Round 17 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Just six matches remaining for most teams (and the odd rescheduled game) as things are well and truly hotting up as we approach the final quarter of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
Hills Brumbies have got a jump start on the Premiership title on the three sides immediately beneath them – Rydalmere Lions, Stanmore Hawks and Dunbar Rovers, the gap now out to eight and nine (Dunbar) points respectively. However, the Lions do have a game in hand on Hills, whilst the two heavyweights will meet in a fortnight’s time in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash.
Barring some unexpected loss of form, the top four sides should be able to look forward to finals football, which seemingly leaves three sides battling for that coveted fifth semi final position. Sydney University currently sit in 5th spot on 25 points, with Gladesville Ryde Magic on 23, and a resurgent Inter Lions on 22 points. And don’t write off Hawkesbury City and Granville Rage just yet, both on 17 points and within reach, but both with contrasting fortunes of late.
Only three points separate the bottom three, and looking further at the overall club championship, two of those three, Dulwich Hill and Western NSW Mariners, will be fighting tooth and nail until season end to avoid bottom place. The tension will be no more prevalent this coming Thursday evening, July 21, when the two sides face off at Glen Willow Stadium at 7-30pm in a rescheduled Round 11 fixture.
Round Seventeen starts at 5-00pm on Saturday afternoon at David Bertenshaw Field, where Hawkesbury City welcome Rydalmere Lions to the fold.
Both sides have been is great form of late, with a solitary loss between them in the past month. Hawkesbury City coach, Dean Bertenshaw, probably wishes the season to start in June, given his side have mirrored last season’s second round improvement with a similar upturn in form this season at the start of the second round. Still boasting one of the best defensive records in the league, the Hawks will need to get something from this match if they are to keep their semi final hopes alive.
Rydalmere Lions look to be well and truly over their mid season form, having now won four on the trot and scoring 21 goals to boot. Moving ominously in to second spot, the Lions have the Brumbies in their sights, and will be focussed on returning home with nothing less than three points this coming Saturday.
Matthew Mayora grabbed a hatrick last time these two teams met in a 3-1 win to the Lions, so expect a tough arm wrestle this time as well.
Western NSW Mariners will be playing their second match in 48 hours, both at Glen Willow Stadium, when they entertain Gladesville Ryde Magic at 6-00pm on Saturday evening.
The Mariners will be putting plenty on the line against Dully on Thursday evening, but will have little time to rest their weary legs when they face a Magic side bordering hopes of semi final football after a mid season uplift in form.
Western NSW have produced some spirited performances of late, with little to show for it, but their application to the task and persistence to do well will eventually bear fruit, no doubt.
Gladesville Ryde hit a road bump last weekend in a 1-3 loss to Rydalmere Lions, but a five match unbeaten run before that has well and truly thrown them in to semi final contention, and they will look to get their season back on track with nothing less than a win here.
A Chris Gaitatzis hatrick spearheaded Magic to a 4-1 triumph at the same venue in the first round, so history repeating itself will do very nicely indeed for the Gladesville faithful.
Arlington Oval’s co-tenants will battle for home ground supremacy on Saturday evening at 7-00pm when Stanmore Hawks meet Dulwich Hill in an inner west derby.
Stanmore will be disappointed to have dropped two points last week against Balmain, although they showed some character clawing their way back from a 0-2 deficit.
On the back of just one loss in their past twelve matches, Stanmore have been there or thereabouts all season, consistently in the mix within the top four, and still boasting the best defensive record in the competition with just 21 goals conceded.
Dully have had a tough time of it of late, and it doesn’t get any easier this week, facing the Hawks after a Thursday night trek to Mudgee. Despite the result, they did show plenty of fighting spirit last week against Hills to suggest they’ll be up for the challenge.
Stanmore prevailed 2-1 in the first round when these teams met, and a similar closely fought encounter can be expected this time around once again.
Football NSW headquarters will host an NPL3 match on Saturday evening when Hills Brumbies meet Granville Rage at Valentine Sports Park No.3 at 7-00pm.
It is difficult to see anyone stopping the Brumbies at the moment. Sitting first on the ladder by 8 points, having lost the one solitary match all season, and scoring goals for fun – 69 in 16 matches at 4.3 per match – are all statistics reflecting a team full of confidence and well and truly in form.
Granville Rage have had some adverse results of late, but they definitely possess the firepower to worry many a defence, notably the quickfire Alistair McKie and Daniel Bittar in attack.
The Rage showed plenty of get go in the first round when these two teams met, with a late flurry almost snatching a point before they succumbed 4-5 in a nine goal thriller. Expect similar goal mouth action here from two teams that don’t mind attacking in numbers.
One of two matches scheduled to be played at 3-00pm on Sunday afternoon is the intriguing clash between Inter Lions and Dunbar Rovers at Concord Oval.
Inter have been inconsistent for the most part of the season, and as a result have struggled to keep up with the top half of the ladder. But all that changed last week when they managed two workmanlike victories within four days against Hawkesbury City and Western NSW Mariners. They come in to this match full of confidence and will hope to keep up their momentum as they push towards a top five spot, knowing that a good result against Dunbar will show whether they are the real deal or not.
Dunbar Rovers are a solid opponent at the best of times, let alone when they are rebounding off a loss. Sydney University narrowly beat Rovers last week 1-0, sending Dunbar dropping to fourth spot on the ladder, so expect them to come hunting for nothing less than the three points in this match.
The two teams produced a seven goal thriller last time they met – effected over two separate playing days because of an injury-interrupted game – with Dunbar prevailing 4-3. The teams’ two top goal scorers – Andrew Green (Dunbar) and Daniel Fogarty (Inter) both grabbed a brace in that match, and you can expect both to feature prominently this time around once again.
The final match of the round will take place at the Sydney University Football Ground, where Sydney University welcome the visit of Balmain Tigers.
The ‘students’ returned to winning ways last weekend with a narrow win against Dunbar, a win which put the back in to the top five, although Gladesville Ryde Magic and Inter Lions are still snapping at their heels.
Balmain themselves had a pleasing result against Stanmore, drawing 2-2 after leading 2-0, and will take that positive outlook in to this week hoping to continue their climb away from the bottom rungs of the ladder.
Last time these teams met was at Wentworth Park, with Sydney University winning 6-0. Uni striker, Scott Tonkin, rewrote the record books that day by scoring all six goals, so he, amongst others, will be hoping for a similar outcome this time around.
