Blacktown City FC claimed the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 premiership on Sunday, but the celebrations were not limited to the First Grade team.
Remarkably, Blacktown are the Premiers in the Men’s 1, Grade 20s and Grade 18s, completing a hat-trick of Premierships and a Club Championship to boot.
For Giancarlo Maisano, it proved a fantastic end to a first year as Head of Football at the club, but the A-Licensed coach says this is just the beginning for Blacktown City.
“In terms of results, I don’t think I could have asked for a better season,” Maisano said.
“We’ve finished first in all the senior grades besides the under-16s who themselves were very unlucky not to make the semis today, so I’m very happy with the results.
“In terms of the first grade, I think Mark (Crittenden) has done a very good job, particularly given the loss of some very significant players last year, but he’s gone and recruited very well.
“The 20s have been together for a very long time, particularly the top-age boys, and they’ve done very well to come first, while the 18s are a quality outfit too.”
Maisano said the success of the first grade team was particularly sweet given the contribution of a number of the club’s former juniors, notably Patrick Antelmi, Zach Cairncross and Matt Lewis who have all returned to the clubs after pursuing careers in the game.
“It’s great to see guys like Antelmi here, because he’s a magnificent player that came up through our juniors,” Maisano said.
“He was unlucky at some big clubs like Leeds and Portsmouth overseas, but he’s come back and contributed to his junior club and that’s what we love to see.
“As a club, we want to create more Patrick Antelmis.”
Maisano said his role in the success was simply making sure coaches and players were happy and all teams within the club were pulling in the same direction, but as the years move on he would like to help the club create a more structured pathway from junior to senior football.
“Blacktown has a very proud tradition of success in terms of results and there have been plenty of good players involved in that, but now we’d like to go beyond that,” Maisano said.
“We want o have a clear development policy that comes through with even better coaching, more opportunities for players that come through the grades to the seniors and really looking to make this club as close to a professional one as we can.
“The introduction of A-League clubs into the NPL next season means that we have some competitors in that respect now, so we need to position ourselves as the best alternative to going directly to those A-League clubs who can offer professional opportunities.”
Maisano said as long as the current board continued to operate the way it has been, he was confident the success and implementation of a stronger development policy would continue to bring reward to the club.
“Blacktown City is a great club, with great people involved and, as an outsider coming into the club this year, I’ve been so happy with how the board interacts with everyone,” Maisano said.
“Like right now, the boys are in Lilys having dinner and we do that after every home game, regardless of the results.
“That’s a culture thing we want to continue to build on into the future.
“A strong board is very important in contributing to that and to building on that in the long term picture.”
– By Matthew Galea, National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Editor, at Lambert Park
Archives for August 2015
Grade 20s Semi Finals Preview – Week One
While the season ends for the majority of the sides that contested the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 Grade 20s competition, the real fun is about to begin for the five sides that finished top of the ladder.
Crowned Premiers with a week of the regular season to spare, Blacktown City have earned an extra week off while Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58, Marconi Stallions and Sutherland Sharks gear up for the first set of Semi Finals.
Both games will be played at Lambert Park, beginning with Olympic v United at 9.30am, followed by Marconi and Sutherland at 12pm.
Sydney Olympic FC v Sydney United 58 FC, 9.30am at Lambert Park
Just a week after beating the same opponent 4-2 at Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney Olympic FC will face Sydney United 58 FC in the first Semi Final at Lambert Park confident of achieving a similar result on Sunday morning.
Olympic strung together seven wins in their final eight matches of the regular season to finish in fourth place, with victories over fellow Semi Finalists Marconi, United 58 and Sutherland somewhat mitigated by a heavy 8-1 loss to eventual Premiers Blacktown City FC.
James Andrew and Michael Trajkovski each scored a brace in Olympic’s 4-2 win last weekend, with Andrew looking particuarly dangerous drifting in from the left wing, as he has all season. Sydney United 58’s Cristian Gonzalez scored his side’s two goals, though only after his side had conceded three times before the break.
Prior to their loss to Olympic, Sydney United 58 were unbeaten in four matches, not having been defeated since going down 4-3 to Bonnyrigg White Eagles in Round 17.
Olympic defenders will be wary of United 58 striker Lachlan Roberts, who scored both last week and in United’s 5-0 defeat of Olympic earlier in the season at Sydney United Sports Centre.
Marconi Stallions v Sutherland Sharks, 12pm at Lambert Park
A stumbling finish to the season meant Marconi missed the opportunity to overtake Blacktown City late on, the Stallions ultimately finishing second after dropping points in four of their last six matches.
They ended the season on a high, however, with a 1-0 win over South Coast Wolves at Win Stadium last Sunday afternoon.
Their opponents on Sunday afternoon, Sutherland Sharks, rode as high as first place for much of the season but experienced an equally disappointing run-in to the finals as Marconi, losing their last three games to the Stallions, Olympic and Premiers Blacktown City. The Sharks’ latest loss was a 3-1 defeat at Lilys Football Centre, with Patrick O’Shea netting the only goal for the visitors.
These sides last met just three weeks ago, with Marconi notching a 2-0 win at Marconi Stadium courtesy of two goals from David Talevski. The Stallions won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Seymour Shaw earlier in the season, too, with goals from Brandon Vella and Zac Sfiligoi cancelling out a Patrick O’Shea strike.
– By Max Grieve, PS4 National Premier Leagues Grade 20s Reporter
Semi Finals Preview – Week One
For more than half the competition, the season is over, but for five PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1 sides, things are just starting to get interesting.
Blacktown City FC has proven itself to be the best side in the competition over the course of 22 rounds, but now it must do it again in the pressure cooker that is finals football.
For now, the Premiers can afford to relax, having earned the weekend off, but the next-best four teams, APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, Sydney Olympic FC and South Coast Wolves FC, will do battle this Sunday.
A massive day of football at Lambert Park beckons as Olympic and Wolves play for the right to remain in the Finals Series, while APIA and Bonnyrigg will enter the arena to decide who faces Blacktown City FC next week for the right to go straight to the Grand Final.
Sydney Olympic FC v South Coast Wolves FC, Elimination Semi Final, 2.30 pm Sunday at Lambert Park
Sydney Olympic FC will be hopeful of extending its unbeaten run over South Coast Wolves FC – and indeed continue its fine vein of form in general – with another win on Sunday afternoon in the Elimination Semi Final.
Grant Lee’s side has recovered from a mid-season slump to finish the season with five straight wins and three consecutive clean sheets.
Dimitri Hatzimouratis has been lethal in front of goal in recent weeks, though he finished the home-and-away season in second place on Olympic’s scoring charts, with eight goals to Harris Gaitatzis’ 10.
South Coast Wolves looked nervy against recently relegated Marconi Stallions as they went on to win 2-0 on the last day of the season to secure finals football.
Jacob Timpano’s relatively young side’s late, late push to make the top-five was helped by Rockdale City Suns’ capitulation at the hands of fellow finalists Bonnyrigg White Eagles, but the Wolves took longer to put away the bottom-placed Stallions than Timpano would have liked.
Still, Jordan Murray continued his fine form in front of goal with his fourth goal of the season, while the stern Olympic defence will also have to be wary of Peter Simonoski, who finished the season with eight goals.
Tale of the Tape:
Round 1: Sydney Olympic 3 d South Coast Wolves 0
Round 12: South Coast Wolves 1 drew with Sydney Olympic 1
APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC v Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, Preliminary Semi Final, 5.00 pm Sunday at Lambert Park
Bonnyrigg White Eagles don’t need to look too far back for a reminder of just how big the task at hand is this weekend.
The White Eagles were dealt a crushing 3-0 loss by a much sharper APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC only two weeks ago and Brian Brown will be under no illussions that his side will need to lift from that effort.
Encouragingly, they already have.
The White Eagles smashed Finals hopefuls Rockdale City Suns FC 4-0 in a dominant display last week, with Robert Younis back among the goals, to cap of what was overall a strong home-and-away season.
APIA, on the other hand, was pegged back twice in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Blacktown Spartans FC at Lambert Park.
The Tigers have struggled with injuries towards the end of the campaign, although their results have not been too badly affected, even with top-scorer Blake Powell being snatched up by A-League outfit Wellington Phoenix.
Adrian Ucchino, Franco Parisi and Nathan Elasi have stepped up in that department in his absence, and they’ll need to be on target to stop the White Eagles on Sunday.
Tale of the Tape:
Round 10: APIA Leichhardt Tigers 0 drew with Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0
Round 21: Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0 lost to APIA Leichhardt Tigers 3
Team of the Week – Round 22
The final round of the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 competition threw up some fantastic games and with that, some great individual performances.
Luke Turnbull has been irreplaceable for Parramatta FC this year and has been a major point in his side’s survival. Another fantastic performance on the weekend meant that he helped Parramatta to an important victory over Manly United.
APIA Leichhardt Tigers had to settle for second place on the ladder but David D’Apuzzo has found his goalscoring boots. Two goals on Sunday afternoon added to his goal from last week to make it three in a couple weeks.
Nikola Zonjic was fantastic in tandem with Ben Spruce on Sunday as the Bonnyrigg White Eagles kept a cleansheet. Missing a large part of the season, Zonjic will be important for Brian Brown’s side in the Finals Series.
Parramatta FC captain Patrick Gatt would’ve been a happy man on Sunday afternoon as he led his side to victory and safety in the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 competition. Gatt has been at the heart of the Parramatta defence all year and has been an inspiration to his teammates.
It’s been a season to remember for Tynan Diaz scoring his fifth goal of the season on the weekend and being best on the park. Taking the captains armband on Sunday in the absence of Chris Tadrosse for the Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Diaz stepped up to the plate in style.
Throughout the whole season, Franco Parisi has been fantastic for APIA Leichhardt Tigers. Playing one of his best seasons to date, Parisi etched his name on the score sheet with a brace on Sunday, taking the man of the match tag with him.
A true work man, Taiga Soeda was electric in the Sydney Olympic midfield on the weekend. Picking up the ball from his defenders, starting countless attacks for his side and working hard in defence, Soeda was everywhere for his team.
Jordan Murray has exploded onto the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 scene in recent weeks. Scoring six goals in his last six games for the South Coast Wolves, he’s been an important figure for his side’s run into the Finals Series.
His teammate Peter Simonovski has been a consistent performer for the South Coast Wolves this season. An endless work-rate and an assist for the Wolves second goal earned him his place in the team of the week.
Blacktown City were one of the most prolific sides in the competition and many goals came off Patrick Antelmi assists. Antelmi was at the centre of most of his teams moves going forward again on Sunday, displaying his passing range.
Another player that hasn’t found it difficult to find the back of the net this season is Danny Choi. The speedy attacker scored a double on Sunday taking his tally to nine for the season as Blacktown City lifted the Premiership.
Team of the Week – Round 21
In the penultimate round of the PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 1 competition, there were some standout performances that earned players their places in the Team of the Week.
Ryan Norval stood strong in the APIA Leichhardt Tigers goal and repelled many attacks by the Bonnyrigg White Eagles. His performance earned him a clean sheet and a spot in the team of the week.
The APIA Leichhardt Tigers can still steal the Premiership if results go their way and that’s due to defender Michael West putting in another first class performance on the weekend. West has only missed two matches this season for APIA and has lead his team by example.
Darcey Madden found the back of the net for the South Coast Wolves on the weekend, his first goal of the season. He was also key to the Wolves keeping a clean sheet and registering an important victory on Sunday afternoon.
Matthew Bilic got Sydney United 58 on their way to their first win after four losses, scoring the opening goal. Bilic was the best on the park for Mark Rudan’s team as they look to sneak into the Top 5.
Sydney Olympic’s Brayden Sorge has been a consistent performer for Grant Lee’s side this season. Sorge was outstanding on the right hand side of defence on Saturday night and rightly took the man of the match tag.
Samuel Matthews found the back of the net for the South Coast Wolves for the second consecutive week on Saturday, opening the scoring for his side and helping secure a vital three points in the race for Finals football.
Adrian Ucchino has started to hit his stride, he was the best player on the pitch for the APIA Leichhardt Tigers on Saturday night, as well as scoring his third goal in the last four matches.
If there is one player to keep an eye out for, it’s Rockdale City Suns’ Toufic Alameddine. Alameddine didn’t get on the score sheet but he was a constant threat to the Parramatta FC defence and set up countless chances for his team mates.
Blacktown City are back on track after Mitch Mallia sent them on their way to victory. The former Sydney FC man picked up his eight goal of the season with a first half strike as well as assisting two others.
“Such a quality footballer” was the description Jeff Suzor gave of Panni Nikas after his performance for Sydney United 58 on Sunday. Nikas had a hand to play in United’s second goal as well as being a threat himself on countless occasions.
Travis Major didn’t score on Sunday for Blacktown City but he did assist two goals for his team. The Blacktown Spartans defence struggled to deal with his pace and power throughout the game.