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Canberra Olympic no match for Howling Wolves

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NPL NSW Men’s Premiers Wollongong Wolves have qualified for NPL Finals Series Semi-Finals after easily accounting for Capital Football Premiers Canberra Olympic 5-1 at a windy Albert Butler Park on Saturday.

Although Canberra started the brighter of the two it was the Wolves who hit the lead in the 36th minute via a clever striker from Lachlan Scott.

Their lead doubled three minutes from the break with NPL NSW Men’s Player of the Year and Golden Boot winner Thomas James slotting from the spot.

The Wolves smelt more blood as James Stojcevski added a third in the 49th minute before big defender Nick Littler put the game beyond reach in the 54th minute with a well taken goal.

Olympic did pull one back thanks to Nik Popovich but Stefan Dimoski made sure the hosts would be the last ones to score bagging one with two minutes left to send Luke Wilkshire’s men to the semi-final of the NPL Finals Series where they’ll face either Heidelberg United or Perth SC next weekend, the two teams playing each other tomorrow (Sunday 22nd September) at 4:30pm.

Wolves prepare for Canberra Olympic clash

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Albert Butler Park will be full of energy this Saturday as NPL NSW Men’s Premiers Wollongong Wolves will lock horns with the NPL Capital Football’s best in Canberra Olympic as round 1 of the 2019 NPL Finals Series takes centre stage.

Luke Wilkshire and his troops have been on hiatus for the last two weeks after winning the Premiership by a margin of nine points, only to be bundled out of the NPL NSW Finals Series after successive losses to overall Champions APIA Leichhardt Tigers and Sydney United 58.

Canberra Olympic, after winning their respective Premiership, also suffered the same fate as the Wolves as they were knocked out of the finals series which was last weekend won by Gungahlin United.

Since their shock Finals departure, the Wolves have been busily training and playing friendly clashes against A-League opposition, preparing for their big NPL Finals Series clash against a hungry Canberra Olympic outfit coached by Frank Cachia.

Going into the match as clear favourites, the Wolves are hoping they can represent NSW with pride by bringing back the NPL Finals Trophy to the state as well as locking down a round of 32 FFA Cup spot in 2020.

One key figure that will surely be in and amongst the action is Wolves’ star attacker and recently crowned Gold Medal Player of the Year, Thomas James.

The 26-year-old had an outstanding season and was rewarded for his efforts at the recent Gold Medal dinner not only scooping the Player of the Year award but the Golden Boot as well.

No stranger to playing opposition in Canberra, James was this year plucked from the NPL ACT competition as he played for Olympic’s rivals Canberra FC in 2018.

Asked what his thoughts were going into this match, James was full of confidence.

“I can see us breezing past Canberra Olympic,” he told Football NSW.

“This is where it gets tricky, but I see us in the NPL Finals taking on Campbelltown City.”

Beaming from a solid year, James stated his high hopes for the club’s run in the NPL Finals Series and even mentioned how the actual NPL Finals Series match will play out.

“The NPL Finals Series will end dramatically as we will score a last-minute winner courtesy of Taylor McDonald who will be on the end of a sublime cross by me,” he cheekily stated.

Canberra Olympic by no means will be a pushover and do possess a few stars of their own, one in particular being former Australian Youth International Kofi Danning who will look at stinging the net on Saturday.

He, along with prolific marksman Stephen Domenici, young gun Nick Faust, Daniel Sparrow and Nik Popovich will be thriving on the ‘underdogs’ tag in hoping they can stun the Wolves.

The winner of this clash that kicks off at 3pm will face the winner of either Victorian top guns Heidelberg United or Football West’s Perth SC in the semi-final with the other matches seeing Maitland battling Devonport Strikers and Lions FC taking on Campbelltown City.

Match Details

Saturday 21st September

Wollongong Wolves v Canberra Olympic

Albert Butler Park – 3pm

*To be streamed live on www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au

James and Milivojevic claim top honours

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Wollongong Wolves’ Thomas James and Bankstown City FC’s Vesna Milivojevic were the talk of the 2019 National Premier Leagues Gold Medal Dinner after taking out the Player of the Year honours at the Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf precinct on Friday 13th of September.

Players, coaches, officials as well as high profile guests attended what was a fantastic evening acknowledging the achievements from the top tier National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s and Women’s seasons.

It was a fantastic season for both males and females as they got together in a monumental evening where over 360 guests attended with the night proudly presented by Simon Hill.

There were a number of special guests which included; Lynda Voltz, Member for Auburn and Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation, Dr Hugh McDermott, Member for Prospect, Federal MP Jason Falinski, Member for Mackellar, former Socceroo legend Les Scheinflug, FFA Chairman Chris Nikou, Hyundai A-League/W-League Head Greg O’Rourke, Western Sydney Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas, Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend, Macarthur FC Chairman Rabieh Krayem along with the Football NSW Board.

The Club Championship awards were one of the first awards of the evening with Sydney University wrapping yet another one in the NPL NSW Women’s category while for a record breaking 15th time, Blacktown City were top of the trumps in the Men’s category.

Referees were honoured soon after as Ben Abraham took out the NPL NSW Men’s category after a sterling season which also saw him earn a spot into the 2019/2020 Hyundai A-League referees panel. Isabella Libri clinched top honours in the NPL NSW Women’s category and she too caught the attention of the W-League this time, pushing her cause as a fourth official which was an amazing honour for the Southern Districts Soccer Referees representative.

The announcement of the Player of the Year and Golden Boot winners in the Under 20/Reserve grade competition were up next and what a season it was for both categories.

NWS Koalas’ Tahlia Macri took out the honours in the Women’s Reserve grade notching up an incredible 33 goals while Rockdale City Suns’ James Cakovski took out the 20 Men’s scoring 13 for the year.

The Player of the Year awards were up next and Sydney University’s Maxine Peak grabbed all the plaudits for an outstanding year in the 20’s while Blacktown City’s Suleyman Bangura stood out from the rest of the pack in a big season. No doubt these two players will be knocking on the senior doors for first grade contracts in season 2020 with both already earning minutes in their senior squads this year.

Goalkeepers were next on the awards block and it was Northern Tigers’ quality shotstopper Eliza Campbell who took out the NPL NSW Women’s category in what was an impressive year for the gun custodian. Mt Druitt Town Rangers’ skipper and number one Carlos Saliadarre was next up and clinched his respective award after he guided the newly promoted NPL NSW Men’s club to safety and more with the club just finishing outside a top five finals spot.

The Golden Boot award winners were announced soon after.

The ‘Debbie Tait’ Award for the NPL NSW Women’s Golden Boot was awarded to Sydney Olympic’s starlet and Young Matilda Susan Phonsongkham who scored 20 goals for the year.

Finally, in the NPL Men’s category, it was a tight contest but Wollongong Wolves’ English star Thomas James came through on the final day of round 22 matches, scoring 22 goals, one more than his nearest rival in APIA Leichhardt Tigers’ Chris Payne.

It was onto the NPL NSW Men’s ‘Goal of the Year’ award and after 22 rounds there was only one clear winner. In what was a stunning year for goals it came from an unlikely source, Wollongong Wolves defender Nikola Djordjevic for his outrageous ‘scorpion’ goal that went viral against the Sutherland Sharks in round 8 of the competition. It was to be the second successive year Football NSW’s Goal of the Year would be in the form of a scorpion kick after Sydney Olympic defender Thomas Whiteside took it out in 2018.

The Coach of the Year category was next with Northern Tigers’ NPL NSW Women’s manager Jason Eagar getting the nod from his fellow peers. It was a great year for Eagar and his team after guiding his side to the finals series, just missing out on silverware at the big dance. Wollongong Wolves’ well known and travelled coach Luke Wilkshire took out the male category after a huge season clinching the Premiership. In his debut season as a head coach, Wilkshire used all his experience as a former Socceroo that spearheaded his side with not only a Premiership but winning a passage to the 2019 NPL Finals Series representing NSW with the opportunity to be crowned the Champion NPL club across Australia.

The time had come for the Player of the Year awards in what was the crucial part of the evening as the suspense was at boiling point for all players involved.

Once again, the clubs voted in a 3-2-1 system after each team put forward their best two players for the 2019 season.

Things were tight in the NPL NSW Women’s category however it was Bankstown City’s Vesna Milivojevic who was quite simply outstanding and a  shining light in what was an otherwise tough year for the club. Although finishing tenth on the overall ladder, Milivojevic was the heart and soul of the Bankstown squad, scoring goals on cue as well as providing them for her fellow teammates.

The stage was set for the final award of the evening and that was the prestigious NPL NSW Men’s award for 2019, the Gold Medal.

After 22 rounds the award was presented to Wollongong Wolves’ Thomas James, who collected his second award of the evening.

James was outstanding in his debut NPL NSW Men’s season after being plucked from the ACT Premier League, he paid back the faith coach Luke Wilkshire had in him with a fine season.

Scoring goals was his main attribute but his work ethic and willingness to win at all costs was also another quality James possessed in what was a huge season for the Lincolnshire lad.

James beat the likes of APIA Leichhardt Tigers’ Franco Parisi, Mt Druitt Town Rangers Fabricio Fernandes and Marconi’s Marko Jesic for the big prize and was truly humbled to have won such an accolade.

2019 Premier Leagues Award Winners

Fair Play Award

NPL NSW Men’s – Sydney FC

NSW Women’s – North Shore Mariners

Club Championship    

NPL NSW Men’s – Blacktown City

NSW Women’s – Sydney University

Referee of the Year      

NPL NSW Women’s – Isabella Libri

NPL NSW Men’s – Ben Abraham

Goalkeeper of the Year

NPL NSW Women’s – Eliza Campbell (Northern Tigers)

NPL NSW Men’s – Carlos Saliadarre (Mt Druitt Town Rangers)

Golden Boot Awards   

NPL NSW Men’s 2 20’s – James Cakovski (Rockdale City Suns) – 13 goals

NSW Women’s Reserves – Tahlia Macri (NWS Koalas) – 33 goals

NPL NSW Women’s – Susan Phonsongkham (Sydney Olympic) – 20 goals

NPL NSW Men’s – Thomas James (Wollongong Wolves) – 22 goals

Coach of the Year

NSW Women’s – Jason Eagar (Northern Tigers)

NPL NSW Men’s – Luke Wilkshire (Wollongong Wolves)

 NPL NSW Men’s Goal of the Year   

NPL NSW Men’s – Nikola Djordjevic (Wollongong Wolves)

Player of the Year        

NPL Women’s Reserves – Maxine Peak (Sydney University)

NPL NSW Men’s 20’s – Suleyman Bangura (Blacktown City)

NPL NSW Women’s – Vesna Milivojevic (Bankstown City)

NPL NSW Men’s – Thomas James (Wollongong Wolves)

-Football NSW Media Release

 

 

 

Miro Vlastelica steps down as Sydney United 58 coach

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National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Grand Finalists Sydney United 58 will be on the hunt for a new coach for season 2020 after Miro Vlastelica announced that he was stepping down from the head coaching role at the club.

Vlastelica cited personal reasons for his decisions to step away from the Reds coaching job.

“I would like to announce that I have decided to step down as head coach due to personal reasons.

“The last 18 months at this great club, have been an absolute pleasure, honour, and even more so, a privilege to be involved with.

“I would like to thank all the players and my support staff for their dedication and hard work during this time.

“Also, I would like to thank the Club and Committee Members for all their support and for all the work they have put in behind the scenes, that many do not see.

“To all the supporters, I would like to thank you all for your support throughout the year, you guys were amazing, and truly are the best in the country

“Finally, I would like to wish the team and the club the very best for the coming season.”

It is rumoured that former Sydney United 58 legend Zeljko ‘Spider’ Kalac could be Vlastelica’s successor.

Persistence pays off for Yianni Nicolaou

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After trialing in Scotland at the end of 2018, 19-year-old defender Yianni Nicolaou then returned to Marconi Stallions FC.

He played 15 games in the Stallions FC NPL 1 team in 2019 before leaving mid-season to trial with English League 2 team, Salford City.

His persistence was rewarded, he was signed to a one-year contract with an option to extend.

He joined the newly promoted club following a successful trial.

Salford City have been promoted in four of their last five seasons and are currently 15th after 5 matches in the English 4th Division.

The club is “part owned” by former Manchester United team mates Phil and Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham.

Nicolaou, was a member of the Waratah Cup winning team in 2019 after making his first-grade debut this season. He became a “regular” in the team

He has come up “through the system” in Australia, starting out at the Football NSW Institute of Sport and Westfield Sports High before joining Marconi Stallions FC.

The defender represented Australia at the AFC Under 16 Championships in 2016.

Australian born, Nicolaou is expected to be spending his time with the Salford City youth team set up. This boasts a University, begun by club owners to offer degrees for players to build life skills outside of football.