Reserve Grade – Hills United 5-2 Newcastle Jets
With a Hills United reserve grade side coming into their 4th round matchup with the Newcastle Jets and looking to extend their winning streak, it was always going to be an uphill battle for a Jets team still looking for their first victory. Straight out of the gates, the team in yellow were on the attack. Samir Eshani picked off a pass and Chris Holmes tracked the clearance down to tap it home for an early lead. Eshani was in an attacking mood, looking to control proceedings and launch aggressively from the back, eventually finding another opening midway through the half and finishing himself. With his team in a strong position, Lachlan Ninham had his chance to shift to the wing, immediately adding to Hills’ passing game with confidence. Eshani found Ninham on the left side of the box with Ninham taking his chance and slamming the ball into the far corner of the goal, scoring an excellent debut goal for his club and ending the half on a high.
Coming into the second half, Hills started where they finished the first half. Matthew Mallows set-up Eshani with a strong delivery from the sideline, and Eshani was in the kind of mood that told everyone he wouldn’t miss out, knocking it home to extend his team’s lead. Hills were eventually unable to keep their momentum rolling and the Jets took full advantage of the situation. Jake Vidakovic and Rumeth Herath worked hard to put their opponents under pressure and were rewarded with some attacking opportunities which they took full advantage of. Vidakovic played a perfect cross from the left wing, picking out Herath who calmly slid the ball between the defenders for his first. A charging Holmes put a stop to the Newcastle recovery with an aggressive attack on the football to claim his second before Herath scored the mirror image of his first goal, Vidakovic finding the Jet from the right wing this time.
Surging to their fourth victory of the season, this Hills outfit would be difficult to chase down, but Newcastle’s first goals of the season would hopefully set them up for success as their season builds.
Match stats:
Hills United 5 (Holmes 2’ 38’, Eshani 12’ 23’, Ninham 18‘)
Newcastle Jets 2 (Herath 35’ 39’)
Premier League – Hills United 1-0 Newcastle Jets
After sharing the points with the Wanderers in their last outing, a re-shuffled Hills United were up against a Newcastle Jets side still looking to get their season rolling. With an injury to goal keeper Chris Turnbull, Chris Suffield took his place between the posts. Newcastle saw their opportunity and approached the game in an aggressive manner, opening with Ryan Seck at centre and Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Hastas on the wings, while Hills brought Matthew Mallows on to start for the first time this season. What followed was an early surge from the Jets, looking to put Suffield under pressure in the Hills’ goal, but the stand-in keeper was composed, marshalling his defenders and organising from the back as they weathered the early storm.
The difference in tactics was there to see from the sidelines, with Newcastle’s Hastas remaining as wide as possible to create a long passing option, while Hills would stick to their triangle offense, Abdullah Karim pulling the strings from the back. Samir Eshani also took to the court for Hills to bring some energy as the first half wore on, but the Jets held firm. Both teams would defend tightly, having to fight tooth and nail to survive their opponents’ ball movement. James Kim in the Newcastle goal would make the occasional strong run when picking off Hills’ passing, ensuring his Jets’ would fashion the better chances in the first half. Still, Hills survived some cutting Jets crosses from the sidelines and would have felt relieved going into half time level with their opponents.
Entering the second half, Mallows returned to the field and this change would pay dividends with the increased intensity from both sides. Seck found Liolio-Davis with a crisp pass from the sideline, but the following long-range spin shot was blocked by Mallows. The sheer power of the rebound sent it flying past a surprised Kim and into the goal, giving Hills an unlikely lead. If the Jets’ hadn’t increased their intensity earlier, it was now more than clear. Each sideline hit came sooner, their crosses picking out each other with pace and precision when Hills let their guard down for even a second. Even with Suffield remaining calm, the pressure was mounting further, and only the occasional surging run from defence or long distance goal kick could give Hills time to breathe. A 2 on 1 free kick would save Hills late on, with the ball squeezing between Karim and the post just seconds after the whistle had blown. With what would prove to be the last chance of the game, Liolio-Davis took the free kick from deep in the corner. Only an agile Karim was able to pick the pass off, clearing it just before the full-time whistle blew, allowing his team to finally breathe.
Newcastle would be disappointed not to have taken anything away from the match, but a strong performance would be a warning to their future opponents. For Hills, having to fight for their 3 points would serve them well in their battles for the rest of the season.
Match stats:
Hills United 1 (Mallows 26‘)
Newcastle Jets 0
Reserve Grade – Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 Sydney FC
Both sides went into this match with a goal to be aggressive and play a passing brand of football. From the outset, the Wanderers’ Jye Mokluk looked to control from the middle and look to pass the ball up to the dangerous Jaxon Taylor. For Sydney FC, looking for field position from the beginning of the match was a clear goal, with Fletcher Ball always looking to spread the ball from the sideline hit-ins. Mokluk was able to read the early clearances, spinning confidently and smashing the ball forward to create a chance for Taylor. Looking to fire in a shot, the ball came with such pace that Taylor instead faked his shot, wrong-footing the keeper and letting the ball graze his guard for a cheeky finish. Still, despite the early red and black lead, neither team could control proceedings for too long. For much of the first half, it was Mokluk for the Wanderers against Mitchell Albert for the sky blues in the middle, neither able to make any inroads before the half. The Wanderers went into the half feeling like they had the better of a relatively even opening stanza.
Ringing the changes at half time, Sydney FC brought on both Joshua Ryan in the midfield and Daniel O’Brien in goals to wrestle back some momentum. Still, Patrick Nolan and Steve Shadlow from the Wanderers looked to make things difficult for their opponents. It took them some time to break down their opponents, but Ryan eventually brought his team back into the match. With ten minutes to go, the Wanderers were fighting off a blue wave of pressure, with Ryan relentless in his efforts to break the opposition defensive wall down. The Wanderers defence, under mountains of attempts would continue to hold strong, refusing to give chances to their opponents and staying solid. Eventually time was the worst enemy of the sky blues, the full time whistle blowing along with a sigh of relief from the red and black bench. The derby never fails to serve up tension and this was no different. Adding three points to their tally, the Wanderers maintained their grip on second place and kept their rivals at bay.
Match stats:
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Taylor 7‘)
Sydney FC 0
Premier League – Sydney FC 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
The Wanderers went into their premier league matchup with their Sydney rivals looking to build on what was a strong result with a draw against the ladder-leading Hills United last time out. For the sky blues, their momentum carried over from their reserve grade match moments earlier, despite not managing to break through for a goal. That didn’t stop an eager Daniel O’Brien from pouncing on a goal kick from Andy Waite, the Wanderers’ stopper placing the ball too close to O’Brien who struck with authority. A strong side-guard shot sent the ball past Waite and out of his reach, giving the sky blues a surprise early lead.
Frustrated by their early deficit, the Wanderers brought Ben Keyte on to bolster their offense and look for an equaliser, but their frustration was set to continue. Their passing wasn’t as crisp as it needed to be to get through an energetic sky blues side, with the midfield trio of Joshua Ryan, O’Brien and Mitchell Albert working well together to stifle their opponents. Harry Simmons was cool as ice in the sky blue goal, calmly dealing with a Wanderers attack without raising a sweat. Eventually the Wanderers began to make an impression, with Jordan Crane and Andrew Kim combining to keep the sky blues under pressure with their passing, but unfortunately unable to find that final pass to set up Keyte out wide, maintaining their deficit at the half.
The sky blues had fought hard to keep the match on an even level, but the Wanderers were sure to turn the pressure up as the match continued. The passing from the red and black was faster, showing far more intent after the halftime break and a few instructions from the sideline. Crane was now finding Keyte and Kim with more ease, even with the Sydney FC players carrying their energy into the later stages of the match. Simmons in the sky blue goal was called into action more and more as the Wanderers tightened the screws, but still he continued to be a rock for his hard-fighting team mates. With time running down, the Wanderers found Kim out wide, but his clever shot was easily saved by Simmons. Still, it was a sign of things to come, with Crane seemingly having found what he needed to do to breach the defence that had continued to hold firm. Ryan and Simmons were getting closer to the full time whistle, each shot saved getting them that much closer to a point or three. Finally, having used Keyte as their first passing option for most of the second half paid dividends for the Wanderers. Firing another cross through the defence, Simmons thought he had saved another certain goal, but Kim caught the rebound and tapped it home for an unlikely equaliser. With their lead gone, you could have forgiven the young Sydney FC team from giving in, but their resolve shone through and they looked for a winner but to no avail.
Having plenty of chances to score, the Wanderers would be disappointed to hear the full time whistle blow without taking the lead but would have to credit their opponents for making the match such a difficult one. A first point for the sky blues would hopefully be a sign of things to come for their fans.
Match stats:
Sydney FC 1 (O’Brien 2‘)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Kim 36’)