Round 1 Review – NPL NSW Men’s

The 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition is officially underway and there were some thrilling games over the weekend to kick off the Round 1 action.

Marconi Stallions 3 – Sutherland Sharks 2 at Seymour Shaw Park

The opening match of the 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition saw the Marconi Stallions eclipse Sutherland Sharks 3-2 in a high-octane game that had all fans in the stands on the edge of their seats.

While Marconi generally held control of the match, a red card to central defender Roberto Speranza saw Sutherland with an opportunity to steal a late win.

Charles Lokolingoy was a saving grace for the Stallions, netting two goals and creating an abundance of goal-scoring opportunities. His goals, along with a penalty converted by captain Marko Jesic was enough to outweigh goals from Sutherland’s Jason Madonis and James Andrew.

Sydney Olympic 0 – Manly United 1 at Belmore Sportsground

Matt Sim’s winner on his Manly United return helped the Northern Beaches outfit claim a 1-0 win over Sydney Olympic in their Round 1 encounter on Saturday evening.

A superbly timed lob over Olympic custodian Nicholas Sorras at breakneck speed crowned a lovely exchange involving Thomas Fay and Dejan Pandurevic to give Manly the advantage, while Olympic struggled to get on the scoreboard – even with major signing Roy O’Donovan.

Blacktown City 1 – Rockdale Ilinden 0 at Blacktown City Sports Centre

A courageous nine-man Blacktown City outfit secured a 1-0 win over Rockdale Ilinden on Sunday afternoon.

The only goal in the match came in the 8th minute from Japanese import Hiroaki Aoyama and saw Blacktown City take an early lead.

A first-half red card to Blacktown skipper Matthew Lewis, combined with a late red to Jackson Bandiera saw the hosts with just nine men on the field at the end of the match, but the league contenders managed to keep hold of their lead and take home three points from the clash.

Sydney United 58 1 – Wollongong Wolves 0 at Sydney United Sports Centre

Both teams put up a huge fight to kick off their 2022 campaign, but it was Sydney United 58 who came out on top with a 1-0 victory over a nine-man Wollongong Wolves on Sunday afternoon.

Wollongong’s Banri Banaizumi and Sanna Stevenson were both sent from the field in the second half of the match, leaving the Wolves down to just nine men as they fought to answer a strike from Sydney United 58 captain Adrian Vlastelica.

The fiery match ended with just the one goal, with the home team securing an important round 1 victory to set the tone for the season under new coach Joe Haywood.

Sydney FC 3 – Northbridge Bulls 2 at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

In an exciting clash between the competition’s best emerging talent, Sydney FC came away with a victory with a 3-2 win over Northbridge Bulls on Sunday evening.

Sydney FC took an early lead with a two goal advantage by the 16th minute of the match thanks to a Jaiden Kucharski double, however Northbridge managed to collect two goals in the middle stages of the match through captain Rory Jordan and Stephan De Robillard to equalise.

A thrilling late goal from Sydney FC’s Zac Sapsford in the 81st minute sealed the victory for the young sky blues and saw them start the season with an important win.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers v APIA Leichhardt WASHED OUT