Round 5 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s

A full list of fixtures await us this Saturday as we strap down for another wonderful weekend of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.

The highly anticipated derby at Arlington Oval will take place this Saturday as Inner West Hawks FC ‘host’ Dulwich Hill FC with kick off scheduled for 7pm.

The Hawks have not had the best of starts with no points to show from their first three fixtures.

Meanwhile, Dully occupy third spot with seven points collected to date.

Anthony Foti has been Dully’s dangerman upfront – if he scores this weekend, he would have got on the scoresheet for three rounds running.

Sydney University SFC is the other team who will be looking to secure their first points of the season when they travel to Heffron Park to meet Dunbar Rovers FC at 7pm.

A dominant second half performance saw Dunbar swept away against Magic at Christie Park last time out.

The eastern suburbs side were level with Gladesville before they switched off and conceded twice to eventually go down 4-2.

The ‘students’ also suffered a similar fate in their clash with Bankstown City with 4-1 the full time score however the game was locked at 1-1 at a point in time.

Jensen Park will be the venue for the clash between Bankstown City and Central Coast United FC with kick off set for 7pm.

The Pirates sit just above their upcoming opponents in fourth position on the ladder with seven points – two points better off than their hosts.

However, they will be looking to bounce back from a poor second half which saw them drop two points at home to Berries.

Bankstown on the other hand, dismantled Sydney Uni in the second half of their fixture with Nikola Todoroski striking twice while Oscar Nieto Rava also made his way onto the scoresheet.

Majors Bay Reserve will be a welcoming sight for Inter Lions FC as they entertain Bankstown United FC at 7pm.

John Theo’s men would like to put their 4-0 defeat at Macarthur in the rear view mirror as they look to host a Bankstown side who have made quite the promising start to the season.

Scott Belgre’s United are still undefeated and will be more than pleased after they picked up their first clean sheet last weekend.

Rydalmere Lions FC have a difficult task on the horizon as they prepare to battle it out against Macarthur Rams FC at Rydalmere Park.

A slow start to the season by their standards sees Gavin Rae’s languish in seventh position, winless from their first three fixtures.

However, it is not all doom and gloom with all three of those matches ending all square.

Opponents Macarthur are experiencing a purple patch – after a 1-1 stalemate at Dunbar in the first round, they have scored eight goals without reply in their last two matches against Inter and the Hawks, respectively.

Gladesville Ryde Magic will be making the trip to the Crest Athletic Centre on Saturday as they prepare to face off against Canterbury Bankstown FC.

The home side will be high on confidence following their second half revival against Central Coast which saw them rescue a point in quite spectacular fashion.

This weekend’s fixture will not be easy for them with Magic topping the table and being the only side left in the competition with a perfect record.

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