Round 16 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Round Sixteen of the 2017 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition is upon us, with a usual spread of exciting fixtures, six of which will be taking place on Saturday.
Hawkesbury City are at home again this Saturday at David Bertenshaw Field, this time entertaining Balmain Tigers at 5-30pm in their fourth consecutive fixture on their home turf.
They have encountered a victory, a draw and a washout in the preceding three weeks, moving to 5th spot on the ladder, with a game in hand on those around them.
Balmain Tigers gave Dulwich Hill a scare last week, succumbing eventually to a second goal very late on, after being one down for a good part of the match at Arlington, continuing to show their improved form in the second round.
The Hawks won the first round encounter 3-1 at Fraser Park, with Santiago Pallares Palomeque grabbing a brace and Ben Gray scoring the other, whilst Frank Calcagno replied for the Tigers, who will be out to reverse the outcome this time around.
Granville Rage will have to be at their best if they are to stop the in form Gladesville Ryde Magic at Garside Park on Saturday afternoon, with the match kicking off at 5-30pm.
Granville Rage won their third match of the campaign last week, picking up a valuable three points in a 1-0 triumph in Bathurst against the Western NSW Mariners, with Troy Cheung scoring the all important goal.
Magic have been one of the form sides of the competition of late, with 3 wins and 3 draws from their past six matches catapulting them into 6th spot on the ladder with 21 points.
Both sides have stern defensive records, so a repeat of the first round’s 0-0 draw could very well be on the cards this time around.
Two sides sitting smack bang in the middle of the competition quagmire lock horns on Saturday night at 7-00pm, with 7th placed SD Raiders welcoming the visit of Sydney University to Ernie Smith Reserve.
The Raiders returned to the winner’s list last round after a barren spell in the preceding weeks, beating the high flying St George City FA 1-0 in a gritty display.
Sydney University have picked up one point from their past four matches, conceding 14 goals in the process, so will be desperate to end this run and register a victory on Saturday, just like they did in the first round, beating the Raiders 3-2 with a brace from young Matt Akehurst.
All eyes this week will be on the clash at Fraser Park on Saturday night, with St George City FA meeting Dulwich Hill at 7-00pm.
After a few weeks of indifferent form towards the back end of the first round, Dulwich Hill have roared back with a vengeance, winning their past three matches, kicking off their run the prize scalp of Rydalmere Lions. Dully are now in 3rd position on the ladder on 25 points, a point ahead and with a game in hand on their opponents, St George City FA.
St George City have endured a draw and two losses in their past three weeks, allowing the rest of the pack to draw closer, and in Dully’s case, hurdle them on the ladder.
But they have too much quality across the pitch for this run to continue, and coach Manny Spanoudakis will have his troops ready to rock in this ‘six pointer’.
St George City won the corresponding first round fixture 3-0, with Nicholas Napoli (2) and James Spanoudakis getting on the score sheet – a similar result this time around will do very nicely indeed for the home team.
Two sides backing up from losses last week go head to head in Mudgee on Saturday night, when Western NSW Mariners entertain Stanmore Hawks at Glen Willow Stadium at 7-00pm.
The Mariners lost 0-1 in a closely fought match against the Rage, whilst Stanmore were spanked by Fraser Park 0-5, so both sides will be hurting and looking for a remedy in the form of three points come this week.
The last time these clubs met was back on March 25 in Round Three, at Proctor Park in Bathurst. Matt Hobby and Jaiden Culbert steered the Mariners to a 2-1 win, with Chris Lynch replying for Stanmore, and how the home fans would dearly love a similar result this Saturday night.
Dunbar Rovers will be out to stop the Fraser Park show on Saturday night when the two sides go head to head at Hensley Athletic Field at 7-00pm.
The Rovers put up a good showing last week against Hawkesbury City, but returned home pointless following a 1-2 reverse. Dunbar’s indifferent form could very well mean they are bound to hit their straps this week, especially if Andrew Doddy and Ryan Shaughnessy get their feet on the ball.
Fraser Park still remain the only undefeated side in the competition, with 12 wins and 2 draws, and have a game in hand on league leaders, Rydalmere Lions. Despite some personnel departures in recent weeks, the Culina coaching clan have exercised their experience and continued masterminding the sides results without as much as a blimp, including last week’s 5-0 drubbing of Stanmore Haswks.
Dunbar were very unlucky to take nothing from the first round meeting between the clubs, leading 1-0 before succumbing to two late goals, with Fraser Park taking the spoils 2-1 in a cliff hanger, so you could expect a similarly close encounter this Saturday night.
Round Sixteen concludes on Sunday evening, with Inter Lions meeting Rydalmere Lions at Fraser Park, with the match scheduled to kick off at 7-00pm.
The Round Three fixture between the clubs was originally postponed, with the game eventually going ahead on May 9, and making the headlines courtesy of Rydalmere’s 11-0 drubbing. Amaury Gauthier was in deadly mood that evening, scoring seven of his side’s goals in a dominating display of attacking football.
Inter’s pride took a beating in that ‘battle of the Lions’, and no doubt the club will be out to exact some sort of revenge when the two meet this weekend.
With 5-0 and 6-1 victories over the past two weeks, Rydalmere don’t look like letting up any time soon, so Inter will have to regroup and defend like the proverbial lions if they are to take anything from this clash.
