Round 24 Review – NPL Men’s NSW
Let’s check out the mini reviews from Round 24 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition.
Sydney FC 1 v Blacktown City 2 at llinden Sports Centre – Full Match Report and Highlights
Blacktown City FC defeated a dogged Sydney FC outfit 2-1 to embed themselves firmly in the top six of the NPL Men’s NSW Men’s ladder at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Friday night.
Blacktown City FC continued on their merry way securing the three points with Danny Choi scoring from the spot in the 40th minute before substitute Joey Gibbs nodded home for 2-1 and the win in the 80th minute following a fantastic Sky Blues strike via Bailey Callaghan in the 69th minute.
Sydney Olympic 1 v Central Coast Mariners 2 at Belmore Sports Ground – Full Match Report and Highlights
The Central Coast Mariners revival continues to click into overdrive thanks to a heart stomping 2-1 victory over Sydney Olympic FC moving them off the foot of the ladder at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday.
A memorable brace from Mariners young gun Arthur De Lima in the 26th and 76th minutes saw the Central Coast take a massive step towards avoiding relegation. It is just their second win from their last 14 games away from home, but signs are clear that the Mariners will be fighting till the end to stay in the NPL Men’s NSW competition for another season.
APIA Leichhardt 1 v Wollongong Wolves 1 at Lambert Park – Full Match Report and Highlights
The Wollongong Wolves have put a slight dent to APIA Leichhardt FC’s NPL Men’s NSW Premiership aspirations following a 1-1 draw in an intense clash at Lambert Park on Saturday.
It was the home side who opened the scoring in the first half, with a stunning Jordan Segreto freekick giving them the advantage heading into halftime.
However, Wollongong came out with a bang, scoring six minutes into the second half, and Yagoub Mustafa’s goal proved to be the last of the match, as neither side could convert chances to find a winner.
Marconi 2 v St George City 1 at Marconi Stadium – Full Match Report and Highlights
The Marconi Stallions managed a 2-1 victory over St George City FA at Marconi Stadium on Saturday night in a fiery contest with two red cards, but the win saw the former NSL giants move to second spot on the NPL Men’s NSW ladder.
It was a slow start to the match at The Palace, with the first goal coming from Marconi’s Daniel Bouman in the 44th minute before the half-time break.
The visitors dropped to ten men in the 60th minute as Solomon-John Monahan-Vaiika was sent from the field with a straight red card.
Captain Marko Jesic then managed to take the Stallions’ tally to two in the 65th minute, before Kosta Petratos brought St George City into the scoring in the 85th minute.
The action finished off with another red card given by referee Stephen Lucas, with Matthew Keremelevski being sent to the sheds in the 96th minute to cap off a tense battle.
St George FC 0 v NWS Spirit FC 2 at Ilinden Sports Centre – Full Match Report and Highlights
NWS Spirit FC have plunged St George FC into the relegation dogfight thanks to a 2-0 victory at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Saturday with a stunning second half brace from super substitute Corey Kavanagh.
In a game between 11th and 12th places on the ladder respectively, the end result maintains the status quo regarding the ladder positions but does offer a glimmer of hope for Spirit as they chase an elusive finals place which is still a mathematical possibility.
Hills United 0 v Sutherland Sharks 2 at Landen Stadium – Full Match Report and Highlights
The Sutherlands Sharks put in a professional performance to down Hills United 2-0 and pile on the pressure on Luke Casserly’s side on Saturday night at Landen Stadium in what was a relegation dogfight victory for the boys from the Shire.
Japanese import Takahide Umebachi gave the team the lead in the first half, following the Sharks’ dominant opening to the match.
Jay McGowan’s superb finish after the break secured the points for Sutherland and pushed them further away from the relegation battle.
Western Sydney Wanderers 0 v Manly United 1 at Wanderers Football Park – Full Match Report and Highlights
Manly United edged out Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Wanderers Football Park to push further away from the relegation places.
Manly were resolute defensively and found the breakthrough courtesy of Connor Rose on the hour mark – who was one of the standouts for the visitors.
Rockdale Ilinden 4 v Sydney United 58 0 at Ilinden Sports Centre – Full Match Report and Highlights
Rockdale Ilinden’s charge for the 2024 NPL Men’s NSW Premiership continued to roll on thanks to an emphatic 4-0 victory over rivals Sydney United 58, although the match was overshadowed by a season ending injury to one of its major stars Mathieu Cordier at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Sunday.
Brendan Cholakian opened the scoring when blasting home from close range before, So Kataoka toe poked into the net to double the lead and Bai Antoniou added the third on 30 minutes before Kataoka and Alec Urosevski combined to add a fourth all before half-time albeit a grand touch of luck involved.
