Round 13 – NPL 3 NSW Men’s Preview

It is really difficult to believe that we are almost at the halfway point of the season as we approach Round Thirteen of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition this weekend.

The final fixture of the first round of matches pits together some intriguing ties, with six matches on Saturday, and arguably the pick of the games scheduled for a late kick off on Sunday night.

Dunbar Rovers will be in buoyant mood as they host Dulwich Hill at 3pm on Saturday at the Hensley Athletic Field.

Five wins and a draw in their last seven matches has seen Dunbar steadily make their way up the ladder, and they now find themselves in 7^th position on 20 points, just three points behind a host of teams, one of which are their match day opponents.

Dunbar’s most reputable victory in this spell came arguably last weekend, when they toppled the previously undefeated league leaders, Hawkesbury City, 4-1 at Hensley.

But Dully will prove a formidable foe this Saturday. One loss in their past ten matches is a frightening statistic from a side packed with experience in all areas of the park. This is a real six pointer as both teams will aim to stay with the leading pack.

Stanmore Hawks will be desperate for the points on offer when they entertain the Western NSW Mariners at Arlington Oval, the match scheduled for a 7pm kick off on Saturday night.

Both teams are in dire form at the moment, Stanmore without a win in their past seven outings, whilst the Mariners are still looking for their first victory this campaign.

For Stanmore, who are in 12^th spot on 11 points, this match presents an opportunity to widen the gap between themselves and the 13^th placed Mariners, who have four draws to their name. Ten points will become a bridge that could be too tough to close for the visitors, so similarly, the focus could not be greater for the Mariners to break their winning drought and close that space to just four points.

Desperate times need desperate measures – expect some caution to be thrown to the wind as both sides work towards the three points on offer.

Fraser Park will look to the club’s depth when Gladesville Ryde Magic come to Marrickville on Saturday night for a 7pm start.

A tough season became just that little bit tougher for Fraser Park last week, when three players saw red in their 1-2 loss to the Inter Lions. Fraser have managed to show some promise in some of their recent matches, but have come away with nothing, and last week was no different, leading 1-0 for a long period of the game before they eventually succumbed.

Gladesville Ryde Magic returned to the winner’s circle last week with a narrow triumph over Stanmore, helping them keep in touch with the leading teams by moving them to equal 4^th spot.

It is hard to tip against Magic taking all three points on Saturday looking at the teams on paper, but football isn’t played on paper, so expect a wounded Fraser Park to come out firing with an aim of notching their first win of the season.

St George City FA will be very confident of securing their 9^th win in succession when they welcome Granville Rage for a 7pm start on Saturday night at Jubilee Oval.

As good as that run has been, securing 27 points out of a maximum of 27 in the process, it was only last week that St George City FA finally reached the summit of the competition, such has been the form of Hawkesbury City, who have lead from out in front for the majority of the first round.

An amazing 44 goals scored and only 12 conceded are best in competition at present, and ominous statistics for anyone who dares to try to stop this juggernaut.

Since beating Camden Tigers 2-1 five weeks ago, Granville have hit a bleak period, losing their past four games without scoring a goal. Needless to say, Rage will have to produce a big turnaround in current form if they are to come away from Jubilee with any points in the bag.

Sydney University will have their hands full when they take on SD Raiders at Sydney University Football Ground at 7pm on Saturday night.

Struggling to avoid narrow defeats a month ago, the ‘students’ have bridged that gap slightly, having won one and drawn two of their past three encounters. Persistence and continual application will hopefully continue that trend as they look for a win here to continue their climb up the ladder.

After a dour spell mid round, the Raiders have also seemingly turned their fortunes around in the past month, winning three and drawing one of their past four matches, scoring 13 goals in the process.

Especially pleasing was last week’s 4-2 triumph over the high flying Bankstown City Lions, a win which put Raiders 4^th on 23 points, and well primed to take a further step upward with another win on Saturday night.

Eighth plays 9^th on Saturday night as Inter Lions travel to the Ron Dine Stadium to meet Camden Tigers at 7pm.

Two wins and two draws in their past five outings have been a huge boost of confidence for Inter Lions, the 8 points seeing them climb to 12 points as they look to continue their mid season revival of sorts.

But it is difficult not to be a little frightened of Camden’s home record at Ron Dine Stadium. Played 5, won 5, with a goal differential of 18 scored and 4 conceded. A fortress indeed! The Lions will have to be well prepared if they are to halt the Tigers’ dominance at Camden.

Bankstown City Lions tackle Hawkesbury City in this round’s biggest draw card, the game scheduled to kick off at the unusual time of 7-30pm on Sunday night at Ilinden Sports Centre.

Remarkably, the two teams – currently ranked 3^rd and 2^nd respectively – both suffered defeats last weekend, with both conceding four goals in the process.

For Hawkesbury City it was their first taste of a loss this year, and it meant they were knocked off their perch by a St George City FA side who have kept them on their toes for over two months.

Bankstown City will be without both Mirza Sehic and Jacob Boutoubia – both sent off last weekend – but the Lions do have depth in their squad and will be confident of bouncing back to form.

A win to Hawkesbury will give them a six point gap over Bankstown City, whilst a Lions win will see them catapult the Hawks on goal difference. Plenty at stake in this heavyweight clash on Sunday night, so get out to the Ilinden Sports Centre for what promises to be a mid season cracker if ever there was one.