Round 7 Preview – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s 20s

Round seven of the Playstation®4 NPL NSW Men’s U20 competition sees Sydney FC host Sydney United 58 at Lambert Park in this week’s match of the round, with both sides looking to take all three points to bolster their respective claims for a place in the finals.

Elsewhere, Sutherland Sharks travel to play bottom-placed Bonnyrigg White Eagles as they look to continue their unbeaten start to the season, while fourth-placed Sydney Olympic and third-placed Blacktown City face off at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon.

Match of the Round

Sydney FC v Sydney United 58 FC, Saturday 5.45pm at Lambert Park

Sydney FC host Sydney United 58 in round 7’s match of the round at Lambert Park on Saturday afternoon, with both sides eager for a win to further consolidate their top six status. Sydney FC played here last week, drawing 2-2 with APIA Leichhardt, while Sydney United 58 arrive at Lambert Park after a 3-1 home win over Wollongong Wolves, a result which moved them up to second in the table. Should they win this weekend, the hosts would leapfrog Sydney United 58 into second – depending on results elsewhere – while the visitors cannot catch Sutherland in first this week; Sharks sitting four points clear of Sydney United 58 in second.

Saturday

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC v Sutherland Sharks FC, 5pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club

Bonnyrigg White Eagles remain rooted to the foot of the 20s competition ladder despite recording their first win of the season in their rescheduled round 3 match against Blacktown City, winning 2-0 at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Monday night to pick up their first points of 2017. This weekend, White Eagles welcome Sutherland Sharks to Bonnyrigg Sports Club; the visitors arriving unbeaten in 2017, in stark contrast to the home side’s fortunes. Sutherland travel to Bonnyrigg Sports Club on the back of a crushing 7-0 defeat of Rockdale City Suns, top of the ladder and with five wins from six matches. Bonnyrigg appear to have their work cut out for them on Saturday afternoon, but can look to last season for inspiration: they won this fixture 4-2 in 2016.

Parramatta FC v APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, 5pm at Melita Stadium

APIA Leichhardt Tigers travel to Melita Stadium on Saturday afternoon, where they will meet a Parramatta FC side fresh from a 2-1 defeat to Blacktown City in round 6. Parramatta’s latest result means they enter round 7 in ninth place on the ladder, level with APIA but one place behind due to an inferior goal difference. The visitors, meanwhile, come into this match after a 2-2 draw against Sydney FC in the last round, with goals from Jordan Morfitis and Dominion Nasrabadi helping APIA to a valuable point against one of the competition favourites. Parramatta won this fixture 3-0 when APIA visited Melita Stadium in 2016, and will be hopeful of a similar result despite an indifferent run of results this season to date.

Sunday

 
Sydney Olympic FC v Blacktown City FC, 12.45pm at Belmore Sports Ground

Sydney Olympic host Blacktown City FC at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday afternoon; the two sides within a point of each other in fourth and third place respectively. Olympic fought back from a two-goal deficit at halftime in their match against Manly United in round 6 to take a point from Cromer Park after a 3-3 draw, while Blacktown City arrive at Belmore having won their round 6 fixture against Parramatta FC, but having lost a rescheduled round 3 match to Bonnyrigg on Monday night. This would be a big match to lose for either side – should Sutherland win their game against Bonnyrigg, the gap between first and fourth could stretch to as many as eight points.

Manly United FC v Rockdale City Suns FC, 1pm at Cromer Park

Manly United dropped a spot to seventh place after their 3-3 draw with Sydney Olympic in round 6, and look ahead to another home fixture against Rockdale City Suns on Sunday afternoon at Cromer Park. Rockdale travel to Manly a week after a demoralising 7-0 defeat at the hands of competition leaders Sutherland Sharks, and will be hoping to bounce back against a Manly side that hasn’t won since round 3. The visitors suffered a 3-1 defeat in this fixture last season before losing 6-0 in the reverse in July, and sit just a point ahead of Wollongong Wolves and Bonnyrigg White Eagles on four points at the bottom of the table.

Wollongong Wolves FC v Hakoah Sydney City East FC, 1pm at WIN Stadium

Ahead of their round 7 fixture against Hakoah Sydney City East, Wollongong Wolves sit level with Bonnyrigg White Eagles at the foot of the ladder after Bonnyrigg’s 2-1 win over Blacktown City on Monday, having not picked up a point since winning in the opening round of the season. Hakoah, meanwhile, travel down to WIN Stadium in sixth place after a comfortable 3-1 win over Bonnyrigg White Eagles on Easter Friday, and have form in this fixture, having won 2-0 in the first round of the 2016 season. A win for Wollongong could only take them as high as tenth, while Hakoah could move into second place, depending on results elsewhere, should they take all three points on Sunday afternoon.

–By Max Grieve