Blacktown City is the new leader of the PS4 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 1. Mark Crittenden’s side, who have a game in hand, now have their noses in front of APIA Leichhardt, after both sides won on the weekend. Sydney Olympic’s loss to Sydney United 58 sees Olympic drop to third.
ROUND 11 REVIEW
Blacktown Spartans 1-5 APIA Leichhardt Tigers, at Blacktown Football Parl
It wasn’t a pretty night for the boys in orange, who were mercilessly thrashed by a rampant looking APIA Leichhardt Tigers.
The away side took the lead through Nick Olsen, but thereafter, Spartans had the better of the game, forcing Michael West and Brett Studman to be on their game.
Spartans couldn’t make the most of their period on top though, and after Adrian Ucchino rifled in a 25 yarder at the start of the second half, it was one way traffic.
Blake Powell scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season within two minutes of each other, before former Spartans Corey Biczo iced the cake with the fifth.
The only blemish was an own goal by another former Spartan, Nathan Millgate, but it mattered very little in the end.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles 0-3 Rockdale City Suns, at Bonnyrigg Sports Centre
Bonnyrigg were not at the races as they crashed to a 3-0 defeat at home to Rockdale City Suns.
Rockdale’s win moves them up to eighth on the ladder, with three wins recorded since the appointment of Paul Reid as player/coach.
Idriss El Hafiane opened the scoring for the Suns in the first half, before Alec Urosevski struck twice in the second to complete the upset.
Marconi Stallions 0-1 South Coast Wolves, at Marconi Stadium
Neither of these sides have been in the headlines for the right reasons in 2015, and this battle of the cellar dwellers took a long time to get going.
The first half in particular was lacking in any quality in the final third.
However the game sparked to life very late on, and an 87th minute goal by Peter Simonoski, arrowed past Marconi goalkeeper Jacopo D’Antimo, who was deputising for the injured Sam Nastic
The win moved South Coast off the bottom of the table, and instead condemned their hosts to the ignominy of seeing the entire pack above the after 11 rounds.
Sutherland Sharks 0-1 Blacktown City, at Seymour Shaw Park
Sutherland Sharks looked like they had done enough for a share of the points at home to Blacktown City.
But Danny Choi had other ideas, and his late winner shot his side to the top of the table.
It was a tense contest and one which looked destined to finish all square, but up popped Choi in the 78′ minute to fire past Nathan Denham and score the only goal of the game.
Sydney United 58 FC 3-0 Sydney Olympic, at Sydney United Sports Centre
United 58 are as tough an assignment as any at home, and Sydney Olympic found that out the hard way
Olympic’s defeat saw Blacktown City and APIA Leichhardt leapfrog them into the top two spots on the table, while United 58 are still fourth, with a two point buffer over Bonnyrigg White Eagles.
United 58 took the lead when the ever-reliable Panni Nikas converted from the penalty spot in the first half.
Nikas then showed his spectacular side, thrashing in a fantastic goal from 25 yards in the final minute of first stanza to send his side into the break 2-0 up.
Olympic came back into the game in the second half, and they attacked the Reds, looking for a goal that would bring them back into the game. But, they left the back door unlocked, and Nikas was able to set up Chris Triantis for the match sealing third with ten minutes remaining.
Sydney FC take on English Premier League Champions Chelsea FC at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday 2 June. A limited number of tickets are on sale now! Get in quick to secure your place for this one off football clash.