Mens State League One Week 7 Preview
There hasn’t been any changes on top of the ladder as we head into Round 7, with Hakoah and Granville Rage still sharing equal top spot.
But things are definitely getting interesting with the chasing pack, and this week’s matches could be a defining round, as many of the teams expected to challenge this year find themselves struggling for form.
Nepean FC v Western NSW Mariners – 7pm Saturday at Cook Park
Nepean FC welcome Western NSW Mariners to Cook Park on Saturday night, with the home side looking to put together consecutive victories.
Nepean were impressive in their 3-1 victory over Balmain last week, and another home game is just what the doctor ordered as the side look to gather some momentum in a stop-start season. With a catchup fixture on Wednesday night against Hawkesbury and with some key players to come back from injury, coach Malouf will be looking for his side to charge up the ladder.
The Mariners were only minutes away from recording their second win of the season last week against Camden, with only a last gasp header from Camden denying the Mariners the three points. It was a good response from the young side that was beaten heavily the previous week.
Camden Tigers v Hakoah Sydney City East – 7pm Saturday at Ron Dine Reserve
The other Saturday night fixture for the week sees Camden hosting table-topping Hakoah.
The Tigers are coming off a 2-2 draw away to the Mariners last week and are still chasing their first win of the season. Coach Mackechnie will be pleased that his team fought back from being down twice to earn a late draw, but the side needs to register a win to get their campaign under way and it won’t get much tougher than Hakoah.
League leaders Hakoah are going from to strength to strength this season and claimed another big scalp on the weekend by defeating Northbridge 3-2. After losing in Round One, the side hasn’t looked back since and is on a very impressive run of five league wins in a row.
Dulwich Hill v Northbridge – 3pm Sunday at Lambert Park
With Arlington Oval still unavailable, historic ground Lambert Park will be the match venue on Sunday afternoon as Dulwich Hill entertain Northbridge FC.
Dulwich Hill head into this week’s clash with a change in the coaching ranks as the club have appointed former international player Norman Tome as First Grade Coach. Tome has a long association with the club and was previously the under 20’s coach and more recently held the coaching director role for the club.
The new coach will look to keep up Dulwich Hill’s recent good form as they look for three wins on the trot, with a tight 2-1 win over Hawkesbury on the weekend moving the side to 3rd spot on the ladder.
Northbridge come into this game on the back of a 3-2 loss to Hakoah. Lapses in concentration cost the side dearly last week and that will be something they can ill afford against Dulwich Hill.
Gladesville Ryde Magic v Hawkesbury City – 3pm Sunday at Magdala Park
Gladesvillle have been quietly going about their business this season and find themselves equal third on the ladder. A good mix of youth and experience has seen George Ganiatsas’s side become one of the surprise packets of the season with four wins from the opening six games.
Gladesville ran away with a 2-0 victory over Inter last weekend and will look for another win at home, where they have a 100% winning record.
After a bright start to this year’s campaign, Hawkesbury are sliding down the ladder at an alarming rate and have now lost three games in a row. A 2-1 home defeat to Dulwich Hill last week leaves Hawksbury outside the top five for the first time this year. Experienced Coach McCrory will look to get the side back on track this week, but will first have to navigate a catch up fixture against Nepean on Wednesday night.
Balmain Tigers v Stanmore Hawks – 3pm Sunday at Wentworth Park
Two teams coming off defeats meet on Sunday afternoon with Balmain tackling Stanmore at Wentworth Park.
Balmain suffered another setback on the weekend going down 3-1 to Nepean. The loss leaves the Tigers with two wins from six games and they currently occupy 9th spot on the ladder. With basically the same side that won last year’s Grand Final, Balmain’s up and down form has been puzzling to say the least. A much improved performance will be needed this week.
Stanmore were unlucky not to come away with any points last round as they went down 2-1 to Granville Rage in a hard fought match. As has been the case on numerous occasions, Stanmore were well in the game but came away with nothing to show for it. They will be desperate to get points on the board this weekend.
Inter Lions v Granville Rage – 7pm Sunday at The Crest Sporting Complex
The last match of Round 7 sees Inter Lions face a tough assignment as they take on first place Granville Rage on Sunday night.
The Lions haven’t been on a good run of late, losing their last three games, including last week’s 2-0 defeat to Gladesville. Coach Maiorana’s side needs to start finding the back of the net, but that task will be made more difficult with star striker Miguel Martinez serving a suspension this week.
Granville Rage kept up the pace at the top of the ladder with a 2-1 victory over Stanmore last weekend, however the Rage had to show a different side to their game to see out a gritty win with 10 men for the last part of the game. Look for outright top goal scorer Nenos Bobo to lead the line once again in attack.
State League One – Top Goal Scorers
6 – Nenos Bobo (Granville Rage)
5 – Rosario Occhipinti (Balmain)
4 – Lloyd Owusu (Hakoah), Lachlan Wright (Stanmore), Lee Jones (Northbridge)
3 – Almir Dizdaric (Granville Rage), Sebastian Camacho (Hawkesbury), Andrew Mckie (Gladesville), Peter Yannopoulos (Gladesville), Ry Hardy (Northbridge), Terry Panowitz (Nepean)
-By Diego Munoz
