ROUND 11 REVIEW – NPL 3 NSW MEN’S
The back of the net rippled on 27 occasions with five goals or more registered in four out of the six matches as we passed the halfway point of the 2021 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
Bankstown City and Sydney University ensured that they had an enjoyable weekend after they scored a combined eight goals in their respective matches on Friday night. Dulwich Hill displayed their ruthlessness in front of goal as they put six past Bankstown United while four wins on the bounce for Inter has seen them skyrocket up the ladder.
Bankstown City FC – Gladesville Ryde Magic 4-1
The scoring spree continued at Bankstown as they claimed a resounding 4-1 victory over Gladesville Ryde Magic at Jensen Park on Saturday night.
An early goal from Chris Triantis opened the floodgates for Bankstown after he faked a shot before slotting his effort in the near post.
Ante Tomic gave the hosts a 2-0 lead before the break courtesy of his well taken spot kick.
The home side were in dream land when they extended their lead to three with Tai Smith the goal scorer on this occasion as he got on the end of a delightful ball into the box.
The visitors continued to press and were eventually rewarded with a consolation goal from Panayioti Gotsis with around a quarter of an hour remaining.
Bankstown were clearly out for blood as they scored their fourth and final goal of the evening via a peach of a left footed strike by Huseyin Jasli.
The three points sees Bankstown keep pace with Rydalmere at the top of the table ahead of their showdown with fierce rivals United.
Meanwhile, two defeats on the road will not be good for Magic’s morale, they will be hoping to turn things around when they return to Christie Park to welcome the Hawks.
Sydney University SFC – Inner West Hawks FC 4-1
Sydney University proved too strong for Inner West Hawks as they ran away 4-1 winners at Valentine Sports Park on Friday night.
The deadlock was broken by the Hawks after just seven minutes with Gabriel Antoniades slotting the ball into the net after Jack Lapi’s clearance fell into the path of the Hawks player.
Sydney Uni’s new recruit, Lee Jones, signed on in the best possible manner after he levelled the scoring with a standout goal just after the half hour mark.
The home side soon added a second and went ahead for the first time in the contest thanks to Harry Quirk who guided in Jones’ cross.
The second half saw Uni increase their advantage with substitute Daniel Barrett getting his name on the scoresheet.
The dismissal of right back Nicolas Zamora Arias did not help Hawks’ cause as they went into damage control for the remainder of the match.
The scoring was wrapped up in the 90th minute when Hayden Fleming was brought down in the box. New signing Nick Mouzourakis stepped up to take the resulting spot kick and put the rubber stamp on a solid win for his side.
The win sees the ‘students’ climb two positions into ninth on the ladder while another defeat for the Hawks has them rooted to the bottom of the table.
Next up for Uni is a trip to Pluim Park as they face off against Central Coast while Hawks will be aiming to add to Magic’s woes when they meet at Christie Park.
Dulwich Hill FC – Bankstown United FC 6-1
It was a memorable night for Dully as they put six past Bankstown United in a 6-1 victory at Arlington Oval on Saturday night.
Injuries were an unwanted theme of the evening with both sides losing integral players throughout the 90 minutes.
The home side were first to lose one of their most valuable players when their shot stopper, Chris Marques, had to be subbed off after landing awkwardly when catching a ball.
This paved the way for a first grade debut for Ollie Yates who was soon met with a flurry of United chances before his side broke the deadlock.
An Alex Nicolosi volley saw the home side open the scoring on 19 minutes before their lead was extended just after the half hour mark via exquisite build up play which culminated in a Braden Cheng thunderbolt which nestled into the top corner of the goal.
That was not it for the injury list with Goncalo Paradanta making way for new signing Josh Da Silva while United keeper, Blake Tuxford, was replaced at the break due to a niggle.
The score remained locked at 2-0 for quite some time before Mitch Cross arrived on the scene with a well taken finish to make things interesting with around 20 minutes left on the clock.
Bankstown were on the up but they were left frustrated by Dully’s steely defence which had an answer for every attack thrown in their direction.
The hosts then went up the other end to find their third with Jamie Dib getting on the scoresheet for the first time this season when he curled his effort into the far post.
They then ran riot scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes. Nicolosi helping himself to a brace in the 82nd minute before a back post header from Micaiah Te Rata made it 5-1 four minutes later.
It then turned out to be a dream debut for Da Silva who finished off a four player combination play with a side footed finish on 91 minutes.
Next up on the agenda for the free-scoring hosts is a date with Berries at Arlington Oval while United will have to regroup quickly as they prepare for their derby showdown with Bankstown City.
Dunbar Rovers FC – Rydalmere Lions FC 0-2
Rydalmere made it back-to-back wins after they registered a 2-0 win against Dunbar Rovers at Heffron Park on Saturday night.
Jamie Craig put the visitors ahead early on in this contest with a slick finish from just inside the box after a delightful cross from the right wing.
The wind was playing in Dunbar’s favour throughout the first half however they were unable to capitalise on their dominance after a number of near chances.
A quite even second half saw Gavin Rae’s side have to bide their time before they eventually found the goal to settle the contest.
Mitchell Gibbs was the man for Rydalmere with his strike from the edge of the box rippling the Dunbar net to confirm the three points for the league leaders.
On the horizon for Rydalmere is a bumper clash with the unstoppable Inter Lions while Dunbar make the trip down the M5 to take on Macarthur.
Inter Lions FC – Central Coast United FC 4-1
It was Inter Lions who came away with the lion’s share of the points as they secured a 4-1 triumph against Central Coast at Majors Bay Reserve on Saturday night.
The Pirates conjured up the best opportunity of the first half when Mason Wells put the hosts’ defence on notice with his header which sailed just over the crossbar.
Injuries to both Cade Mapu and Adam Woodbine did not help the visitors’ cause as they began the second half without their two standout players.
Inter pounced on the hour mark with an in swinging corner which caused all kinds of problems in the box before being bundled in by Scott Mcginley into his own net.
Alex Becerra soon doubled the home side’s lead when he slammed the ball home from close range.
Some stunning build up play saw the Pirates serve up some magic with Tommy Lyons, Josh Swadling and Daniel Mcfarlane combining before the latter produced a world class finish to claw back the scoring to 2-1.
Inter were not resting on their laurels as they added a third via Becerra who slotted home after being expertly picked out by Nico Paras’ through ball.
It was then up to Paras to wrap up the scoring with a powerful strike in second half stoppage time.
That is now four wins on the trot for Inter as they gear up for what is sure to be a must-watch game with Rydalmere next weekend while Central Coast will be back at Pluim Park to host Sydney Uni.
Canterbury Bankstown FC – Macarthur Rams FC 0-3
Macarthur could not have asked for a better away result as they recorded all three points and a highly-prized clean sheet from their meeting with Canterbury Bankstown at the Crest on Saturday night.
The Rams broke the deadlock through Mark Symington after 20 minutes before shortly having a goal disallowed when Sam Onana was adjudged to be in an offside position.
The second half saw Symington secure his brace with an absolute bomb from 40 metres out which had no destination other than the back of the net.
The offside flag once again foiled Onana moments later who was through on goal only for the linesman to rightly raise his flag.
The introduction of Anthony Nicola paid dividends for Jason Breton’s side as he popped up with the third and final goal when he unleashed from 35 metres out with around 10 minutes left to go.
The win sees Macarthur stay in touch with the top six as they prepare for a home tie against Dunbar while Dully await Berries next round.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)