Round 8 Review – NPL NSW Men’s 20’s
Action and drama unfolded round 8 of the NPL NSW Men’s 20s competition as Blacktown City defeated Hakoah Sydney City East in the Match of the Round with a 1-0 victory amongst various other big results.
Match of the Round
Blacktown City 1-0 Hakoah Sydney City East, 5.00pm at Lily’s Football Centre
A late winner from John Azar helped Blacktown City defeat Hakoah Sydney City East 1-0 at Lily’s Football Centre on Saturday evening to remain on the heels of competition leaders Sutherland Sharks.
John Carnevale’s side were given an almighty test by the canny visitors and appeared to be heading for a frustrating stalemate until the Blacktown midfielder rifled home an 85th minute winner from close range to seal City’s sixth win in a row.
The strike could prove to be a crucial one with Blacktown remaining four points behind the leaders as a result while tightening their grip on second place.
Azar’s timely effort should also bolster the growing confidence and momentum in Seven Hills after overcoming an in-form Hakoah outfit who had won three matches in a row prior and had their share of chances to grab a late winner during the tense contest.
The visitors managed to survive a barrage of early pressure from Blacktown who saw Lachlan Rose go close on two occasions before Azar fired the side’s best opportunity of the opening half over the bar.
Hakoah grew into the encounter and forced two excellent saves from Blacktown shot stopper Dylan Niski on the cusp of half time when Jordan Koton’s long distance effort was pushed onto the foot of the post while Jordan Makridopolus’ strike from the edge of the box was acrobatically parried to safety.
Paul Hubbard’s side began the second stanza on the back foot however and were lucky not to go behind when Joshua Orchard’s errant pass was pounced upon by Azar who rounded a defender and was denied by a scrambling Michael Figueira.
City skipper Lachlan Campbell went close after flicking a Rose volley narrowly wide before the Blacktown frontman saw an ambitious chip sail wide of the post as Hakoah retreated deeper into their own half.
Blacktown looked to have run out of energy late on as Hakoah sensed an opportunity to pounce – Niski produced two sharp saves from substitute Fikret Berisha who combined with Connor Eldridge to great effect.
But the hosts summoned a final late rally and broke the deadlock when Azar rifled home the winner low and hard from the edge of the penalty area off the toes of teammate Jack Stewart to keep Blacktown’s excellent winning run alive.
City will be aiming for seven straight next Sunday when they visit Rockdale City Suns at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Hakoah get a chance to bounce back at home to Bonnyrigg White Eagles earlier on that afternoon.
Match Stats
Blacktown City 1 (Azar 85’)
Hakoah Sydney City East 0
Saturday 28 April, 2018
Lily’s Football Centre, Seven Hills
Blacktown City: 43. Dakota Askew, 28. John Azar, 26. Lachlan Campbell, 38. Lewis Fraser (25. Benjamin Parkinson 65’), 39. Adolph Koudakpo (32. William Salinas 86’), 1. Dylan Niksi, 35. George Panayi, 31. Lachlan Rose, 24. Jack Stewart, 30. Malcom Ward, 42. Mark Rodic
Substitutes not used: 29. Suleyman Bangura, 34. Jarrod Dodds, 36. Anthony Gallo
Yellow cards: Askew 87’
Red cards: N/A
Hakoah Sydney City East: 30. Connor Eldridge, 40. Michael Figueira, 38. Finley Hayhurst, 22. Mitchell Knight, 31. Satchel Kolt (23. Jake Jovanovski 84’), 18. Jordan Koton (29. Fikret Berisha 67’), 33. Jordan Lewis, 27. Jordan Makridopolus, 32. Jacob Mcdonald, 16. Joshua Orchard, 15. Steven Katsionis
Substitutes not used: 25. Max Ephraim, 26. Matthew Mizzau, 24. Brad Paikin
Yellow cards: Kolt 58’, Knight 80’
Red cards: N/A
Saturday
Manly United 1-3 Sutherland Sharks, 5.00pm at Cromer Park
Sutherland Sharks stormed to their seventh consecutive win after a 3-1 victory over Manly United on Saturday afternoon at Cromer Park.
The reigning champions proved far too good again for the opposition and cruised to victory thanks to goals from James Temelkovski, Blake Currey and Riyoga Suyama.
Sutherland retains a four-point advantage over second-placed Blacktown City and remain undefeated in their eight fixtures this campaign. The Sharks take on bottom-placed side Sydney Olympic next weekend at Seymour Shaw.
Manly netted a consolation through Lachlan McGrath but were unable to halt the charge of the Sharks despite a valiant attempt. The Cromer Park outfit now lost four of their last five and could soon have ground to make up on the top five.
Marconi Stallions 1-2 Rockdale City Suns, 5.00pm at Marconi Stadium
Rockdale City Suns claimed a valuable away win with a 2-1 victory over Marconi Stallions at Marconi Stadium on Saturday evening.
Dimitrios Petratos’ third goal of the campaign and a strike from Nathan Separovic proved the difference for the Suns who are now undefeated in their last three fixtures.
The Suns leapfrog Marconi into eighth position as a result and are now within striking distance of the top five ahead of next weekend’s encounter with in-form Blacktown City at Ilinden Sports Centre.
Marconi’s Anthony Vastag grabbed his second goal in as many weeks but is wasn’t enough for the Stallions to avoid their third loss in a row.
Marconi take on Sydney FC at Lambert Park next Saturday afternoon needing to positive result to distance themselves from the bottom.
Sunday
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2-0 Sydney United 58, 12.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles registered a brilliant 2-0 victory over Sydney United 58 at Bonnyrigg Sports Club in Sunday’s early kick off.
Despite showing signs of improvement in recent matches the White Eagles hadn’t secured a win since the opening day of the campaign but shattered that spell with what could prove to be a hugely important three points.
Asmir Kadric’s penalty and a strike from Milan Parenta secured the triumph for Hamish Brown’s side who are in eighth position ahead of next weekend’s meeting with Hakoah Sydney City East.
The derby defeat is Sydney United 58’s fourth straight loss and although the Reds still occupy a place in the top five there will be a significant inquest before the side prepares to host APIA Leichhardt Tigers in next Saturday’s match up at Edensor Park.
Sydney Olympic 2-2 Sydney FC, 12.40pm at Belmore Sports Ground
Competition top scorer Hamish Lamberton came to the rescue for Sydney FC with the striker’s 10th goal of the season crucial in earning a point for the Sky Blues in their fixture with Sydney Olympic at Belmore Sports Ground.
Second half goals from Lamberton and Jordan Swibel were enough for Sydney to frustrate the Blues on the afternoon having trailed Olympic at half time.
Olympic netted their goals through Ali Dulleh and Ahmad Safdari but were unable to retain their half time advantage and remain on the bottom of the table.
The Blues face a daunting trip to Seymour Shaw to confront runaway leaders Sutherland Sharks next Saturday, while Sydney FC take on Marconi Stallions.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 0-3 Wollongong Wolves, 1.30pm at Lambert Park
A brace from Tory Musumeci led Wollongong Wolves to a comfortable 3-0 victory over APIA Leichhardt Tigers at Lambert Park.
Musumeci grabbed his fifth and sixth strikes of the campaign alongside a Jordan Nikolovski effort to see the Wolves into fourth position on the ladder.
Wollongong will look to reinforce their standing as a competition dark horse at home to lowly Manly United in round nine’s encounter.
The defeat for APIA Leichhardt Tigers keeps Franco Consentino’s side in seventh position. The Tigers still have two games in hand on those around them but need to find some consistency soon – starting next week against Sydney United 58.
-By Jacob Windon