Round 5 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
It’s that time of the week again where we give you the rundown of all the action coming your way this weekend in the latest round of the NPL 3 Men’s competition.
Round five’s fixtures will take place over two matchdays with five games scheduled for Saturday and just the one set for Sunday.
Stanmore Hawks FC will be looking to return to winning ways when they welcome Bankstown City FC to Arlington Oval at 7pm on Saturday night.
The Hawks’ perfect record came to an end last round after they were held to a 2-2 stalemate against Dulwich Hill.
Meanwhile, Bankstown went down 4-0 to league leaders Rydalmere last time out and have had a mixed start to their campaign which has seen them collect two wins and two defeats.
Bankstown proved to be Stanmore’s undoing last season after they dished out the first defeat on the eventual 2019 Premiers back in round 11 before the inner west outfit got their revenge – securing a 5-2 win at Arlington in the reverse fixture.
Both Bankstown United FC and Dulwich Hill FC will be looking for the three points when they go head to head at Jensen Park at 7pm on Saturday.
Both sides registered 2-2 draws last Saturday with United coming from behind to share the points with Inter while the Hawks rescued a point against Dully.
Dully have not tasted that winning feeling since the opening round while Bankstown’s only win this season arrived a fortnight ago when they thrashed Uni 7-0.
United came out on top in their first meeting last year with a 2-0 win before the two sides drew 2-2 in their second match-up at Jensen Park almost a year ago.
Inter Lions FC return to Majors Bay Reserve on Saturday to host Sydney University SFC at 7pm.
Inter sit in 9th position on the league ladder heading into this match while Uni prop up the table.
The home side will be looking to recapture the kind of form that saw them secure the three points in their fixture against Bankstown City at their new ground two weeks ago.
The ‘students’ have endured a challenging start to the season and are still to register a point to their name however they finally managed to score their first goal last weekend in their 2-1 defeat away to Dunbar.
Rydalmere Lions FC will be playing out of Rydalmere Park for the second week running when they entertain Central Coast United FC at 7pm on Saturday.
The Lions have enjoyed a blistering start to the season with four wins from their first four games.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Pirates are still adjusting to life in the competition – yet to claim their maiden victory with three draws and one defeat so far.
The free-scoring Lions have the likes of Scott Tonkin and Matt West firing in the goals while Central Coast can call upon Daniel Mcfarlane as well young gun Mason Wells who has been on the scoresheet for the last two rounds.
Canterbury Bankstown FC will be going in search of their fourth consecutive win when they face off against Dunbar Rovers FC at the Crest Athletic Centre on Saturday at 7pm.
Wally Savor’s side have been in fine form since the rebooted season began, with nine points collected out of the maximum 12 on offer so far this campaign.
They sit in 3rd place ahead of this Saturday’s clash while the visitors occupy 4th spot.
Dunbar secured the three points against bottom place outfit Uni last weekend, their first victory since their opening round triumph at Macarthur.
We will be wrapping up round five at Christie Park on Sunday as Macarthur Rams FC make the trip to Macquarie Park to take on Gladesville Ryde Magic at 3pm.
The Rams have had an up and down start to the new season, they are equal second with table-toppers Rydalmere in the goals scored department (11) however they are the second worst side in terms of goals conceded (14).
Conversely, Magic have run a tight ship defensively with only six conceded however they have scored six less than their upcoming opponents.
Will Gladesville’s defence be able to contain Rams striker Mark Symington or will it be the Gaitatzis brothers who cause the damage once again for the hosts?
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)
