State League One – Round 20 Preview

There will be no less than three rescheduled catch up games in the week leading up to Round Twenty, all of which no doubt will have a big bearing on the shuffling of positions in the top five, let alone the title itself.
Granville Rage have not only pushed themselves into a finals spot in recent weeks, but they can give the title itself a real shake in the home stretch if they are able to overcome league leaders, Northbridge FC, on Tuesday night at Garside Park in a rescheduled Round 13 match. Northbridge are in top spot at the moment on 35 points, but the Rage can move on to 33 points and within striking distance with a triumph on their home patch.
Elsewhere during the week, both Gladesville Ryde Magic and Nepean, who are both sitting on 26 points respectively and just one point outside the five, have the chance to hurdle Hakoah Sydney City East and move into 5^th spot by snatching the three points up for grabs at Magdala on Wednesday, whilst Hakoah themselves are in action on Thursday when they take on Balmain, who may have first place dangling in front of their eyes depending on Northbridge’s result on Tuesday.
One solitary match on Saturday kicks things off this weekend in Round Twenty, with the remaining five matches spread over three timeslots on Sunday.
Both Hawkesbury City and Western NSW Mariners will be hoping that lady luck shines brightly at Bensons Lane on Saturday afternoon, both in a real dip in form of late.
After a promising first year in the Division, the Hawks have suffered three losses on the bounce, and their form threatens to derail their season as they have dropped to 8^th spot as a result, albeit only a point from 5^th spot. Their thumping at the hands of local rivals, Nepean, would have dented their pride, so expect a better showing from Dean Bertenshaw’s men in front of their home fans.
The Mariners come to town hoping not only for a turn in fortunes, but with three games to play in 2013, a win here will take them off the bottom in their quest to avoid the wooden spoon. Nick Rutherford and James Christie will be the ‘go to’ men once more, scoring recently to bring up their 8^th and 7^th goals respectively of the season thus far.
Granville Rage host Balmain Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Garside Park, both sides firmly entrenched in the top five and looking to continue their good form.
Balmain have proven the most difficult side to beat this year, having suffered just the two defeats, and this on the back of having conceded 20 goals,  the equal lowest amount in the competition.
Their defensive line will be tested this week, however, by the in form Zac Watters, the Granville marksman scoring four goals in two weeks in a real purple patch of late.
Camden Tigers have the unenviable task of facing the momentum of Gladesville Ryde Magic, away at Magdala on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers managed to climb off the bottom after making a good run that saw them pick up a few priceless victories, but two losses in a row over the past fortnight sees them within striking distance of the Mariners at the foot of the ladder.
Gladesville Ryde Magic aren’t the current champions for nothing, and have made a late surge for finals football in 2013, winning five of their last six matches to find themselves a point outside the top five. Majid Eslami has been a real find for Magic during the latter part of this period, scoring five goals in the last three games after joining the club mid season.
Northbridge FC welcome the visit of Nepean FC to Northbridge Oval on Sunday, with both sides having plenty to play for as the season draws to an end.
The ‘Bridge’ were rather fortunate to come away from William Lawson last weekend with all the points against a Prospect side that dominated the second half, but on a bright note, winning when you may not have played your best is a good sign, synonymous usually with champion sides.
Nepean’s victory over the Hawks – spearheaded by a superb Sebastian Camacho hatrick – has revived their season somewhat after a disappointing spell prior to that match, and they will be hoping to continue that form even though they are underdogs for this match.
Sebastian Camacho and Terry Pannowitz scored the goals back in Round 9 in a 2-1 win for Nepean, and a similar outcome here for coach Adam Malouf will no doubt do very nicely indeed.
In the final two matches of the round late on Sunday, Prospect United will surely have their final roll of the dice when they travel to play Hakoah Sydney City East at Hensley Athletic Field, the match due to start at 5-00pm, whilst an Inner West derby takes centre stage at the Crest Athletic Field at    7-00pm, with Inter Lions hosting Dulwich Hill, both sides looking for improved efforts after coming off losses last weekend.

Please click on the following link to access all the details of the full round of Round 19 fixtures (all matches may be subject to late changes so please refer to the Football NSW website prior to kick off to confirm match details)
http://www.sportingpulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=ROUND&round=20&client=0-9353-0-253810-0&pool=1

State League One
Top Goalscorers – Round 19
Rosario Occhipinti of Balmain stretched his lead at the top of the charts with a real poacher’s effort against Inter Lions last weekend, whilst Granville speed machine, Zac Watters, netted his second successive brace to join Gladesville’s Scott Tonkin on 10 goals for the season.
13         – Rosario OCCHIPINTI (Balmain Tigers)
10         – Scott TONKIN (Gladesville Ryde Magic), Zac WATTERS (Granville Rage)

8          – Carlos VILLAZON (Dulwich Hill), Justin KOSMINA (Hakoah), Kachi ENYI (Inter Lions),                                         Gustavo Orcajo (Prospect Utd), ), Nick RUTHERFORD (Western NSW)

7          – Ethan SIMONE (Hawkesbury City), Miguel MARTINEZ (Inter Lions, Michael COLE (Northbridge), Terry PANNOWITZ (Nepean), James CHRISTIE (Western NSW), Ry HARDY (Northbridge)

6          – Anthony MUSUMECI (Dulwich Hill), Evan DAGLIS (Hawkesbury City), Will DONATO (Balmain Tigers), , Mitchell SMITH (Gladesville Ryde Magic), Frank CALCAGNO (Dulwich Hill), Paul COOPER (Hawkesbury City), Mark McALPINE (Hakoah), Sebastian CAMACHO (Nepean)

5          – Chris CAMILLERI (Prospect Utd), Paul ORGAD (Northbridge), Lee JONES (Northbridge), Michael MCCRORY (Hawkesbury City), Samir ESHANI (Gladesville Ryde Magic), James VILLAZON (Dulwich Hill), Yavuz EKINCI (Gladesville Ryde Magic), Majid ESLAMI (Gladesville Ryde Magic)