Round 2 Review – NPL Men’s NSW
Let’s check out the mini reviews from Round 2 of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition.
Sydney FC 2 v Manly United 0 at Illinden Sports Centre – Match Report and Highlights
Sydney FC recorded their first win of the season and second successive clean sheet in a 2-0 home win over a Manly United team which came into the game in high spirits following a 3-0 win on the opening day.
A first half brace from up-and-coming star Tiago Quintal was enough to separate the sides, with his first coming from 12 yards when Mitchell Glasson was fouled in the penalty area giving the Sky Blues a penalty.
Quintal and Glasson were at the heart of Sydney FC’s second, when Glasson burst forward on the counter attack just before half time, teeing up Quintal who fired it home.
Sutherland Sharks 0 v NWS Spirit FC 0 at Seymour Shaw – Match Report and Highlights
In a backs to the wall performance, a nine-man Sutherland Sharks outfit held out a luckless NWS Spirit FC in a fiery match that saw three red cards dished out in a scoreless 0-0 draw at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday afternoon.
In a game of few chances, Sutherland were reduced to nine men following send-offs to Jonty Busch and Maxx Green, while Simon Nicholas saw red for Spirit.
The extra space did not provide a goal for the visitors who for the second successive week remained scoreless, as the fulltime score read as it started.
Sydney Olympic 0 v St George City 1 at Valentine Sports Park – Match Report and Highlights
St George City have defeated Sydney Olympic 1-0 at Valentine Sports Park after a dominant performance following a 1st minute red card to Olympic defender George Timotheou.
Following the earliest of send offs, Olympic put up a strong defensive performance, but in the final fifteen minutes of the first half, St George began to break them down with some neat passes inside.
The goal eventually came on the stroke of halftime, with a good progressive pass from Brodie Clarkson finding the feet of Louis Khoury, who fed in Kosta Petratos, who made no mistake in converting with a combination of precision and power.
In the second half, Sydney Olympic troubled St George City more, but it was still the away side who had the vast majority of chances, with the highlight being a fantastic Noah James save off a Jason Romero penalty.
St George saw the game through in a professional manner and picked up their first victory of the campaign.
Hills United 1 v Western Sydney Wanderers 2 at Landen Stadium – Match Report and Highlights
Western Sydney Wanderers continued their good start to the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition with a 2-1 victory over competition new boys Hills United at Landen Stadium on Saturday.
The Wanderers scored either side of half time through Awan Lual and Adam Bugarija before holding the hosts to the one goal at the other end which came through Yu Okubo.
St George FC 0 v Blacktown City 0 at Ilinden Sports Centre – Match Report and Highlights
St George FC put its round 1 loss behind with a credible 0-0 draw against one of the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW powerhouse sides in Blacktown City FC at Ilinden Sports on Saturday.
The visitors who pummelled APIA 6-3 last weekend were expected to steam roll over the newly promoted NPL Men’s NSW side but the countless efforts on goal failed to hit the target which resulted in St George FC gaining a huge point.
Despite the lack of goals the game itself was a good technical encounter with some very worthwhile moments.
Sydney United 58 1 v Wollongong Wolves 2 at Sydney United Sports Centre – Match Report and Highlights
A perfectly taken brace from one of the competition’s highly regarded marksmen Lachlan Scott has given Wollongong Wolves its first win of the 2024 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW competition after a thrilling clash against Sydney United 58 at the Sydney United Sports Centre on a hot Sunday afternoon.
With the late afternoon heat having a massive impact, both sides didn’t shy away from keeping the intensity up throughout the entirety of the game.
In a fiery and fast-paced affair, where nine yellow cards were issued, it was the visitors who managed to get the upper hand to start with Scott bagging the opener in the 17th minute.
United 58 were held out by a resilient Wolves’ defence, until the 77th minute when substitute Stephen De Robillard converted from the penalty spot to level the game.
Scott popped up once again for his side with just minutes remaining, putting away his chance from close range to seal the victory for the visitors.
Rockdale Ilinden 2 v Marconi 2 at Illinden Sports Centre – Match Report and Highlights
Rockdale Ilinden and Marconi Stallions played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw in front of over 1000 spectators at the Ilinden Sports Centre in what was the National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW’s ‘Match of the Round’.
Dominic Costanzo drew first blood for the visitors before an unlikely equaliser from Brayden Sorge on the stroke of half-time added to the suspense and drama.
Former Ilinden player James Temelkovski then got in on the act before Alec Urosevski opened his 2024 goalscoring account from the spot and that was all she wrote as the match ended 2-2.
APIA Leichhardt FC 3 v Central Coast Mariners 1 at Leichhardt Oval – Match Report and Highlights
Following last weekend’s defeat, APIA Leichhardt returned to the winner’s circle with a comfortable 3-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners at Leichhardt Oval on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The hosts blew away the Mariners away in the opening 22 minutes with three goals. Jordan Segreto, Ben Gibson and Michael Kouta all found the back of the net as APIA Leichhardt bounced back from their opening game loss.
This result has made it back-to-back losses for Central Coast Mariners to start their 2024 campaign. They did pull a goal back from the spot in the second half through Luka Smyth in the 68th minute.
