Mens State League Two Round 16 Preview
The top-four clash in Mens State League Two round 16 but first it’s Enfield Rovers against Southern Branch at Garside Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm), followed by Prospect United versus Hurstville FC and Southern Bulls against Rydalmere Lions at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday night (7pm).
Western Condors host University of NSW at Calabria Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Hurstville City Minotaurs have the bye. A round-10 catch-up between big-guns Hurstville FC and Rydalmere Lions is scheduled for next Wednesday night at William Lawson Reserve (8.30pm).
The all-important club championship remains hotly-contested with Lions (82) narrowly ahead of Bulls (79) and Prospect (76) with Rydalmere and Bulls facing the last two round byes. Next it’s Hurstville FC (62) followed by Minotaurs (51), Condors (49), Uni (40), Enfield (30) and Branch (28).
Enfield Rovers against Southern Branch at Garside Park on Saturday afternoon (3pm) should be an interesting contest. The two clubs have endured a long, cold winter to reside in the bottom-three all season, the finals a faint whisper on the whispering winds of promise… but a giant wooden spoon looming up behind them should drive both sides to near desperation. They’ve only hit the back of the net 28 times in 24 games collectively (conceding a combined 64), however, Enfield’s successive 3-2 victories in Nowra hints that this might be a more open affair.
What a match when Prospect United meets leaders Hurstville FC at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday night (7pm)! A six-game unbeaten run helped Hurstville re-take top spot from Prospect, who lost their first game in over two months (4-1 to Lions two weekends ago); it was also United’s only loss at William Lawson this winter. The league’s best home team also faces the competition’s best travelers, Hurstville unbeaten on the road taking 16 points from six outings. Prospect won the first and only meeting between the clubs, 2-0 in May.
It’s another Saturday night blockbuster at Ernie Smith Reserve (7pm) as Southern Bulls welcome Rydalmere Lions to the pen. Second versus fourth on the ladder is excitement enough but both clubs take solid form into the contest having lost just one of their last seven fixtures. Southern haven’t lost at Ernie Smith at all this winter but Rydalmere have dropped just one road game, winning five of six trips, and Bulls ended a three-year losing sequence to Lions with a tight 1-0 win in May. With both clubs facing byes in the last two rounds points are at a premium, so this’ll be an absolute screamer!
Western Condors host University of NSW at Calabria Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon (3pm) and their table-seating situation suggests this will be anything but a ‘nothing’ game. Condors are seven points off top-four pace with three rounds remaining; all they can do is keep on winning and see what happens – they’ve won two straight after going seven games without one. Uni are embroiled in a three-way battle for the wooden-spoon with Enfield and Branch (who meet Saturday) and haven’t found a victory since round five (nine rounds), and haven’t beaten Condors since 2009.
