Round 16 Review – NPL NSW Men’s

It was a weekend of shock results in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition with round 16 delivering a number of upsets.

Hakoah Sydney City East were the big winners with the competition’s bottom team ending a horror run of nine straight defeats after snatching an unlikely win against Marconi Stallions.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers continues to hold the upper hand against Rockdale City Suns as they scored five unanswered goals to claim a 5-1 win and secure second spot on the ladder.

Just like the previous 15 weeks, Wollongong Wolves remain in top spot and they added another three points to their tally in Round 16 with yet another win.

Only six regular season games remain so the pressure is mounting on all 12 teams to make every match count.

Mount Druitt Town Rangers 5 – Sydney FC 3 at Valentine Sports Park

Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC climbed to eighth on the table on Saturday night after defeating a ten-man Sydney FC 5-3 in their National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s clash at Valentine Sports Park.

A Fabricio Fernandez hat-trick helped the Rangers punish the Young Sky Blues who went a man down after only 15 minutes into the contest.

The Uruguayan was at his devastating best in the match also set up Mirijan Pavlovic for a goal who himself finished the match with a trio of assists.

Sydney FC was chasing the game from early on with Anton Lenaric sent off only 11 minutes in.

Nevertheless they  went down fighting with goals to Ryan Teague, Marco Tilio and Jordi Swibel setting up a thrilling finish to the match.

However, it was Fernandez’s match as he wrapped up the win for Mt Druitt, and his hat-trick, with a cool finish eight minutes out from full-time.

Wollongong Wolves 2 – Sydney Olympic  0 at WIN Stadium

A brace from Wollongong’s Lachlan Scott was enough to return the Wolves to the National Premier League NSW Men’s winner’s circle on Sunday afternoon, with the side prevailing 2-0 over Sydney Olympic at WIN Stadium.

The former Western Sydney Wanderers front man scored the only goals of the match, nabbing a pair of second half goals to maintain Wollongong’s five-point lead at the top of the table.

Olympic had their chances to draw level but fluffed their lines as they slumped to another frustrating defeat.

Rockdale City Suns 1 – APIA Leichhardt Tigers 5 at Ilinden Sports Centre

A Franco Parisi masterclass has led APIA Leichhardt Tigers to a comprehensive 5-1 demolition of Rockdale City Suns at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.

The wily APIA veteran showed that class is permanent as he scored a brace in a dominant display from the centre of the park as the Tigers embarrassed Rockdale yet again.

The Suns had the better start to the match with star winger Alec Urosevski netting 32 minutes in, but it would prove to be the only time the home fans would have reason to smile.

Sean Symons struck back for APIA on the cusp of half time to even the ledger before Parisi and striker Chris Payne took over the second stanza with a pair of goal scoring doubles to secure another big win for the Leichhardt side.

Blacktown City 1 – Manly United 0 at Lily Homes Stadium

Blacktown City FC has tightened their grip on third place after a tense 1-0 win against Manly United FC at Lily Homes Stadium on Sunday.

Joey Gibbs injury time goal in the first half was enough to secure Blacktown’s eighth win of the season.

Manly came to life at the end if the contest with a pair of free-kicks that flew over which might have salvaged a point but it wasn’t to be for Paul Dee’s side.

Hakoah Sydney City East 1 – Marconi Stallions 0 at Hensley Athletic Field

Hakoah Sydney City East has snapped their horror nine game losing run with a hard fought 1-0 win against Marconi Stallions.

A 21st minute header from Dominic Cox was the difference for Hakoah as they upset an error prone Marconi side.

It was a massive result for the Eastern Suburbs based side as they battle against the odds to avoid the wooden spoon and relegation.

It could prove to be an equally big result for Marconi’s finals hopes with Peter Tsekenis’ star studded side once again under-performing.

Sydney United 58 1 – Sutherland Sharks 1 at Sydney United Sports Centre

There was late drama aplenty at Edensor Park on Sunday night as a last-gasp Peter Simonoski equaliser helped Sydney United 58  snatch a 1-1 draw against Sutherland Sharks.

A tight first stanza saw Sutherland dominate the opening stages before United began to edge their way into the contest.

However it was the visitors who took the lead ten minutes into the second period, as Jordan Mofitis pounced on a fortuitous rebound to tuck home the opener from close range.

In the final quarter-of-an-hour, the contest sprung to life as Sutherland Goalkeeper Nathan Denham was injured and subsequently substituted, before up the other end their marksman Charles Lokolingoy was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident.