Best Team: Hakoah
Worst: Gazy
Surprise Packets: Northbridge
Who will win: Wanderers
Top 5: Luddenham, Wanderers, Chopin Park, Hakoah, Northbridge
Bottom 3: Gazy, Bathurst, Belmore

i had a quick screen through and only real prediction i could find was from pommy, which is above. pretty good i must say, wanderers, roosters luddenham look safely in top 5 (after half way mark) while northbridge arent far away and hurstville have been very good of late

i had friends who play in a few teams in the comp and get mixed opinions to summarise it:

Best Team: Luddenham just in front of roosters
Worst: Gazy
Surprise Packets: Chopin Park
Who will win: Luddenham/Wanderers
Top 5: Luddenham, Wanderers, Roosters, Hakoah, Northbridge
Bottom 3: Gazy, Bathurst, Nepean
New teams: Chopin Park and Northbridge have been more than competitive for their first season

I personally think Luddenham will win it, they are starting to be consistant and everyone else is beating each other/taking points from rivals

Gazy to finish bottom

We are half way stage of the season... how time flies when your having fun. Or in our case with springwood, fun and frustrations esp after our game on sat night.. we should have won by 5.. oh well onto tuesday night we go.. if the rain holds out..

Season so far..
Best Team: Roosters, quality players. Luddenham very close
Worst Team: Gazy and Nepean
Surprise Packets: Chopin Park
Who will win: Luddenham
Top 5: Luddenham, Wanderers, Roosters, Springwood, Hakoah
Bottom 3: Gazy, Nepean, Belmore
Of the new teams: Nepean are rubbish, players have bad attitude and are just play dirty football. Northbridge have a solid squad, seem to have a good set-up. Chopin Park have already exceeded most peoples expectations, looking at the pre-season tips most tipped them to finish last.. they are now in the top 3. i think they will fall away and finish outside of the top 5.

First season will be $5000 if they get promoted to Division 1, then a further $5000 if they finish top 4 or $10,000 if they get promoted to Superleague. They're looking far into the future and think Luddenham's current coach can really do the job.

End of Round 13... Any surprises guys? Top 5 according to pre season predictions? I personally can't believe that the team running first has already conceded 25 goals in only 12 games!!!
Minimalistix - how do you know it's worth $15k???

I've heard a lot worse all good. The defender your talking about is class he was at united a few years ago but owns his own business so didn't have time


__________________
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Chopin Park 1 Roosters 0
Prospect 3 Northbridge 1

my round 13 predictions:

prospect 1 - 1 chopin park
bathurst 1 - 2 luddenham
nepean 1 - hawkesbury 2
springwood 5 - gazy 1
belmore 0 - fairfield 4
hurstville 2 - roosters 2
hakoah 2 - northbridge 1

anyone know results from catch up games?? i heard there has been a fair few scheduled lately...

nothing like moving up in the world and replacing the general lol :roll:

Strong rumour. I believe on $15,000 a season as well.

Round 13 predictions

Prospect United 1 vs Chopin Park Rams FC 1
Bathurst 75 1 vs Luddenham United 1
Nepean FC 2 vs Hawkesbury City SC 2
Springwood 7 vs Gazy Lansvale 0
Belmore Hercules 1 vs Fairfield Wanderers FC 2
Hurstville City Minotaurs 0 vs Roosters FC 5
Hakoah 2 vs Northbridge FC 3

State League Two Round 13 Preview
24.05.11 13:38



Round 13 of NSW division two marks the end of the first round of matches, and Prospect United meet Chopin Park Rams at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening (5pm) for a game with top-five bearings.
Prospect regained their lofty position by ending a three-game losing streak with a come-from-behind victory over Gazy last week, their first win since round five, while Chopin Park continue to grind out their own impressive results with just two close defeats (to Luddenham and Wanderers) against them all year. The Rams will see this as a must-win game however, with seven of their next eight games on the road.

Springwood United will have revenge in mind when they take on Gazy Lansvale at Summerhayes Park on Saturday night (7pm). Gazy smacked Springwood 4-1 at Summerhayes last year and then went on to beat them again 1-0 in the return fixture at Cherrybrook. This time around, however, Gazy comes into the game having conceded 47 goals in their past 12 matches, and unless they can plug up the holes in their defence United will have a field day this weekend. At the other end, Lansvale will find it tough work trying to break through a Springwood defence that has leaked just 14 goals (third lowest yield) this season.

Nepean and Hawkesbury City battle it out under lights at Cook Park, St Marys, on Saturday night (7pm). Despite being well above Nepean on the points table Hawkesbury might be glad this fixture is away from home as they have the league’s best road record. City have won four and drawn two of its six away games (whereas they are win-less at home) but face a Nepean team that has shown great improvement over the last few weeks in pushing top-three Luddenham, Wanderers and Roosters all the way in three tight losses. Nepean are also searching for their first win at Cook Park.

Bathurst ’75 versus Luddenham United at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night (7pm) should be an interesting affair if history is anything to go by. Their last three meetings have been decided by the solitary goal although Luddenham was the winner each time (1-0, 3-2, 3-2). United is another team with a terrific away record having won four from six road games this year but the journey over the mountains is perhaps the toughest trip of all, and Bathurst will be keen to get back to the form that saw them claim the scalps of Roosters and Hakoah earlier in the season.

Belmore Hercules tackle Fairfield Wanderers at Blick Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm) having already met in this year’s Waratah Cup. Wanderers bundled Hercules out of the knockout competition 2-1 at Knight Park in April to make it two in a row following their 1-0 win in the league late last year. But Belmore know how to compete with Wanderers having stole a 2-1 win at Knight Park in the earlier 2010 encounter and need to do something before season 2011 runs away from them altogether. Hercules have not tasted victory since a round one win over Roosters but can take some solace in the fact they are at the start of a seven-game home stretch, whereas Wanderers, who have dropped two of their last three matches, play their next five games on the road.

Hurstville City meet a top-three team for the third week in a row and, having already sent Luddenham and Wanderers flying to the canvas, the Minotaurs would love to add Roosters to the bodycount when they roll up the sleeves at Punchbowl Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Hurstville look like they have shaken off the cobwebs and three straight wins have lifted them to within sights of a top-five spot. But Roosters won’t be gifting their long-term rivals anything and have won seven of the past nine games to rightfully claim a spot at the top of the division two leaderboard. Besides, Roosters haven’t beaten Hurstville in over two years.

Hakoah will now take on Northbridge at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday night (7pm). Northbridge have been steadily improving each week to nestle itself on the top-five fringe, on equal points with Hakoah. But while the league newcomers have shown a degree of consistency in their debut season (unbeaten since round three), old club Hakoah have been quite erratic (three wins, three draws and three losses in their last nine games). And they can expect Northbridge to be extra tough with the northern districts club in fine form having made it through to the fourth round of the Waratah Cup knockout (the official draw takes place on May 26).

The word going around is that Hurstville Minotaurs are looking at the Luddenham coach to replace the general next season??

Nope, Luddenham ;)

I love where Roosters play though, mad field.

i assume ur talkin about roosters?? haha :lol:

With the current players yes, but they need to change coaches, he has no idea!!!!!

wow still very even

9th & 10th arent far off top 5 considering games left

but roosters have shot up alot, wonder what has changed with them?????

do you think luddenham will go all the way minimalistix???

Go Luddenham!!!

Table After Round 12 POS TEAM P W L D F A GD PTS
1 Luddenham United 11 8 3 0 31 24 7 24
2 Roosters FC 11 7 3 1 33 20 13 22
3 Fairfield Wanderers FC 11 6 3 2 17 14 3 20
4 Prospect United 10 5 3 2 18 10 8 17
5 Hawkesbury City SC 11 4 2 5 21 19 2 17
6 Hakoah 11 4 3 4 32 20 12 16
7 Northbridge FC 10 4 2 4 25 19 6 16
8 Springwood 10 4 3 3 20 14 6 15
9 Chopin Park Rams FC 11 3 2 6 17 12 5 15
10 Hurstville City Minotaurs 10 4 5 1 21 26 -5 13
11 Bathurst 75 11 3 6 2 15 17 -2 11
12 Belmore Hercules 11 1 5 5 14 26 -12 8
13 Nepean FC 10 1 5 4 11 21 -10 7
14 Gazy Lansvale 12 1 10 1 14 47 -33 4

State League Two Round 12 Review
22.05.11 21:49



Luddenham United retained top spot in division two after beating Nepean 3-2 and Belmore Hercules 4-0 in a double league victory, but all eyes are on Hurstville Minotaurs as they continued their surge up the ladder courtesy of a 3-2 win over Fairfield Wanderers.
In a round that produced a season-high 33 goals Roosters moved into second place with a 4-2 win against Nepean, Hakoah drew 2-2 in a tough game at Chopin Park, Springwood United humbled Hawkesbury City 4-2, Prospect United overcame Gazy Lansvale 4-1 to reclaim their to-five place, while Northbridge completed a magnificent week with a 3-0 win at Bathurst ’75.

There are still a few too many catch-up games to ponder the ladder long suffice to say that four points separates fourth from 11th-placed Hurstville, and the Minotaurs keep knocking down the heavyweights – first Luddenham, now Wanderers and Roosters are next in their sights.

The 33 goals scored in this week’s round has kept the league running along at a healthy clip of 3.9 goals per game, which makes for plenty of entertainment for the fans. But in a statistic that will make coaches eyes water, four away wins in round 12 has meant that away teams have now won more times than home teams in this year’s competition (28 to 27, with 20 draws to boot). It has certainly crushed a manager’s creed to win at home and draw away.

Individually, Hakoah’s Neil Jablonski still leads the way with nine strikes but he’s now got more company behind him with an Adem Taslak brace taking the Roosters ace to eight goals for the season, equal with Paul Cooper (Hawkesbury), Huso Merdanovic (Luddenham) and Ry Hardy (Northbridge). Taslak’s team-mates Ercan Topal and Hulisi Orhan also scored on the weekend to move to seven goals, with Belmore’s Paul Paras on six.

But it’s a week where plaudits definitely belong to State League newcomers Northbridge FC, who caused a massive boilover in their sizzling 7-4 Waratah Cup victory over division one side Mount Druitt Town Rangers at Popondetta Park on Wednesday night to become the first division two side ever to advance to the knockout tournament’s fourth round. They will find out their next opponent when the official draw for the round-of-16 takes place at Football NSW headquarters on Thursday, May 26. The northern districts club hasn’t been goal-shy in its debut Cup run, firing in 15 goals and conceding just six in disposing of Mosman, Bass Hill, Spirit FC and now Mount Druitt Town.

State League 2’s other representatives also performed well in their third round fixtures – Chopin Park led Super League outfit Fraser Park three times before falling 4-3 in extra time at Fraser Park, Hawkesbury were 1-0 up on the hour-mark against Premier League side South Coast before the Wolves prevailed 4-1 at Bensons Lane Field, Gazy Lansvale were brave in a 2-0 loss to division one highflyers Mounties Wanderers 2-0 at Cook Park, while Fairfield Wanderers kept Premier League icons APIA Leichhardt scoreless for 40 minutes before second-half injuries saw Fairfield fall 5-0 behind at Lambert Park – but all will have to wait another year to get another crack at the Cup. It was certainly an impressive and improved effort from State League 2 clubs in this year’s competition, following Hawkesbury’s solo third round foray in 2010.

Springwood scuttle Hawkesbury

Springwood United ambushed Hawkesbury City 4-2 in a goal feast at Benson Lane Field on Saturday evening. Hawkesbury had plenty of early ball but Springwood took the lead when Bryan Campbell touched in at the near post half-an-hour into the game only for City striker Paul Cooper to square the ledger with a well-taken goal on the stroke of halftime.

The second half resembled a scene from the OK Corral with Scott Lane firing United back in front 10 minutes after the restart and team-mate Matt Schensual extending the lead to 3-1 from the penalty spot five minutes later. Hawkesbury weren’t done with yet and clawed a goal back via a Paul Cooper penalty with 20 minutes left in the match, but a sweeping Springwood movement in the dying moments broke City hearts when a Peter Henderson goal signed off a 4-2 scoreline.

As well as being pleased with the result Springwood coach Errol Warwick-Day might consider buying some real estate in Richmond. United haven’t loss there in over three years and backed up last year’s impressive 5-1 whipping with Sunday’s 4-2 result. “It was a really good game right up to the death. Hawkesbury never gave up, they threw everything at us,” he said.

“I gave the boys a bit of a serve [at halftime] about it being two weeks in a row that we’ve let them score just before the break, and I just reminded them of the goals we had set ourselves and they went out there hungrier for it. It really is about the players finding the desire to get the results and maybe me getting a bit angry at the circumstances we were in helped that… I don’t do that very often at all.”

Hawkesbury coach Gary Lewis was dumbfounded at his side’s abysmal home record (three draws, two losses) but thought his team was suckered into playing a style of football that took them away from their natural game. “We probably had 70 per cent of possession, hit the post three times… and they had four shots at goal. We played good football… but were just caught out by them pumping the ball down the park,” he said. “It doesn’t help that we give away goals in the first five minutes of the second half, but Springwood are a good side and solid at the back.”

“The boys were hurting in the changerooms afterwards; it’s like a voodoo here [at Bensons Lane Field]… I don’t know what it is really. We’ll go back to the drawing board on Tuesday night. No-one’s giving up. We want to get the results and it’s a matter of putting that energy onto the paddock and taking our chances.”

Hawkesbury City 2 (Paul Cooper 44/72m pen) Springwood United 4 (Bryan Campbell 33m Scott Lane 55m Matt Schensual 60m pen Peter Henderson 89m)

Reserve grade: Hawkesbury City 2 Springwood United 1

Northbridge punish Bathurst

Northbridge wanted to make a decent mark in their first State League season and some would say it’s the about the size of an asteroid crater after their outstanding achievements of the past week, the northern districts mob firing seven goals past Spirit FC in their amazing third-round Waratah Cup win on Wednesday night and following it up with an impressive 3-0 league win at Bathurst on Saturday night.

In what coach Joe Haywood described as the strangest game of football he had ever been involved in, Northbridge stunned their fancied Super League neighbours Spirit FC with a 7-4 win to advance to the knockout tournament’s round-of-16. “Every time a team attacked there were openings everywhere… it was 5-4 at halftime!” he said. “We talked about structure and held them out in the second half. We were expecting them to come at us but every time we went forward we had a shot or a goal – Elliott King scored five goals for us [he’s also scored five in the league].”

Northbridge were just as impressive in their first trip over the mountains to face Bathurst in a league game at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night. Max Zanders scored either side of halftime and Kieran Hall added a third just before the hour to claim their first road win, and their first clean sheet, of the year.

But in a debut season that has Northbridge deliciously placed one point outside the top-five in the league and through to the fourth round of NSW’s more prestigious knockout football competition, it must be difficult for Haywood to contain his club’s excitement. “We probably have exceeded the expectations a little bit because all we wanted to do this year was build a strong squad and see where it gets us at the end of the season,” he said.

“We just have to focus on the next game we’ve got [a catch-up game against Prospect on Wednesday and Hakoah next weekend, Northbridge find out their next Cup opponent on Thursday, May 26] and keep any complacency at bay. We still need to learn from this experience and not take the foot off the pedal. That’s what we were really pleased with against Bathurst; we played a good game for the whole match.”

Bathurst coach Mark Rooke maybe accused his players of being closet Robert Louis Stevenson fans. “It was a real Jekyll and Hyde performance. We couldn’t hold possession for more than five passes and only created a few half-chances, and we’re not going to win matches like that. I can’t believe we can be so good one week and really poor the next. I can’t put my finger on it,” he said. “All credit to Northbridge; they’ve got some great attacking players. We’ve got seven days to turn it around.”

Northbridge 3 (Max Zanders 31/47m Kieran Hall 59m) Bathurst ’75 0

Reserve grade: Northbridge 2 Bathurst ’75 2

Hurstville down Fairfield

Hurstville City Minotaurs added Fairfield Wanderers to their bag of conquests with a thrilling 3-2 win at Knight Park on Sunday afternoon. A week after beating league-leaders Luddenham, Hurstville were at it again, captain Terry Sidiratos heading home from a corner to open the scoring on 30-minutes and the visitors took a 2-0 lead straight after the break when workhorse Nick Andreou added another goal.

But this was Fairfield turf and Wanderers wasted no time in getting back into the game, Ian Peti toeing the ball in from between the goalkeeper’s legs and a Harris Nikocevic freekick just past the hour-mark setting up an enthralling finish. And Angelo Vagenas didn’t disappoint, conjuring up a 73rd-minute winner to power Minotaurs to a 3-2 victory.

It was Hurstville’s first win at Knight Park in a few years and coach Peter Sarikakis was in fine form. “I told you I would turn it around, didn’t I? The players thought the games would be easy this year, but they woke up and realised that in soccer you still have to put the effort in,” he said.

When asked if a win over Roosters next week would make Minotaurs 2011 title favourites, The General was at his charismatic best. “Three weeks ago we were coming last, but with the catch-up games we could even sneak into top-five. My team is the team to beat. Everyone knows we are the yardstick, Even coming last we can still play football.”

“Look, I know what we can do. I did have to make a couple of changes [over recent months] and the players now are doing their job in the right places. A lot of the boys have played at a higher level and needed something like this to spur them on. The fact Nick Andreou is still playing is amazing, and he’s playing so well and helping the younger players come along.”

Wanderers coach Leo Maturana thought his players looked a little drained from their midweek Waratah Cup loss to Premier Leaguers Apia. “Hurstville certainly kick and chase very well… but no excuses, we didn’t turn up in the first half and looked like we still had the jitters from Wednesday night,” he said. “We pump them hard in the last 15 minutes and had one or two chances in their area but it didn’t go our way. Overall it was one of those games that we fully needed to lose to get back into our normal rhythm.”

Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Ian Peti 55m Harris Nikocevic 64m) Hurstville City Minotaurs 3 (Terry Sidiratos 31m Nick Andreou 49m Angelo Vagenas 73m)

Reserve grade: Fairfield Wanderers 3 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1

Luddenham pummel Belmore

It didn’t take long for Luddenham United to restore its title aspirations with a terrific double league victory during the week returning United to the top of the table. Following a crunching 3-6 loss to Hurstville last week Luddenham responded with a 3-2 win over Nepean in a midweek replay and then ground Belmore into the ground 4-0 at Luddenham Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Andrew Montgomery ripped into his troops following the Minotaurs game and United were on top early against Belmore, Angelo Martino laying on two goals for Pasquale Corso before Grant Odei beat two defenders and the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 at the break. A second-half Dujon Webster goal from outside the box finished the game off for Luddenham.

“Before the Nepean game we had a good talk in the sheds about where it wrong against Hurstville and we came out firing against a very, very good Nepean side. To be perfectly honest they probably played better than us overall, but we had more of the better chances,” he said.

“No-one likes to lose but a good side won’t have two losses in a row. One should be enough to wake you up. [Against Hercules] I saw Belmore play Minotaurs and their attackers looked good, but they also looked a bit shaky at the back and we took advantage of that early.”

Belmore coach John Kyriazopoulos was disappointed with the effort from his team. “It was disgusting, to be honest; a pretty poor performance overall,” he said. “We had a few chances but went down early… full credit to them, they hustled hard and got the rewards for it.”

Luddenham United 4 (Pasquale Corso 3/12m Grant Odei 35m Dujon Webster 81m) Belmore Hercules 0

Reserve grade: Luddenham United 1 Belmore Hercules 1

Roosters hold off Nepean

Roosters moved into second place on the ladder with a tough 4-2 win over Nepean at Hills Sports High on Sunday afternoon. Nepean had played well but lost their Luddenham replay 3-2 during the week and continued their attacking form into the Roosters game with an early goal to Mitch McLintoch to take the lead. But this fired the home side into action and Ercan Topal and Adem Taslak both scored goals to give Roosters a 2-1 halftime edge.

The second half was just as terrific with Hulisi Orhan and Taslak goals extending Roosters’ advantage before S Matthew knocked one in for Nepean to make it 4-2 and breathe new life into the contest. But fulltime was called with the scoreline unchanged and Roosters unbeaten in six matches, winning their last four straight.

Nepean coach Carlos Camacho was still catching up from a draining week. “Football’s an emotional game, and exhausted players can only be expected,” he said. “It was always going to be tough in a replay [against Luddenham] but that’s sport and what’s really important is getting back up again. The Luddenham game showed we were very competitive, and in the second half it came down to the difference of experience, especially in the defence, and again against Roosters it was the difference of playing against players who have years of experience.”

“We’re in this position now. We’re down, but that’s where you show your strengths. We were very prepared for this game. We gave away three cheap goals against Luddenham and fixed that for the Roosters game and didn’t give away those types of goals, so I was very pleased with that. But we didn’t show enough patience on the ball. When we did we created chances.”

“This is a community club with local players, hoping to develop local talent. It’s always tempting to fall into a style of football that you don’t want to coach and what I’ve noticed in this league is that the really simple things work, and the top teams all have seasoned players who know how to make the right plays with the ball.”

“I’m still very positive. We’ve fixed a lot of our issues from early in the season; now we will work on something else and slowly we will get there. We have a good bunch of guys at Nepean and one of the things we want to and will develop is that 12th player from having a crowd behind us. And we can start that by getting the results.”

Roosters 4 (Ercan Topal 29m Adem Taslak 44/70m Hulisi Orhan 67m) Nepean 2 (Mitch McLintoch 14m S Matthew 72m)

Reserve grade: Roosters 3 Nepean 1

Hakoah draw at Chopin Park

It was a tooth and nail affair at Chopin Park on Sunday afternoon when both the Rams and Hakoah gave up leads to eventually draw 2-2. Nima Nikfarjam opened the scoring for the home side on 20 minutes and the Rams led 1-0 at halftime. Hakoah restored parity soon after the restart via a D Gilmartin goal and the visitors hit the front behind a Nathan Kosmina 65th-minute effort. But with the clock ticking down Ben Lam gave the home fans something to cheer about with a late goal to tie proceedings up at 2-2.

The result saw Hakoah drop out of the top-five but kept both sides on the cusp. Chopin Park continues to show a good edge in this year’s division two competition. The Rams have had the least amount of losses (two, with Hawkesbury and Northbridge) but has a league-high six draws. They would have loved turning some of those ties into wins, especially facing seven of the next eight games away from home. Hakoah continued their topsy-turvy run in 2011, still unable to string the same result together (four wins, four draws, three losses), yet still in touch with the frontrunners.

Chopin Park Rams 2 (Nima Nikfarjam 21m Ben Lam 87m) Hakoah 2 (D Gilmartin 49 Nathan Kosmina 65m)

Reserve grade: Chopin Park Rams 1 Hakoah 0

Prospect pound Lansvale

Prospect United returned to the winners circle after six dry weeks following a come-from-behind 4-1 win over luckless Gazy Lansvale at Cherrybrook Park on Sunday afternoon. United were stunned when Ibrahim Hammed opened the scoring for the home side after half-an-hour and, thankfully, got a goal back right on halftime through Gustavo Orcajo.

The second half was a tense affair until Ahmed Chandab finally found the straw to break the camel’s back and his goal for United 10 minutes from fulltime sparked follow-ups from Adrian Jennings and A Castro to lift Prospect to a 4-1 win and back into the top-five. There’s not much to be said for Gazy, who simply cannot take a trick at the moment. They are on a jarring 10-game losing streak and have their backs to the wall with the next four games away from home.

Gazy Lansvale 1 (Ibrahim Hammed 33m) Prospect United 4 (Gustavo Orcajo 45 Ahmed Chandab 79m Adrian Jennings 85m A Castro 90m)

Reserve grade: Gazy Lansvale 1 Prospect United 0

Round 12 scores

Hawkesbury City 2 (Paul Cooper 44/72m pen) Springwood United 4 (Bryan Campbell 33m Scott Lane 55m Matt Schensual 60m pen Peter Henderson 89m)

Northbridge 3 (Max Zanders 31/47m Kieran Hall 59m) Bathurst ’75 0

Chopin Park Rams 2 (Nima Nikfarjam 21m Ben Lam 87m) Hakoah 2 (D Gilmartin 49 Nathan Kosmina 65m)

Roosters 4 (Ercan Topal 29m Adem Taslak 44/70m Hulisi Orhan 67m) Nepean 2 (Mitch McLintoch 14m S Matthew 72m)

Luddenham United 4 (Pasquale Corso 3/12m Grant Odei 35m Dujon Webster 81m) Belmore Hercules 0

Gazy Lansvale 1 (Ibrahim Hammed 33m) Prospect United 4 (Gustavo Orcajo 45 Ahmed Chandab 79m Adrian Jennings 85m A Castro 90m)

Fairfield Wanderers 2 (Ian Peti 55m Harris Nikocevic 64m) Hurstville City Minotaurs 3 (Terry Sidiratos 31m Nick Andreou 49m Angelo Vagenas 73m)

Rescheduled round 9: Nepean 2 Luddenham United 3 (Ivan Bazina, Grant Odei, Dino Imamovic)

Reserve grade:

Hawkesbury City 2 Springwood United 1

Northbridge 2 Bathurst ’75 2

Chopin Park Rams 1 Hakoah 0

Roosters 3 Nepean 1

Luddenham United 1 Belmore Hercules 1

Gazy Lansvale 1 Prospect United 0

Fairfield Wanderers 3 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1

Waratah Cup:

Mount Druitt Town Rangers 4 Northbridge 7

APIA Leichhardt Tigers 5 Fairfield Wanderers 0

Hawkesbury City 1 South Coast Wolves 4

Fraser Park 4 Chopin Park Rams 3 (2-2 at fulltime)

Mounties Wanderers 2 Gazy Lansvale 0

Next week’s games

Round 13 of NSW division two marks the halfway point in the competition. Northbridge welcome Hakoah to Northbridge Oval on Saturday afternoon (3pm) before Prospect and Chopin Park line up at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening (5pm), followed by Saturday night games between Springwood and Gazy Lansvale at Summerhayes Park, Nepean against Hawkesbury at Cook Park, St Marys, and Bathurst versus Luddenham at Alec Lamberton Field (first grade games start at 7pm). There are just two matches on Sunday afternoon, Belmore against Wanderers at Blick Oval and Hurstville versus Roosters at Punchbowl Oval (3pm kick-offs).

Considering the April-May deluge division two isn’t doing too badly in regards to catch-up games with just nine outstanding fixtures to be played.

-By Dan De Nardi

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<- Back to: Division Two

Round 11 predictions

Nepean 1 - 1 Fairfield
Prospect 3 - 1 hawkesbury
Hakoah 3 - 0 Bathurst
Springwood 1 - 1 Roosters
Chopin Park 3 - 0 Gazy
Northbridge 2 - 1 Belmore
Hurstville 0 - 4 Luddenham

Definatly Nepean had the run of play and would have been very difficult for Luddenham to come back. I was at the game also and Nepean were playing very very well and had a very different team on the park to the one i seen in earlier rounds. Like you said at the end of the day the welfare for the captain is the ultimate priority but if i was Nepean id be a little dirty #-o especially because it was a great opportunity missed for them because Luddenham had 4 of their usual first grade players missing with suspension and injury and the chances are they will be available for the replay.

Your not wrong in saying its a very tight comp this year and the team that does end up getting promoted will definatly deserve it. I recon that this division is probley the hardest to get out of because teams change so dramatically from year to year look at Hakoah for example!

I saw the Luddenham vs Nepean game on Sunday, Nepean looked as if they could of gone to win over 5 or 6-0. Luddenham defintely dodged a bullet and have a chance to get it right in the replay. Best wishes to the poor captain who dislocated his shoulder has a successful and speedy recovery. He was in a world of pain. It's great to see such unpredictability and tightness in this comp, makes these predictions hard. Round 11 predictions

Nepean 1-0 Fairfield
Prospect 3-3 Hawkesbury
Hakoah 1-1 Bathurst
Springwood 1-3 Roosters
Chopin Park 3-0 Gazy Lansvale
Northbridge 2-0 Belmore
Hurstville 4-3 Luddenham

Round 11 Predictions

Nepean FC 1 vs Fairfield Wanderers FC 1
Prospect United 0 vs Hawkesbury City SC 1
Hakoah 2 vs Bathurst 75 2
Springwood 2 vs Roosters FC 2
Chopin Park Rams FC 2 vs Gazy Lansvale 1
Northbridge FC 1 vs Belmore Hercules 2
Hurstville City Minotaurs 1 vs Luddenham United 5

State League Two Round 11 Preview
09.05.11 20:20



Round 11 of NSW division two begins with a motivated Nepean hosting Fairfield Wanderers at Cook Park, St Marys, on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).
Nepean have had to grit a stick to stop them from screaming blue murder after they led Luddenham 2-0 last week only to have the game called off after half-an-hour so that paramedics could attend to an injured player, and Wanderers could just bear the brunt of a developing side that is starting to piece together some good patches of football. But Fairfield ruined a five game unbeaten sequence with a 1-0 loss to Springwood on the weekend and will be just as keen to hang out in the winners circle again.

Prospect United and Hawkesbury City meet in a mouth-watering affair at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening (5pm). The teams are equal-fifth on the ladder but while Prospect have suffered back-to-back losses Hawkesbury have had their own tyres stuck in the mud with five agonising draws loaded up in the season trailer. Prospect have taken two of the last three meetings between the sides, including a tight 1-0 win at William Lawson last August, but Hawkesbury’s away form has been delicious this year. City are unbeaten on the road in 2011 with three wins and two draws speeding off down the highway towards Richmond. The stakes are high in this game.

Springwood United and Roosters FC clash in another blockbuster at Summerhayes Park on Saturday night (7pm). Springwood will be riding high after conquering their road demons with a 1-0 win over Wanderers at Fairfield on the weekend and can stay in touch with the top teams with another good showing against Roosters. Springwood have the same record at home that Roosters have on the road (two wins and a draw from four games) and offer different methods too, United have the league’s second best defence (10 goals) and face a Roosters troop with the second best offence (27 goals). Interestingly Roosters have won the last two meetings at Summerhayes Park.

Hakoah travel the long and winding road over the mountains to face-off against Bathurst ’75 at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night (7pm). Hakoah claimed fourth position on the ladder with a 4-0 rout of hapless Gazy at the weekend and can make a further surge up the leaderboard with a strong showing in Bathurst, where ’75 have just two wins and two draws from seven home showings. But Bathurst do have an historical edge with two wins and two draws from their last four encounters, in fact Hakoah haven’t scored against Bathurst in over five hours of football. But as the visitors come into this match boasting the league’s best offensive output (29 goals), that statistic could change dramatically.

Sit back and watch a beauty unfold as Hurstville City Minotaurs battle Luddenham United at Punchbowl Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-off). These two sides have built up a healthy rivalry over the last few seasons. Although Hurstville have bettered Luddenham in their last four meetings including knocking United out of last year’s championship race in the preliminary final, the encounters have always been juicy despite the fact United have managed to score just one goal against The General’s men in those four matches. This time, however, Luddenham are top of the league and ready to start settling the score against a Hurstville outfit that has just one win to their name in 2011 and desperate for a break.

Belmore Hercules challenge Northbridge FC in a great opportunity for both sides at Northbridge Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Belmore are not far from the bottom of the table but have an amazing run of home matches in the second half of the season to look forward to. They might not want to wait for the reprieve though as they have just one win and three draws from seven road outings so far this season and face a Northbridge unit unbeaten in all of its home fixtures this year. The northerners are also on a great run of success, unbeaten in five games to sit just behind the division two frontrunners. With Belmore hungry to get their 2011 campaign going, this result would be a great boost for either side.

Chopin Park Rams welcome Gazy Lansvale to Chopin Park on Sunday afternoon (3pm). The Rams would love to improve their home record and stay in the top half of the division two table with a favourable result this weekend, but they will take a wounded Gazy lightly at their own peril. The Lansvale brigade is seriously hurting from an eight game losing sequence but needs nothing more than a couple of morale-boosting results to get it back up and running again. Needless to say this could be an interesting game to untangle as the Rams defence (10 goals conceded) is impeccable while the Gazy defence (40 goals) is not. However, Lansvale have scored one more goal than Chopin Park over the course of a tough season.

There are still more Waratah Cup matches to be played this week to complete round two of the knockout competition. Fairfield Wanderers tackle solid Super League outfit Northern Tigers at Knight Park on Tuesday night, May 10 (7.15pm kick-off). It will be a busy Wednesday night (May 11) when Northbridge FC battle fellow northern districts club, Super League frontrunners Spirit FC in a Christie Park blockbuster (7.15pm kick-off), and there will also be a double-header at Bensons Lane Field when Hawkesbury City host Northern Beaches association side Collaroy Cromer (6.30pm kickoff), followed by Chopin Park Rams versus Gladesville-Hornsby association representatives Eastwood-St Andrews (8.15pm).

-By Daniel De Nardi

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<- Back to: Division Two

State League Two Round 10 Review
08.05.11 21:20



There was plenty to talk about following a weekend of gasping results in State League division two, Springwood upsetting Wanderers 1-0 away from home, Northbridge defeating Minotaurs 3-1 and Roosters beating Prospect 3-1 were among the hot topics of discussion.
But besides a tough 1-1 draw between Chopin Park and Hawkesbury, a 1-1 deadlock between Belmore and Bathurst, and a casual 4-0 romp from Hakoah over Gazy, the water cooler ears were burning with chatter about the abandoned fixture between Luddenham and Nepean, the game called off with Nepean leading 2-0 and with a player advantage on field.

The results see Roosters cuddle up in the top-three bed next to Luddenham and Fairfield, with Hakoah, Prospect and Hawkesbury just behind them. Springwood, Northbridge and Chopin Park are also within range.

There were some indifferent results for division two sides in Waratah Cup action with league strugglers Gazy Lansvale moving into round three of the knockout tournament following a thrilling 2-1 win over Picton Rangers midweek, but Hakoah and Bathurst both lost their elimination fixtures to exit the competition just before the money-back stage. Wanderers, Northbridge, Hawkesbury and Chopin Park play their round two games this week.

No difference between Park and City

It was perhaps fitting that the two teams with the most division two draws this season, Chopin Park Rams and Hawkesbury City, played out a 1-1 draw at Bensons Lane Field on Saturday evening. Little separates the sides on the table and that showed on the field as City’s Paul Cooper cancelled out Marco Kraljevic’s second half opener for the Rams.

The game ebbed and flowed until Marco Kraljevic’s shot on goal deflected off City midfielder Tony Judge and into goal for a 1-0 Chopin Park lead in the 70th minute. But Hawkesbury had invested plenty into the match having hit the post a few times and missed some open targets, so they increased the venom up front and John McCrae provided a neat ball to Paul Cooper to slam into the back of the net for an equaliser. City almost found a winner when Cooper had a shot on target brilliantly saved by the Rams keeper, who also did well to smother McCrae’s follow-up.

As good as Hawkesbury are going this season they would be doing a whole lot better if they’d just tidy up their home affairs, City now held to three draws and a loss at Bensons Lane in 2011. Coach Gary Lewis believes it’s a simple equation of finding a regular scorer. “We just cannot score… it’s frustrating,” he said. “[Chopin Park[ are good defensively and they have an experienced goalkeeper, but we always seem to rue the missed opportunities.”

“The boys are desperate to win at home and are conscious of their record, it’s just making it more frustrating trying to get there. One of the problems is that we just don’t have that genuine striker that scores 15-16 goals a season… because we’re creating opportunities and the boys up there are doing a great job, but we need a striker who can score more than the odd goal.”

Chopin Park would also be better positioned than their mid-table debut had they found a definitive goal in any of the five draws they’ve endured this year, but coach Radek Czerwinski was pleased with the result. “We are still missing players, we’re not having a good run when it comes to availability of the same squad at the moment, but the players coming in are stepping up and performing and still taking points. I couldn’t be any happier with the effort,” he said.

“There is always room for improvement, we’ve definitely had a few too many draws, but I can’t complain about only losing two games out of nine, and we’re not too far from the top-five, so that’s all fine… but it doesn’t where you’re standing after round nine, it matters at the end of round 26. There are still plenty of points to play for.”

Hawkesbury City 1 (Paul Cooper 75m) Chopin Park Rams 1 (Marco Kraljevic 70m)

Reserve grade: Hawkesbury City 3 Chopin Park Rams 1

Belmore draw at Bathurst

A whirlwind of first-half action decided a 1-1 draw between Bathurst ’75 and Belmore Hercules under lights at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night. The result didn’t help alleviate either side’s lowly ladder position but it did serve as a good hit-out to get both campaigns back on track after a few wobbly rounds, particularly as Bathurst was bundled out of the Waratah Cup knockout midweek following a 3-0 loss to State League 1 side Schofields Scorpions.

Bathurst’s Luke Sullivan struck on the half-hour mark against Belmore following some good lead-up play from Brett Osborne but the celebrations were cut short after Hercules responded only a few minutes later through Paul Paras. The home side had a blatant chance to win it when Corey Adair outmuscled a Belmore fullback only to see his shot saved by the Hercules keeper straight back at him, but he could only guide the follow-up attempt narrowly wide of the posts. The scoreline stayed 1-1 at fulltime.

’75 coach Mark Rooke would be a happy chappy if his side could pick up its scoring rate. “We had the best of them in the second half and missed an open target to win it, but they’re a decent side and a draw in the end is not a bad result. I can’t believe where [Belmore] are sitting in the competition from the way they played. I thought our boys did well to back up from Wednesday night [Waratah Cup loss to Schofields] and it was a credit to both defences. I’m certainly happy to get something out of the game.”

Having played seven of its opening eight games on the road, Belmore coach John Kyriazopoulos knows he just has to get through the next two weeks before he begins a seven-game home run, which means taking points at places like Bathurst is golden. “We were a little bit unlucky… both sides kept fighting, kept battling, and it was good game in the end. I’m still happy to get a point at Bathurst, that’s always a positive.”

Bathurst ’75 1 (Luke Sullivan 29m) Belmore Hercules 1 (Paul Paras 32m)

Reserve grade: Bathurst ’75 2 Belmore Hercules 1

Northbridge defeat Minotaurs

Northbridge upped the ante in its division two conquest with a 3-1 disposal of last year’s grand finalists Hurstville City Minotaurs at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday night. Hurstville drew first blood when Haissan Morhi beat the offside trap and managed to squeeze it in at an acute angle to take the Minotaurs to a 1-0 halftime lead.

But Joe Haywood’s boys were having none of it and turned the tables with a second-half onslaught sparked by a brilliant strike from Atsushi Yamada and finished off by a Elliot King brace, the diminutive player nudging one home with his head and then dipping his toe onto a cross to make it 3-1 to Northbridge. King is another foreigner in Haywood’s buccaneer brigade but one that fell into his lap, the London semi-pro player just happened to be visiting Australia and was looking for a local team to join. Enter Northbridge.

The win over Hurstville maintains Northbridge’s unbeaten run as hosts and keeps them on top-five backsides in an impressive start to state league competition. “It’s a new club into the league so we’ll take each game as it comes,” Haywood said. “We’ve still got people missing every week so each week is like, how’s it going to perform, but we seem to bounce back well as a team.”

“Hurstville are a strong team and they try to get you to play that type of football and we fell for it in the first half, but in the second half we went back to playing the style of football we like to play and that worked out well for us.”

Hurstville coach Peter Sarikakis has endured a terrible start to the 2011 season, second from last with the second worst goal difference and just the one win over bottom side Gazy to their name. Having said that, the Minotaurs have played just twice at home and will cherish being back at Punchbowl Oval in a huge game against Luddenham next Sunday to perhaps launch a season revival.

Northbridge FC 3 (Atsushi Yamada, Eliott King x2) Hurstville City Minotaurs 1 (Haissan Morhi)

Reserve grade: Northbridge FC 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1

Roosters pluck Prospect

Roosters FC can show their feathers off round the division two pen following a superb 3-1 win over top-five opponent Prospect United at Hills Sports High on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time anyone’s scored more than one goal against the brick wall of Prospect this season and catapulted Roosters into a top-three position.

The home side scored first when Adem Taslak turned a defender and struck home at the near post on 10-minutes but Roosters had to wait until the hour-mark to put any more breathing space into their lead, Abdulbaki Elveren playing a delightful lob over the Prospect keeper to make it 2-0.

The visitors did manage to pull one goal back when Ahmed Chandab unleashed from range, catching the Roosters keeper off-guard and the speculative strike swirled into goal, with 15 minutes left but Hulisi Orhan put the matter to rest 10 minutes later with a great dummy and shot into goal that gave Roosters a 3-1 win.

Roosters coach Musti Akca believed his team was showing plenty of confidence. “It wasn’t a spectacular game, there weren’t many chances, it was more a game of control and the main thing for us was the three points and that’s we got,” he said. “I’m confident that we shouldn’t fear any team in the competition. No disrespect to any other team, but if we play the football we do we will be able to take on anyone in the competition.”

Prospect’s second successive loss was no cause for alarm according to coach Tony Caruso. “We definitely got out-enthused by Roosters on the day. There’s nothing to read into it, it’s only disappointing that we did it after a loss… but definitely no panic stations yet,” he said.

Roosters FC 3 (Adem Taslak 10m, Abdulbaki Elveren 59m, Hulisi Orhan 83m) Prospect United 1 (Ahmed Chandab 75m)

Reserve grade: Roosters FC 0 Prospect United 2

Springwood surprise Wanderers

Springwood United came down from the mountains and plundered Knight Park in a stoic 1-0 win over frontrunners Fairfield Wanderers on Sunday afternoon. The game was decided when Peter Henderson broke down the left early in the second half and laid the ball in for Tim O’Connell to bash into goal to lift Springwood in front.

Both sides were guilty of missing chances, United keeper Geoff Abrahams tipping a half-dozen Fairfield attempts over the crossbar, but in the end Springwood did extremely well to chalk Wanderers up as their first road scalp of the season. It was also United’s first win over Fairfield in three years and kept them camped on the edge of the leaderboard.

“… Geoff Abrahams kept us in the game, and it was kind of exciting,” coach Errol Warwick-Day said. “But we seem to shoot ourselves in the foot and get results like this against the good teams and then don’t get points against the teams we probably should. It’s a season we’re struggling to get on top of in regards to those results.”

Wanderers coach Leo Maturana felt he probably deserved more from the match. “Their keeper saved them six times. We dominated and one defending error cost us the game. We played good football but without the price. I’m disappointed but we will keep on fighting,” he said.

Fairfield Wanderers 0 Springwood United 1 (Tim O’Connell 56m)

Reserve grade: Fairfield Wanderers 1 Springwood United 0

Hakoah beat Gazy

Gazy Lansvale may have lost their league game 4-0 to Hakoah at Cherrybrook Park on Sunday afternoon but there are more than signs of a heartbeat at the besieged south-west Sydney club after a stirring 2-1 midweek Waratah Cup victory over Illawarra Premier League side Picton Rangers.

Gazy were able to hold their heads up and celebrate victory for the first time in over a month – as well as book a spot in the knockout’s third round – following Ibrahim Hammed’s last gasp match-winner at Cherrybrook Park on Wednesday night, but they were certainly brought back down to earth with a damaging thud at the same ground by Hakoah on Sunday.

D Gilmartin got the ball rolling for the visitors with back-to-back goals inside the opening 10 minutes before Lansvale settled back into the game. But with 15 minutes remaining goals to Neil Jablonski and Rani Rimmer sealed the win for Hakoah, the emphatic victory perhaps carrying a little bit of Wednesday night’s painful 1-0 loss to Illawarra Premier League heavyweights Dandaloo in their Waratah Cup knockout match.

Gazy Lansvale 0 Hakoah 4 (D Gilmartin 3/11m, Neil Jablonski 75m, Rani Rimmer 85m)

Reserve grade: Gazy Lansvale 0 Hakoah 0

Luddenham vs Nepean abandoned

There was high drama at Luddenham Oval with the game between league leaders Luddenham United and new boys Nepean called off after less than half-an-hour after Luddenham defender Steve Andrews dislocated his shoulder in a contest and was unable to be moved until an ambulance could come and take him to hospital. Nepean were leading 2-0 at the time with United a man down following Ivan Bazina’s sixth-minute send-off.

The game was minutes old when Bazina’s penalty area infringement, tripping up a Nepean forward from on the ground, brought a swift red card from the referee and a converted penalty to gift the visitors an early lead, and a player advantage. Minutes later and a Nepean shot on target was only partially saved by Luddenham keeper Bojan Radmillo and the rebound knocked in for a shock 2-0 lead. But the eye-raising match was abandoned after the painful injury to Andrews and will be replayed at a later date.

Nepean coach Carlos Camacho was furious. “I wish all the best to this player’s recovery but you should play what’s left of the game,” he said. “We’ve been so unlucky this year and the rule is not good for football because the game could still have been played. There’s nothing in it for the opposition either [a replayed game] as, if they went on to win the replay of this fixture, it’s a shallow victory. I believe every opportunity should’ve been given for football to be played.”

“The way we were playing today we kicked off with much more confidence. We are hitting our straps and this will be another push for me as a coach to turn the season around. I’m more than pleased with the way we are playing, it’s very attacking. It’s a shame with the three points today but the boys will use this to keep in mind that we can match it with the good teams. My job is to use this energy in a positive way and propel our season forward.”

Luddenham coach Andrew Montgomery was also disappointed to see the game called off but understood the decision was made in light of the player’s medical situation. “We were a man down and still dominating the game, but the game being abandoned was all about the health of Stevie more than anything. The game has to be replayed.”

Round 10 scores

Hawkesbury City 1 (Paul Cooper 75m) Chopin Park Rams 1 (Marco Kraljevic 70m)

Bathurst ’75 1 (Luke Sullivan 29m) Belmore Hercules 1 (Paul Paras 32m)

Northbridge FC 3 (Atsushi Yamada, Eliott King x2) Hurstville City Minotaurs 1 (Haissan Morhi)

Gazy Lansvale 0 Hakoah 4 (D Gilmartin 3/11m, Neil Jablonski 75m, Rani Rimmer 85m)

Fairfield Wanderers 0 Springwood United 1 (Tim O’Connell 56m)

Roosters FC 3 (Adem Taslak 10m, Abdulbaki Elveren 59m, Hulisi Orhan 83m) Prospect United 1 (Ahmed Chandab 75m)

Luddenham United Nepean FC postponed

Reserve grade:

Hawkesbury City 3 Chopin Park Rams 1

Bathurst ’75 2 Belmore Hercules 1

Northbridge FC 1 Hurstville City Minotaurs 1

Gazy Lansvale 0 Hakoah 0

Luddenham United 2 Nepean FC 1

Fairfield Wanderers 1 Springwood United 0

Roosters FC 0 Prospect United 2

Waratah Cup:

Bathurst ’75 0 Schofields Scorpions 3

Gazy Lansvale 2 Picton Rangers 1

Hakoah 0 Dandaloo 1

Next week’s games

Round 11 of NSW division two kicks off with Nepean hosting Wanderers at Cook Park, St Marys, on Saturday afternoon (3pm), followed by a Saturday evening fixture between Prospect and Hawkesbury at William Lawson Reserve (5pm), before two Saturday night matches featuring Springwood and Roosters at Summerhayes Park, and Hakoah and Bathurst at Alec Lamberton Field (both games at 7pm). On Sunday afternoon (first grade from 3pm), Hurstville clash with Luddenham at Punchbowl Oval, Belmore face Northbridge at Blick Oval, and the Rams welcome Gazy Lansvale to Chopin Park.

There are still more Waratah Cup matches to be played this week to complete round two of the knockout competition. On Tuesday night (May 10) Fairfield Wanderers tackle unbeaten Super League outfit Northern Tigers at Knight Park (7.15pm kick-off). It will be a busy Wednesday night (May 11) when Northbridge FC battle fellow northern districts club, Super League leaders Spirit FC in a Christie Park blockbuster (7.15pm kick-off), and there will also be a double-header at Bensons Lane Field when Hawkesbury City host Northern Beaches association team Collaroy Cromer (6.30pm kickoff), followed by Chopin Park Rams versus Gladesville-Hornsby association representatives Eastwood-St Andrews (8.15pm).

-By Daniel De Nardi

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<- Back to: Division Two

Can't confirm or deny yet for this season but for the 2 seasons before that if I played in the midfield for them I'd quit cos the only time they would touch the ball was to make a tackle. Every single ball was pumped long and to be fair to them it worked. As unattractive as it is if it works I can't blame them but I'd like to hope they have a little more ambition this season but like I said haven't seen them yet.

are springwood still a fairly physical side who play more long balls than others??? not meaning to offend anyone who may play/support springwood, when i used to follow the league close a few yrs ago thats sort of what they did......

Wanderers sorry

A few good games in there I think springwood may get over the top of roosters