Round 8 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
The ANZAC Day long weekend brought together yet another masterclass of headlines, results and shocks as the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition celebrated eight rounds of quality football action.
Wollongong Wolves 3 – Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC 0 at WIN Stadium
Wollongong Wolves secured a 3-0 win over Mount Druitt Town Rangers at WIN Stadium on Friday night.
Two goals to Lachlan Scott and one to Nicholas Duarte took the hosts to three as they held out Mt Druitt, who have been known for their high-scoring matches.
Scott would score the first of the match in the 29th minute as Senna Stevenson played the ball across to Scott centrally outside the box who speared his strike into the bottom-left corner.
The home side found the second goal from a corner in the 73rd minute, Duarte was found free in the middle and headed home.
Only three minutes after this, Wollongong added a third with Duarte causing problems again this time driving into the left of the box before sliding the ball across to Scott who passed it into the netting.
Sutherland Sharks FC 0 – Rockdale Ilinden FC 3 at Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks hosted a rampant Rockdale Ilinden in a fiery local derby eventually settled 3-0 by the visitors at Seymour Shaw Park in Round 8 of the NPL NSW Men’s competition.
Two wonderful 30-yard curling strikes from Jaden Casella and a late Alex Maschiovecchio goal gave the visitors the advantage as they ran away with a win on the road.
Casella opened the scoring for the visitors in the 31st minute when deftly curling a magnificent shot beyond Anthony Bouzanis, a contender for Goal of the Season, after being given enough time and space to pick his spot.
He added the second in similar, if not better, style late in the half before Alex Maschiovecchio had the simple task of wrapping it up before the end.
It was the first of the two-legged Leader Cup contested by the sides each season, adding extra spice to a much anticipated and fiercely competitive match.
Marconi Stallions FC 4 – Sydney United 58 FC 2 at Marconi Stadium
Marconi Stallions took all three points with a 4-2 victory over Sydney United 58 at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night in a six-goal thriller.
There was plenty of action and excitement at the Palace as a late comeback from the visitors had home fans on the edge of their seats, but the hosts’ held on to secure the victory.
Charles Lokolingoy, Domenic Costanzo, Thomas James and Samuel Gulisano all added points to the scoreboard in the home side’s second win of the season, the first since their opening victory over Sutherland Sharks in Round 1.
Two consolation goals to Kyle Cimenti got the visitors on the scoreboard late in the game but wasn’t enough to change the result of the match.
The win, and successful attacking display, will give Marconi important momentum as they head into a make-up clash with Mt Druitt Town Rangers on Tuesday night.
While the performance will give Marconi positive momentum, the result will leave United 58 scratching their heads as they continue a lackluster run in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition.
Northbridge Bulls 3 – APIA Leichhardt 3 at Sydney United Sports Centre
Northbridge Bulls have pulled off a stellar last-second comeback to secure a well-earned 3-3 draw against National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s high-flyers APIA Leichardt.
The Bulls found themselves in an incredible position in the first half, after the deadly duo of Jed Drew and Diego Bonilla combined for a two-goal lead at the half hour mark.
However, APIA proved their quality and came back, with goals from Sean Symons and Matthew Cahill levelling proceedings heading into the break.
Symons popped up for a second with 20 minutes remaining, which looked like it would be the winner.
Mile Sterjovski’s young chargers didn’t give up and forced the issue until the final seconds of the game, where they were rewarded through a late Mason Wells equaliser.
Sydney FC 3 – Sydney Olympic 1 at the Ilinden Sports Centre
Sydney FC continued its rich run of form in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition as the young chargers took care of business defeating Sydney Olympic 3-1 at the Ilinden Sports Centre in a sparkling displaying of counter attacking football.
A stunning Jaiden Kucharski brace and assist for Zac Sapsford put a resolute Sydney Olympic to bed cancelling out substitute Marley Peterson’s opener in the second half.
First-half substitute Peterson was on hand to fire in a scorching shot from the edge of the area to open the scoring in the 54th minute before Sapsford set up Kucharski in the 59’ minute to restore parity.
Kucharski levelled the score with another trademark run to set up Sapsford for Sydney FC’s third proved invaluable in wrapping up the game when drifting through what has been a tough Olympic defence with five minutes remaining.
Blacktown City 3 – Manly United 1 at the Blacktown City Sports Centre
Jordan Smylie stole the headlines once again with a brace that ultimately decided Blacktown City’s professional 3-1 win over Manly United at Blacktown City Sports Centre on Sunday night.
Smylie was joined by Hiroaki Aoyama and Manly skipper Jimmy Oates on the scoresheet as Round 8’s ‘Match of the Round’ fell the way of Mark Crittenden’s men.
Jackson Bandiera whipped in a dangerous delivery that wasn’t dealt with by the Manly defence, allowing Smylie to pounce and prod home from close range.
Less than 20 minutes later it was two, as Aoyama swiveled in the area and rolled the ball past Jack Greenwood in the Manly net.
Once again it was a delivery from the left that sealed the deal, with Aoyama’s set piece falling to the former Central Coast Mariner who made no mistake in slotting home his eighth goal of campaign.
From that point on Manly United slowly but surely worked their way in to the contest, and after 63 minutes clawed one back.
Seiya Kambayashi’s corner sailed towards the back of the net, resulting in an attempt to palm it away by Alex Robinson offering Manly skipper Oates the simplest of finishes.
It was to be too little too late for the Northern Beaches who were no match for the current red-hot Blacktown City outfit.
