ROUND 16 REVIEW – NPL 3 NSW MEN’S

A rainy weekend did not dampen the action with all six highly entertaining fixtures going ahead in round 16 of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition

Late drama ensued at Pluim Park as Central Coast shared the points with Bankstown City; Bankstown United’s four match winning streak was unravelled by Inter Lions; Dully were as ruthless as ever as they made light work of Inner West Hawks while Rydalmere, Berries and Dunbar all picked up vital victories.

Central Coast United – Bankstown City FC 2-2

Late drama in this fixture at Pluim Park saw the hosts rescue a point against their opponents as they kept their place in the top six.

All four goals in this encounter arrived in the second half with the visitors the first to get on the scoresheet. Nikola Todoroski was the man for Bankstown after he headed home from close range after the restart.

A rattled Central Coast then saw themselves concede again just over a minute later thanks to Tai Smith who was teed up by Todoroski’s cross.

The home side’s luck soon changed with Mason Wells giving them a route back into the match when he pounced on a goalmouth scramble.

The men from Pluim Park were not done there as they crashed Bankstown’s party with the last kick of the game when Josh Swadling scored from the corner.

The Pirates’ attacker calmly chested he ball before burying the ball with his right foot.

A point each is enough for both sides to retain their respective positions on the ladder with Bankstown in second and Central Coast in sixth.

Bankstown can now look forward to a home tie with Macarthur while Central Coast welcome Bankstown United to Pluim Park.

Bankstown United FC – Inter Lions FC 1-2

Bankstown’s four match winning run came crashing down at Jensen Park on Saturday night after they were outdone by the odd goal in three against Inter Lions.

United were brimming with confidence from the outset and looked to be on path for their fifth straight victory when Mitch Edmunds gave his side the lead on the 20th minute mark.

It was now Blake Tuxford’s time to prove his worth, with the United shot stopper forced into action on numerous occasions. His heroics saw him keep out an Inter spot kick on the half hour mark but he could not prevent Inter from eventually drawing level before the break thanks to Alex Beccera’s effort.

Second half proceedings saw the away side throw everything they could at United and they were eventually rewarded for their fine work when Nico Paras’ delectable strike rifled into the back of the net.

The score remained that way until the full time whistle but that did not mean it was smooth sailing for Inter who managed to withstand a barrage of Bankstown attacks in the latter stages of the half.

The win sees Inter go equal on points with sixth placed Central Coast with only goal difference seeing them remain in seventh. Next up for them is a visit to Dunbar.

Scott Belgre’s men will be hoping that this defeat will be just a minor blip as they head up the M1 to meet the Pirates.

Dulwich Hill FC – Inner West Hawks FC 5-0

The Arlington derby finished in a clean sweep for Dulwich Hill who were able to put five past their rivals in a dominant display on a rainy Saturday night.

Dully broke ahead through Josh Da Silva when his shot from the edge of the box nestled into the bottom right corner 10 minutes in.

They took that 1-0 lead into the break before Harry Browell put on a show with a lightning quick hat-trick to give his side a 4-0 lead by the hour mark. Jono Green and Alex Nicolosi were on hand to provide the assists for his first two before it was all Browell who tied up his hat-trick in expert fashion.

Hawks did have a golden ticket to place themselves back in contention however they failed to make the most of it, with Chris Marques denying Peter Yannopoulos from the penalty spot in the 75th minute.

The home side then proceeded to compound more pain on their rivals when Dylan Larmour scored his first senior goal with a perfectly timed volley after being picked out by Peter Zaninetti-Taplin.

The one-sided affair could do wonders for Dully as we approach the business end of the season. They stay in third position however they have closed the gap between themselves and Bankstown City to one point.

Coming up for them is a short trip to Christie Park to face off against Magic next Sunday while Hawks may need a miracle as they welcome league leaders Rydalmere to Arlington Oval.

Macarthur Rams FC – Rydalmere Lions FC 1-2

It was Rydalmere who came out on top at Lynwood Park with 2-1 the full-time score in the round 16 clash.

The visitors drew first blood in this contest courtesy of Matt West’s strike on 20 minutes after he was set up nicely by Ali Mckie.

However, the Lions were not dominating the affair and it was not long before the home side were able to peg one back via the penalty spot with the original spot kick parried before the follow up made its way into the back of the net.

A business like performance from Rydalmere in the second half saw them do just enough to escape Macarthur with all three points. The deciding goal arriving from a corner which was deflected into the goal by a Rams player.

The three points extends Rydalmere’s lead to four points at the top of the table as they prepare for another away fixture – this time at Inner West Hawks.

Meanwhile, Macarthur will be pushed to their limits as they hit the road to face off against Bankstown City.

Gladesville Ryde Magic – Canterbury Bankstown FC 2-5

Canterbury Bankstown posted a 5-2 win against Gladesville Ryde Magic in testing conditions at Christie Park on Sunday afternoon.

They had to come from behind to get the job done with the hosts breaking the deadlock courtesy of Harris Gaitatzis who was first to the parried free kick in the opening stages of the match.

A superb free kick by Chris Katsaros saw Berries draw level before a cross from Stelio Georgiou lobbed Magic’s shot stopper and nestled into the net to give his side a 2-1 lead as they headed to the sheds.

Wally Savor’s side continued where they left off after the break with Andre Guzman adding a third to his side’s cause prior to a Brent Flavin header putting them 4-1 up around the 55th minute.

Around 10 minutes later, they proceeded to kill of any hopes of a Magic comeback as Abdul Zahra made no mistake in his one on one with Magic’s custodian.

However, slight reprieve did come the home side’s way as they scored their second of the evening via Chris Gaitatzis.

The three points sees Berries remain in 11th however they are also on 15 points like the team above them, Dunbar.

They can look forward to a crucial game against ninth placed Uni next weekend while fifth placed Gladesville take on Dully.

Sydney University SFC – Dunbar Rovers FC 3-5

It was raining in all senses of the word at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday afternoon as Dunbar Rovers saw of Sydney Uni in an eight-goal thriller.

Scott Tonkin was on hand to provide the first goal of the contest with his strike on 10 minutes however his side’s lead was short lived with Dunbar replying via Amar Adilovic around the 30th minute mark.

Uni, namely Grant Burbage continued to be a menace for Dunbar’s defence and it did not take long until they were able to restore their lead through a Peter Crevani free kick that was won by Burbage.

A Tod Bamber penalty saw Dunbar once again peg back the scoring shortly after the restart before you guessed it – Uni went ahead again. This time Burbage provided the assist for Tonkin who made no mistake from close range.

What happened after that goal was pure mayhem for one side and pure bliss for the other. Just when it seemed that the home side had the game dead and buried, Dunbar turned it on as they scored three goals without reply in the space of 15 minutes.

A Matt Nezval brace sandwiched in between a Reece Berelowitz goal handed Dunbar what turned out to be quite a convincing win.

Their first win in three attempts sees them keep hold of tenth as they gear up for a home fixture with Inter while Sydney Uni will need to be at their best to ward off Berries next Sunday.

-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)