Round 1 Review – NPL NSW Men’s
What a chaotic start to life it wise for some of the NPL NSW Men’s clubs as round 1 hit fever pitch on the day dubbed ‘Super Sunday’.
Sutherland Sharks caused the biggest shock of the round defeating 2018 Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic 1-0 thanks to a Jeremy Cox goal while Blacktown City claimed derby spoils defeating new boys Mt Druitt Town Rangers 1-0.
The Wolves under life with new manager Luke Wilkshire kicked off his year on the right foot as the South Coast side defeated Manly United 2-1 while the young guns at Sydney FC rocked Hakoah Sydney City East 2-1.
In a fiery encounter it was all scoreless at Edensor Park as Sydney United 58 and Rockdale City Suns settled for the draw while APIA Leichhardt Tigers were the talk of the town taking out arch-rivals Marconi Stallions 1-0 in the round’s late kick-off.
Wollongong Wolves 2 Manly United 1
A new-look Wollongong Wolves kicked off their 2019 National Premier League NSW Men’s campaign off in the best possible way with a 2-1 win over Manly United at Albert Butler Memorial Park on Sunday.
In coach Luke Wilkshire’s first competitive game in the Wollongong dugout, the Wolves netted all three points thanks to goals from Thomas James and Jordan Nikolovski, while an early goal of the season contender from Manly’s Sam Gallagher gave the travelling fans something to cheer for.
Blacktown City 1 Mt Druitt Town Rangers 0
Blacktown City welcomed new boys Mt Druitt Town Rangers to the National Premier Leagues NSW Mens competition in a scrappy but dominant match at Lily Homes Stadium decided by a solitary own goal to the unfortunate Rangers defender Nick Trimble.
In typical season opener, local derby, the pace was urgent and full bodied with Blacktown City penning their visitors back with the high press that produced several half chances without any clear-cut opportunities.
The spoils went to Mark Crittenden’s men though as the final whistle went much to the delight of the home fans.
Sydney Olympic 0 Sutherland Sharks 1
Reigning Premiers and Champions Sydney Olympic were unable to continue their winning ways, kicking off the season with a shock 1-0 loss to Sutherland Sharks at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday evening.
It only took one goal for the home side to fall to the Sharks in what was a very physical match, with new recruit Jeremy Cox netting the winner in the 70th minute.
Spanish import Juan Carlos Romero played in an inch-perfect pass to Cox who slotted home for the only goal of the match as coach Terry Palapanis kicked off life in the top tier competition on a high.
Hakoah Sydney City East 1 Sydney FC 2
Sydney FC proved they won’t be pushovers in this season’s National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition claiming the scalp of Hakoah Sydney City East FC at Hensley Athletic Field as new coach Jimmy Van Weeren started off his campaign on the right note.
Goals on either side of half time to young gun Marco Tilio and the winner from Jordan Swibel ensured that they came away with the spoils.
For home side Hakoah Sydney City East, it was clear that their combinations haven’t quite yet clicked. Despite this Amaury Gauthier was able to score from the spot and did show signs of getting in to the match but it wasn’t to be as the Sky Blues claimed all three points.
Sydney United 58 0 Rockdale City Suns 0
Round 1 of the 2019 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season saw Sydney United Sports Centre play host to a tense stalemate between Sydney United 58 and a ten-man Rockdale City Suns outfit on Sunday night.
The eagerly-anticipated clash between two historic rivals ended scoreless, despite the visitors playing a man down for over an hour following new recruit Sasa Macura’s 31st minute dismissal for two cautions.
It was also a return to his former ground with Panni Nikas, the much-hyped signing for the Suns, being kept quiet by his former teammates.
Notably, a frenetic conclusion saw United 58 custodian Thomas Manos stand tall to deny clear-cut chances for Howard Fondyke and substitute Alec Urosevski, whilst his teammate Glenn Trifiro failed to convert two golden opportunities up the other end.
The hosts may well have snatched all three points in second half stoppage time, as Matt Sim’s curling effort was denied by the woodwork to the dismay of the spirited Edensor Park faithful.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1 Marconi Stallions 0
APIA Leichhardt Tigers started life under new coach John Calleja on a positive with a monumental 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Marconi Stallions at Lambert Park.
It took a super goal from Tigers attacker Corey Biczo to break the deadlock just before the break that separated both teams.
The scoreline could have been more for the Tigers had Franco Parisi converted from the spot in the 90th minute but Nenad Vekic was on hand to save his team’s blushes but the match went the favour of APIA in the end.
