Super Youth League Round 19 Review

With only three weeks to go before the finals series the nerves will really be jangling among many of the teams as the tables are far from settled at this stage. It should be very interesting, to say the least.
Club Championship
Sydney University have maintained their place at the top of the table after they collected nine points from their visit to sixth paced Granville Rage from whom Uni had taken ten of the first round points.
Second placed Central Coast Mariners earned a handy eleven points from their trip to eighth placed Macarthur Rams and that was two points better than the Mariners had managed to get from the first round encounter.

Western NSW Mariners moved up two places to third when they claimed thirteen points from the home fixture against tenth placed Dulwich Hill. Last time the clubs saw each other Western took ten points from the day.
Mounties Wanderers are still in fourth position following their gain of twelve points at ninth placed Northern Tigers. That followed up on the ten points the Wanderers had earned last time around.
Spirit FC slipped back two places to fifth when seventh placed Fraser Park took twelve points from their meeting. Fraser Parks had bagged ten points from the first round fixture.
Bankstown City Lions remained at the foot of the table despite the fact that they took nine points from their matches against neighbouring Bankstown Berries who are in eleventh position. That reverses the first round outcome when the Berries earned ten points from the clash.
Grade 13
With just three weeks to go before the finals series there is still quite a lot that can affect the appearance of this table. the final pecking order is far from settled and there is the matter of which of the current top seven teams will occupy places in the play-offs.
Sydney University are the outright competition leaders following their 4-1 success over eighth placed Granville Rage who Uni had beaten 3-1 when they last saw each other
Dulwich Hill are still in second spot after they were held to a 1-1 draw by seventh placed Western NSW Mariners who had lost the first round match by a 3-0 scoreline.
Third placed Central Coast Mariners battled out a scoreless draw with Macarthur Rams who have remained at fifth. The Mariners had claimed all the first round points with a 3-0 win.
Central Coast also played out a scoreless draw with Bankstown City Lions in a Round 13 catch-up match while the Rams collected three points from their Round 16 catch-up match against Granville Rage.
Mounties Wanderers are in fourth position thanks to their 3-1 victory over twelfth placed Northern Tigers, repeating the first round outcome when the Wanderers had won by exactly the same scoreline.
Spirit FC stayed at sixth when they posted a 3-0 victory over Fraser Park who have fallen back one place to eleventh. That gives Spirit the double as they were 2-0 winners the first time around.
Bankstown City Lions moved up one position to tenth thanks to their 1-0 success over thirteenth placed Bankstown Berries who had gone down by the odd goal in five last time they saw the Lions.
Grade 14
It seems that the current top two will fight it out for the title of Premiers over the next three weeks and the next two appear to have secured places in the finals with the pecking order yet to be sorted. However, there is still the matter of fifth place with four teams in the running for it.
Sydney University have held onto the competition lead after suffering their first loss for the season, a 2-1 result, when they faced Granville Rage who had gone down 7-2 when they last met Uni. Rage went to third with a 2-0 win over Macarthur Rams in a Round 16 catch-up match
Second placed Central Coast Mariners produced a strong 5-1 win over fifth placed Macarthur Rams and that reversed the first round outcome when the Rams were 4-2 winners. The Mariners picked up another three points when they defeated Bankstown City Lions 5-1 in a Round 13 catch-up match.
Western NSW Mariners are placed fourth following their 3-0 victory over sixth placed Dulwich Hill and that gives Western the double as they had won the first round match 3-1
Seventh placed Fraser Park produced a 2-0 result when they faced Spirit FC who have tumbled back two places to tenth. Fraser Park had also claimed the points last time around when the won 1-0.
Mounties Wanderers moved up one place to eight when they posted a 3-0 win over twelfth placed Northern Tigers, repeating the exact outcome of the first round encounter.
Bankstown City Lions climbed one place to nine when they were 1-0 winners over Bankstown Berries in the local derby. That reverses the first round outcome when the Berries had won 2-1.
Grade 15
What a finish we have in prospect over the next three weeks as the top four teams are separated by only three points but the current leaders do have a match in hand. Then we will be turning our eyes to the battle between the next two teams for fifth position.
Central Coast Mariners took the lead on the competition table thanks to a 3-1 win over Bankstown City Lions in a Round 13 catch-up match and a 1-1 draw with tenth placed Macarthur Rams who the Mariners had beaten 2-1 in the first round. This week the Rams opened the scoring in the fifteen minutes but the Mariners were back on level terms within five minutes thanks to goal from Tim Tseng.
Sydney University slipped back to second spot when they were beaten 2-1 by sixth placed Granville Rage. Interestingly, these teams had played out a thrill-a-minute 5-5 draw when they faced each other last time.
Third placed Western NSW Mariners accounted for twelfth placed Dulwich Hill with a 1-0 scoreline and that completed the double for Western as they were 3-0 winners in the first round match.
Mounties Wanderers are placed fourth thanks to their 2-1 success over eighth placed Northern Tigers who had claimed the first round points with a 1-0 result.
Fifth placed Fraser Park came up with a 1-0 win when they faced seventh placed Spirit FC. Fraser Park had taken the points when they won 1-0 last time around.
Bankstown City Lions are still in eleventh position after they were 2-0 winners over ninth placed Bankstown Berries. That squares the ledger as the Berries were 4-1 winners last time the teams met.
Grade 16
The next three weeks could be very interesting as the current leader have a buffer of three points and a match in hand and then there are only three points between the second and third placed teams. The fourth placed outfit are only two points further away with fifth only three points adrift. It looks as though the top five is already set but there could well be some changes in the pecking order.
Central Coast Mariners have retained their place at the top of the table following their 3-0 win over eighth placed Macarthur Rams who the Mariners had beaten 1-0 in the first round clash.
Fraser Park are still in second spot after they produced a 2-1 success over Spirit FC who have slipped back one place to fourth. That completes the double for Fraser Park as they were 1-0 winners last time they faced Spirit.
Sydney University moved up one place to third when they came up with a 1-0 result over Granville Rage who have fallen back one place to seventh. That reverses the first round outcome when Rage took the points with a 1-0 win.
Fifth placed Northern Tigers suffered a 1-0 loss when they met Mounties Wanderers who have risen one place to sixth. When these teams met last time the match finished in a 2-2 draw.
Bankstown City Lions are in ninth position after they suffered a 3-1 loss to Bankstown Berries who have moved up one place to tenth. The first round game was a 1-1 draw.
Twelfth placed Western NSW Mariners posted a 4-2 win over eleventh placed Dulwich Hill after the teams had battled out a 1-1 first round draw.
Grade 18
Sydney University are still topping the table after they posted a 4-2 victory over tenth placed Granville Rage who Uni had beaten 2-1 when they faced off last time around.
Western NSW Mariners are in second spot thanks to their 1-0 success over twelfth placed Dulwich Hill who had gone down 3-1 to Western in the first round match.
NSWIS are in third place with eleven wins and three draws coming from their sixteen matches.
Central Coast Mariners are placed fourth following their 1-0 success over eleventh placed Macarthur Rams who had taken the first round points by exactly the same scoreline.
Northern Tigers are holding down fifth position after they were 2-1 winners over sixth placed Mounties Wanderers who had recorded a 2-0 win when the teams met last time.
Seventh placed Bankstown Berries came up with a 2-0 result over thirteenth placed Bankstown City Lions who had gone down 4-1 to the Berries in the first round.
Fraser Park are eighth following their 1-0 victory over ninth placed Spirit FC. These teams had battled out a 2-2 draw when they faced each other last time around.
-By Barry Davis