Round 8 Preview – PS4 NPL NSW Men’s U20

The eighth round of fixtures of the 2017 Playstation®4 NPL NSW Men’s U20s competition sees competition leaders Sutherland Sharks play host to Wollongong Wolves at Seymour Shaw on Saturday afternoon, with the Sharks looking to maintain their four-point lead at the top of the table in this week’s match of the round.

Elsewhere, fifth-placed Sydney Olympic travel to Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon to take on sixth-placed APIA Leichhardt, while Hakoah Sydney City East and Sydney FC clash at Hensley Athletic Field in a game which would see the winner end round 8 above the loser, ensuring a number of exciting matchups across this week’s competition.

Match of the Round

Sutherland Sharks v Wollongong Wolves, Saturday 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw

Competition leaders Sutherland Sharks host Wollongong Wolves at Seymour Shaw on Saturday afternoon, likely with the expectation of a straightforward three points from their round 8 fixture.

The visitors sit just three points ahead of last-placed Bonnyrigg White Eagles after starting the 2017 season with five losses from their first seven games, though come into this match a week after picking up a 3-1 win at home to Hakoah Sydney City East.

This fixture ended in a 1-1 draw in 2016, but having scored three times as many goals as Wollongong in the 2017 season to date, while conceding less than half as many, Sutherland should be confident of picking up a result to hold their lead at the top of the 20s table for at least another week.

Saturday

Blacktown City FC v Manly United FC, 5pm at Lilys Football Centre

Blacktown City FC bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Bonnyrigg White Eagles with a comprehensive defeat of Sydney Olympic in the last round of fixtures, a 6-1 win at Belmore Park that puts the hosts in good stead for their round 8 matchup against Manly United on Saturday afternoon.

Manly United travel to Lilys Football Centre a week after their round 7 loss to Rockdale City Suns at Cromer Park, a result which saw them slip a place in the table to eighth.

Depending on results elsewhere, Manly could move as high as fourth with a win here, while Blacktown City can only hope to keep pace with Sutherland Sharks; in second place and four points behind the competition leaders. This fixture ended in a 3-1 win for the visitors in 2016.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC v Rockdale City Suns FC, 5pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club

Bonnyrigg picked up their first points of the season with a win over Blacktown City a week ago but were unfortunate to face a Sutherland Sharks side in rampaging form in round 7, crashing to a 6-1 defeat at Bonnyrigg Sports Club last Saturday.

Still, the White Eagles have an opportunity for immediate redemption in front of their own fans when they host Rockdale City Suns at home on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides sit at the foot of the table; Bonnyrigg last and Rockdale third-to-last, but within reach of the top six should they manage a result away from home. Rockdale will fancy their chances, having taken all three points from their round 7 encounter with Manly United at Cromer Park, and having won this fixture 3-1 when these sides met in 2016.

Sunday

Sydney United 58 FC v Parramatta FC, 2pm at Sydney United Sports Centre

Sydney United 58 were held to a draw against Sydney FC at Lambert Park last weekend, and now turn their attentions to their round 8 matchup with Parramatta FC on Sunday afternoon, where they will need a result to keep from slipping too far behind first-placed Sutherland Sharks.

Parramatta FC, for their part, arrive at Sydney United Sports Centre a week after their 4-1 loss to APIA Leichhardt at Melita Stadium, a result the visitors will be looking to forget as they look for three points to reboot their hopes of finishing in the top six spots. This fixture ended in a 1-1 draw last season, but Sydney United won’t settle for a point on Sunday as they look to keep pressure on the competition leaders.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 2.30pm at Lambert Park

APIA Leichhardt Tigers and Sydney Olympic meet at Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon a week after picking up wildly different results in round 7: the hosts took a 4-1 win from their match against Parramatta FC at Melita Stadium, while Olympic slipped to a heavy 6-1 home defeat against Blacktown City.

APIA come into round 8 in sixth place, level with seventh-placed Hakoah Sydney City East on ten points, and will be hoping to take advantage of a Sydney Olympic side in a slump: since winning their first three matches of 2017, Olympic haven’t won in over a month.

The visitors travel to Lambert Park in fifth place, a point ahead of their APIA, and having most recently faced their hosts in a 2-1 win in last season’s semi finals.

Hakoah Sydney City East FC v Sydney FC, 3pm at Hensley Athletic Field

Hakoah Sydney City East sit just outside of the top six place on goal difference ahead of their round 8 match-up with Sydney FC; level with sixth-placed APIA Leichhardt Tigers on ten points.

Sydney FC, meanwhile, come into round 8 after a 1-1 draw with Sydney United 58 at Lambert Park, a result which stretched the visitors’ winless run to three games but moved them up a spot to fourth, eight points off the top spot.

This will be the first time these two sides have faced each other in the Playstation®4 NPL NSW Men’s U20s competition; a match which would see the winner head into the next round of fixtures above the loser on the league table.

–By Max Grieve