Round 3 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s

Stanmore Hawks FC and Rydalmere Lions FC are the only two sides who hold a perfect record as we enter round three while at the other end of the table we have two teams in Gladesville Ryde Magic and Sydney University who will be eager to claim their first points of the season.

With clear skies forecasted for the weekend, we cannot wait for another thrilling round of entertaining NPL 3 NSW Men’s football.

There are four matches scheduled for the usual time slot of 7pm on Saturday while the remaining two fixtures are set to take place on Sunday.

Central Coast United FC make the trip down the M1 as they visit Arlington Oval to take on Stanmore Hawks FC at 7pm on Saturday night.

Central Coast have recorded back-to-back draws against Bankstown United and Dunbar respectively and will arrive in the inner west with the sole aim of getting their first three points in this competition.

Stanmore are one of only two sides who hold a perfect record heading into round three after consecutive wins against Inter Lions and Bankstown United.

It is also worth noting that this will be the first competitive meeting between these two sides.

Macarthur Rams FC return home to Lynwood Park to host Rydalmere Lions FC at 7pm on Saturday.

The Rams won 7-3 on the road against Dulwich Hill last weekend while they fell to a 6-3 defeat in their opening fixture at home to Dunbar.

The Lions secured back-to-back victories from their first two fixtures and are the early pace setters alongside the Hawks.

These two sides faced off against each other in the NPL 2 last season – their first fixture at VSP ended in a 0-0 draw before Rydalmere enjoyed a routine 3-0 win in the reverse fixture at Lynwood Park.

Both Sydney University SFC and Bankstown United FC will be going in search of their first wins this campaign when they meet at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday at 7pm.

Uni suffered back-to-back defeats against Dully and Rydalmere respectively while United endured a 0-0 stalemate against Central Coast before going down 3-1 to Stanmore last round.

The ‘students’ did the double over Bankstown last season, winning 5-1 at Jensen Park before backing it up with a 2-1 win at home.

Canterbury Bankstown FC will go head to head against Inter Lions FC at The Crest Athletic Centre on Saturday at 7pm.

The Berries have opened their season with a loss and a win against Bankstown City and Gladesville Ryde Magic, respectively.

Inter also have the same record heading into this fixture, having lost to the Hawks in their season opener before claiming the three points against City at their new home ground last Saturday.

This should make for an interesting match-up given that these two teams have not faced off against each other.

Gladesville Ryde Magic will be hoping to get their first points on the board this season when they welcome Dunbar Rovers FC to Christie Park at 3pm on Sunday.

Magic have endured a challenging start to their campaign with defeats against Rydalmere and the Berries, however they do have target man Harris Gaitatzis firing up front with two goal to his name so far.

Dunbar backed up their opening round triumph at Macarthur with a 1-1 stalemate against Central Coast last time out.

Keep an eye out for Dunbar’s Aram Tayebi who leads the goalscoring charts with four goals from the first two rounds.

Round three will conclude at Jensen Park where Bankstown City FC will battle it out against Dulwich Hill FC on Sunday at 7pm.

Bankstown began their season with a 2-0 win against Berries before falling to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Inter last weekend.

Dully also started their campaign with a win at Sydney Uni before they too succumbed to a defeat, losing 7-3 to the Rams at home.

Both meetings between these sides last season were high scoring contests with the Lions coming out on top 3-2 at home in the first round before securing the double with a 6-4 triumph at Arlington Oval.

DON’T FORGET TO EXERCISE CAUTION AND SOCIAL DISTANCING AT OUR MATCHES THIS WEEKEND – STAY SAFE

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