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IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 Round 3 Review

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Blacktown Spartans sit atop the table after three rounds of the National Premier Leagues.

Blacktown Spartans sit atop the table after three rounds of the National Premier Leagues IGA NSW Men’s 1, a position emphasised by their 5-1 win over Rockdale City Suns.

Meanwhile in the Match of the Round, Sydney United 58 beat their traditional rivals Bonnyrigg White Eagles.

ROUND THREE IN REVIEW

Blacktown Spartans 5-1 Rockdale City Suns, at Blacktown Football Park

What a statement.

Blacktown Spartans have long been considered a team to break the establishment at the pointy end of the table and they proved their credentials with a superb win and performance on Saturday night.

Rockdale had no answers on the road and their performance will leave Branko Culina with plenty of food for thought heading into Round Four.

Spartans actually came from behind after Nick Taneski gave Suns the lead.

Braces from David Gullo and Greg Kondek plus a goal from substitute Kingsley Williams saw Spartans leave Suns in their wake.

St George FC 0-3 Sutherland Sharks, at Seymour Shaw Park

St George struggled against a Sutherland side just starting to find their range after a shaky few rounds.

Robbie Stanton’s side led by two at the break and extended their lead to three after the interval.

Nathan Elasi collected a double for Sutherland while Ethan Galbraith also put his name on the scoresheet.

Marconi Stallions 0-4 Blacktown City, at Marconi Stadium

Marconi were easy victors against Manly United in midweek but they came back to earth with a thud, going down 4-0 to Blacktown City.

There is plenty on Darren Iocca’s plate after this performance by Marconi who should have been buoyed by their confident 3-0 victory in midweek.

Instead it was Mark Crittenden’s side who put Marconi to the sword.

Ryuji Miyazawa has started off the season in unbelievable form and added another two goals to his tally while Travis Major and the unlikely figure of Zac Cairncross also found themselves on the scoresheet.

Sydney United 58 FC 1-0 Bonnyrigg White Eagles, at Sydney United Sports Centre.

Sydney United 58 kept Bonnyrigg White Eagles at bay to record a 1-0 win in the Match of the Round on Sunday afternoon.

Bonnyrigg had the better off a scrappy first half but they weren’t able to carve out enough opportunities of note.

It was one of those days for Brian Brown’s side and when United substitute Robbie Mileski won a free kick on the edge of the box, Anthony Tomelic smashed it into the bottom corner to score the only goal of the game.

United goalkeeper Diego Barcena was busy all afternoon, punching away a number of crosses and making a few sharp saves to preserve his clean sheet and United’s three points.

Manly United 1-1 APIA-Leichhardt Tigers, at Cromer Park

Manly United came from behind to claim a point at home to APIA-Leichhardt Tigers.

Manly were looking to bounce back from their dismal display against Marconi Stallions during the week but were caught napping by Jamie Lobb’s opening goal.

The new signing scored his first goal for APIA and they looked set to record their first win of the season after a draw against St George and a loss to Marconi.

Substitute Jack Green scored just nine minutes after his second half introduction to earn a share of the spoils though they were properly earned by the two goalkeepers with APIA’s Andrew Bazi and Manly’s Dylan Mitchell both in sensational form.

South Coast Wolves 1-1 Sydney Olympic, at WIN Jubilee Stadium

South Coast Wolves and Sydney Olympic shared the points at WIN Jubilee Stadium in the final match of Round Three.

Dmitri Hatzimouratis opened the scoring for Olympic and Grant Lee’s side looked in good shape to take the points away from home.

South Coast had other ideas though and when they were awarded a penalty mid-way through the second half, Ricky Zucco converted under pressure to level the scores.

Keepers Daniel Collison and Paul Henderson had to be alert in tough conditions for the glovemen, but both were exemplary and the score remained level through to full time.