who would regard anything outside a top five finish as underachievement.
The Reds would acknowledge they still have work to do in order to return to their best and could’ve been punished more harshly by the visitors who were coming into the fixture on the back of a string of excellent performances and offered up an excellent display in the opening half.
It was no surprise when the Blues opened the scoring midway through the half when Brian Sutomo’s through ball was collected by Jung, who skipped past United 58 goalkeeper John Hall and floored a pair of retreating defenders before eventually firing home in a great show of composure.
Anthony Harb’s side almost doubled their lead immediately from the kick off only for Hall to make a stunning close range stop from Dylan Woznickza, who had connected with Stephen Athanaseris’ cross at the back post.
With his side reeling from the opener and facing another league defeat, that save from the former Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers gloveman may prove to be one of the most important moments in the context of United 58’s season.
The Edensor Park outfit have been shorn of good fortune for the majority of their campaign but were the beneficiaries of a huge slice of luck in equalizing the contest, when a headed clearance from Olympic centre back Billy Patramanis ricocheted off Cimenti and past a static Consoni in the goalmouth.
Having squared the contest in fortunate circumstances, there was no element of fluke about the Reds subsequent performance in the second half with the home side ignited by Cimenti’s equalizer.
United 58 had flashed several warning shots at the Olympic goal before eventually edging in front on the counter attack. Sam Perre, once again the orchestrator of his side’s best attacking opportunities on the day, fed Petratos who shrugged off a challenge before stepping inside and firing past Consoni at the near post to give the hosts the lead with fifteen minutes remaining.
The former Rockdale striker had scored three goals for the struggling Suns prior to arriving at Sydney United Sports Centre and came close to clinching a brace with five minutes remaining after linking up with Minkyeom Kim but ended up lashing his shot across goal.
United 58 did secured the three points in the final minute of time when Perre caught Consoni creeping out of the penalty box before lobbing the stranded keeper from just inside the Olympic half, ending the Reds’ six-match losing streak in some style.
Sydney United 58 will take on another former NSL rival in Marconi next weekend when they host the Stallions at home on Saturday evening.
Sydney Olympic return to the bottom of the competition ladder following the defeat but after showing their true potential over the past month, the Blues will feel confident of mounting a late challenge for the top five in the second half of the campaign.
Match Stats
Sydney United 58 3 (Cimenti 55’, Petratos 76’, Perre 90’)
Sydney Olympic 1 (Jung 21’)
Saturday 19th of May 2018
Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park
Sydney United 58: 39. Karlo Borovic, 26. Jeonghui Cho, 1. John Hall, 37. Modassir Hussain, 36. Minkyeom Kim, 35. Cole Mutton, 13. Sam Perre, 28. Kyle Sarigiannis, 24. Anthony Trimboli, 33. Luke Vlastelica, 16. Kyle Cimenti
Substitutes not used: 40. Daniel Lopez, 38. Nathan Manno, 29. Todd Bennison, 32. Nicholas Obrien, 27. Dimitrios Petratos
Yellow cards: N/A
Red cards: N/A
Sydney Olympic: 21. Stephen Athanaseris, 20. Ezequiel Consoni, 32. Adam Hristodoulou, 27. Taewoo Jung, 17. Benjamin Morrison, 35. Luke Okuda, 26. Billy Patramanis, 43. Kamran Qayumi, 38. Brian Sutomo, 40. Dylan Wozniczka, 37. Ahmad Safdari
Substitutes not used: 41. Fikret Berisha, 42. Wahid Hamayoun, 39. Theph Theph, 36. Mortaza Safdari, 99. Paul Katsetis
Yellow cards: N/A
Red cards: N/A
Saturday
Sydney FC 2-2 Rockdale City Suns, 1.00pm at Lambert Park
Premiership hopefuls Sydney FC suffered a hiccup in their quest for silverware after being held to a 2-2 draw at Lambert Park by bottom-club Rockdale City Suns on Saturday afternoon.
The Sky Blues are now eight points behind competition leaders Sutherland Sharks after surrendering the third draw in their last five fixtures.
Jordan Swibel netted a brace for Sydney on the afternoon to bring his season tally to 11 – just one strike behind teammate and golden boot leader Hamish Lamberton.
But that will be scant consolation for the Sky Blues on what could prove to be a crucial missed opportunity, with second-placed Blacktown defeated by the Sharks later in the day.
The result for Rockdale lifts the City Suns off the foot of the table and into 11th position. The Suns have now drawn with the competition’s first and third-placed sides this season, and should be aiming to put pressure of the finals challengers in the second half of the campaign.
Sutherland Sharks 3-0 Blacktown City, 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks extended their advantage at the top to six points after a commanding 3-0 win over second-placed Blacktown City at Seymour Shaw.
The match between the runaway leaders and the premiership hopefuls Blacktown City was billed as one of the biggest encounters of the season but a comprehensive performance from the reigning champions only underlined further just how tough it will be to prevent Nick Dimovski’s side from cantering to a successive premiership.
Goals from Kuot Maliet, Hristijan Tanoski and Blake Currey sent the competition leaders on their way to their ninth win of the season, in a match that also saw the Sharks claim their 30th goal of the campaign.
Sutherland welcome Rockdale City Suns to Seymour Shaw next Saturday afternoon aiming to build on their lead of the competition, while Blacktown City will need to recover at home to Wollongong Wolves on Sunday.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0-0 Manly United, 5.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Neither side could break the deadlock as Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Manly United played out the seasons second 0-0 stalemate at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday afternoon.
The match between the two finals challengers offered plenty of opportunities but once again it was the resoluteness of the White Eagles defence that came to the fore in Bonnyrigg.
Hamish Brown’s side have now kept four clean sheets in their last five fixtures and although they couldn’t get over the line against Manly, the White Eagles are consistently expanding their credentials as competition dark horses with the second half the season to come.
Bonnyrigg remain in seventh after their second 0-0 draw of the campaign and take on bottom placed Sydney Olympic at home next Saturday.
Manly United take on APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lambert Park on Sunday.
Sunday
Hakoah Sydney City East 1-0 APIA Leichhardt Tigers, 1.00pm at Hensley Athletic Field
Hakoah Sydney City East continued their excellent recent form with a 1-0 victory over APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday afternoon.
Jordon Koton’s strike proved to be the difference for the hosts who claimed their sixth win from seven matches to solidify their position in the top five. Hakoah are now in fourth place, one point behind third-placed Sydney FC and with a clash with the Sky Blues to come next weekend the side could hammer home their status as the team to worry about in the second half of the season with a win.
The defeat for APIA Leichhardt is their third on the trot – Franco Consentino’s side remain in eighth position and yet to hit gather any kind of meaningful form so far this campaign. APIA host Manly United in an important fixture at Lambert Park next weekend.
Wollongong Wolves 3-0 Marconi Stallions, 1.00pm at WIN Stadium
Wollongong Wolves returned to winning ways with a great 3-0 win over Marconi Stallions at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolves proved far too good for their opponents on the South Coast with Tory Musumeci clinching a double alongside a Taylor McDonald strike to extend their advantage over sixth-placed Sydney United 58 to four points.
Musumeci now has nine goals from his 11 fixtures this campaign and continues to spearhead the Wolves’ premiership assault, which will only improve if Wollongong can generate goals from all over the pitch more regularly.
Marconi remain in 10th position after their seventh loss of the season. The Stallions take on Sydney United in Edensor Park next weekend.
-By Jacob Windon
