Round 14 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Round Fourteen of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition is split this weekend with three matches on Saturday evening at 7-00pm, and the other three across three different timeslots on Sunday.
Dulwich Hill meet Gladesville Ryde Magic at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, eager to bounce back to form following last week’s mauling against Rydalmere.
Dully have leaked more than three goals per game on average, and will need to be a lot more attentive in the defensive third if they are to thwart the Magic’s two Chris’ – Gaitatzis and Tomaras.
Both were on target in the first round when Magic prevailed 3-2, and a similar result here may just give Gladesville the impetus they need to stay in touch with a finals spot.
Another Saturday evening match sees Granville Rage meet Rydalmere Lions at Garside Park in an interesting encounter.
Granville have been in some entertaining matches of late, including one 5-3 result and three 4-3 results within their last five outings. The Rage would be best warned to tighten their backline if they are to obtain anything from this match, given Rydalmere’s return to form last week with their seven goal feast against Dully.
Miguel Lopez and Seiji Tarutani got the Rydalmere goals last time these teams met back in Round Three, and another similar 2-0 scoreline for the Lions would keep their title aspirations on track.
Western NSW Mariners are on the road this Saturday when they travel to meet Sydney University at the Uni Football Ground.
The ‘students’ had a pleasing win last weekend over high flying Stanmore, and as a result they have kept the teams below them on the ladder at just-bigger-than-arm’s length, with Rage and Magic four points behind on 17.
Sydney University’s skipper, Tommy Hyde, was nursing a split above his eye but will be back to lead his troops, and with Rosario Occhipinti back in goal scoring mood – his winning goal last weekend was his 7th of the season – the Mariners will have to be at their best if they are to take anything back home on the bus.
The first of the Sunday matches is scheduled to kick off at 3-00pm at Concord Oval, and sees Inter Lions play Stanmore Hawks.
Inter continue to lack the consistency to push for a top five position, last week evidence of that when they backed up their brilliant 4-2 midweek win over Rydalmere Lions with a 0-5 reverse on the Saturday against Hills Brumbies.
Stanmore had a pleasing midweek win themselves this week, overcoming Hawkesbury 2-1 after the long trek out west, and their resilience and fitness will be truly tested when they back up against Inter just four days later.
Big Sam Awad scored a hatrick in Stanmore’s 3-1 win over Inter back in Round Three at Arlington Oval, and another three points here will keep the Hawks in touch with the top two in the competition.
Balmain Tigers have had to surrender their home fixture against Hawkesbury City, and will now play at the Hawks’ nest, David Bertenshaw Field, the match kicking off at 5-00pm on Sunday afternoon.
Not that the Tigers will mind too much, having snatched all three points at the same venue earlier in the season when the two teams first met with a 3-1 result, two of the goals coming from Marcelo Turdera.
The Hawks have consolidated somewhat over the past month or so, picking up some valuable points in a number of stubborn but effective performances.
It will be Hawkesbury’s third game at home in a week – the other two producing two narrow but hard fought losses, 1-3 vs Dunbar and 1-2 vs Stanmore.
Undoubtedly the match of the round is also the final match of the round, and it takes place at Hensley Athletic Field on Sunday night kicking off at 7-00pm.
Second placed Dunbar Rovers welcome the visit of competition leaders, Hills Brumbies, in what promises to be a cracking encounter.
Separated by just the solitary point, Hills will no doubt look for a win to extend their lead to four points, whilst a Dunbar triumph will see the Rovers climb to the summit for the second time this season.
Hills have been in scintillating form this season, scoring 52 goals across 13 games on their way to 10 wins from 13 outings.
The Brumbies have only had the solitary loss in the NPL3 – and that was a 1-4 thumping at the hands of Dunbar Rovers back in Round Three. Skipper Robbie Deasy grabbed a brace that night in a fiercely contested battle that produced 9 yellow cards and 1 red.
That was not the first time the two clubs met – they in fact did battle ten days earlier than their league encounter when they were drawn to play against each other in Round Four of this season’s Westfield FFA Cup.
The result was identical to their league outcome – a 4-1 victory to Dunbar Rovers, this time with Michael Sealy grabbing a brace.
Can Hills Brumbies snatch a victory and extend their lead to four points at the top of the NPL3 competition? Or can Dunbar Rovers produce their third consecutive triumph against the Brumbies in 2016, and as a result climb above their match day opponents and in to top spot? Get out to Hensley on Sunday evening to see how the encounter unfolds.
MIDWEEK CATCH UP
Hawkesbury City – Stanmore Hawks 1-2
Stanmore Hawks picked up a very handy three points midweek at Richmond when they hung on to defeat Hawkesbury City 2-1.
The battle of the Hawks swayed back and forth over the first half an hour with both sides unable to convert a couple of good opportunities.
Stanmore edged themselves in front on the half hour mark when Heo Wookbum headed home from a Sam Awad cross, and that’s the way it remained until the break.
Michael Toscano fired in a second for Stanmore on 56 minutes, picking up a loose clearance from a City defender before finding the net with a shot from the edge of the box.
Toscano almost put the game to bed shortly after but City’s keeper, Daniel Schwarzer, finger tipped a shot over the cross bar to keep Hawkesbury in the game.
That was just the tonic Hawkesbury needed, and they came at the visitors over the last 25 minutes or so, eventually reducing the deficit when substitute, Jason Browne, headed home with five minutes remaining.
Hawkesbury City had a range of set pieces in the final minutes, but could not muster an equaliser, partly because of a superb save by Stanmore custodian, James Webb, who dived low to divert a shot that was headed in to the bottom corner.
Stanmore retain their third spot on the ladder, with the subsequent three points moving them to 28, just four off the top and three behind Dunbar Rovers.
