Round 19 Preview – State League Men’s

Round 19 of the State League Men’s will be one of the tightest all season, with a series of evenly matched fixtures promising to provide some tense football. 

Bankstown United FC vs. Western Condors FC – Friday 5 August, 8:30PM at Jensen Park

Both Bankstown and the Condors will be disappointed with how they’ve performed in the past month, and looking to start August much more positively.

United finally broke a string of poor results last weekend, beating Nepean FC 3-0 in a performance that wasn’t entirely convincing but clinical nonetheless. The Condors were much less emphatic in a 2-2 draw against last placed Gazy Auburn FC.

Each side will expect to improve upon their outings in Round 18, in what should be a very tense and patient game of football. Bankstown and the Condors have both become renowned for a brand of football that combines extremely economical defending with efficient goalscoring.

Both clubs will be maneuvering around fifth placed Camden Tigers on the ladder. Bankstown in fourth will be trying to hold on to their position in the top four; meanwhile, the Condors in sixth will be hoping to make up ground on the Tigers above them.

Wagga City Wanderers vs. Hurstville City Minotaurs – Saturday 6 August, 3PM at Gissing Oval

Wagga City will be hoping to quickly erase memories of last week’s big loss to St. George FA by defeating the Hurstville City Minotaurs in front of friends and families.

In Round 18 they were simply outplayed by a better team in St. George, but were complimented for demonstrating their usual tenacity throughout the ninety minutes regardless of the score. This weekend, Wagga will want nothing less than to convert their hard work into points.

They will come up against a resource stretched Hurstville City Minotaurs, whose squad will be thinned by the prospect of what coach Peter Sarikakis describes as a long “country drive” down to Wagga.

“Saturday is not really a good day because some players and parents have work, but it is what it is. It’s our third time down this year, so you can understand we have had enough travelling to Wagga especially with the cold weather.”

“I really don’t know who is coming down.”

Despite Sarikakis’ lamentations, the Wanderers will not take their foot off the pedal in any form of sympathy. They will be strong favourites to claim all three points in their home ground.

University of NSW vs. Nepean FC – Saturday 6 August, 3PM at Heffron Park (synthetic)

The University of NSW and Nepean FC have very little to play for this weekend when it comes to Finals football, but have their targets firmly set on next season.

UNSW are a club that have struggled for stability over the past few seasons, with high levels of turnover between years. This season was always earmarked as one for development, in hopes to nurture stability.

Nepean FC are also in a process of stabilisation. Having been one of the worst teams in the competition for the opening half of the year, new coach Magdy Andrawes has turned things around for the squad. The story has not quite been a fairy tale, however, and they still have a long way to go.

These objectives will be in mind when playing this weekend, with each club seeing this weekend’s game as a good opportunity to prove to themselves just how far they’ve come.

SD Raiders FC vs. Hurstville FC – Saturday 6 August, 7PM at Ernie Smith Reserve

In one of the biggest fixtures of the round, third placed SD Raiders FC host second placed Hurstville FC in a game that will undoubtedly have massive ramifications on the ladder.

A win for Southern Districts would all but ruin Hurstville’s hopes of chasing down St. George atop the table, while allowing the Raiders to pursue second place. A win for Hurstville sees them maintain their Premiership race and stretch away from competition below.

Both sides have demonstrated quite different styles of football this season. The Raiders have dominated games based upon a direct and clinical attacking game, yielding lots of goals. Hurstville have been much more of an all round, though defensively minded, package – taking control of midfield and defending resolutely.

If Hurstville can contain the Raiders’ two star attacking players, Mclintock and Symington, they will be favourites to win. However, such is a task very few teams have been able to achieve this season.

Hurstville coach Alex Prophet says, “With the group of players we have, I am confident where we go. I have great trust and belief in them.”

“As always, we will prepare for the game against the Raiders with respect but also believe that we are good enough to win and keep going forwards towards the Finals.”

St. George FA vs. Camden Tigers FC – Saturday 6 August, 7PM at Valentine Sports Park 3

In a mouthwatering clash between the league’s two in form sides, league leaders St. George FA take on the Camden Tigers FC.

St. George FA have one hand on the Premiership, and have shown no signs of letting go throughout the past couple of weeks. Last Saturday, they tore apart the Wagga City Wanderers 5-0 in a dominant display.

Having lost only one match all season, winning every game they’ve played since Round 5, St. George will look to continue what has been a remarkable debut year with a strong showing against Camden.

Coach Manny Spanoudakis says his squad will be decided based upon how a few players pull up after an U20s game against Prospect midweek.

“Marton Vass is available again after serving his suspension and brings a lot of experience back into the team team.”

“We are also expecting club captain Adrian Webster back from the UK and based upon how he’s feeling, we will decide if he participates.”

Camden coach Dean Bradley says that the club is looking forward to the challenge provided by St. George, as a real test of how far the Tigers have come over the past month.

Camden were undefeated in July, allowing them to solidify their position in fifth on the ladder. A massive coup against the league leaders could allow them to leapfrog Bankstown United into the top four.

Bradley describes, “From last week we are carrying injuries to four certain starters, but that’s not an excuse.”

“We will train hard and stick to what has worked for us the last few weeks, and see what happens. It will be great to blood some more young players in a big game this weekend.”

Gazy Auburn FC vs. Prospect United – Sunday 7 August, 3PM at Progress Park

Both Gazy Auburn and Prospect United will be looking to show off their attacking football this weekend, hoping for some more luck than they’ve previously found this season.

Both sides sit rooted to the bottom of the table on twelve points, but will believe their seasons could have taken very different paths if some minor things had gone differently.

Prospect in particular will feel hard done by this season – having lost an unbelievable amount of games despite having at some point been in the lead; including last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Camden This, of course, exemplifies a great weakness in the concentration of their young squad -but also demonstrates that they have great potential within them.

Coach John Caruana believes this weekend is a good opportunity for his boys to finally taste victory again.

“We have played well without any luck… if we can play with the same drive and intensity, we will definitely have a chance.”

“Football is a cruel game, we have to make sure we come ready to play.”

Gazy Auburn are coming off a well earned draw against the Western Condors, which they will have viewed as a great result. If they can perform similarly against Prospect, Gazy can undoubtedly claim all three points and move off the bottom of the ladder.

-by Daniel Palmer, Football NSW State League Men’s Reporter