Round 22 – National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s Preview
The nail biting excitement continues in the 2018 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, with the Premiership, Top Six Finals positions, and Club Championship all still very much up for grabs.
Round Twenty Tow is upon us, with the 7 matches spread across 5 scheduled kick off times over Saturday and Sunday, with the clashes sure to provide some nerve-wracking moments.
A Top Six spot is up for grabs on Saturday afternoon, with Dunbar Rovers welcoming Camden Tigers to the Hensley Athletic Field for a 3pm kick off.
The two clubs couldn’t be closer on the competition ladder.
Camden currently occupy 6th spot, sitting on 35 points, whilst Dunbar Rovers are a point behind on 34. But Dunbar do have a game in hand against the Mariners, so victories in both this game and the catch up match will help the Rovers to make quite a leap into finals contention by acquiring all six points.
Form is on Dunbar’s side at the moment, having won back to back matches over the past fortnight, whilst Camden have conceded 3 goals in each of their past two games, one a draw and the other a defeat.
Camden won the corresponding fixture back in May at Ron Dine Stadium, with Jayden Russell nabbing a brace in a 2-0 triumph, but don’t be surprised if Dunbar exact some revenge this time around.
Nothing less than three points will be on the menu for Hawkesbury City on Saturday when they entertain Fraser Park at David Bertenshaw Field at 5-30pm.
Three wins and a draw in their past four outings have helped Hawkesbury City consolidate their position near the summit, and they currently sit 2nd on the ladder on 43 points, just 3 behind leaders, St George City FA.
But despite their lowly position on the ladder, and losing their past 4 games on the trot, three of those matches have been relatively close on the scoreboard, and they could be edging just that little bit closer to a second win of the season.
The first round fixture ended in a very narrow 2-1 win for Hawkesbury City, with goals by Bradley Gibson and Daniel Zahra cancelling out Andrew De Brito’s strike for Fraser. The Hawks would settle for a similar outcome this time as they look to continue snapping at St George’s heels.
Arlington Oval’s joint tenants go head to head at 7pm on Saturday, with Dulwich Hill meeting Stanmore Hawks.
Dulwich Hill have been in a real rut of late, drawing 1 and losing 8 of their past 9 matches. As a result they have slipped well and truly in to the bottom half sitting in 9th spot, and moreso, they are within the sights of a couple of clubs below them.
One of those clubs is Stanmore Hawks, who are on 19 points, knowing a win here will draw Dully to within arm’s length. Stanmore’s form of late hasn’t been great either, although their recent performances have been highlighted by a 1-0 win over high flying Bankstown City Lions.
The last time these clubs met back in Round 9 resulted in a 2-1 win for Dulwich Hill, and another win here by Dully could be just the tonic they need to drag themselves up off the canvas.
A very intriguing battle is on the cards at Fraser Park on Saturday night, with St George City FA meeting Sydney University at 7pm.
St George City FA are still on top of the ladder, currently sitting on 46 points, and continue to boast the competition’s best attack (64 goals) and best defence (17 goals).
But two draws and a loss in their past six matches has meant the gap has closed between the league leaders and the chasing pack, with Hawkesbury just 3 points adrift, and Bankstown City and Gladesville Ryde Magic a further point behind.
Sydney University will no doubt prove a big threat to St George City. Since the last time these two clubs met, the ‘students’ have won 7 and drawn 4 of their 12 matches, and the positive run has seen them climb to 8th position on 31 points. The resurrection of sorts has meant that Sydney Uni can now harbour realistic thoughts of a finals spot.
That first round game was a tightly contested affair indeed, with St George City taking the points late on with a Geoffry Lino strike, so assume once again that there will be little between the sides come Saturday night.
The in-form Granville Rage will be tested this Saturday night at Garside Park when they meet Bankstown City Lions at 7pm.
The month of July has been beneficial for Granville, with the club avoiding defeat. The Rage have had three draws – one each against Sydney Uni and Camden – as well as beating Fraser Park, climbing to 21 points and 10th on the ladder in the process.
Bankstown on the other hand have suffered a bout of inconsistency – 2 losses in their past 3 matches has seen the Lions drop to 3rd spot, ahead of Magic on goal difference and a point behind Hawkesbury.
One of those losses came a couple of weeks ago at this very ground – Garside Park – when Bankstown lost 0-1 to Stanmore, so they’ll be out to erase that memory no doubt.
The corresponding first round fixture between these two clubs resulted in a resounding 6-0 win to Bankstown with a hatrick to Tommy Markovski – expect a much closer encounter this time around.
Gladesville Ryde Magic will be hoping to continue their run of momentum when they welcome the Western NSW Mariners to Christie Park on Sunday afternoon for a 3pm kick off.
July has been kind to Magic, who have recorded four wins to catapult the club to within four points of the summit. In fact, their only loss in July was to the leaders, St George City – so if they had managed to reverse that result, the Magic would be sitting top, such is the closeness of the league ladder.
Gladesville sent a message to the teams near the top last Sunday, with a resounding 5-1 win against fellow Premiership aspirants, Bankstown City Lions. Amongst a host of strong performers, Michael Gaitatzis has been the standout, his goal scoring exploits seeing him return 24 goals in 21 games played.
Even though they still occupy second last place, the Mariners have had some improved showings of late, climbing to 14 points and are now just 2 points from Inter Lions above them.
The Mariners have had two wins in their past 3 weeks – against Inter and Dulwich Hill – and their only loss in that period was a very respectable 1-2 reverse against the league leaders, St George City FA.
Gladesville Ryde Magic won the first round encounter between the two clubs, by 3-1 at the Waratah Sports Ground, with the Gaitatzis brothers scoring the 3 goals between them, and they will be hopeful of another 3 points on Sunday to keep the pressure on at the top.
In the Round’s final match, Inter Lions take on SD Raiders on Sunday afternoon at 5pm at Fraser Park.
Inter Lions have really struggled of late, with four consecutive losses in July, scoring 1 goal in the process and conceding 11. They have not only remained in 12th spot, but they are in danger of being overtaken by the Mariners, who have crept up to 14 points, just 2 behind Inter.
The Raiders on the other hand are in 5th spot on 38 points, on the back of 3 wins and 2 draws in their past 5 matches, and are starting to hit some great form leading in to September.
The Raiders on the first round encounter between the two sides, 4-1 at Ernie Smith Reserve, and will be confident of a repeat performance to stay on the heels of the four sides above them on the ladder.
