Round 19 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
Marconi Stallions regained the lead in the race for the 2022 NPL NSW Men’s Premiership with a hard fought 1-0 victory over Sydney United 58 but the title race is far from over as victories to Blacktown City and Sydney FC all but assured that this year’s silverware will go down to the wire.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers 4 v Wollongong Wolves 3
It was raining goals at Popondetta Park as Mt Druitt Town Rangers collected just their third victory of the NPL NSW Men’s season with a thrilling 4-3 victory against a gritty Wollongong Wolves outfit on Friday night.
Bul Juach was the hero for the hosts as he scored a first half brace alongside Jack Stewart’s goal for a 3-1 lead. John Roberts added a fourth in the second half.
Wollongong Wolves were gallant in defeat however and gave it their all till the very end.
Lachlan Scott fired home a brace for the visitors – one from the spot and the other a header – alongside yet another trademark header from Japanese import Banri Kanaizumi which brought it back to 4-3.
Manly United 1 v Blacktown City 6
It was the traveling Blacktown City FC who crashed Manly United’s ‘Back to Manly’ day after a thrashing 6-1 victory at Cromer Park on Saturday afternoon.
Goals to Lachlan Campbell, Grant Lynch, Jak O’Brien, Travis Major, Mario Shabow and an own goal from Jimmy Oates all but cancelled out Alen Aganovic’s goal in the first half.
It was a massive victory for Mark Crittenden and his troops who sent out a stark warning to fellow rival NPL NSW Men’s sides, Blacktown City meant business in the business half of the 2022 NPL NSW Men’s season.
Sydney Olympic 0 v Sydney FC 3
The young guns from Sydney FC continued its push for a first NPL NSW Men’s Premiership title defeating fellow high flyers Sydney Olympic 3-0 at Belmore Sports Ground on Saturday.
A goal just prior to the break by the competition’s hottest young talent Jaiden Kucharski sent the home side into a tailspin before Kucharski doubled the lead with a second half penalty and then set up the final goal to substitute Ben Gibson.
Sydney FC were justifiably proud of their win and the young players celebrated with some passion in the dressing rooms after the encounter.
It was a much more sombre mood though in the Sydney Olympic room as they were forced to digest the bitter pill of the loss in front of their home fans.
APIA Leichhardt 0 v Northbridge Bulls 2
High Flying APIA Leichhardt were dealt a mental blow to its Premiership hopes following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Northbridge Bulls at Lambert Park on Saturday night.
With points seen as Gold coming into the business end of the NPL NSW Men’s season it was a loss Danial Cummins and his troops weren’t expecting thanks to goals from Bulls stars Nathan Dimou and a late Stephan De Robillard strike.
Sydney United 58 0 v Marconi Stallions 1
Amidst treacherous conditions at Sydney United Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon, a stoic Marconi Stallions FC regained top spot after a hard fought 1-0 victory over Sydney United 58 FC
The only goal of the match coming early in the second half via Stallions skipper Marko Jesic which all but pushed the former NSL giants side back to the top of the NPL NSW Men’s ladder.
Rockdale Ilinden 3 v Sutherland Sharks 2
It was a battle but Rockdale Ilinden took all the spoils in the local derby victory against the Sutherland Sharks as the hosts took out the match 3-2 at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
Rockdale’s main man Alec Urosevski got the party started with his first of two goals before Pat O’Shea levelled just after the half an hour mark.
Mitch Stamatellis restored parity for the home side with a long range bomb before Lachlan Everett bagged an equaliser.
Urosevski however had the last laugh as his second goal of the match all but sealed the victory and his spot as the league’s leading scorer after nineteen matches.
