Round 15 – NPL 3 NSW Men’s Preview

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Round Fifteen of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition to be played this weekend is spread across 5 different timeslots over 3 days as the respective teams do combat for the three points on offer.

One match is scheduled to be played on Friday night, one on Saturday afternoon, three on Saturday evening, coinciding with Australia’s opening match of the FIFA World Cup, whilst the remaining two games kick off within an hour of each other on Sunday afternoon.

Sydney University will look to carry their momentum when they welcome Stanmore Hawks to their very own Football Ground on Friday night, the match scheduled to commence at 8pm.

The ‘students’ have been in great form of late, picking up 11 points from their past 15 as they make a concerted second round charge towards potentially playing finals football come September. Sitting in 9th spot on 17 points, they will need to continue to gather points if they are to realise this objective.

Stanmore Hawks are in 10th spot on the ladder, 2 points behind Sydney University, knowing a win will help the hurdle their match day opponents and help them make a run up the ladder themselves. The determination and fighting qualities they displayed in the final half hour of last week’s 1-1 draw against the Raiders showed they have plenty left in them, if they can only convert it to a 90 minute performance.

Stanmore won the corresponding first round match back in March, 3-1 at Arlington Oval, so will they repeat the outcome this time around, or will Sydney Uni gain sweet revenge?

Camden Tigers will make the trek to Bathurst to tackle the Western NSW Mariners on Saturday afternoon at 4pm, fresh from not having played last weekend due to the waterlogged ground.

The Tigers have the league’s 5th best attack with 35 goals, and can score goals for fun when they are in the mood, knowing that a win will draw them just that little bit closer to the top half of the ladder.

The Mariners grabbed their 5th draw of the season last weekend against Fraser Park, and are desperate for the three points, both to claim their first win of the campaign, as well as for those invaluable club championship points that come with it.

The first time these clubs met back in Round Two produced a 10 goal extravaganza, with Camden winning 7-3 after the sides were locked at 2-2 at half time. Incredibly, those 10 goals were scored by 9 different players as both sides threw caution to the wind , although we can surely expect a little tightening of each respective backlines this time around.

Two teams licking their wounds after losses last weekend will meet at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, with Dulwich Hill up against Bankstown City Lions at 7pm.

Dully have slipped to 7th position on the ladder on the back of just three points gained in the past four matches, and are in danger of losing touch with the top five if they continue this form.

Bankstown City came unstuck at Lambert Park on Monday night, 2-3 to Sydney Uni, blowing the chance to close the 5-point gap on leaders St George City FA, so they will be on the rebound and looking for a nothing less than a win here, just like their Round Two result, when two goals from Nikola Todorovski helped the Lions to a 3-1 triumph at Jensen Park.

SD Raiders will be confident of the three points when they entertain bottom placed Fraser Park at Ernie Smith Reserve, the match scheduled for a 7pm start on Saturday night.

Sitting 6th on 24 points, and just 3 points from 3rd place, the Raiders will back themselves against Fraser, and look to add to their 38 goals so far this campaign, the league’s 3rd best attack.

Fraser Park are still propping up the ladder on three points, but will gain confidence from the fact that one of those three draws came against SD Raiders back in Round Two, when Rhys Pascale cancelled a Sebastian Malfara goal to earn the point.

All points to a home win for the Raiders, but don’t rule out a banana skin causing an upset at Ernie Smith.

First plays second in the match of the round at Fraser Park on Saturday night when St George City FA play host to Hawkesbury City at 7pm.

St George City FA’s loss last week to Dunbar Rovers has thrown the cat amongst the pigeons, or more to the point, the Hawks, given their 5 point lead has been whittled away to just 2.

Hawkesbury City dominated Dulwich Hill more than the 2-1 result suggested, and courtesy of that win, now sit on 30 points, just 2 behind St George City FA, knowing a win here will see them return to the summit of the competition, a positon they held for a number of weeks during the first round.

With the additional fact that only 16 points separate the two sides at the top of the Club Championship – again St George hold the lead – you can see why this game is shaping up as one of the season’s block busters.

The first time these two clubs met back on March 17 resulted in a 1-1 stalemate, with Sam Messam netting for St George City whilst Tobias Elliott-Orr replied for the Hawks. Expect a similarly tight battle this time around given what is at stake.

Gladesville Ryde Magic welcome Granville Rage to Christie Park on Sunday afternoon with the match scheduled to commence at 4pm in the afternoon.

Magic are keen for a  run after their match last weekend fell foul of the weather, and will have no excuses but to be on song for this game given it has been a fortnight between drinks. Sitting in 5th spot on 26 points, with a game in hand on those below and above them, Gladesville are in prime position to consolidate a top three spot.

Granville Rage had a welcome return to the winners’ list last Monday night following their triumph over Inter Lions. Furthermore, the Rage found the net on 4 occasions I a solid attacking display, and will be keen to replicate this come Sunday afternoon.

Inter Lions will need to be at their very best when they try to halt Dunbar Rovers at Fraser Park on Sunday evening, the clash due to start at 5pm.

Two losses on the trot has seen Inter drop to 12th spot on the ladder, and of further concern, the Lions have leaked 9 goals in those two reverses. Inter will look to welcome back the diminutive Domenic Di Mento, whose wing play they have sorely missed over recent games.

St George City FA , Dulwich Hill, and Hawkesbury City – these are the names of the three most recent scalps for Dunbar Rovers, so with their confidence riding high, Inter Lions will pose little threat to the Rovers on paper. Dunbar’s surge in form has seen them climb to 4th on the competition ladder on 26 points, and it will be brave person to bet against another Rovers win in this clash, one to mirror their 2-1 triumph over Inter back in Round Two.