Reserve Grade – Hills United 2-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
After locking up second place in the NSWPFA Reserve Grade for 2022, the Western Sydney Wanderers were looking forward to taking on the league winners in Hills United. The addition of Steve Webb as the starting goal keeper for the red and black behind a midfield of Jye Mokluk, Jaxon Taylor and Jesse Ezzy made their line-up a difficult one to break down for any unprepared opponent. A full-strength Hills side posed the strongest threat for the Wanderers, with Matthew Mallows guiding a youthful side of Lachlan Ninham in goals despite not wearing the keeper’s jersey and the duo of Ollie McPhail and Finn O’Donovan on the wings to open proceedings. Such an inexperienced line-up placed the pressure firmly on Mallows, but he had shown he was up to the task previously and the rapid improvement of his younger team mates was pleasing for the coaches to see.
The early stages of the match saw a midfield battle dominated by Mokluk and Mallows, with both pivots looking to spread the ball wide for their team mates. Taylor looked to be the early beneficiary, working the ball upfield and giving Ninham cause to be alert to his threat. The evenness of the initial moments of the contest was entertaining for the neutral observer, but the Hills bench wanted to exert some pressure, so Samir Eshani came into the contest to bolster the Hills midfield. Surprisingly, this gave the red and black some more impetus, a long ball from Hills easily cleared by Webb, with the Wanderers looking to quickly counter. The field position battle looked to be going in the yellow side’s direction, but a composed Webb was able to nullify their efforts and effortlessly send his team forward with some powerful and accurate goal kicks.
Going into half-time, despite having few chances, the Wanderers would have felt confident in their ability to gain something from the contest. A fiery discussion from the Hills huddle seemed to have the desired effect, with Mallows and Eshani linking up far more effectively. A pass from the sideline from Eshani found Mallows in space, the ball hammered forward and into the red and black box. The presence of O’Donovan was enough to put off Webb and Mokluk, with Mallows’ long strike enough to break the deadlock. Now brimming with confidence, a fluid and aggressive passing move saw Mallows find Eshani on the wing who sent a firm cross to a central O’Donovan who made no mistake in claiming his first goal of the season. McPhail returned to the field to see off the final moments of an entertaining battle. Despite going down, there were plenty of positive signs from the red and black, with their new combination sure to improve with more time together. With one round remaining, both sides would be looking to go out on a high in their Round 15 rematch next weekend.
Match stats:
Hills United 2 (Mallows 30‘, O’Donovan 33’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Premier League – Hills United 2-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
Hills United went into their Round 14 match with the Wanderers with a chance to claim their second consecutive NSWPFA Premier League title. A win would seal the title, but the Wanderers would be buoyed by the knowledge that they had beaten the Hills side in their last encounter. With a 4 point lead over the Newcastle Jets and with 6 points still available for all sides, a victory here for the Hills United team would guarantee the title, whereas a draw or loss would open the door for the Jets. Still, with their destiny in their own hands, Hills were looking for goals and started with an aggressive line-up featuring Josh Merkas in the centre, flanked by Jacob Cross and Abdullah Karim, while Chris Turnbull manned his usual post between the goal posts. For the red and black, Andy Waite wore the green keeper’s jersey, supported by Jordan Crane in the centre of midfield, while Ben Keyte played out wide and Jye Mokluk operated as a lone striker. This was the formation that had caused an upset a month ago and would once again be looking to do the same.
With so much on the line, it was obvious from the outset that the Hills players were affected by the pressure and the red and black looked to take full advantage of this on the counter attack. Keyte put himself in the right places, cutting off some more adventurous passes from the team in yellow, while anything put a little further forward was covered confidently by Crane. Needing to hustle to cover their opponents, Merkas was pulled wide to apply pressure to the ball and his team mates were forced to cover. With their formation struggling to stay structured, the Hills players found themselves not finding their usual options, with Karim and Cross often ending up on the same side of the field. Merkas kept on looking for his usual passes, but the aggression of the Wanderers was enough to make this difficult. Eventually things began to settle, Turnbull finding Karim out wide from a hard goal kick, but the Hills side were struggling to hit the target in their passes and shots. With time winding down in the first half, Merkas took a long shot from near half-way, the ball rolling past the post and a stretching Karim leaving the scores level at the break.
Scores level at nil-all was a familiar situation for these two sides, and once again the Wanderers would be feeling confident of causing another upset. The Hills coaching staff needed to make a change to get the result they needed, so Chris Suffield was brought on in place of Jacob Cross to hopefully reboot Hills’ structure. This was the boost the team needed, their communication increasing and Karim and Merkas looking for each other once more. Still, Suffield took some time to get into the fray, Keyte looking to take advantage of a hesitant start for his opponents. Drawing the 2 on 1, the Wanderers looked to go forwards, but a rapid Hills counter-attack earned them a hit-in. A clever screen from Merkas gave Karim room to fire the ball across the box to a waiting Suffield. Making no mistake, Suffield put the ball in at the far post despite Waite getting a touch but being unable to make the save. Taking the lead, it looked like Hills were now in the driver’s seat, but Crane looked to give Keyte space with his precise passes down the wing.
The Wanderers looked to cross through the Hills defence, but the combination of Merkas and Turnbull cleared the danger and set Suffield and Karim free to work the ball forwards once more. With a few minutes to spare, Merkas found Suffield out wide for a vicious spin, but a composed Waite made the save calmly to keep his side in the contest. Karim had other ideas, finding Merkas at the near post for a clever dink between Waite and the post to double their lead with little time remaining. The final whistle saw Hills United celebrate back-to-back Premier League titles, an impressive effort for the side in only their third season in the competition. For the Wanderers, challenging their opponents was something that would give them some solace and they would go into the final round and off-season looking to mount a serious challenge in 2023. Congratulations go to Hills United for their triumph in an exciting season!
Match stats:
Hills United 2 (Suffield 25’, Merkas 36’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Reserve Grade – Newcastle Jets 2-1 Sydney FC
The final two rounds of the NSWPFA Reserve Grade season gave both Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets a chance to restore some pride after what had been a difficult season for both sides. Newcastle fielded a side that had been working to develop a combination in recent weeks, with Jake Vidakovic and Rumeth Herath forming a midfield duo assisted by a wide striker in Cooper Greenwood, while Chris Holmes wore the keeper’s jersey. Sydney FC went with Daniel O’Brien in the centre with Cameron Moody and Riley Brown on the wings, while Marthy Anax looked to earn another clean sheet in an impressive recent run of form. The sky blues had been difficult to break down over the last month and Anax was a big reason for this, but the Jets would be looking to change this.
Starting strong, the Newcastle side looked to soak up the early pressure from their opponents through the composed presence of Vidakovic. The Jets’ centre looked to play the ball forward to Herath, but O’Brien forced him to fight individually for the early moments before things began to fall more into the Jets’ favour. A couple of early shots were covered by the sky blues, with Anax having to take an early goal kick. Herath pounced, dashing forwards to attack a pass aimed wide, cutting it off and slamming it home for an early lead. Vidakovic didn’t give the sky blues time to recover, catching O’Brien out and battling into the box, rounding both defender and keeper to double his side’s lead only moments after going ahead. Confident with their lead, the Newcastle impetus faded slightly and this allowed the Sydney side to make their way into the match. Their passes started to stick with Moody and Brown managing to help work the ball forwards and edge back in front in the field position battle. Still, the composed defence of the Jets was enough to ensure they kept their lead at two goals at the break.
Wanting to change things, the sky blues brought Fletcher Ball onto the court and his aggression and strong passes started to make a difference immediately. Opposite of the first half, it was the Sydney side who looked to attack and control the match. Ball found Brown down the wing early on in the second half, the winger taking a shot that was blocked by the defence, but his follow up shot was clever enough to sneak inside the post. An exuberant celebration from Brown for his first goal of the season saw two fists thrust into the air, his grin giving his team mates another boost. Now it was up to the Jets to respond, but it took some time for Vidakovic and Herath to re-establish their control over the midfield. Ball and his team mates looked to make things difficult for the Jets, their active passing and flowing movement having potential to cause chaos, but the defending efforts of Newcastle were enough to wind down the final few minutes. A well deserved three points for the Jets in an entertaining contest, the standard of play in the reserve grade competition continuing to improve and giving the crowd something to really enjoy.
Match stats:
Newcastle Jets 2 (Herath 5‘, Vidakovic 7‘)
Sydney FC 1 (Brown 27‘)
Premier League – Newcastle Jets 1-0 Sydney FC
The Newcastle Jets had been putting pressure on Hills United with their results in recent weeks, but they saw their chances of reclaiming the title slip from their grasp earlier in the day. It had still been quite a successful season for the Jets, taking a dominant run of form into the APFA Club Championship and taking home the silverware, and while being disappointed with second place, the side had plenty to smile about. Still, they found themselves short on reinforcements with both James Kim and Ryan Seck out with illness. Dimitri Liolio-Davis once again wore the goal keeper’s bib, Chris Hastas and Jake Vidakovic taking on the primary midfield duties, while Chris Holmes roamed along the right wing to begin with. The Sydney FC side were also without a key cog in Joshua Ryan, but this gave the midfield trio of Mitchell Albert, Daniel O’Brien and Fletcher Ball a chance to link up, supported by Harry Simmons in goal.
Despite wearing the keeper’s jersey, Liolio-Davis looked to work the ball forward from the back with his excellent passing range, fed well by an accurate Hastas. Vidakovic provided a good target for the Jets, streaking down the wing when given the chance and working the ball into good positions. Simmons and Albert were solid in the goal for the sky blues, making the early going tough for the Jets. Still, with Liolio-Davis and Hastas at the other end, the ball didn’t have much chance to leave the sky blues’ half. Soaking up any counter attacking pressure the sky blues looked to mount with their composure in taking the ball into the battle, the Jets were able to work the ball into good positions and it was only going to be a matter of time before they would take advantage. Earning a corner gave Liolio-Davis the chance to take the ball from the sideline, Holmes dropping back to cover the middle for his captain. While the first corner didn’t bear fruit, the second one did. Liolio-Davis found Hastas at the top of the box, the attacker firing a hard shot between defenders. Bouncing between them, the efforts of the defence couldn’t stop the Jets from taking the lead with a few moments remaining in the first half.
The second half gave Rumeth Herath a chance to come on in place of Holmes, looking to play a similar role to the man he replaced. Having the lead allowed the Jets to take some of the sting out of the play of their opponents, able to pass when they made enough space, and calm enough to challenge in the 1 on 1 battles when it made more sense to do so. The sky blues made more efforts to pass, their flowing passes and aggression serving well as they worked into their opponent’s half more and more often. Putting more pressure on and firing in the occasional shot, the younger side looked to get more involved, but the combination of Hastas and Liolio-Davis and their communication was good enough to stall the challenge of the sky blues. Herath covered the goals when the Jets earned a couple more corners, but the younger defenders of Simmons and Albert did well to stop the Jets from adding to their lead.
Three more points earned, the Newcastle Jets would be disappointed to see their run for the title end with a round remaining but could hold their heads high after finishing a challenging stretch of matches while being undermanned. With a full strength side when the 2023 season kicks off, the Newcastle Jets would once again be in the conversation for the title. The Sydney FC side gained some crucial experience from their battles with teams like the Jets, the young side sure to improve and provide more of a challenge next season. With a couple more seasons of their group playing together, their opponents would have to be wary not to underestimate the sky blues in the future.
Match stats:
Newcastle Jets 1 (Hastas 18’)
Sydney FC 0