Round 6 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Clubs will be focused on nothing less than three points if they want to make sure the festive Easter period is an enjoyable one when Round Six of the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition takes place this weekend.
Round Six has half a dozen matches due to be played on Saturday across three different timeslots, however, before then, it starts on Thursday evening with an eagerly awaited clash between Dunbar Rovers and Rydalmere Lions, the clash kicking off at 7pm at Hensley Athletic Field.
Dunbar Rovers have had a below par start to the season by their own standards, having only won the single match out of the five they have played, and sitting in 8th spot on the ladder.
But their performances have warranted better outcomes, and they know their fortunes will change if they continue to apply themselves. Dunbar will look to Ryan Shaughnessy to pull the strings in the midfield, and hope that Todd Bamber and Hayden O’Kelly can add to their impressive scoring tally of four goals apiece so far this campaign.
Rydalmere’s season has been interrupted by the weather, and specifically, matches that have been postponed. But the Lions have done what they’ve had to do, winning the three matches that they have played to register 9 points, and sit in third place on the ladder despite having played less games than all the teams around them. Rydalmere have even managed to top the scoring charts with 14 goals, spread across eight different scorers.
Get out to Hensley this Thursday if you want to see a battle between two teams with attacking flair who will be looking to kick start the Easter festive period with a bang.
Saturday’s fixtures start off with a 5pm clash at Valentine Sports Park No.2 between Inter Lions and Balmain Tigers. After two great wins to open up the season, Inter have come unstuck recently, and two consecutive losses has seen them drop to 7th on the ladder.
Three points here will keep them in touch with the top half of the ladder, and they will be hoping the experience of Domenic Arcella and Adrian Vizzari will guide them to victory. Balmain Tigers showed some improvement last weekend when they clawed their way back in to the match against the ‘students’, but they need to complete this type of effort over 90 minutes if they are to register their first point of the competition.
Hawkesbury City welcome the visit of the Western NSW Mariners to David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday, for a 5:30pm kick off, hoping to grab their first win of the season and start their ascent from the bottom rungs of the ladder. The Hawks’ usually solid defence was penetrated no less than five times last week against St George City, and they will need to help goalkeeper, Daniel Schwarzer, keep his goal intact if they are to take anything from this match.
The Mariners are 10th on 4 points on the ladder, and this season have been more effective when playing away from home, so they will looking to continue that trend and move in to the top half of the ladder with three points at Richmond on Saturday afternoon.
Stanmore Hawks will have their work cut out keeping the free scoring SD Raiders at bay on Saturday night, the battle kicking off at 7pm at Arlington Oval.
The Hawks have not had much to sing about since their opening round victory, suffering three consecutive losses and sliding to 11th position on the ladder.
SD Raiders on the other hand have been a revelation of sorts since their promotion in to the NPL3 league, and their entertaining attacking style of play has seen them pick up 8 points to be sitting in 4th spot. John Fahmi, Mark Symington and Mitsuki Nakada all have three goals to their name so far in the league, so the Hawks will have plenty to focus on trying to keep them at bay.
Fraser Park will greet Gladesville Ryde Magic on Saturday for what promises to be an intriguing 7pm battle.
Fraser Park have plenty of weapons to hurt teams in attack, and with four wins from four matches, will be looking to attack on droves and continue that trend. But Fraser also have the best defensive record in the league thus far, having conceded just 3 goals, and much of this is on the back of the efforts of experienced shot stopper, Anthony Costa, who has been in great form.
Speaking of experience between the sticks, they don’t come any more travelled than Gladesville’s custodian, Kyriakos Tohouroglou – who has even netted a goal this season already – and Magic will hope to complement his efforts in goals by netting down the other end of the pitch and start their climb up the ladder.
In the final two matches of Round Six, both scheduled for 7pm starts on Saturday night, Granville Rage will need to be defensively focussed and sound for ninety minutes if they are to keep out the Dulwich Hill juggernaut at Garside Park, with Luke Giverin and Henry Wells already having found the net on 4 occasions each this campaign, whilst Sydney University and St George City FA can consolidate their positions in the top six with another win and subsequent three points when they meet head on at Sydney University Football Ground.
