O’Brien hat-trick sinks Rangers

Jak O’Brien has stolen the show with a hat-trick and an assist to lead Blacktown City FC to a 4-1 victory against Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC in the National Premier League NSW Men’s at Landen Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Competing also for the 2023 Mayoral Cup, Blacktown City and Mount Druitt gave it their all in the local Western Sydney Derby.

Aiming to build on their 2023 National Premier League NSW Men’s 2023 season, a win was crucial for both sides.

Despite early goal opportunities by Blacktown City, a header by Travis Major and a clean shot by Jak O’Brien, it was Mount Druitt who got things underway in the 12th minute.

Delivering one of the goals of the weekend, Nikola Skataric delivered a cracking left-footed volley into the bottom right of the net, which was originally intended for former Blacktown City player Jackson Bandiera.

In the 28th minute, Mount Druitt was granted another opportunity on goal. A handball by Blacktown City defender Lachlan Campbell saw Anthony Frangie line up at the penalty spot to try and make it 2-0.

Denied earlier by the goalposts, Frangie expertly struck the ball towards the right-hand corner of the goal. However, his shot was no match for the dangling legs of Blacktown City goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast, who covered the ball from the time it left Frangie’s feet.

Closing in on the first half and after several denied opportunities Blacktown came back into the game in the 44th minute through Jak O’Brien.

Scoring with a glorious flick on, he was finally able to get the ball past former teammate Dylan Niski, who took on his former club for the first time.

In the second half, it was all Mark Crittenden’s men who had opportunity after opportunity.

From the immediate kick-off, the side looked completely different from the first half, showing their dominance with the ball.

Making the game his own, O’Brien struck again in the 55th minute, delivering yet another stunning goal.

This was quickly followed by a Travis Major, who scored a header from an O’Brien corner in the 67th minute to make it 3-1.

Still looking dangerous, O’Brien pounced on multiple loose balls, eyeing his hat trick. However, it was not to be until the 88th minute.

A free-kick from Grant Lynch assisted O’Brien for the second time in the game to earn him the prestigious feat.

Blacktown goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast spoke to the media post-match about the club’s performance and the dominance of Jak O’Brien.

“I think we started pretty well with our possession, probably a bit slow in the start.

“They had a couple of chances which we held onto and then (they) hit the post and missed a penalty,” Prendergast said.

“Sometimes you got to ride your luck and then we took our chances when we got them.”

“He’s scored six in five games, so that’s unbelievable,” he said on Jak O’Brien.

“It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team as you can see when you go up three, four up. You can play with a lot more freedom and confidence, which I think we did today.”

Currently sitting near the top of the table, Blacktown City will go up against Marconi Stallions which is sure to be a top-notch game while Mount Druitt Town Rangers will take on the NWS Spirit on Friday night.

Match Stats

Blacktown City FC: 4 (Jak O’Brien 44’ 55’ 88’, Travis Major 67’)

Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC: 1 (Nikola Skataric 12’)

Sunday 5th March 2023

Landen Stadium, Seven Hills

Referee: Karl Davies

Assistant Referees: Nick Gela and Arinath Gobinath

Fourth Official: Lucy Nothrop

Blacktown City FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast (GK) 3. Daniel Collins 4. Lachlan Campbell 5. Grant Lynch 7. Travis Major 8. Jak O’Brien 10. Mario Shabow (c) (46. Abbas Karnib 82’) 12, Tyren Burnie 18. Nicholas O’Brien (14. Caleb Jackson-Brown 76’) 19. Adam Berry 21. Charles Mendy (22. Carlos De Oliveira 70’)

Substitutes not used: 16. Ben Berry 27. Shayden Sampo 30. Jacob Fernandez

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC: 2. Solomon-Johnn Monahan-Vaiika (6. Jared Macerola 56’) 3. Nikola Djordjevic 4. Cooper Coskerie (15. Anthony Gallo 79’) 7. Nikola Skataric 10. Kotaro Katsuta 11. Jackson Bandiera 20. Dylan Niski (GK) 21. Tarek Elrich (c) 22. Rhett Desilva (5. Jacob Esposito 56’) 23. Daniel Dias (9. James Demetriou 79’) 44. Anthony Frangie (27. Stefan Nikolic 70’)

Substitutes not used: 1. Robert Fanella (GK)

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Player Ratings

3- Jak O’Brien (BC)

2- Tristan Prendergast (BC)

1- Grant Lynch (BC)

-By Ethan Lee Chalk