Round 9 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Round Nine of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition will be split this weekend with three matches kicking off at 7-00pm on Saturday evening, whilst the remaining three will be on Sunday.
The inform Stanmore Hawks will welcome the visit of Gladesville Ryde Magic to Arlington Oval on Saturday night, riding a crest of a wave that has seen them pick up 12 points from their last four matches.
Goalkeeper James Webb has been in superb form of late, and is part of a well-structured defence that has conceded the least amount of goals of any club this season, just nine in eight matches. The Hawks sit in fourth position on the ladder on goal difference, but they are just three points from the top, and will look to build on the confidence they acquired from knocking over previous league leaders, Rydalmere Lions, in last weekend’s round.
Magic have been somewhat inconsistent this season, and four wins and four losses in the opening eight rounds are testament to that. But on their day, Gladesville have the experience in key areas of the park to surprise anyone, and with captain Chris Gaitatzis in great form – he scored his sixth goal of the campaign on the weekend – expect a full blooded effort from the visitors come Saturday night.
New competition leaders, Hills Brumbies, will welcome Hawkesbury City to Lily Football Centre on Saturday night, hoping to extend their lead at the summit of the ladder.
Hills managed their seventh victory of the season last weekend, scoring five against Gladesville Ryde Magic, but this time managed to tighten defensively and concede just the solitary goal. Peter Cejkaa (11) and Sean Mitchell (6) have been scoring goals regularly, and the Brumbies will be confident of knocking in a few more this weekend.
After a spluttering start to the 2016 season, the Hawks finally cracked it for a victory last weekend, beating the Mariners 3-0 in an accomplished performance. Sitting 10 spots below their opponents for this match, an interesting statistic shows that Hawkesbury’s defence have conceded five goals fewer than the high flying Hills after 8 matches, so another gritty display in the defensive third may be the catalyst to spring a surprise result.
Western NSW Mariners will host Balmain Tigers at Proctor Park in Bathurst in a match between two teams separated by just three points.
The Mariners will be hurting after last week’s 0-3 reverse at Hawkesbury that saw them drop to the bottom of the ladder, and they will hope to bounce back immediately against the Tigers. The Mariners have had no issues finding the net at home – 14 goals in 5 games is proof of that – so if they can hold out defensively they may just be able to pull off their second victory of the season.
Balmain Tigers put on an improved performance last weekend, losing 0-2 to the impressive Dunbar Rovers. After conceding two early goals, the Tigers showed some fighting spirit and gave their opponents a real crack, and will hope for more of the same qualities if they are to bring something back from Bathurst.
Inter Lions play Granville Rage at Fraser Park on Sunday afternoon in what promises to be a real mid table battle of sorts.
Inter Lions have won four, lost four of their opening eight matches, and will need to win this game to keep in touch with the top five teams above them. The Lions will continue to look to the experience of both the tenacious Domenic Arcella, and the creative Lachlan Wright, to steer them to victory on Sunday.
This Rage were victorious last weekend against Sydney University, the welcome three points moving them to 8 points and putting them above a group of four teams in the bottom half of the table. Another win is required here if Granville are to stay within arm’s reach of the top half and make a surge towards finals football come the end of the season.
Arguably the match of the round will be at Sydney University Football Ground, where Sydney University entertain the visit of Rydalmere Lions on Sunday afternoon.
The ‘students’ came unstuck last weekend against the Rage after a great run of form, and will hope to win Sunday and join their match day opponents on 18 points. Rosario Occhipinti grabbed his fifth goal of the season last weekend, joining team mate Johnny Gowdy on the same figure, and along with Scott Tonkin, the Uni attack will try to put the Lions on the back foot early on.
The Lions lost their second successive match last weekend, and for the first time this season, were kept scoreless. But Rydalmere have a squad brimming with talent, and have their own attacking weapons in Zac Elrich, Matthew Mayora and Seijei Tarutani, so look forward to an improved and much more effective showing from Rydalmere Lions this week.
The final match of the round is at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday evening, kicking off at 6-30pm, when Dunbar Rovers take on Dulwich Hill.
Dunbar Rovers picked up six points in five days last week, with wins against Inter Lions and Balmain Tigers, and have ominously moved on to 18 points on the ladder in equal second place. A win here from Robbie Deasy and his troops will keep the pressure on Hills, so expect a focussed and determined approach as usual from the home side.
Dully returned to winning ways last Sunday in a 4-3 cliff hanger against Inter Lions, and with the pending announcement of a new coach this week, they will hope they’ve turned their season around and want to continue their ascent up the ladder by springing a surprise against the Rovers.
