Round 3 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s

NPL 3 - Round 2 - Bankstown United v Bankstown City 

The local  Bankstown Derby came early this year. Banks United hosted Bankstown City Lions at Jensen Oval.
Lions opened the scoring in the first half to put the pressure on United.
The second half saw both sides challenging for the three points. 
United manage to come back and take the lead 2-1 only to surrender very soon.
Final score int he Derby 2-2.

{Photos by Jeff Walsh @QuarrieSports for @FootballNSW}

Fingers crossed for a sunny weekend as we prepare for a jampacked weekend of football with round three of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition fast approaching.

With all seven matches set to be played on Saturday, launching at 3pm before four matches kick off at 7pm to round off the matchday.

Dunbar Rovers welcome Hawkesbury City FC to Hensley Athletic Field with the fixture set for a 3pm kick off on Saturday afternoon.

After recording a loss and draw in their opening two fixtures, Dunbar will feel that it is about time that they claim their first victory of the season this weekend.

The home side have been dealt a tough draw to start the campaign as they face yet another strong outfit in Hawkesbury.

After rain claimed their round two fixture against Stanmore Hawks, Dean Bertenshaw will look to get his Hawkesbury side firing this weekend as they too look to claim their first scalp of the season.

After two losses on the bounce, Western NSW Mariners will greet top of the table Gladesville Ryde Magic to Marjorie Jackson Field at 4:30pm on Saturday.

Yet to find their feet in the competition, Western NSW Mariners are already looking in danger of being cut adrift if they fail to pick up points in this week’s encounter.

Tuesday night’s rescheduled match against Granville Rage at Christie Park saw Gladesville Ryde Magic record a 3-1 victory as they rise to number one spot on the ladder. Goals from Chris Triantis, Sergio Taragona and Rosario Occhipinti were the heroes for the hosts who made sure of the three points.

It may take a miracle for Western NSW Mariners to turn around their season this weekend with all the odds looking in favour of Magic as they seek to extend their winning start to the campaign.

Inter Lions FC and Bankstown City FC go head to head at Valentine Sports Park No.2 at 6:30pm on Saturday night.

After coming from behind to record a draw against Stanmore Hawks in the opening round, Inter Lions would have been disappointed that they could not continue with that momentum in the second round after their match with Parramatta FC was postponed due to wet weather.

Bankstown City’s stalemate in last week’s derby came as quite the surprise with many expecting the side to take all three points against their arch rivals.

Expect a tight tussle to unravel on Saturday with Inter expected to put up a fight against a revved-up Bankstown City side.

Camden Tigers make the trip to Arlington Oval for the second week running as they face Dulwich Hill FC on Saturday night at 7pm.

Following last week’s 3-0 defeat to Sydney University, Camden Tigers will be hoping for better fortunes at Arlington Oval this time around as they face a Dulwich Hill outfit fresh from their 4-0 triumph over Western NSW Mariners.

Finding the back of the net has not been an issue for Dulwich Hill in the early stages of this season. The hosts have six goals to their name with both Josh Sama and Harry Browell each having netted twice.

After such contrasting results in the opening two rounds, Camden Tigers will no doubt be looking for some sort of consistency in their match up with Dully on Saturday night.

Granville Rage meet Stanmore Hawks FC at 7pm at Garside Park where the hosts will be looking to return to winning ways following their midweek setback at Christie Park.

Granville Rage will look to end their week on a high against the Hawks on Saturday and will be hoping that inform attacker, Andres Sanchez Bustos finds the back of the net again. The Rage number 10 has struck an incredible four times in the opening two rounds.

Stanmore Hawks return to action for the first time since their 1-1 stalemate with Inter Lions in round one and will be keen to post their first victory of the season at Garside Park.

Bankstown United FC will want to build upon last week’s draw against rivals Bankstown City as they go head to head with a well-organized SD Raiders outfit at Jensen Park on Saturday night.

Buoyed by their impressive display in the Bankstown derby last Saturday, Bankstown United enter this fixture with plenty of confidence as they face a high-flying SD Raiders side.

Attacking duo Mitchell Cross and Sean Robertson will look to add to their respective goal tallies for the home side this weekend in what will be a difficult outing for United.

A win and a draw sees SD Raiders remain undefeated heading into round three with 16-year-old Ali Al Yasiry one of the main reasons behind their positive start to the season. The youngster has taken no time in making the step up to first grade and has been a standout performer for Nick Carle’s team.

An intriguing matchup takes place at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday night at 7pm as Sydney University SFC come up against Parramatta FC.

Sydney University’s dominant second half display last weekend saw them claim their first three points of the season against Camden. A repeat of that performance would be ideal as they come up against a sharp Parramatta side.

Parramatta return to the field following the postponement of last week’s league fixture and by no means do they face an easy task when they come face to face with Uni this weekend.

-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)