Round 5 Preview – PS4 NPL 2 NSW Men’s
Round 5 is upon us in the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW Men’s competition and matches are beginning to take on special significance as the season unfolds.
The Football NSW cameras will be at Popondetta Park for the match of the round between Mt Druitt Town Rangers and Spirit FC, with both sides keen to improve their respective positions on the ladder.
Meanwhile, in what should be a blockbuster, unbeaten Western Sydney Wanderers and Blacktown Spartans clash at Sydney United Sports Centre, a matchup that will be both intriguing and critical as the battle for top spot continues while the Central Coast Mariners take on St George FC at Pluim Park on Saturday at 6pm.
Struggling Bankstown City Lions host Mounties Wanderers at Jensen Park; Northern Tigers travel to Macarthur Rams; Bankstown Berries face a Hills Brumbies side missing the nucleus of their side due to injuries and player unavailability, while in the final match, North Shore Mariners host Marconi at Blacktown Football Park. All in all, this should be a decent weekend of football.
Match of the Round
Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Spirit FC, Popondetta Park, 7pm, Saturday 1 April
Mt Druitt Town Rangers host Spirit FC in the match of the round at Popondetta Park on Saturday night and with a rescheduled clash against Mounties Wanderers midweek, it’ll be interesting to see how Aidan Desmond’s side copes with having to juggle three games within the space of a week.
The Rangers coach isn’t too fussed about his team’s workload but he’s wary of a Spirit side that he says is "hard-working, well-structured and well-organised".
"They’re never easy to beat and we’ll need to be clinical to beat them," Desmond told Football NSW. "And now that they have a new coach in David Perkovic, they play an attacking style of football as opposed to the more direct style they’ve adopted in the past."
Rangers last week extended their unbeaten run to three games with a 3-2 victory over bottom-placed Banktown City Lions, but despite the result Desmond was disappointed that his side conceded two goals from set pieces. "We should’ve won by six or seven nil and it should’ve been over after 25 minutes," Desmond said. "But we let them back into the contest and they scored from a free kick and a penalty, so we need to work on our discipline."
Meanwhile, Spirit will be looking to improve on their fortuitous one-all draw with North Shore Mariners, a match in which they stole a last-gasp equaliser in the 93rd minute.
"We were very poor and we didn’t deserve a point," Spirit coach David Perkovic told Football NSW. "We need to show improvement "everywhere" because Mt Druitt are a very good outfit.
"They’re a very settled club. They’ve had the same coaching staff for a number of years now and they’re probably the most settled club in the competition. They made the finals last year and they’ve strengthened their squad, so I expect them to be even better than they were last year. We need to make sure our defensive structure is good because they definitely have the ability to control the game, and we need to be better in our decision-making on the ball. I’m expecting a very difficult game away from home."
Mt Druitt have no injury worries while Spirit’s Grant Cornwell and Andy Robertson will be available for selection. Dylan Whitlock is suspended after being sent off on Sunday.
Central Coast Mariners v St George, Pluim Park, 6pm, Saturday 1 April
Central Coast Mariners broke through for their maiden victory of the season against Northern Tigers last weekend and coach Ben Cahn is looking for consecutive wins when his young side host St George at Pluim Park on Saturday.
Defence has been the Mariners’ Achilles heel in 2017 but last week they made big improvements on previous games, keeping a clean sheet with the whole team, from front to back, working as one on defence.
"It was a really good collective performance and we’d like to continue that against St George," Cahn told Football NSW. "There has been a good feel about the place after winning on the weekend and it’d be nice to back that up with a consecutive victory. As always we just want to make sure we do the right things and put in a good performance towards our playing style and see improvement in our players."
St George were desperately unlucky to concede a 90th minute goal in a 1-0 setback against Mounties last Sunday and Cahn is expecting them to be very competitive.
Saints will be looking to learn from that devastating defeat, with improvement in the front third critical to success.
Saints coach Terry Palapanis was disappointed with his side’s loss and rued the fact that they created at least five or six chances without reward.
"We need to be more clinical in front of goal. We need to make the most of our chances," Palapanis told Football NSW. "Central Coast are a tricky side because they’re young, they’re fit and they’re keen and motivated to do well because they’ve all got aspirations to be professional footballers. They’re always taxing matches (against Central Coast). They’ve been unlucky with some results but week-by-week they’ll only get better and better given their age. I think it’ll be tricky."
Central Coast have no injury concerns while for St George Daniel Mitwali returns from suspension, and striker Stevan Ilic will be sidelined after being red carded last weekend. Of concern to Palapanis in the fact that in four matches, his side has conceded red cards in all but one of them.
Bankstown City v Mounties Wanderers, Jensen Park, 6.30pm, Saturday 1 April
Bankstown City Lions take on Mounties Wanderers at Jensen Park on Saturday and with both sides playing midweek catch-up games, respective coaches Mile Todoroski and Lee Sterrey will be hoping their teams arrive at the ground injury-free and ready to play.
A perennial contender for premiership honours, Bankstown’s early season struggles are well known. A coaching upheaval and a complete cleanout on the playing front has led to consecutive defeats, with the Lions finding themselves in the unfamiliar position of being entrenched on the bottom of the ladder.
New coach Mile Todoroski told Football NSW that his side’s fitness was a major problem that he would be working hard to address, while he also stressed that every match would be geared towards avoiding relegation.
"I’ve been brought back to rescue the club," Todoroski told Football NSW. "We have 23 rounds to fix something and to try to avoid relegation."
Meanwhile, despite the dramas at Jensen Park, Mounties coach Lee Sterrey expects the Lions to be a big challenge.
"They’ve always been a top three side and they have a rich history in this competition," Sterrey told Football NSW. "And even though they’re going through some tough times at the moment, the winning culture within the club will count for something. They have everything to play for and we’ll treat them with the respect they deserve."
Mounties last week stole an injury time victory from St George, with Zac Sfiligoi grabbing a 90th minute winner. Todd Halloran, goalkeeper Jair Fernandez and insprational skipper Neftali Gonzalez stood out in what was a gruelling contest and Sterrey is prepared for yet another willing encounter.
When asked where his side needed to improve, Sterrey said: "We need to be more clinical. We had enough chances to win two games last week but we hit the post a couple of times and had a header off the crossbar. At one stage it looked like the ball was never going to go in for us. But we found a free kick at the right time to get the three points."
Western Sydney Wanderers v Blacktown Spartans, Sydney United Sports Centre, 7pm, Saturday 1 April
In one of the most eagerly awaited clashes of the season, unbeaten Western Sydney Wanderers and league leaders Blacktown Spartans face off at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday.
Buoyed by the confidence that comes with winning, the Spartans have been the talk of the town with four wins from as many starts. They’ve worked hard. They’ve played with passion. And under new coach Luis Contigiani, they’ve bought into a playing style and culture that sees them sitting alone at the top of the table.
But despite their early season success, Contigiani knows that the visit to Edensor Park will be the biggest test his side has faced all season.
"It’s a massive game, a big test," Contigiani told Football NSW. "They’re the best of their generation, they’re going to be fast, technical and they’re going to try to move us around. They’re going to try to play through the lines very quickly. I’m expecting a big test. I reckon the game will be determined by how well we maintain our discipline and keep our defensive shape. Simple as that."
Contigiani also believes the young Wanderers will be similar to the Central Coast Mariners, (who his side beat in Round 2) "but just a bit more potent in the final third".
"What impresses me the most about the Wanderers is the way they keep possession and go forward," Contigiani said. "We aspire to one day have a similar game model but we’ve got to be realistic about who we are and where we’re at. We have to focus on being clinical in attack and defence, and if the boys show the same determination and discipline as they have in weeks gone by, I believe we can give ourselves a shot in the arm. Again it’ll just be how well we execute our gameplan on the day."
Meanwhile, the Wanderers will enter the match following a hard-fought two-all draw with fellow championship favourites Marconi and coach Trevor Morgan is expecting the Spartans to be formidable opponents.
"They’ve been doing very well," Morgan told Football NSW. "They’re a young side, they’re trying to rebuild their club, they’ve got a positive mentality and they’ve been winning. Obviously it’s another challenge for us. They’ve got some good aerial power, they’ve got some pace, which they use effectively. They’re definitely things for us to be mindful of. It’s going to be very tough."
Despite the potency of the opposition, Morgan said he’d like his side focus on keeping a clean sheet, something they weren’t able to do against Marconi.
"It’s a tough marker but I think we should be aiming to keep a clean sheet against a strong opponent," Morgan said. "We weren’t able to do that last week (against Marconi). We still conceded goals and I think they’re things our young, aspiring defenders can’t be happy about. If they want to try to impress the boss (First team coach Tony Popovic) they’ve got to show they can defend better. I think more control in our play and the ability to dictate the play more than the Spartans do is key to getting a result."
Both sides will go into the match without any injury concerns in what should be an intriguing encounter between two young and vibrant football teams.
Macarthur Rams vs Northern Tigers, Lynwood Park, 7pm, Saturday 1 April
Macarthur Rams host Northern Tigers at Lynwood Park on Saturday night with both sides looking to improve on last weekend. Macarthur suffered a narrow defeat to Hills Brumbies, while Northern Tigers were at the wrong end of a 3-0 result against Central Coast Mariners.
Macarthur coach Eddie Briscoe has only been on the job for a little over a month and in that time suspensions and injuries have made life somewhat challenging.
"I’ve only had the team for five or six weeks and I’m still trying to get them to play the way I want them to play," Briscoe told Football NSW. "They’re still trying to understand how I want them to play, the systems I’m playing, all that sort of thing. It’s gelling slowly. Every week we’re getting closer and slowly getting there."
Briscoe added that his side needed to be better with their ball retention and not giving the ball away, especially in crucial areas.
"Obviously this week we’ll be working on creating chances again and getting into the right areas to finish them."
Briscoe admitted that while he didn’t know a lot about the Tigers, he expected a tough, physical game. "With the results they’re getting, they’re going to be a decent team," Briscoe said. "Northern Tigers have always come across as a tough team to play, very physical. We’re expecting a tough physical game."
Unfortunately for Macarthur, they’ve lost a couple of players to injury, including Frank Martey, with defender Danny Lazarevski returning from suspension.
Meanwhile, Tigers coach Mark McCormick is hoping to recover from last week’s defeat to the Mariners against a side he considers will be a formidable challenge.
"They were very unlucky against Hills and could’ve got a point," McCormick told Football NSW. "They’ve got some good players, tricky wingers and they’re going to be tough. We need to reduce the individual number of errors we’ve been making. I know you’re never going to fully cut out errors in a team sport but if we reduce ours then I’m sure we’ll improve on our performance from last week."
On the injury front, McCormick said Michael Rolston, Lucas Dawson and Joel Hardwick were fighting the clock to be available on saturday.
Bankstown Berries vs Hills Brumbies, The Crest Athletic Centre, 7pm, Saturday 1 April
Struggling Bankstown Berries host the impressive Hills Brumbies at The Crest on Saturday night in a match that will be a challenge for both sides. The winless Berries were scheduled to play rivals Bankstown City in a midweek catcchup game while Hills will be missing the nucleus of their side due to injuries and unavailability.
Berries player coach Perry Moustakas said he respected the newly promoted Brumbies and conceded that they were a "fantastic side".
"They’ve had a good start to the season and we’re looking forward to playing them," Moustakas told Football NSW. "We’re struggling at the moment but we’re creating chances and just need to be clinical in the front third. That’s critical if we want to get a result on Saturday. We just need to do our jobs."
Meanwhile, Brumbies coach Dan Sheppard faces a dilemma with several players out through injury and unavailability.
"We’re really struggling at the moment, we’ve got a number of injuries nd a number of players that are unavailable this weekend because there’s a wedding going on, so we’re down to the bare bones," Sheppard told Football NSW.
"Playing a team that’s desperate to get their season back on track probably isn’t ideal for us because we’re missing so many players. But there’s nothing we can do about that and we’re just going to worry about what we need to do. I think the Berries are going to be very similar to Macarthur Rams, they’ll be fired up to get their season back on track while the gap’s still closeable. If anything they’re probably one of the tougher sides to play."
North Shore Mariners v Marconi Stallions, Blacktown Football Park, 8pm, Saturday 1 April
North Shore Mariners face competition favourites Marconi Stallions at Blacktown Football Park on Saturday and despite the visitors’ pedigree, Mariners coach Joe Haywood is confident his side can cause the sky blues a few problems.
"It’s going to take 100 per cent concentration to beat Marconi," Haywood told Football NSW. "We have to prepare well this week and we have to arrive at the game knowing it’s going to be a very tough game of football. They’re going to be a strong, powerful unit. They’re quite aggressive in what they do and they’re a good unit. They can score goals; they’ve got defenders who can play, they’ve got a lot of experience. They’re a side who we want to compete against to see where we’re at."
The Mariners last week drew with Spirit FC in a match they dominated from the first whistle, a result that disappointed Haywood.
"We definitely should’ve won that game," Haywood said. "We didn’t play amazingly well but we were on top of the game in terms of chances created. It was just one of those games where unfortunately we didn’t take those chances. The opposition was always in the game because at 1-0 in football anything can happen. We fell asleep at the end, they counter-attacked and scored a good goal."
When asked where his side needed to improve to get a result against Marconi, Haywood replied: "We need improvement all over the park. We’re still working on a structured buildup and controlling possession, but after last week’s performance we need to be more clinical and finish the chances we’ve created."
Marconi will be raging hot favourites for this clash and while coach Tony Candy was pleased with last week’s 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers, he’ll be looking for improvement in the front third.
"I was really happy with the amount of chances we created against the Wanderers, but we just didn’t finish them off, which is an area we need to work on," Candy told Football NSW. "And defensively we got caught out by a couple of long balls which is unusual. So for me that was disappointing. But I think we played well against a well organised, quality team."
Meanwhile, two rescheduled matches were due to be played on Wednesday night: Bankstown City Lions and Bankstown Berries were to face off in a do-or-die clash at Jensen Park, while Mt Druitt Town Rangers were to host Mounties Wanderers at Popondetta Park.
-By Derek Royal
