Round 8 – State League Men’s Preview
The match we’ve all been looking forward too has arrived as the early frontrunners face off.
Elsewhere a few interesting clashes will be worth keeping an eye on with Nepean and Bankstown facing potentially tough challenges respectively. And the first Hurstville Derby takes place as the pick of Sunday’s action.
Match of the Round
UNSW FC host fellow highflyers Central Coast United this Saturday evening at Valentine Sports Park in possibly the match of the season so far at 7pm.
There are only two points between them in the first-grade standings and nine points in the club championship. So, every result this Saturday through all grades will be vital in not only losing ground on their opponent but also not letting the chasing pack catch them.
UNSW FC come into the clash after a hectic week, last Saturday they surprised many including their own coach dispatching of Prospect United comfortably. This came after a tough cup loss last Wednesday night going out on penalties to Illawarra Premier League side Tarrawanna Blueys.
You can not isolate their threat to just one player, this year they seem to be a complete team with everyone contributing. However, you can perform well as a team every week but it wouldn’t really matter if you didn’t get on the scoresheet and they have plenty of options in that category. They have a total of five goal scorers with more than one goal with Christian Soares leading the way with 6 successful strikes and Luiz Lobo with 5 respectively.
Their opponents Central Coast United came into the season with high expectations and they certainly haven’t disappointed so far. They come into the fixture having not dropped a point since the last time we caught up with them in Round 3, the latest win coming against the South Coast Flame.
Like the students, Central Coast possess multiple threats throughout the side with three key players (as opposed to kings) in Josh Swadling, Adam Woodbine and captain Daniel Mcfarlane regularly finding the net. However, a new threat is starting to emerge in winger Cade Mapu who came into the mix late.
So, with so many threats across the park in this fixture, we can expect an entertaining clash in the pick of this weekends fixtures.
Wagga City Wanderers v Balmain Tigers
As winter descends on us, the days and nights are getting colder. That makes a trip down to Wagga all the more daunting, this week it’s Balmain Tigers turn.
Last weekend was a tough one for hosts Wagga City Wanderers, they went down to Bankstown United in heavy fashion. The Wanderers won’t be the only ones to suffer that fate this season, so it’s about putting the past behind them this week.
With all due respect to their opposition they will fancy this one more and with some injured players hopefully returning sooner rather than later to compliment talent like Tyler Allen in the team.
We are making a habit of giving teams who need a win just that. Last week in our match of the round, Balmain Tigers put in an inspired second half to overcome Hurstville FC away from home.
It was looking bad for them in that first half but after some revving up, there wasn’t a bad player on the park during the second half with coach Joe De Gullo singling out Leonardo Di Giulio and Antony Barca for particular praise.
South Coast Flame v Nepean FC
South Coast Flame host Nepean FC in another potentially cracking game this Saturday evening.
Having held pre-season ambitions of finals football, things have to turn around sooner rather than later for the South Coast Flame. The Flame are now without a win in five fixtures, last week going down to Central Coast United on the road.
Nepean pose to be the last of the ‘tough’ fixtures for a little while (not that any game is easy). So, a point here could be a confidence builder. However, it would require an almighty effort with their best performances coming from Andrew Bova in CDM and Matt White in goal.
Visitors Nepean FC are in some form, three straight wins have turned around an early headache for the team at the foot of the mountains.
This will bring a challenge in itself for the hosts, the best description of this outfit would be as Jurgen Klopp puts it ‘heavy metal football’. High tempo on the edge, with a good finisher in Clement Waoci to match.
Bankstown United v Prospect United
It’s a home debut for coach Scott Belgre as Bankstown United host Prospect in what would’ve been the match of the round any other week.
Yes, results haven’t dropped for the hosts since a sudden coaching change on Anzac Day. Two wins in a row against Balmain Tigers and Wagga City Wanderers have been complimented by a respectable 3-0 loss to Rockdale City Suns.
Coincidental or not, the coaching change and a slight change of system has seen someone step up and compliment the prolific Mitch Cross. That man Sean Robertson has got on the scoresheet two weeks in a row now. No longer a one trick pony.
Prospect United find themselves in fourth position coming into the weekend. They’ve notched up four wins in seven to take the initiative in the finals race already. Last week however they suffered a tough loss to UNSW at home.
They will come into this one with less pressure on them and it seems that’s when they do best. If Bankstown aren’t alert, they have the cattle to punish with Nic Valjak and co.
FC Gazy Auburn v Western Condors
FC Gazy Auburn host Western Condors this Sunday at Progress Park.
FC Gazy Auburn come into the game probably the fresher after only completing half a match last week. It may be the case though that it has made their blood stew just a little bit more after going down 7-0 the weekend before.
Things have been looking up generally though, all signs continue to point to a more successful campaign this time around. They will be missing at least one of their attacking threats this weekend due to suspension.
It’s tough to get a read on the Western Condors at the moment, things have turned just a bit sour in recent weeks losing to both Hurstville sides. It’s only been by a slim margin in both fixtures but coach Barry Zambrano would be expecting better.
This week, they don’t face a team with Hurstville in their name though and they desperately need to find a proven scorer aside from the recently missing Cristian Martinez.
Hurstville City Minotaurs v Hurstville FC
These two sides couldn’t be any closer to each other on the table. That alone sets up a riveting first Hurstville derby of the season at St George Stadium.
It finally came for Hurstville City Minotaurs, after a couple of games where they deserved more. The Minotaurs and the General finally got there just rewards in a win over the Western Condors last weekend.
Last weekend it was Kushaal Ram who was the stand out performer for the Minotaurs grabbing a double including a last-minute winner to secure the three points. Many threats are present for the hosts including Lorenzo Fatica who’s a proven danger from set-pieces.
They will face a Hurstville FC determined to recapture some impressive performances of recent times. They were in control for much of the first half last weekend with only a common issue amongst the league proving their downfall.
That issue is a lack of efficiency in the box. Their front half is still to gel yet after adding Cristian Di Meglio to the mix. Still much of their threat and play in general depends on the Gagro brothers in their spine.
-By Justin Smith
