Round 11 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Another mouthwatering list of fixtures await as we gear up for round 11 of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
All eyes will be on Bankstown City’s clash with Stanmore Hawks as the Lions look to topple the Hawks for the first time this season.
Dunbar Rovers entertain Gladesville Ryde Magic at Hensley Athletic Field this Saturday at 3pm.
Dunbar’s convincing win over Bankstown United last time out has seen them draw level on points with 5th placed Dulwich Hill with Dully’s superior goal difference the only thing separating the two.
Magic also arrive into this fixture with their heads held high after they too enjoyed a comprehensive victory from their affair with Hawkesbury.
The visitors have suffered two defeats in their last four matches and will be faced with another stern test this weekend when they face a stubborn Dunbar outfit who are notorious for fighting until the final whistle.
Western NSW Mariners return to Proctor Park this Saturday as they go head to head with Camden Tigers FC at 4pm.
Western’s 4-3 win over Sydney University last week will go down as one of the best contests that we will see in the league this year.
Their never say die attitude has put them in pole position for this weekend’s fixture with a win enough to leapfrog their opponents and move off the foot of the table.
Camden’s winless streak continues with their last triumph dating back to over a month ago.
The Tigers wastefulness in front of goal has cost them this season while their shaky defence is something that needs to be addressed with only Uni and their opponents this weekend having conceded more than them.
Two sides looking to return to form go head to head at Arlington Oval as Dulwich Hill FC meet Bankstown United FC at 7pm on Saturday night.
Dully return to Arlington for a consecutive home fixture after last week’s match ended in dramatic circumstances when they grabbed a last gasp equaliser against Granville.
The hosts are currently in 5th spot on the ladder and will be wary that anything but the three points will most likely see them lose their place in the top five.
United’s form has suffered of late, having been on the end of two thrashings in their last two encounters.
However, prior to those two horror results they were one of the form teams of the competition and a win this weekend will put them in good stead as they look to place pressure on the teams in the top half of the table.
Two teams on either side of the form book will clash at Ernie Smith Reserve as fourth placed SD Raiders FC welcome ninth placed Sydney University SFC at 7pm on Saturday night.
A defeat to Hawks last round disrupted Raiders’ winning streak however they will be looking forward to facing their opponents who have recorded just the solitary win in their last five matches.
The ‘students’ fell to a shock defeat at home to Western last week and are in danger of spiraling further down the ladder if they do not address their precarious position.
Two sides struggling for consistency will face off this Saturday night as Granville Rage play host to Parramatta FC at Garside Park at 7pm.
With only eight goals to their name after 10 rounds, Rage have the unwanted record of being the league’s lowest goalscorers.
The home side have scored just four goals since Andre Sanchez Bustos’ sparkling start to the campaign which saw him notch four goals in their first four fixtures.
The Eagles alarming slide down the table has showed no signs of improving and a defeat this weekend coupled with a Western win could see them prop up the league table.
This week’s match of the round will take place at Jensen Park at 7pm on Saturday night as Bankstown City FC aim to become the first side to knock off Stanmore Hawks FC.
We can expect plenty of goal mouth action this weekend with four of the top five players in the league’s scoring leaderboard set to be on display this Saturday.
You can put your house on either Bankstown duo Nikola Todoroski and Ante Tomic or Stanmore pair Peter Yannopoulos and Jovan Blagojevic grabbing the headlines in this contest.
The home side have registered some incredible results of late and share the equal best goal difference in the league along with their opponents while only three points separate the two sides in the standings.
Inter Lions FC will be looking to register back to back wins for the first time this season when they face off against Hawkesbury City FC at Valentine Sports Park No.3 at 6:30pm on Sunday night.
Inter sit three places above their opponents with a considerably healthier goal difference and will be looking to carry through their stellar second half performance against Camden last Saturday which saw them put three past the Tigers in the one half.
Hawkesbury were soundly beaten 4-0 in their encounter last week with Magic and have endured a similar run of results to the hosts.
With the two teams too hard to split on paper, a draw could be on the cards in this fixture.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
