Round 2 Review – NPL NSW Men’s

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Week two of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition is in the books and it was another huge round of fixtures.

Marconi Stallions remain in top spot after a another big win while Blacktown City are the only other side with a perfect record of two wins from the opening two games.

North Shore Mariners have followed on from their strong display in round one with their maiden win in the state league top flight while reigning Champions APIA Leichhardt also snagged their first victory of the season.

It was a bad week for Mt Druitt Town Rangers who slumped to a big defeat at the hands of Sydney United 58 who bounced after losing in week one.

Sutherland Sharks 1 – Rockdale Ilinden 1 at Seymour Shaw Park

A Blake Powell strike in the closing stages has helped Sutherland Sharks fightback to claim a 1-1 draw against Southern Sydney rivals Rockdale Ilinden FC at Seymour Shaw on Saturday.

The result was a solid improvement from the Sharks after their round one drubbing at the hands of Marconi but new coach Nick Dimovski still has plenty to do in a performance which was still lacking at times.

After a scoreless first half, Rockdale thought they had done enough to claim the win when Sam Gulisano fired home from range with only 20 minutes left to play.

However, the Sharks rallied in the closing minutes with Powell finding the equaliser to ensure Sutherland went home with their first competition points of the campaign.

Manly United 0 – Blacktown City FC 1 at Cromer Park

For the second consecutive week, Matthew Lewis proved to be the match winner as his spot kick sealed a hard-fought three points for Blacktown City against Manly United at Cromer Park on Saturday night.

For both sides the result offered a similar story to their season openers last weekend.

Manly often appeared disjointed in the final third and were punished for a momentary lapse of concentration.

On the other hand Mark Crittenden’s men excelled defensively, allowing for them to grind out another victory by the narrowest of margins.

Wollongong Wolves 2 – North Shore Mariners 3 at Albert Butler Memorial Park

North Shore Mariners secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over reigning National Premier Leagues NSW premiers Wollongong Wolves on Sunday afternoon at Albert Butler Memorial Park.

Mitch Smith’s strike in the dying stages helped stun the reigning premiers as the Mariners secured their first win in the state league top flight.

Thomas James got the reigning premiers off to  a fast start with a goal in the 12th minute but Panny Nikas, who made his debut with the club after a pre-season injury, curled one in on the cusp of the interval to level the score at the break.

Emmanuel Peters gave the visitors the lead with less than 20 minutes to play but James was on target yet again to have the game seemingly headed for a draw.

But North Shore were to have the final say as Smith found the back of the net with a composed finish in the final seconds to secure the unlikely triumph.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0 – Sydney United 58 5 at Popondetta Park

Sydney United 58 have powered to their first win of the NPL NSW thrashing Mt Druitt Town Rangers 5-0 at Popondetta Park on Sunday.

It was a coming out party of sorts for United 58 as they flexed their attacking muscle against an out of sorts Mt Druitt side who slumped to their second loss in as many weeks.

Nearly everything went Sydney United’s way in the first half.

A comical own goal from Rangers defender Travis Oughtred opened the scoring before Thomas Manos made a brilliant penalty save to stop Mt Druitt claiming an equaliser.

From then the floodgates opened with goals to Matt Sim, Devante Clut and a brace to Patrick Antelmi wrapped up a very one sided performance and Zeljko Kalac’s first win in the NPL NSW as United head coach.

APIA Leichhardt FC 2 – Sydney Olympic 1 at Lambert Park

A late Chris Payne strike has helped APIA Leichhardt claim their first win of the season edging Sydney Olympic 2-1 at Lambert Park on Sunday.

It was a game of two halves but Payne’s finish only three minutes from full-time proved the difference between the two rivals from Sydney’s inner-west.

APIA dominated what was a physical first half of football, taking the lead in the 17th minute through a David D’Apuzzo header.

Olympic hit the pitched refreshed after the break and took control of the second stanza, with Bai Antoniou netting the equalizer in the 60th minute.

The match looked likely to finish in a draw, but as the game came to a close Payne pulled off an 87th minute thriller that saw the home side take all three points.

Sydney FC 0 – Marconi Stallions 4 at Ilinden Sports Centre

Marconi Stallions have given Sydney FC an early reality check in a dominant 4-0 win at Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.

The Young Sky Blues claimed a brilliant upset last week against Mt Druitt Town Rangers, but they were no match for the experienced Stallions who have now made it two wins from as many games.

A brace by Anthony Frangie was bookended by goals from Anthony Costa and Nathan Millgate as Marconi sent a clear signal that they will be one of the teams to beat this season.

The Stallions have now scored eight goals from their opening two matches further cementing their place on top of the NPL NSW ladder.