State League Division 1 Round 12 Preview

Rain has caused the postponement of a number of fixtures in the first half of the year, and, together with some unexpected, topsy turvy results, means the minor premiership is well and truly up for grabs.
The make up of the top five is something not even worth discussing at this point, with most clubs still in realistic contention for a finals berth, although some will have their work cut out to get there.
Round Twelve is where some of these clubs will need to start to get their act into gear if they are to take something positive from 2009.
The first match of the round will be played at 3-00pm on Saturday at Hurstville Oval, as bottom placed Hurstville ZSC face a monumental task in trying to take something from Schofields Scorpions.
Hurstville ZSC have been steadily improving in their performances, lead by the dangerous Stiven Kostanic, but Schofields haven?t played for a while, so will be fresh, and desperately eager to consolidate their position near the top of the ladder with plenty of goals and another three points.
Arlington Oval will host a match on Saturday evening between its co-tenants, Stanmore Hawks and Dulwich Hill, kicking off at the slightly earlier time of 7-00pm.
The Hawks came unstuck last weekend after a great run of wins, and will see this as a benchmark game to reflect if they are the real deal in terms of chasing a finals berth.
Wissam Hijazi is the Hawk to watch, with nine goals to his credit in 2009, and the Dully defence will need to be at their best to stop him.
Dully are a strong, well structured unit, sitting pretty atop of the competition, and will be hoping to emulate their first round 1-0 victory with much of the same this time around.
Balmain SC will want to back up their victory last weekend at Hurstville with another win on Saturday night, this time at home at Lambert Park against Sydney Wanderers,  the match commencing at 7-30pm.
Both clubs are sitting just below the middle of the competition, and a win here will propel them towards the top half and give their semi final aspirations a boost.
The final match on Saturday will occur at Second Ponds Oval, starting at 7-30pm, between two teams coming off the back of good wins last weekend.
Hills Brumbies had not won since Round Two, and will take confidence from their 2-1 victory over the Wanderers, whilst Blacktown Spartans bounced back into contention with a thorough 3-1 away win against Inter Lions.
The Spartans won the first round clash by 2-1, and I?m certain a similar result this time around will do just nicely indeed for the visitors.
The remaining two matches in Round Twelve are scheduled to be played on Sunday afternoon at 3-00pm.
UNSW will be keen for a positive result at David Phillips Field when they welcome Mounties FC.
Mounties FC suffered a setback with last week?s reverse against Dully, but are still well placed in fourth position, and a win here will keep them sniffing near the top.
UNSW only have the solitary victory thus far this season, but another three points here can help them move up two spots, if other results go their way.
Concord Oval is the venue for the final match of the round in the battle of the ?lions?, with Inter taking on Fairfield City.
Goals look likely to be on the menu in this match up as both clubs boast the competition?s next best attacks behind the Scorpions.
Having said that, I?m sure Fairfield will not want a repeat of the first round 2-6 hammering they suffered at the hands of Inter, and, having themselves scored four as they knocked off Stanmore last Sunday, will be out for revenge at Concord.
Division One
Top Goalscorers -Week Eleven
The biggest mover in the scorers charts was gun Stanmore striker, Wissam Hijazi, whose splendid hatrick last weekend sees him move to second spot on the list with nine goals.
Alas, he finished on the losing team as his team were beaten 3-4 in a cliff hanger against Fairfield City. Other movers were Rafael Bove (Dulwich Hill) and Ben Shrimpton (Hills Brumbies), both now on four goals after they both scored the winning goal in Round Eleven for their respective clubs.
10     ? Glenn McPherson (Schofield Scorpions)
9   ? Wissam Hijazi (Stanmore Hawks)
7   ? Todd McCrea (Schofield Scorpions)
6   ? Stiven Kostanic (Hurstville ZSC)
5   ? Daniel Borg (Sydney Wanderers), Domenic Dimento (Inter Lions), Neil Philippou (Dulwich Hill)
4      ?Rafael Bove (Dulwich Hill), Wand Jajaw (Blacktown Spartans), Daniel Cornett (Blacktown Spartans), Nabil Codmani (Fairfield City Lions), Semih Sozer (Fairfield City Lions), Steve Biviano (Mounties FC),  Eddie Adam (Sydney Wanderers), Sam Messam (Dulwich Hill), Stuart Meney (UNSW), Ben Shrimpton (Hills Brumbies).

-By Frank Speranza