Round 20 Preview – State League Men’s

The weather isn’t the only thing that is starting to heat up this week, with the State League Men’s bursting into its twentieth round of the season.
SD Raiders FC vs. Wagga City Wanderers – Saturday 13 August, 5PM at Ernie Smith Reserve
The SD Raiders FC will settle for nothing less than all three points in this weekend’s tricky fixture against Wagga City, as the league hurtles towards the Finals.
Last weekend against Hurstville FC, the Raiders were held scoreless for only the second time this season. They will be itching to find the back of the net again this weekend, against a young Wanderers squad.
The Wanderers have struggled to put out a consistent line up in the past month, and have taken the opportunity to blood a lot of youngsters. Their form has reflected the inexperienced nature of their squad, with the team losing four of their past five outings.
Adding complexity to the situation, both teams will have to back up immediately for a second game between the two sides this weekend.
Wanderers coach Andrew Douglas says that this will be very challenging for his side, particularly against an impressive side in the Raiders.
“It will be an extremely tough weekend for us… obviously playing the same side twice in a double header and losing home ground advantage will be hard.”
“We will give it our best crack and we welcome welcome back three key players to the line up.”
Hurstville City Minotaurs vs. St. George FA – Saturday 13 August, 4PM at Heffron Park
St. George FA will have to overcome a deceptively difficult Hurstville City Minotaurs this weekend, if they’re to return immediately to winning ways.
In Round 19, St. George failed to win for the first time in twelve rounds and will be determined not to make a pattern of this result.
The Hurstville City Minotaurs have been inconsistent all season, sometimes proving easy-beats though often demonstrating an ability to compete with the best. Last weekend, they were very impressive in sweeping aside the Wagga City Wanderers away from home. 
Coach Peter Sarikakis says, “My boys will feel happy we played without some of our players and still outplayed the Wagga team.”
“As far as St. George is concerned, they are a good side with a good budget and they also have some good coaches around them.”
“We will go down to play our friends and neighbours in a sportsmanlike manner… I have some players missing but I make no excuses, we will do our best to play good football and try to please the supporters of both teams.”
Prospect United vs. Bankstown United FC – Saturday 13 August, 5PM at William Lawson Park
Bankstown United will look to continue their recent resurgence in form this weekend, as they take on a disheartened Prospect United.
Bankstown struggled through most of July, but have turned things around in the past few weeks; notably in their comfortable 5-0 thrashing of the Western Condors in Round 19.
They will be under a lot of pressure to keep things going this Saturday, with a win necessary to evade the in-form Camden Tigers FC below them on the ladder.
Prospect United continue to struggle for results this season, but will have nothing to fear against Bankstown this weekend. They know they have the firepower to pull off an upset, and will be pushing for just that.
Coach John Caruana says, “Every game is exciting and the squad is looking forward to it.”
“It’s going to be a tough game against an organised opponent… as always, we will be competitive and it’s all about what we do with our opportunities.”
Nepean FC vs. Hurstville FC – Saturday 13 August, 7PM at Cook Park
Hurstville FC will see every game from here on in as must-win, if they’re to steal the Premiership out from the hands of St. George.
In Round 19, they missed an opportunity to gain points on the league leaders in their draw against the Raiders. However, they will still be extremely pleased with the fact they kept a clean sheet (for the second time this season) against the league’s most prolific outfit.
Midweek, Hurstville crucially overcame the Western Condors in a tough clash – making up for a washed out Round 10. An early goal from Tom O’Neill was enough to see Hurstville come away victorious.
Coach Alex Prophet believes that his team still has a strong chance of claiming first place this season.
“Win tonight [against the Condors] and this Saturday and then keeping going towards the Finals… we are still alive, definitely.”
Western Condors FC vs. University of NSW – Sunday 14 August, 3PM at Stanwell Oval
The Western Condors FC will believe this weekend’s clash against the University of NSW is their last chance to turn around their season, which has stuttered towards the finish line.
The Condors were extremely impressive during the opening two thirds of competition, but have disappointed in their performances during the past month. They have failed to win in six games, and are fresh off a 5-0 defeat to Bankstown United in Round 19 and a 1-0 loss to Hurstville FC midweek.
UNSW have much less to play for than the Condors, but will fancy their chances against a demoralised side. Nevertheless, their recent form has been almost as bad – with only one win in the same six game period.
The Condors will be extremely motivated to recover their season, as we close down on the Finals, and should be too good for UNSW. But if the Lions were to come away with points, it would not be a surprise.
Camden Tigers FC vs. Gazy Auburn FC – Sunday 14 August, 3:30PM at Lynwood Park
The Camden Tigers must avoid any complacency this weekend, as they take on last placed Gazy Auburn FC.
The Tigers have been in incredible form, undefeated in six games, culminating in an impressive draw against St. George in Round 19.
Coach Dean Bradley assures that complacency will not become an issue this weekend, regardless of their form or Gazy’s position on the ladder.
“We will be preparing the boys the same as every week… unfortunately there are no easy games and any team can have the better end of the referee decisions and so on.”
“As a squad, as we did against St. George, we will blood some young guys and keep working on what has been working for us. If we maintain our levels, everything else should fall into place.”
A win could see the Tigers push in to the top four, leap frogging Bankstown United ahead of them.
-by Daniel Palmer, Football NSW State League Men’s Reporter