Round 9 – National Premier League 3 NSW Men’s Preview
Round Nine of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition will take place this weekend, with all seven matches scheduled for Saturday evening, six for a 7pm kick off and one match commencing at 7-15pm.
Arlington Oval hosts the battle between its shared tenants, with Stanmore Hawks meeting Dulwich Hill in a local derby.
Both sides enter this match with contrasting fortunes.
Stanmore Hawks are on the back of three successive losses, which has seen them plummet to 9th position on the ladder. Dully on the other hand are in a rich vein of form, with four wins and a draw from their past five matches, climbing to 14 points and 5th spot in the process.
Experienced Dulwich Hill striker, Ben Vidaic, is starting to do what he does best, and is up to 7 goals this campaign, so Stanmore Hawks will look to stem the service to the central striker if they are to have a chance of taking anything from the game.
SD Raiders will be out to erase the memories of the past three weeks when they welcome Inter Lions to Ernie Smith Reserve.
After a very promising start to the competition, the Raiders have hit a snag, scoring the one solitary goal on the way to losing their most recent three matches. But the Raiders have too much quality on and off the park for this to go on much longer, and coach, Nick Carle, will have his troops primed and ready to get back on track in front of their own fans.
Granville Rage will be out to upset the applecart when they travel to Jensen Park to meet Bankstown City Lions.
The Rage have been in inspiring form of late, with three successive triumphs seeing them climb to 8th position on 12 points. There is nothing like belief and momentum to drive you forward, and the Rage have got that at the moment.
Bankstown City Lions suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, putting on a rather disappointing display in a 1-3 reverse against Gladesville Ryde Magic. Such is the closeness of this competition that one loss saw the Lions drop from 1st to 3rd spot, so they will be hurting and looking to reply with a win at home this Saturday.
Bottom meets top when Fraser Park tackle the high flying Hawkesbury City on their own patch at Marrickville.
The breadth of the league ladder separates the two sides, with Fraser Park propping up the competition, and Hawkesbury City sitting alone at the top.
Fraser Park are yet to win a match, whilst Hawkesbury are yet to taste defeat.
Hawkesbury City have conceded just 6 goals, whilst 29 have found the Fraser Park net.
Even though this outcome looks like a forgone conclusion, especially the way Hawkesbury City have gone about their business this season, football can be a funny game, and with nothing to lose, expect Fraser Park to throw some caution to the wind and look to provide what would be the biggest upset of the season thus far.
Camden Tigers and Dunbar Rovers will put on a fierce battle when they clash head on at Ron Dine Stadium.
As with other matches in this round, this is a game between teams going through different emotions of late.
Camden Tigers have proven a tough nut to crack, with goals at either end of the park, but have lost 3 out of their last 4 games as they struggle to find some consistency.
Dunbar Rovers have done the opposite, finally hitting their straps with three wins on the bounce, helping them climb to 7th on the ladder on 13 points.
Dunbar midfielder, Ryan Shaughnessy, seems to be the man pulling the strings in the centre of the park, and Camden will do well to close him down if they are to earn a positive result from this match.
Sydney University have a tough task ahead of them on their very own Football Ground when they entertain the St George City FA juggernaut.
The ‘students’ have found this season tough going, yet the closeness of the results of late have shown they are not far off getting a positive result.
But St George City FA are one heck of a proposition at the moment, blowing away any opponent who dares to stand in their way as they charge up the ladder. Both Geoffry Lino and Sam Messam have scored more than a goal a game, which is an ominous sign for Sydney University who are desperate to turn their season around.
Western NSW Mariners take football to Orange this weekend when they come up against Gladesville Ryde Magic at the Waratah Sports Ground.
The Mariners are keen to get their maiden win of the 2018 campaign, and start their ascent up the ladder as soon as possible.
But Magic are travelling to Orange off a morale boosting win over previously unbeaten league leaders, Bankstown City Lions, and with the Gaitatzis brothers creating havoc in the front third, will be hoping to return from their trek with another three points in the kitty.
