With six of the seven games being decided by a single goal, this weekend showed once again the close nature of the National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition.
The top three teams have a slight gap over the rest, but ten rounds are left in the season so nothing is assured yet.
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Matthew Hatch 31’) vs St George City FA 2 (Reuben Awaritefe 43’, Hiten Satoh 46’)
St George City FA completed the double over Central Coast, keeping their finals hopes alive with a crucial victory at Pluim Park.
City started well, but the Mariners would seize control of the contest. The home side then took the lead in the 31st minute, left back Matthew Hatch opening his account for the season with a fine strike when he took on the defence and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper.
Just as it looked like Nick Montgomery’s side would take a lead into the dressing sheds, City equalised in the closing stages of the first half. City youngster Reuben Awaritefe wouldn’t have been expecting much time on the field after playing a full game in the U20s. However, he came on as an early sub and ended up getting his team back into the contest, heading home after the ball rebounded off the crossbar.
It got even better for City early in the second half. Hiten Satoh made it a debut to remember following his move from Mt Druitt Town Rangers, scoring with a brilliant free kick to make it 2-1.
The away team were flying by this stage, and in a strong second half performance they were able to close the Mariners down. The Kumsuz brothers, Tacettin and Kerim, linked well in midfield, making up for the absence of Steve Kuzmanovski and Corey Gameiro.
City are now only one point behind Central Coast, and they’ll look to make it three consecutive wins when they meet Canterbury Bankstown next weekend.
Match of the Round: Mounties Wanderers vs Bonnyrigg White Eagles
In our featured game, Bonnyrigg jumped up two places to seventh after a narrow 2-1 victory over Mounties.
Aaron Peterson opened the scoring for the White Eagles, before Bruno Pivato equalised at the start of the second half. A couple of minutes later, Bonnyrigg forward Asmir Kadric scored what would prove to be the winner.
The game was mainly a midfield battle in the early stages, and the teams were limited to hopeful long range efforts.
Neither goal would be troubled until the 25th minute, when Bonnyrigg hit the front. Peterson’s physical presence was the key as he challenged for Amar Adilovic’s lobbed pass, eventually finishing from close range.
With about ten minutes left in the first half, the White Eagles nearly doubled their lead. Jack Armson played a great pass into the area, and Kadric’s dink over the keeper went towards Peterson, who was denied a brace by Jake Ingle’s goal line clearance.
The game was end to end at this point. Not long after the close call, Mounties forwards Sean Rooney and Tai Smith forced saves from James Chronopoulos, while Adilovic was denied by Blake Tuxford in first half stoppage time.
Mounties coach Brian Brown brought on Peter Triantis and Matthew West at halftime, and the impact was immediate. Two minutes after the restart, Triantis took a free kick from deep that wasn’t cleared. The ball fell to Pivato and he made Bonnyrigg pay, drilling the ball into the bottom corner from an acute angle.
However, Mounties’ joy was short lived as Bonnyrigg went 2-1 up in the 51st minute. As with their first goal, Adilovic was the architect, advancing through midfield and playing a perfect through ball for Kadric. The forward escaped the defence, dribbling round Tuxford and finding the empty net.
Just after the hour, Jack Fulton came on for Bonnyrigg. He was involved almost straight away, crossing for David Vrankovic, but his volley was wide of the target.
Kadric continued to threaten, and in the 72nd minute he used his speed to beat three defenders and force Tuxford into a solid save.
Bonnyrigg began to drop deeper in the final fifteen minutes, and Mounties were able to win set pieces in promising positions. Triantis threatened again from free kicks, two of which found Noah Chianese and Benjamin Spruce, however neither of their headers troubled Chronopoulos.
There was also one last corner for Mounties deep into time added on, but nothing came of it and Bonnyrigg would leave Cook Park with the spoils.
Next weekend, Bonnyrigg return home to face St George FC. Mounties, who stay in fifth place, have an away game against Blacktown Spartans.
Match Stats
Mounties Wanderers 1 (Bruno Pivato 47’) vs Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2 (Aaron Peterson 25’, Asmir Kadric 51’)
Saturday 15 June 2019
at Cook Park (Mt Pritchard
Mounties Wanderers: 1. Blake TUXFORD, 2. Anthony SCHMIDT, 3. Benjamin SPRUCE, 8. Bruno PIVATO (14. Noah CHIANESE 69’), 9. Tai SMITH (7. Matthew WEST 46’), 10. Joshua VIERA, 11. Mitchell DAVIDSON (26. Peter TRIANTIS 46’), 17. Theo KOFINAS (c), 19. Mark BRIDGE, 29. Jake INGLE, 33. Sean ROONE
Bonnyrigg White Eagles: 1. James CHRONOPOULOS, 3. David VRANKOVIC (15. Ray MILLER 74’), 5. Goran SUBARA, 6. Nikola ZONJIC, 8. Amar ADILOVIC, 11. Asmir KADRIC (22. Frederick ANKUMAH-SEY 85’), 12. Jack ARMSON, 14. Bradie SMITH, 16. Sam GALLAWAY (c), 17. Mark RODIC, 19. Aaron PETERSON (9. Jack Fulton 63’)
Blacktown Spartans 2 (Dau Akol 26’, Connor Eldridge 59’) vs Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Mohamed Adam 81’)
Blacktown Spartans recorded their third win in a row, courtesy of a tight but deserved victory over their neighbours on Saturday night.
The opener would come from an unlikely source. Shun Tokuno’s inswinging corner was headed against the crossbar, and centre back Dau Akol was on hand to net his first goal of the season from the rebound.
There was plenty of goalmouth action to start the second half. An audacious scorpion kick from Eldridge was somehow tipped onto the crossbar by Nicholas Suman, and the follow up shot was also saved by the young goalkeeper. The Wanderers then countered almost immediately, Jarrod Carluccio volleying from 25 yards and forcing Michael Figueira into a flying save.
Spartans doubled their lead on the hour, and it was no surprise that Connor Eldridge found the net, as he latched onto a long pass and drilled the ball into the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the campaign.
There would be a late scare for Paul Hubbard’s side when the Wanderers scored in the final ten minutes. After a penalty box scramble, Lochlan Constable fired a shot towards goal, with Mohamed Adam getting the vital touch to halve the deficit.
That was as good as it got for the Wanderers. Spartans went close again in the final minutes, having a header cleared off the line, while Eldridge’s acrobatic follow up volley went inches over the crossbar.
Hills United 1 (Nathan Rayner 44’) vs Northern Tigers 0
Hills kept their place at the top of the table for another week after defeating Northern Tigers 1-0 at Lily Homes Stadium.
In a high quality contest where both teams played well, the Tigers were probably the better side in the opening 20 minutes. Some adjustments from Hills coach Patrick Zwaanswijk worked a treat, and United took the lead just before halftime. The goal featured some nice interplay as Daniel Fogarty backheeled the ball to Nathan Rayner, who finished well.
After the interval, Hills looked to use their pace on the counter, with Northern Tigers dominating possession and moving the ball well. Rayner had a chance to double his tally for the evening early in the second half, Tonu Liiband making a fine one on one save to deny him.
The best chance for the Tigers came when Liam McConaghy showed good technique, taking the ball on his chest and smashing it off the crossbar from long range.
United were able to stand firm and restrict the number of chances, holding on for the three points. Despite the defeat, Tigers coach Adam Hett was pleased with his side’s performance, and they’ll look to bounce back next weekend against Spirit FC.
Canterbury Bankstown 3 (Scott Tonkin 3’, Zac Elrich 76’ 81’) vs St George FC 2 (Bradley Bartels 14’, Juan Carlos Romero 62’)
Canterbury earned a priceless win at The Crest following a dramatic victory over St George FC.
The home side sprinted out of the blocks, drawing first blood in the third minute. After a one on one chance was saved, Scott Tonkin was in the right place to score his first Canterbury goal.
St George didn’t take long to equalise, and what a goal it was! Bradley Bartels fired a dipping volley from 30 yards out, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
The Saints gradually took over the game, taking the lead just after the hour mark. A swift counter attacking move released Juan Carlos Romero, and the Spanish wizard made no mistake to put his side 2-1 up.
Canterbury coach Branko Culina responded by ringing the changes, and his side got themselves back into the game in the 76th minute. Another recent signing, former Parramatta FC winger Zac Elrich, fired the ball through a crowd of bodies to level the scores.
Elrich wasn’t done however, and he scored the game’s decisive goal five minutes later, pouncing on a loose ball following a goalmouth scramble.
Canterbury also hit the post in the second half, and Culina was quick to praise the character of this team, who have closed the gap at the bottom of the table to five points.
Rydalmere Lions 0 vs GHFA Spirit FC 3 (Duncan Stewart 12’, Futoshi Kondo 60’, Travis Cooper 90+2’)
Spirit FC are now on a good run, with ten goals scored and none conceded in the last three games.
There were penalties galore in the first half. David Perkovic’s side took the lead, Duncan Stewart grabbing his 12th goal of the year from the spot. The striker could have had another goal when his side were awarded a second penalty nine minutes later, however this time he missed to keep the Lions in the contest.
Incredibly, Rydalmere would get a spot kick of their own before half an hour had been played. Spirit goalkeeper Tomi Romic came up big, diving to his right to save the penalty and keep his side in front.
Although they were behind, the Lions were well in the contest. Chris Camilleri’s men were able to create multiple chances, with the midfield trio of Addison Sayan, Mitchell Gibbs and new signing Paul Katsetis combining well.
Despite Rydalmere’s efforts, Spirit would strike a killer blow with half an hour remaining, as Futoshi Kondo scored an incredible goal from 40 yards to make it 2-0.
The Lions would continue to put the pressure on, but it was Spirit who rounded off the scoring, Travis Cooper finishing off a late counter attack.
Spirit move up to third following the win, while Rydalmere return to Valentine Sports Park next week to try and kick start their season against Central Coast Mariners.
North Shore Mariners 2 (Mitchell Smith 90+1’ 90+3’) vs Macarthur Rams 1 (Philip Hasiuk 27’)
There was an extraordinary comeback at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday afternoon, as North Shore Mariners left it very, very late against Macarthur Rams.
The Mariners had an early chance through James Scott, while the Rams flashed a couple of long range shots over the crossbar.
Macarthur then defied their league position to take the lead against the title contenders in the 27th minute. A quick break saw Mitchell Arcosa run into space, and he played the right pass for Philip Hasiuk, who drilled the ball low into the net. The Rams were comfortable for the rest of the half, and North Shore only had a couple of long range efforts.
North Shore coach Joe Haywood reorganised his side at halftime, and the changes had some impact, with Mitchell Smith denied from close range by Rams goalkeeper Jacob Madden.
However, Macarthur kept their discipline, and even had half chances through Yusuke Maruyama and Michael Stojanovski. Things were looking good for the Rams, until the drama began in the final minutes.
The clock had just ticked over into time added on when the Mariners equalised, Mitchell Smith heading home from a Chris Lindsay corner kick. The equaliser brought the North Shore fans to life, but Ryan Wood needed to make a reflex save almost from the restart to keep the scores level.
North Shore then wasted a three on one counter attack, but managed to keep the ball alive long enough for the final twist, Smith heading in from a left wing cross to secure all three points for his side.
By Eric Subijano
Twitter – @eric_subijano
