Round 5 Review – NPL NSW Men’s

Another exciting week of National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s action is done and dusted.
With some big match ups and exciting clashes, there is plenty to catch up on.

APIA Leichhardt FC 2 – Wollongong Wolves FC 0 at Lambert Park

APIA Leichhardt FC continued their strong start to the 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW season with a 2-0 win against Wollongong Wolves at Lambert Park on Friday night keeping the Inner West club atop of the league ladder for another round.

Sean Symons stole the headlines for the hosts coming off the bench with a curling left-foot thunderbolt in the 83rd minute that rattled Luke Wilkshire’s men.

U.S. import Jason Romero made up for his earlier penalty miss and added a second goal in injury time for the 2-0 scoreline and continued his quality form in the NPL NSW Men’s competition.

Wollongong Wolves had their chances in a tight contest, with efforts on goal through Peter Simonoski and substitute Kuot Maliet, but they were unable to find a way past APIA’s experienced custodian Ivan Necevski in a game that was pulsating for the whole ninety minutes.

Sydney FC 4 – Sutherland Sharks FC 3 at Seymour Shaw

A sizzling Patrick Wood first hat-trick was the headline as Sydney FC overcame a resurgent Sutherland Sharks defeating the Shire boys 4-3 in round 5 of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition at Seymour Shaw on a crispy autumn Saturday afternoon at Seymour Shaw.

A first-half blitz from the visiting young guns saw Wood net three and a Jaiden Kurcharksi strike in stoppage time had them 4-1 up at the break.

Sydney FC opened the scoring with a well-timed Wood strike before Lukman Ahmed-Shaibu levelled, but the visitors went on a goal scoring spree with another two for Wood and a late, late strike from Kucharski.

James Andrew reduced the deficit after the restart, but it proved too big a hurdle for the Sharks to get over despite substitute Lachlan Everett netting to make for a grandstand finish.

Manly United FC 3 – Northbridge Bulls FC 0 at Cromer Park

Manly United marked their long-awaited return to Cromer Park with three late goals and a memorable victory over the Northbridge Bulls on Saturday night.

In a tight contest that was not entirely reflected by the eventual scoreline, Seiya Kambayashi, Bruno Mendes and Matt Sim all struck inside the final quarter of an hour to secure Adam Griffiths’ men their second win of the season.

The fullback-turned-creative midfielder Kambayashi capitalised on a fortunate deflection in the area, which saw him slot home the breakthrough goal that his side had toiled for.

Just six minutes later, the Brazilian Mendes extended their lead by pouncing to convert his first goal for Manly United with a similarly cool strike.

And once it rained, it poured for Manly, with their top scorer Matt Sim getting in on the act three minutes later.

Sydney Olympic FC 2 – Marconi Stallions FC 1 at Marconi Stadium

Sydney Olympic secured a vital 2-1 victory over Marconi Stallions at Marconi Stadium on Saturday evening.

Two goals to Olympic’s Darcy Burgess and Oliver Puflett in the first stanza of play sealed the deal for the visitors before a very late consolation by Charles Lokolingoy.

Roy O’Donovan who fired into a Marconi player and the fortunate rebound reached Darcy Burgess who, in the 21st minute, fired straight into the back of the net with a nicely timed shot.

From a corner the ball was driven towards the Marconi goal only for Nenad Vekic to parry it away but his rejection went only as far as Oliver Puflett who drilled home for the visitors much to the dismay of the Marconi faithful.

In stoppage time Marconi scored a consolation goal as a corner reached Zac Cairncross in the box and his header went crashing into the crossbar. Lokolingoy, jogging on the spot, made sure the ball crossed the line as he bundled it over but it was too little, too late for Marconi.

Sydney United 58 FC 2 – Blacktown City FC 1 at Blacktown City Sports Centre

Sydney United 58 came out on top in an intense fight against Blacktown City at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon, with a 2-1 victory over the home side.

United 58’s Kyle Cimenti opened the scoring in the 9th minute to give the visitors an early lead but it was swiftly answered by Blacktown City’s Daniel Collins in the 15th minute.

Substitute Patrick Antelmi sealed the deal for United 58 in the 83rd minute to take all three points from the hard-fought battle.

The victory was crucial in United 58 regaining momentum after their loss to Northbridge Bulls in Round 4, while the loss is City’s second loss in a row.

Rockdale Ilinden FC 2 – Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC at Ilinden Sports Centre

Mt Druitt were seconds away from registering a sensational maiden win of their 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s campaign, but Rockdale’s Jayden Casella struck in stoppage time in Sunday’s 2-2 thriller at Ilinden.

The visiting Rangers survived a Rockdale onslaught in the opening half after Chris Mcstay’s third-minute opener for Ilinden and mounted a stunning comeback late in the contest via two wonderful finishes from Jack Stewart and Louis Khoury.

The three points were snatched away from the Mt Druitt outfit when substitute Casella breezed past the visitors’ tiring rearguard and finished coolly – the final of four high-quality goals in an enthralling contest.