Round 4 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
Another round of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition is done and dusted and there was plenty of action on the park over the weekend.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 2 – Sutherland Sharks FC 3 at Popondetta Park
Sutherland Sharks made it back-to-back wins after a 3-2 victory over Mt Druitt Town Rangers under the Friday night lights at Popondetta Park.
Jason Madonis opened the scoring for the visitors through a penalty kick but Mt Druitt Town Rangers battled hard and found a first half equaliser through Jack Stewart from a well-worked goal.
James Andrew made it 2-1 for the Sharks and substitute Mitch Smith took it to three with a strike against his old side.
The hosts pulled themselves back within one late in the piece through Fumoto Kamada but they still are searching for their first win of the year.
For Sutherland, it was a solid performance to register back-to-back wins as they have slowly shown to the rest of the NPL NSW Men’s competition they really mean business.
APIA Leichhardt FC 1 – Blacktown City FC 0 at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt FC took home all three points after defeating Blacktown City FC 1-0 thanks to a second half Jack Armson goal on a dreary Saturday afternoon at Lambert Park.
The victory helps build confidence and momentum for APIA Leichhardt, but Blacktown City were desperately unlucky not to have secured a point from the encounter as there was certainly not much splitting between both sides.
The visitors came into this match with only one training session following their game being called off last week due to nine COVID cases that ripped through the camp and early signs were evident that Mark Crittenden’s squad were a little out of touch after missing their Round 3 encounter against the Marconi Stallions.
Marconi Stallions FC 2 – Rockdale Ilinden FC 2 at Marconi Stadium
It was a thrilling clash between Marconi Stallions and Rockdale Ilinden on Saturday night as both sides shared points in a fierce 2-2 draw.
In Marconi’s first home game of the 2022 season, Peter Tsekenis’ troops put on an entertaining display to equalise twice and end the game with a draw.
Goals to Marconi captain Marko Jesic and Nathan Millgate were enough to cancel out an Alec Urosevski double in the physical encounter that saw six cautions dished out.
Northbridge Bulls FC 4 – Sydney United 58 FC 2 at Sydney United Sports Centre
Northbridge Bulls have secured their first win of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season with a convincing 4-2 victory over Sydney United 58 at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon with a cameo performance from skipper Rory Jordan.
The Bulls entered Round 4 of the competition without a single point, up against a strongly fancied Sydney United 58 side at Edensor Park, but a second-half Rory Jordan hat-trick and a strike from the impressive Jed Drew saw the youngsters complete a four-goal haul.
Two goals to United 58’s Chris Payne were not enough to keep them in the game as their strong start to the season fell away.
Sydney FC 2 – Manly United FC 2 at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
A stoppage-time equaliser from Manly United captain James Oates halted Sydney FC’s charge and saw Sunday evening’s NPL NSW Men’s clash finish 2-2.
Oates rose highest to send Seiya Kambayashi’s last-ditch corner home with a fine glancing header as Manly came from behind twice to earn a late share of the points.
The late equaliser will give Manly United a bit of extra confidence heading into Round 5 after their strong start to the season has fallen away, while Sydney FC’s impressive start to the season has been halted but the young sky blues still head into Round 5 undefeated.
Wollongong Wolves v Sydney Olympic MATCH WASHED OUT
