State League One Round 12 Preview

The solitary match on Saturday will be played at Ron Dine Reserve, kicking off at 7-00pm, and sees Camden Tigers hosting Stanmore Hawks.
The Hawks had a rest last week with their match against Inter being postponed, and will realize that nothing short of a win here is required if they are to drag themselves towards the semi final positions, of which Camden currently occupy fifth.
The Tigers will look towards home ground advantage in front of their home fans to drive them towards victory, building upon the fact that they boast the competition?s second best defence.
Expect a tight one here, and with so much at stake, don?t be surprised if there is a repeat of the result in the first round match, which finished scoreless.
Two teams vying to scrap their way up the ladder as soon as possible meet at Hurstville Oval on Sunday, with Hurstville ZFC welcoming Schofields Scorpions.
Neither team has managed any consistency of positive results of late, and sit precariously close to the basement of the competition with just three wins between them.
The Scorpions have a midweek clash against Inter to worry about first, but Hurstville ZFC are due to complete a rescheduled match against Fairfield City Lions on Thursday evening, just three days before this clash ? so both sides may struggle with endurance towards the end of the match.
Gladesville Ryde Magic go head to head with Fairfield Bulls at Magdala Park on Sunday in what promises to be a ripper of a clash.
Although the Bulls have two games in hand, both teams are currently locked on 17 points in equal third spot, and have been in sterling form of late as they climb steadily up the ladder.
The Magic overcame Balmain last weekend, and their persistence and focus for the entire 90 minutes will be required if they are to triumph against a resilient Fairfield Bulls side.
Fairfield City Lions will be backing up after a Thursday evening catch up game when they entertain Balmain SC at Norford Park No.2 on Sunday afternoon.
Currently sitting in sixth spot on 16 points, one win on Thursday will see the Lions jump to outright second, and another three points on Sunday will consolidate their spot behind runaway league leaders, Mounties Wanderers.
Try as they may, Balmain just cannot seem to take a trick at the moment, and are in a struggle to score goals, and hence pick up points.
Goals from Sultan and Madadghar gave the Lions a 2-0 win in the first round, and Balmain will have their work cut out if they are to avoid a similar outcome this time around.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers welcome Inter Lions to Popondetta Park on Sunday, hoping to gather all three pionts and stay in touch with the top half of the ladder.
The Rangers are a resilient team on their home patch, and will look once again to their sturdy defensive structure to repel the Inter Lions attack.
Much has been said about Inter Lions and their inability to put away the multitude of chances they create week in, week out ? will Sunday be the day the shots start to hit the back of the net?
Get down to Mt Druitt to see how it all unravels.
The ?match-of-the-round? is undoubtedly at Wentworth Park where the top two teams do battle ? UNSW and Mounties Wanderers.
UNSW have had a remarkable turnaround since the opening couple of rounds, with the return of some key personnel one of the reasons the results have improve remarkably.
Patty Lloyd, Michael Janov and Andrew Harb are pylons in the defensive line for the ?students?, and they?ll all need to bring their ?A? game if they are to keep the free scoring Mounties at bay.
The Wanderers are backing up from a midweek Waratah Cup victory over West Sydney Berries  that went to extra time, so may be a little leg weary coming into this match.
The opening day of the season produced a resounding 6-0 thrashing for the Mounties over UNSW, but redemption is a wonderful thing in football, and the nostalgic venue of Wentworth Park may prove a fitting setting for what promises to be one of the matches of the season.
Division One
Top Goalscorers
Round Eleven
10         : Nick PARADISIS (Stanmore Hawks)
8          : Sebastian BENDALL (UNSW), Hosyar CAKAL (Mt Druitt)            
7          : Adam SMUTEK (Camden Tigers)
6          : Greg BALDOCK (Mounties), Eli SQUILLACIOTI (Mounties),
               Friday JEREMIAH (Mounties)         
5          : Matthew CROSS (Camden Tigers), Daniel WILLOUGHBY (Mounties),
               Ben CRONK (Fairfield City Lions) , Niriam KANOUN (Fairfield Bulls),
               Daniel McCANN (Mounties)       
 4          : Mark SYMINGTON (Mounties), Paul GAGRO (Hurstville ZFC), 
               Uri KAYE (Balmain SC) , Alistair MCKIE (Gladesville Ryde),
 -By Frank Speranza