Men’s State League 2 Round 16 Preview

With only three matches remaining in the regular season, each team can use as many points as possible as fourth spot on the ladder is still up for grabs.

Two teams that have cemented their positions on the top of the ladder will battle it out on Saturday for our Match of the Round.

Dunbar Rovers vs Hurstville FC, 3pm Saturday 1 August, Hensley Athletics Field (Match of the Round)

A top of the table clash will feature in this week’s Match of the Round with only two wins separating competition leaders, Dunbar Rovers and second-placed Hurstville FC.

The Dunbar Rovers clicked into gear last week when they made the trip to Camden to lodge a 5-0 victory over the Tigers.

They [Dunbar Rovers] welcomed back star midfielder, Andrew Doddy, who proved he had not missed a beat when he opened the scoring with a brilliant freekick.

For Hurstville FC, they continue to leapfrog teams at the top of the table and their consistent brand of attacking football has resulted in their success.

Dunbar have been shaky in the last month and have drawn three matches in a row prior to their victory against Camden.  Therefore, this match could go either way.

University of NSW vs Hurstville City Minotaurs, 3pm Saturday 1 August, David Phillips Field

University of NSW will be looking to make amends after last week’s disappointing 1-0 loss to the Western Condors at home.

After playing valiantly the whole match, they [UNSW] were unable to contain leading goal scorer, Mauricio Navarrete who tucked the ball into the back of the net in injury time.

The Hurstville City Minotaurs are also coming off a loss and will want to bounce back from their disappointing performance against FC Gazy Lansvale.

Although the Minotaurs will not be playing finals football in 2015, UNSW will need to win if they have any chance of making a late surge for the top four.

Wagga City Wanderers vs FC Gazy Lansvale, 3pm Saturday 1 August, Gissing Oval

The third fixture of the round will see the Wagga City Wanderers host FC Gazy Lansvale.

Both teams were a part of high-scoring matches last week.

While FC Gazy Lansvale were 5-1 victors against the Hurstville City Minotaurs, the Wagga City Wanderers continued their losing ways by going down to Hurstville FC 4-0.

Engin Ongel had a brilliant match for Gazy last week and as a result, found himself with three goals next to his name.

He will be a key player if Gazy are to continue their winning form.

Southern Districts vs Camden Tigers, 7pm Saturday 1 August, Ernie Smith Reserve

Both Southern Districts and Camden will see Saturday night’s fixture as a must win when they come up against each other.

Last week’s 4-3 loss to Prospect ensured that Southern Districts slipped 17 points behind current Club Championship leaders, Dunbar Rovers.

The possibility of a late flurry of competition points is still possible, but they [Southern Districts] will need to win every match, starting this week.

Camden’s 5-0 loss to Dunbar and Prospect’s 4-3 win over Southern Districts last week, has meant that only one point separates fourth-placed Camden with fifth-placed Prospect.

Therefore, Camden will also be looking to pick-up all three competition points come Saturday, in order to maintain their spot in the top four.

Western Condors FC vs Prospect United, 3pm Sunday 2 August, Calabria Sports Ground

The Western Condors and Prospect United will square off in this weekend’s middle of the table clash for our only Sunday match of the round.

Both sides are coming off round 15 victories with the Western Condors showing calm heads to run away with a 1-0 win in injury time over University of NSW.

Prospect on the other hand, showed their resilience to grind out a back-and-forth match, when they took out one of the top sides in Southern Districts.

If the Condors are victorious, they will find themselves equal fifth with Prospect and only one point outside of the top four.

While Western Condors can see themselves leapfrog fourth-placed Camden Tigers with a win at home, showing the enormity of this match.

– By Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter