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Rangers win not enough to gift them finals football

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Mt Druitt Town Rangers have narrowly missed out on a place in the National Premier Leagues NSW Mens finals series despite a brilliant 2-1 upset win against APIA Leichhardt at Popondetta Park on Sunday. 

The Rangers needed victory and for Sydney United and Sydney Olympic to lose if they were to pull off a miracle top five finish, and while Aidan Desmond’s side did their part the other half of the equation didn’t.

Toufic Alamedddine gave Mt Druitt the early lead before Chris Payne equalised for the APIA with his 21st strike of the season.

However, the home side would bounce back as Mirjan Pavlovic sealed the deal for Mt Druitt in the second half with a clever goal.

It was a frustrating defeat for APIA ahead of the playoffs but with nothing riding on the final round tie coach John Calleja will scratch the result and hopes his team regroups before their match with Blacktown City next week.

With a possible finals spot on the line, Mt Druitt exploded out of the blocks and took the lead inside the opening ten minutes.

A pass from Fabricio Fernandez found Toufic Alameddine in the box and his clinical diagonal finish was too much for goalkeeper Ivan Necevski to handle giving Mt Druitt a 1-0 lead.

In the 18th minute a Fernandez free-kick caused some consternation in the box for the APIA Leichhardt defence but eventually the ball fell onto the upper side of the crossbar and over with troubling the ‘keeper.

Mt Druitt should have made it two in the 25th minute when Alameddine fed the ball in for Josh Gould but his header was cleared off the line by the APIA defence.

APIA pounced on the very next play as they raced up field to equalise much to the dismay of the home support.

Corey Biczo played a delightful ball from the right across to an unmarked Chris Payne who had no trouble slotting home as Mt Druitt’s defence were left waiting for an offside call which would never arrive.

Mirjan Pavlovic, who has made a real difference to the Mt Druitt team since his transfer mid-season from Marconi, tried his luck in the 31st minute with a great shot from the left but Necevski made a wonderful save anticipating a galloping Fernandez.

Shortly afterwards APIA Leichhardt almost scored when Sammy McIllhatton in the middle fed the ball wide to Payne who fluffed his chance and the ball went wide.

Just prior to the break the Alex Boyadjian with a header from close range almost found the back of the net but Themba Muata-Marlow was there to clear the danger for the Tigers.

Mt Druitt though did re-gain the lead in the second half in the 57th minute with a delightful goal when Cooper Coskerie fed the ball to Pavlovic who made no mistake from close range and chipped an out-coming Necevski.

In the 76th minute there was a great chance for Mt Druitt when a brilliant cross by John Roberts on the right found Fernandez in the middle, but his great diving header was very well saved by Necevski who managed to turn the ball around the post for a corner.

In the 83rd minute Fernandez had the ball in the back of the net but the offside flag was raised and Mt Druitt didn’t get their third despite the celebrations from the home supporters until they realised that the goal wouldn’t stand.

Mt Druitt desperately clung onto win in the final seconds but as news filtered in from other results the victory proved to be a bittersweet end to the season.

Rangers coach Aidan Desmond praised his players for a brilliant win but admitted it was tough miss out on a top five finish by such a small margin.

“We came into today’s game knowing we had to win against one of the leagues best teams to even stand a chance and the team did exactly that,” Desmond said.

“APIA didn’t finish in the top two for any old reason, they are a very good team and we played a great game to finish our season with a win against them.”

“At the start of the season we had set out to play in the finals so to fall two points short is difficult. However, I am happy on the whole with our first year after promotion and I much rather we finish where we did than be battling for survival.”

Match Stats

Mt DRUITT TOWN RANGERS: 2 (Alameddine 10’, Pavlovic 57’)

APIA LEICHHARDT TIGERS: 1 (Payne 26’)

Sunday, 11th August 2019 

Popondetta Park, Emerson

Referee: Katie Patterson
Assistant Referees: J. Bell, P.Teleki

Fourth Official: C. Wright

MT DRUITT TOWN RANGERS: 1.Carlos Saliadarre, 3.Josh Gould, 4. S.J. Monahan-Vaika, 5.Jake Mammone 6.Blake Thompson, 9.Alex Boyadjian (19.John Roberts 55’), 10.Fabricio Fernandez, 11.Toufic Alameddine, 13.Lord Darkoh, 15.Cooper Coskerie (18.Jacob Esposito 72’), 27.Mirjan Pavlovic (12.Nicholas Trimble 88’).

Substitutes not used: 7.Luke Clifford, 17.Jordan Gomez.

Yellow Cards: Thompson 33’, Alameddine 87’

Red Card: Nil

APIA LEICHHARDT TIGERS: 1.Ivan Necevski, 3.Paul Galimi, 6.Chris Payne, 7.Tynan Diaz, 8.Corey Biczo, 10.Franco Parisi, 12.Sammy McIllhatton, 14.Lachlan Hughes (18.Adrian Ucchino 82’), 15. Themba Muata-Marlow (17.Sam Gulisano 73’), 16.Sean Symons (19.Dom Nasrabadi 82’), 21. Michael Kouta.

Substitutes not used: 22.Luke Turnbull

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Card: Nil

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Prmier Leagues NSW Men’s reporter Joe Russo

 

Rangers blast past hapless Hakoah

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Mount Druitt Town Rangers secured back-to-back victories in a 4-0 rout of Hakoah Sydney City East on a cold evening at Popondetta Park. 

Tonight’s result saw Mount Druitt Town Rangers pick up their seventh victory of the season and keep their slim finals hopes alive.

Alex Boyadjian and Toufic Alameddine scored in the first half hour to lead 2-0 at the break.

Alameddine completed his brace in the second half alongside a Jacob Esposito goal to bank three more points in their maiden season in the NSW top flight.

For Hakoah Sydney City East, the visitors had their chances through Amauri Gauthier and Joshua Swadling but were wasteful in front of goal. The relegated side added a missed penalty in the second half as they look to next week to finish on a high.

Looking to secure back-to-back victories, Mount Druitt Town Rangers started the contest quickly as a Fabricio Fernandez free-kick from the left was touched wide by Hakoah Sydney City East custodian Ryan Norval.

Fernandez thought he had the opener moments later when he turned home a deflected shot from Mirjan Pavlovic but the assistant referee had his flag raised for offside.

The best chances for Hakoah Sydney City East came from the boot of Amauri Gauthier. The striker struck the post from a one-touch move in the 17th minute then flayed one wide two minutes later as the visitors searched for an opener.

It was the home side that found the opener. The combination between Pavlovic and Alex Boyadjian has grown over the season, as the former clipped a ball into the path of Boyadjian to slam home for 1-nil to Mount Druitt Town Rangers.

Joshua Swadling tried to respond for Hakoah Sydney City East. He rampaged down the left before he bent a wicked ball into the path of Dominic Cox, the winger couldn’t place the shot as it deflected wide.

Mount Druitt Town Rangers made Hakoah Sydney City East pay for their wastefulness with a second goal before the half-hour mark. Toufic Alameddine burst into the box before he finished well for his sixth goal of the season, 2-nil.

Hakoah Sydney City East tried to spark a comeback with a pair of shots from Gauthier and Swadling but both were easily dealt with by Norval as the home side took their two-goal advantage into the break.

Coming out the break, Mount Druitt Town Rangers wasted no time added a third goal. A perfect pass from Blake Thompson split the defence for Alameddine to stride onto, slot home and make it 3-nil.

The visitors were given a chance to hit back from the spot after a handball. Substitute Nathan Roberts stepped up but in a scene reminiscent of the FFA cup contest, Mount Druitt Town Rangers custodian Carlos Saliadarre swatted away the spot kick and the follow up from Gauthier.

Adding a fourth late in the contest was Jacob Esposito who finished the ball at the far post after some delightful ball that bent across the box. Esposito’s second of the season made it 4-nil for Mount Druitt Town Rangers.

Speaking afterwards Mount Druitt Town Rangers coach Aiden Desmond was pleased with the result as they look to finish the season strong:

“I thought we started slow but second half we took our chances well. We go out with the intention to win every game and we’ll see what needs to be done next week.” said Desmond.

Match Stats

Mount Druitt Town Rangers 4 (Boyadjian ‘24, Alameddine ‘30, ‘52, Esposito ‘90+1)

Hakoah Sydney City East 0

Saturday 3rd August 2019

Popondetta Park, Emerson

Referee: J. Macfarlane

Assistant Referees: J. Adabjou & R. Osborne

Fourth Officials: J. Ewin

Mount Druitt Town Rangers: 1. SALIADARRE Carlos, 3. GOULD Joshua, 5. MAMONE Jake, 6. THOMPSON Blake, 9. BOYADJIAN Alex (8. AVERY ‘83), 10. FERNANDEZ Fabricio, 11. ALAMEDDINE Toufic (18. ESPOSITO ‘68), 13. DARKOH Lord, 15. COSKERIE Cooper, 17. HARES Ismail (4. MONAHAN-VAIKA ‘45), 27. PAVLOVIC Mirjan

Unused subs: 14. ELLEM Riley, ALLEN Brendan

Yellow cards:

Red cards: nil

Hakoah Sydney City East: 1. NORVAL Ryan, 2. SHADDOCK Connor, 4. WALKER Bradley, 6. COX Dominic, 8. GREEN Oliver, 9. OKUNO Shohei (10. ROBERTS ‘59), 12. SWADLING Joshua, 13. EZEKIEL Robert (11. GREEN ‘69), 15. BOJIC Predrag, 17. JONES Harry, 24. GAUTHIER Amauri (23. VRANJIC ‘77)

Unused subs: 25. EPHRAIM Max, 60. NOJI Takayuki

Yellow cards: Shaddock ‘36 Cox ‘50 Bojic ‘72

Red cards: nil

-By Justin Davies

Ruthless Rangers end Sharks Finals hopes

By

Three second half goals have helped Mt Druitt Town Rangers end the finals hopes of the Sutherland Sharks with a 4-2 win at Seymour Shaw Park on Saturday evening. 

Both the Sharks and Rangers needed all three points to keep their slim finals hopes alive but in the end it was an inspired display from the visitors which got the job done.

Cooper Coskerie got Mt Druitt off to a 1-0 lead but The Sharks fired back just after the interval to level proceedings courtesy of a Bai Antoniou strike.

The visitors fired back in emphatic form with a flurry of goals from Alex Boyadjian, John Roberts and Toufic Alameddine to take a commanding lead at 4-1 with less than 15 minutes to play.

A Raul Beneit penalty in the 76th minute hope cut the deficit for the home side but it wasn’t to be their night as Mt Druitt collected the points after Aidan Desmond’s men suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout FFA Cup Round of 32 loss to Manly United earlier in the week.

With both sides missing crucial players through injury it was a tense opening with neither able to gain the ascendency.

Carlos Saliadarre was called into action in the 8th minute to deny Jeremy Cox after he was put through on goal.

A lofted ball found Fabricio Fernandez but he was unable to lob the ‘keeper under close attention from the Sutherland defence.

A Beneit corner in the 23rd minute found Harry Sutherland at the back stick and again the visiting ‘keeper was swiftly down at his left-hand post to push the header away.

Toufic Alameddine sent in a teasing cross from the left enabling Cooper Coskerie to open the scoring with a shot that squirmed under the body of the diving Anthony Bouzanis in the 34th minute to give Mt Druitt the advantage. After mounting continuous pressure on the Sutherland back-line they finally found the telling ball.

It was a slender lead they would take to the break but it left the Sharks with it all to do in the second period.

And do it they did inside a minute of the restart when Charles Lokolingoy left Blake Thompson on his backside and fired in a shot that Saliadarre couldn’t hold allowing Bai Antoniou to steal to pick up the scraps and level the scores. It was a sucker punch the visitors could ill afford.

Sutherland had a spring in their step and upped the ante making an uncomfortable period for the Rangers to endure which was managed partly through grit and determination and partly desperation.

They clung on and hitting on the break allowed Boyadjian to give the visitors the lead once again in the 54th minute when firing in across the ‘keeper. It was against the run of play but an exceptionally well worked counter-attack.

Alameddine came narrowly close to extending the lead when hitting the upright before John Roberts, picking up the loose ball, fortuitously added Mt Druitt’s third in the 57th  minute to completely turn the game on it’s head. It was now do or die for the home side.

Antoniou forced a save out of Saliadarre but Lockolingoy was offside on the follow-up and the Rangers’ breathed again.

Cox was again put through one-on-one with the ‘keeper who proved once more to be an unyielding force at the back as the home side threw everything forward in a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the match.

But Alameddine ended any hopes of a comeback in the 76th minute when cutting in from the left to send a curling shot into the back of the net to cap off a great performance on the night and secure the points for Mt Druitt.

Sutherland were the recipient of a somewhat innocuous penalty in the 78th minute that was dutifully tucked away by Beneit to reduce the deficit but it remained a forlorn hope and consolation.

Antoniou could have made it an interesting final few minutes when slipping past his marker to power into the box before spinning to create space only to sky the effort over the crossbar.

It was a spirited, if ultimately fruitless, second-half performance from Sutherland but the Rangers were not to be denied at the final whistle and were worthy winners.

Mt Druitt coach Aidan Desmond praised the resilience of his players to secure victory after a busy week which included an FFA Cup match.

“I’m delighted with the result tonight especially after the midweek FFA Cup game that went to extra-time,” he said.

“We knew Sutherland would come at us hard after the break and they pulled it back immediately and we showed great character in the way we went about our business.

“We are now back at home, on the grass, for our remaining fixtures and we’ll battle on until the end and see what happens.”

A disappointed Terry Palapanis felt his side paid the price for their first half performance.

“We were slow to pick up our pace and didn’t defend to the best of our ability,” he said.

“What can I say? It’s not the way we wanted to sign off our last home match of the season but credit Mt Druitt, they deserved their win.”

An impeccable minutes silence was dutifully observed prior to kick-off for Sharks’ midfield stalwart of yesteryear, Keith Schumann, who passed away this week.

Match Stats

Sutherland Sharks 2 (Antoniou 46’, Beneit 78’p)

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 4 (Coskerie 34’, Boyadjian 54’, Roberts 57’, Alameddine 76’)

Seymour Shaw Park, Miranda

Saturday 27th July 2019

Referee: Roberto Mattei

Asst.Ref: Sarah Ho & Joon Park

4th Official: Matt Howarth

Sutherland Sharks: 1.Anthony Bouzanis, 2.Quentin Cheng, 4.Patrick O’Shea, 7.Bai Antoniou, 8.Mateo Poljak (32.Alexander Lopez 80’), 9.Jeremy Cox (44.Jermey McGowan 90’, 10.Raul Beneit, 14.Charles Lokolingoy, 19.Harry Sutherland, 21.Tarik Ercan, 25.Brodie Clarkson (30.Thomas Aquilina 65’)

Subs not used: 18.Mitchell Evans, 29.Jarrad Wiley,

Yellow Cards: Cheng 42’

Red Cards: 

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 1.Carlos Saliadarre, 3.Joshua Gould, 5.Jake Mammone (8.Alvin Singh 87’), 6.Blake Thompson, 9.Alex Boyadjian (18.Jacob Esposito 74’), 10.Fabricio Fernandez, 11.Toufic Alameddine, 13.Lord Darkoh, 17Ishmail Hares, 19.John Roberts

Subs not used: 7.Luke Clifford, 12Aaron Avery, 22.Brendan Allen

Yellow Cards: Darkoh 26’, Boyadjian 44’, Roberts 79’

Red Cards:

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.

By National Premier Leagues NSW Reporter Micky Brock

Manly United earn round of 16 FFA Cup spot

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Manly United will continue its run in the FFA Cup round of 16 for the first time in its club’s history after defeating fellow NPL NSW Men’s outfit Mt Druitt Town Rangers 4-2 on penalties after the match ended at two-a-piece in regular time.

Manly United striker Dejan Pandurevic drilled home an early effort in the second minute but the attackers opener was quickly cancelled out by Toufic Alameddine as he hit back in the sixth minute.

Manly then had the opportunity to grab the lead once more in the 66th minute via Brendan Cholakian from the spot-kick. His resulting penalty was expertly saved by club captain Carlos Saliadarre.

The game ended at 2-2 with the match heading to extra time and Manly United’s young gun Harry McCarthy put the visitors ahead once more in the 95th minute.

With the Northern Beaches side tasting a round of 16 spot, Rangers’ Young Socceroos star John Roberts had other ideas as he tied the game with a well taken goal in the 110th minute.

With both keepers Salidarre and Dylan Mitchell saving a handful it was Charles Mendy that sent the traveling Manly United fans crazy with his final spot kick that all but assured a spot in the round of 16 for Paul Dee’s men.

Round 20 will certainly be a tough one for both teams with the Rangers backing up on Saturday in an away clash against the Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw while Manly United host Rockdale City Suns at Cromer Park on Sunday.

As many as three Football NSW clubs will be heavily involved in week two of the round of 32 FFA Cup matches on Wednesday 31st of July as St George FC host Sydney United 58 at the Ilinden Sports Centre while the Marconi Stallions travel to chilly Tasmania to take on South Hobart FC at the Blundstone Arena.

In other matches, Magpie Crusaders defeated the Coomera Colts 2-1, Edgeworth Eagles defeated Darwin Olympic 3-0, Moreland Zebras went to penalties and defeated the Bulleen Lions 3-2, Adelaide Olympic beat Floreat Athena 4-3 while Brisbane Olympic crushed Bayswater 5-2.

 

Stallions keep Finals hopes alive with Rangers victory

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Newly crowned Waratah Cup Champions Marconi Stallions have kept their finals hopes alive with a 4-2 win against Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Marconi Stadium on Saturday.

A brace to young gun Martin Fernandez set the tone for Marconi before a Marko Jesic penalty and Nathan Millgate strike wrapped up the win for the home side.

Mt Druitt tried to fight back through a late first half goal to Jacob Esposito but it wasn’t to be while Fabricio Fernandez’s second half goal proved to be a mere consolation.

Marconi had a solid start with Giorgio Speranza the first to test Carlos Saliadarre at his near post inside the opening minute.

The Stallions made their intentions clear from the outset.

Fabricio Fenandez fired one straight at Nenad Vekic in reply after a well worked move down the left for the Rangers almost paid dividends.

Marconi continued to press, forcing Mt Druitt to defend deep which in turn made it difficult to break out of their own half.

It took only 12 minutes for the home side to find a breakthrough as Martin Fernandez powerfully headed home to nudge the Stallions ahead.

The goal spurred Mt Druitt on to greater urgency but they didn’t threaten the Marconi goal and cheap turnovers only exacerbated the problem in the middle of the pitch.

John Roberts, who won a recent call-up to the Young Socceroos train-on squad, went down inside the box under a tackle from Millgate that Referee, Michael Weiner, rightly waived away as the visiting support howled for a spot kick in the 26th minute.

A free-kick, given away by Millgate on the edge of the area for handball, was sent in via Fernandez that eluded everyone and bounced awkwardly in front of Vekic who, seeing the ball late, did well to palm it away from danger.

Speranza went on a solo run down the left and fired in an explosive shot that again rattled the woodwork of Saliadarre.

Marconi should have extended the lead moments later when Jesic and James Andrew combined well to split the defence only for the final ball to be cleared.

It was a short reprieve as Marconi grabbed their second, from the spot, through Jesic in the 38th when he sent the ‘keeper the wrong way after Andrew was brought down by Lord Darkoh in the area.

The Stallions went to sleep and against the run of play, Esposito reduced the arrears to one to reignite the match.

Marconi controlled the first-half but found themselves just one goal to the good for the second stanza with a litany of squandered opportunities they may rue at the final whistle.

Mt Druitt restarted with a couple of long range efforts that didn’t bother the ‘keeper but it was a brighter opening from the visitors.

However it was Marconi who netted when Saliadarre fumbled a shot from Martin Fernandez, who had a quiet Waratah Cup Final last weekend, responded to net his second, and Marconi’s third, of the evening.

Toufic Alammedine was introduced to replace Nick Trimble and inject pace into the Rangers side who had to go all out attack if they were to repeat the thrilling 3-3 draw the last time these two met in the reverse fixture.

It played into the Stallions’ hands and further wasted opportunities ensued that would have settled the tie beyond doubt long before the final whistle.

Yet it was Mt Druitt that struck back once more.

Fabricio Fernandez, turned the game again with the aid of a slight deflection that his shot beyond the despairing dive of Vekic to slide in at the base of the upright to again pull the visitors back into the tie.

Once more it was a short lived triumph as another set-piece, this time a corner, found Millgate powering home an unstoppable header in the 79’ minute, great for the fans but enough to give coach’s grey hairs.

Darkoh received a second caution in the 85’ minute to reduce Rangers to ten men effectively ending their threat although it was a mountain this visiting team would be unable to climb.

Giorgio Speranza scuffed a shot goalward in the final minute but it was a comprehensive win at home for Marconi leaving coach

Peter Tsekenis was happy with how his troops performed.

“When you look at the chances created, we should have put it to bed earlier than we did,” he said.

“When you don’t take your chances you let the opposition into the game and Mt Druitt are quite capable of getting back into a match through sheer effort and they got two goals tonight to give us a little bit of a scare but at the end and on the basis of chances created etc. the better team won.

“They are a tricky side but we got the result and I’m pleased with the effort especially as it’s the first time this season we’ve been able to field the same starting side in three consecutive games.”

Rangers coach Aidan Desmond was a visibly upset coach at full-time and spoke about his team really not being in the contest.

“I felt it was a pretty scrappy game where we’ve conceded three from set-pieces and another from the spot,” he said.

“I don’t think there was a good goal scored in the game to be honest.

“We didn’t take ownership in our 18-yard box, defensive lapses, not clearing our lines and tonight we simply were not good enough at it.

“We got ourselves back into the game twice and dumb errors have cost us and from dumb mistakes we’ve let them in.

“Players have to hold themselves accountable for the lapses, it’s not something you can just put behind you after a performance like that.”

Match Stats

Marconi Stallions 4 (Fernandez 12’, 54’ Jesic 38’p, Millgate 79’)

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2 (Esposito 43’,  Fernandez 75’)

Marconi Stadium, Bossley Park

Saturday 20 July 2019

Referee: Michael Weiner

Asst.Ref: Nathan McCorist & Raymond Osborne

Fourth Official: Ivica Covic

Marconi Stallions: 1.Nenad Vekic, 2.Nathan Millgate, 3.Giorgio Speranza, 4.Roberto Speranza, 8.Connor Evans, 10.Marko Jesic (14.Peter Pelekanos 89’), 12.James Andrew (40.Damian Tsekenis 80’), 13.Yianni Nicolaou, 16.Liam Youlley, 23.Brendon Vella, 28.Martin Fernandez (7.Sean O’Connell 75’)

Subs not used: 15.Lachlan Sepping, 17.Kristian Sekutkoski

Yellow Cards: Andrew 33’, Millgate 45’

Red Cards: 

Mt Druitt Town Rangers: 1.Carlos Saliadarre, 3.Joshua Gould, 4.Solomon Monohan-Vaika, 5.Jake Mammone, 6.Blake Thompson, 9.Alex Boyadjian (7.Luke Clifford 78’), 10.Fabricio Fernandez, 12.Nicholas Trimble (11.Toufic Alameddine 55’), 13.Lord Darkoh, 18.Jacob Esposito, 19.John Roberts

Subs not used: 15.Ishmail Hares, 17.Riley Ellem, 25.Mathew Nikolovski

Yellow Cards: (Darkoh 36’ & 85’), Roberts 90+4’

Red Cards: Darkoh 86’

-By National Premier Leagues NSW  reporter Micky Brock

Player Ratings have now been hidden due to the second half of the season commencing.