Round 9 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s accommodates Round Nine this weekend, with six matches scheduled for Saturday evening, whilst the remaining clash will be played at the traditional time slot of 3pm on Sunday afternoon.
The competition ladder shows a mid table congestion that would make light on any Sydney traffic dilemma, with no less than eight teams separated by just four points.
Two of those eight teams do battle in the first match to kick off the weekend proceedings, with Hawkesbury City entertaining the visit of Inter Lions at 5:30pm on Saturday afternoon at David Bertenshaw Field.
The Hawks have had a resurgence of sorts over the past four games, winning three and drawing the other to accumulate ten points, climbing to 7th spot in the process.
Inter Lions have had the opposite of fortunes after a good start to the season, having now been victorious just once in the last five matches, dropping to 11th after being in lofty heights earlier in the campaign. With the league being so tight, this is a great opportunity for Inter to turn things around, with a win pushing them above the murky waters of mid table.
All eyes no doubt will be at Arlington Oval for the eagerly awaited ‘Portuguese derby’ between Dulwich Hill and Fraser Park, the match kicking off at 3pm.
It has been a few years since the traditional rivals have met in an PS4 NPL fixture, and the fans of both clubs will be out in droves to reignite the passion of yesteryear.
Both sides are sitting pretty on the competition ladder, separated by two points, with Fraser Park second on 17 points, whilst Dulwich Hill are third on 15. Fraser have 5 wins and 2 draws from their seven matches, still undefeated, and with a game in hand. Dulwich Hill have played the one match more than their rivals, so will look for nothing but a victory to stay within arm’s length.
Tom Bentham has been a welcome return to the Dully lineup, and the big striker is a great target man and effective foil for the busy Henry Wells and Luke Giverin, both of whom have managed 5 goals apiece so far this season.
Chris Becerra has come into goal very nicely indeed since Anthony Costa’s injury absence, maintaining Fraser Park’s record of being the best defence in the league with just 5 goals conceded. At the other end of the field, midfielders Sean Burke and Nathan Sansom have in amongst the goals in recent weeks in both league and Cup, so expect Fraser to continue to look ominous in the front third.
These are two teams with plenty of quality across the park, and both play with an intense application in attack, so get yourself out to Arlington Oval to see how this spicy derby unravels.
The competition’s best attack will come up against the league’s second best defence when Rydalmere Lions welcomes Gladesville Ryde Magic to Rydalmere Park for a 7pm Saturday night kick off.
Undefeated league frontrunners, Rydalmere Lions, have managed 24 goals across 7 matches at an average of almost 3.5 goals per match, with Amaury Gauthier leading the charge with 7 goals in just 5 appearances.
Now that they have got the skip on Fraser Park by two points, and with a game in hand against Inter Lions coming up, Tony Basha’s troops are threatening to pull away if they can manage another three points in this clash.
Gladesville Ryde Magic find themselves in 10th spot on the ladder, but interestingly, boast the second best defence, along with the second worst attack.
Kyriakos Tohouroglou is still as energetic and stubborn as always between the sticks, and with Lachlan Harte leading a solid backline, Magic have only been pierced seven times this season. No doubt they will be well and truly tested this week against Rydalmere’s potent attack, but odds are if Gladesville can manage to score, they will be a chance of taking something away from the game given their defensive exploits so far this year.
In Saturday’s other fixtures, all kicking off at 7pm; SD Raiders sit at the helm of that mid table congestion I referred to earlier, and they’ll be confident of putting the travelling Western NSW Mariners to the sword at Ernie Smith Reserve so they can stay in touch with the top four; Sydney University meet Granville Rage at the University Football Ground, with both teams separated by just three points and both proving to be tough sides to overcome, so expect a real arm wrestle in this one; and Lloyd Owusu will hope to add to his hat trick last week and continue to influence Stanmore’s positive form guide – which has seen them take 7 points from their past three matches – when they face a formidable St George City FA at Fraser Park, with City sitting comfortably in 4th spot on 14 points and hoping to stay in touch with the three teams above them.
Sunday’s solitary fixture is at Fraser Park, and is a battle between Dunbar Rovers, currently occupying 12th position on the ladder, and Balmain Tigers, who are bottom and yet to register a point in this year’s competition.
But don’t be fooled by the league ladder. Dunbar Rovers are a team who gives 100% every time they take the field, and quite a few games this season they went home penniless where they could easily have picked up one or three points.
Every loss that Balmain endures they edge closer to that inaugural win, and their performances of late in patches, including goals in most matches they have played this season, means they won’t be waiting too much longer for that long awaited three pointer.
