Round 2 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
After last weekend’s matches meeting all expectations, we look forward to the second round of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
Unlike last weekend, all seven matches are scheduled to be played on Saturday with four different time slots throughout the day, with two matches commencing at 3pm before the final three games of the round kick off at 7pm.
Dunbar Rovers will be hoping to topple early league leaders, SD Raiders, when the two sides go head to head at 3pm on Saturday at the Hensley Athletic Field.
Dunbar Rovers showed plenty of promise in their outing last weekend and will hope that this week’s performance translates into three points as they host a tricky opposition in the SD Raiders.
SD Raiders will enter this fixture high on confidence after their 5-1 victory against the Western NSW Mariners last weekend. However, this fixture may not be as straightforward with Dunbar always likely to give the opposition a run for their money.
The Western NSW Mariners will be keen to put last week’s result behind them as they host Dulwich Hill FC at 3pm on Saturday afternoon at Marjorie Jackson Field.
Playing their first home game this season, the Mariners will hope that playing on their own turf plays a role as they aim to record their first points on the ladder this campaign.
Dulwich Hill will consider last week a missed opportunity as they failed to capitalize against a 10-man Bankstown City. Mark Strachan will hope to rally his troops as they look to return from Lithgow with a win under their belts.
Hawkesbury City FC welcome Stanmore Hawks FC to David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday afternoon with the match scheduled for a 5:30pm kick off.
The home side were unfortunate not take a share of the spoils in their first-round match against Granville Rage. Hawkesbury will hope to add to their goal tally this weekend and will be hoping that Daniel Morsillo finds the back of the net again this Saturday.
After coming so close to claiming victory last weekend, Stanmore will be looking to build upon that performance as they make the difficult trip to Hawkesbury. A fortress for the hosts last season, a positive result at David Bertenshaw Field could prove to be a difficult task for Ben Rollison’s side.
Parramatta FC meet Inter Lions FC at Melita Stadium on Saturday night at 6:30pm, in a game where the hosts will look to make it two from two at home this season.
Made to work hard for their win last weekend, this fixture could be no different for Parramatta as they play host to a much improved Inter Lions outfit.
Inter will be high on confidence after their late equaliser against the Hawks at Arlington Oval on Saturday. John Theo’s side were well organised in their first season hit out and will be tough opposition for the Eagles come this weekend.
Sydney University SFC and Camden Tigers FC go head to head at Arlington Oval in one of three matches set to kick off at 7pm on Saturday night.
Sydney University will hopefully have learnt a lot from their first-round defeat against Gladesville Ryde Magic. Uni were dominant and played with a sense of purpose in the first half of last week’s encounter and will be looking to replicate this form over the 90 minutes this time round.
While on the other hand Camden Tigers 4-0 dispatching of Bankstown United last weekend demonstrated the potential threat that they pose to the competition. The ‘students’ should be wary of the Tigers’ leading front man Jayden Russell who is already off the mark for this season.
Two teams looking to maintain their perfect records will greet each other at Garside Park on Saturday night, with Granville Rage taking on Gladesville Ryde Magic at 7pm.
Granville Rage toppled Hawkesbury City in last weekend’s affair and will look to add another scalp to their name as they play out of Garside for the second week running.
Gladesville Ryde Magic’s stunning comeback over Uni last week means that the visitors will also head into this fixture high on confidence as they look to outplay Rage on their turf.
In what is predicted to be the match of the round, Bankstown United FC play host to Bankstown City FC at Jensen Park on Saturday night for the first Bankstown derby for season 2019.
United enter this encounter after a harrowing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Camden however they can take solace from the fact they played almost the entire second half a man down.
They will be hoping to register their first goal in the NPL 3 competition against their rivals while all three points may be just what they need as they look to kick start their campaign.
On the flip side, the Lions enter this derby after their impressive 3-2 triumph over Dulwich Hill. It was that dynamic duo connection of Ante Tomic, who scored two goals and Nikola Todoroski who clinched the match winner that will be the two players in focus come match day.
With team morale at an all likely high, grabbing all three points will only boost the Lions’ remarkable start to the season.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
