Some big results were the talk of the town as the NPL NSW Men’s 20’s round 12 came to an end with the Match of the Round taking place at Lambert Park when APIA Leichhardt Tigers took care of Manly United 1-0 while Rockdale City Suns grabbing bagging rights with a memorable victory over the high flying Sutherland Sharks.
Match of the Round
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1-0 Manly United, Sunday May 27 at Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt Tigers edged a tight contest against Manly United at Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon, the hosts snapping a three-match losing streak and securing a valuable three points to consolidate their spot in the chasing pack.
Manly began strongly but struggled to recover after going behind to Matthew Tavertini’s strike midway through the first half, with APIA looking the more likely of the two sides to give the game a second goal.
The visitors took hold of the ball and dictated possession for the best part of the opening exchanges, though rarely threatened the goalkeeper with any meaningful efforts to take advantage of their early dominance.
One of a number of players deputising from Manly’s first team, George Firth very nearly made his experience count as he swung a free kick over the wall and against the crossbar, but the ball bounced down and away to give APIA a chance to clear the danger.
The shot against the woodwork appeared to jolt APIA awake after an indifferent start, and just minutes later they’d turned the game on its head: the ball was fed to Tavertini as he broke through the crowd at the top of the box, and after taking a touch to set himself he slammed a low shot under Dylan Mitchell in the Manly United goal to give his side the lead.
Luca Kmet was ever-present behind APIA’s front line, and was unfortunate not to register on the scoresheet himself as the hosts looked to close out the half with a two-goal advantage. He picked up in the second half where he left off in the first, jinking past several defenders before unleashing a fierce shot which crashed off the underside off the crossbar as Dylan Mitchell swiped at air in the Manly goal.
The lack of a second goal wasn’t for want of trying, with both teams stretching play late in the game. Kmet struck a dipping free-kick over Mitchell’s fingertips before Tariq Maia drew a sharp save from the Manly keeper with a low shot from the top of the box after good work from Taverniti in the build-up. Manly had a rare chance when George Firth picked the ball up on the left flank and charged towards the near post before firing off a shot, but Corey Finch was equal to the effort and a strong hand was enough to see the ball out for a late corner.
APIA Leichhardt’s Franco Consentino praised an “all-round good performance” from his side, which sees the Tigers consolidate their position in the competition’s chasing pack. “At the end of the day I think we’ve been a bit unfortunate the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ve come away with nothing where we should’ve come away with something, but we knocked the ball around well today. It was a good performance and I think we deserved that win.”
APIA travel to Belmore Sports Ground next week, where they’ll be eager to build on this victory with a result against Sydney Olympic, while Manly United will look to bounce back to form when they host Hakoah Sydney City East at Cromer Park.
Match Stats
APIA Leichhardt Tigers 1 (Taverniti 18’)
Manly United 0
Sunday 27 May 2018
Lambert Park, Leichhardt
APIA Leichhardt Tigers: 29. ABOUCHAAYA Camil, 5. Adattini Stephan, 38. ALESSI Daniel, 32. ARMSON Jack, 26. AZZONE Nicholas (31. KAMARA Kalilou), 28. CERASOLI Gino, 33. FINCH Corey, 30. KMET Luca, 21. MAIA Tariq, 35. REGAN Zander, 39. TAVERNITI Matthew
Substitutes not used: 25. MELLINO Nathan, 8. ELLEM Riley, 6. GITTANY Thomas, 34. FOTOPOULOS Harris
Yellow cards: Azzone
Red cards: N/A
Manly United: 37. ASHTON Finn, 25. CONNA Kye, 39. DE GODOY Caio (28. CHAMBERS Ryan), 22. FIRTH George, 26. GLOVER Jamie, 24. WILLIAM Martin, 36. MCGRATH Lachlan (41. RAINBIRD Lucas), 19. MCMANUS Mark, 1. MITCHELL Dylan, 17. STENSNESS Gianni, 5. WILSON Sam (42. ZERVAS Mattias)
Substitutes not used: 29. DEMARCO Alex, 40. KAYE Levi
Yellow cards: McManus, Stensness, Glover
Red cards: N/A
Saturday
Sutherland Sharks 1-2 Rockdale City Suns, 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks were dealt a shock defeat at Seymour Shaw in the first match of the round, slipping to a 2-1 loss to the struggling Rockdale City Suns to give Blacktown City a hope of catching them at the top of the NPL NSW Men’s 20s table.
An impressive comeback to draw with Sydney FC last week meant Rockdale came into the match with greater confidence than their position might otherwise suggest, but few would have predicted that they could topple the competition leaders.
An own goal from Harry Sutherland just before halftime gave the visitors a lead to defend after the break, but James Temelkovski scored with a fabulous freekick – his eighth goal in 11 appearances – to level at 1-1. An unfortunate slip at the back allowed Alexander Malfara to steal in and restore Rockdale’s lead, while the Sharks were spared a third late on when the visitors had a penalty saved.
Blacktown City’s loss means Sutherland retain their six point lead at the top of the table ahead of their clash with Sydney FC next weekend, while Rockdale will return home to Ilinden Sports Centre to host a Wollongong Wolves side on a high after springing their own upset in Round 12.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3-1 Sydney Olympic, 5.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles rolled over Sydney Olympic at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday afternoon; a double strike from Asmir Kadric and one from Aaron Avery helping the hosts to a win over the competition’s bottom side.
Bonnyrigg’s Mohamed Shah was shown a red card while Wahid Hamayoun’s goal gave the visitors brief hope of a comeback, though Olympic ultimately couldn’t help but slip to their seventh defeat of the campaign to date. They remain a point adrift of Marconi at the foot of the ladder ahead of their match against APIA Leichhardt Tigers next weekend, while Bonnyrigg stay midtable as they look ahead to a clash with the struggling Stallions in Round 13.
Sydney United 58 2-0 Marconi Stallions, 5.30pm at Sydney United Sports Centre
Goals from Kyle Cimenti and Anthony Trimboli helped Sydney United 58 to a comfortable 2-0 win over Marconi Stallions on Saturday night; the hosts’ third win in a row as their season continues to pick up steam.
Marconi will look to pick themselves up with a result next week when they host Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Marconi Stadium, while Sydney United 58 travel to Lily’s Homes Stadium to take on a Blacktown City side stinging from consecutive defeats.
Sunday
Hakoah Sydney City East 3-2 Sydney FC, 1.00pm at Hensley Athletic Field
Hakoah Sydney City East came out on top in a five-goal thriller at Hensley Athletic Field, with a Connor Eldrige double the difference as Hakoah announced themselves to the top end of the ladder. Hakoah led 2-1 at the break and finished the job after holding out in the second half; Jordan Makridopolus adding another for the hosts while Finn Ballard McBride and Thomas Fay registered for a Sydney FC side that continues to struggle for consistency.
Things don’t get much easier for Sydney FC next weekend as they welcome table-topping Sutherland Sharks to Lambert Park, while Hakoah head north to face Manly United at Cromer Park.
Blacktown City 0-3 Wollongong Wolves, 1.00pm at Lily’s Homes Stadium
Blacktown City had an opportunity to cut the Sutherland Sharks’ lead at the top of the NPL NSW Men’s 20s competition to three points after Nick Dimovski’s side suffered a shock loss to Rockdale City Suns on Saturday, but were left on the end of a surprise result themselves after slipping to a 3-0 defeat to the visiting Wollongong Wolves.
Goals from Jordan Nikolovski, Nikola Djordjevic and Mitchell Ferraro gave Wollongong a comfortable lead which allowed them to wrap the match up inside the hour, handing Blacktown City their second consecutive 3-0 defeat. John Carnevale’s side remain second on the ladder, but face a test next week when they host a resurgent Sydney United 58. Wollongong Wolves, meanwhile, will travel to Ilinden Sports Centre to take on Rockdale City Suns.
-By Max Grieve
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