Round 8 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
Week eight of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition is in the books, and it is Rockdale Ilinden in top spot after another big week of fixtures.
The reigning premiers hold onto first place for another week after tasting victory against Sutherland Sharks on Friday.
Manly United collected three points this week and led the chasing pack in second position, ahead of Sydney United in third and Blacktown City in fourth.
Mt Druitt rounds out the top five at the end of round eight on 12 points.
At the other end of the table, Sutherland Sharks drop to the foot of the table as APIA climbs to tenth on the back of a hard-fought win against 11th placed Sydney FC.
If you missed any of the weekend’s action, you could catch up with full match replays, as well as highlights on NPL.TV
Northbridge Bulls 3 – Manly United 4 at Sydney United Sports Centre
Seiya Kambayshi’s injury-time goal has helped Manly United snatch a thrilling 4-3 win against Northbridge Bulls at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday.
It was a thrilling performance from Manly, who closed the gap to top spot after taking the three competition points against a free-scoring Bulls outfit.
Both sides traded blows in a goal-filled second half in a match that went down to the wire. Scott Balderson gave Manly a deserved lead with the opening goal, giving his side a one-goal advantage heading into the break.
The sides went goal for goal in the second half; Northbridge proved deadly from set-pieces, with all three of their goals coming from corners and free kicks. Theph Theph drew the game level with his header. In the second half, shortly before Dejan Pandurevic put his side back ahead. Nikola Uldjur levelled the scores again after a Scott Walter free-kick fell to his feet.
James Georgaklis put Manly back ahead for the time being until Sean Eve’s spectacular free-kick levelled the game for the third time. Manly pushed hard in the dying stages of the game and was rewarded in the last seconds of the game after Seiya Kambayashi converted his shot from the edge of the box to give his side all the points.
Sutherland Sharks 0 – Rockdale Ilinden 4 at Seymour Shaw Park
Rockdale Ilinden remains top of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Competition after a commanding 4-0 win against a struggling Sutherland Sharks outfit at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday.
It was one-way traffic, with Rockdale scoring two goals on each side of the interval to claim all three competition points.
It was a tough day at the office for the Sharks, who slumped to their fourth loss of the season.
Kyle Cimenti opened the scoring for the visitors after 14 minutes before Bai Antoniou doubled their advantage on the cusp of half time.
It was more of the same in the second stanza, with Urosevski stretching the lead just after the restart, before Cimenti wrapped up the win in the 58th minute.
Marconi Stallions 0 – Sydney Olympic 0 at Marconi Stadium
Marconi Stallions and Sydney Olympic shared the points in a 0-0 draw at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night.
The tight battle saw both teams fighting to the very end; however, neither team could capitalize on the opportunities they created.
Marconi’s Mitch Mallia and Olympic’s Brendan Cholakian had their chances but could not find a breakthrough.
Despite both teams fighting to create opportunities in the dying minutes of the match, both teams were goalless at the final whistle, sharing points in a hard-fought battle.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0 – Sydney United 58 0 at Popondetta Park
Mount Druitt Town Rangers and Sydney United 58 played out a 0-0 draw in an intriguing contest on Saturday night at Popondetta Park.
The hosts showed their growth in the competition, where the home side was disappointed to not take all three points.
Stewart Montgomery’s men controlled much of the contest and had chances through Jack Stewart and Tarek Elrich to snatch the winner.
Sydney United 58 put in a gritty performance to rebound from their shock FFA Cup exit on Wednesday evening. It is back-to-back draws for the former iconic NSL club, but coach Tomi Vidovic remained adamant that his side will come good once more.
Wollongong Wolves 0 – Blacktown City 5 at Albert Butler Memorial Park
A Travis Major brace has helped Blacktown City to a 5-0 demolition of a ten-man Wollongong Wolves at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday.
It was a dominant performance on the road from City who eased to a two-goal lead in the first half courtesy of Charles Mendy and Lachlan Campbell before they put the opposition to the sword in the second stanza courtesy of Major’s brace and a Wolves own goal.
It was a tough day at the office for Wollongong, who struggled to contain Blacktown’s early attacks before being reduced to ten men after the send-off of Marcus Beattie in the final seconds of the first half.
The result moves Blacktown back to fourth on the ladder, four points behind competition leaders Rockdale.
Sydney FC 2 – APIA Leichhardt 3 at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
APIA Leichhardt has moved off the bottom of the NPL NSW ladder with a 3-2 win against a ten-man Sydney FC at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
A brace to Franco Parisi and a goal to Corey Biczo was enough for APIA to collect only their second win of the season against a fast-finishing Young Sky Blues outfit.
Patrick Flottman found the back of the net twice for the home side, but the send-off of Scott Browning in the 80th minute all but killed off Sydney FC’s hopes of a comeback.
