Round 16 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
We are just days away from another action-fuelled weekend in the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
A ferocious inner west derby is set to be staged at Arlington Oval while there is bound to be plenty of entertainment at Jensen Park as Bankstown United and Inter Lions go head to head.
The action kicks off at Pluim Park with Bankstown City FC making the trip to face off against Central Coast United FC at 5pm.
The Pirates are undefeated in their last two matches while Bankstown have not tasted defeat since the end of May.
It was a tight contest in the reverse fixture with Bankstown edging out Stu Davis’ side 3-2 at Jensen Park.
Our attention turns to Jensen Park on Saturday night as Bankstown United FC entertain Inter Lions FC with proceedings set to get underway from 6:30pm.
United are in the midst of a four match winning streak that has seen them rise to fourth on the ladder while their opponents broke out of a two match losing run last time out when they saw off Macarthur.
An early Kallie Bangura goal seemed to have handed Bankstown the three points in their first meeting at Majors Bay but it was Nico Paras who came up with the goods to rescue a point for Inter.
It may take some doing but if Inter can manage a win then they could find themselves in the top six by the end of the round.
The second instalment of the inner west derby is set to light up our Saturday night as Dulwich Hill FC face off against Inner West Hawks FC at Arlington Oval.
Dully will still be reeling from their defeat at Rydalmere last weekend while the Hawks are in damage control after a series of defeats.
It was a comfortable Dully victory the last time they met with an Alex Nicolosi boosting them towards a 4-1 victory.
Rydalmere Lions FC will be going in search of their third win on the bounce when they travel to Lynwood Park to take on Macarthur Rams FC at 7pm.
Gavin Rae’s men once again showcased why they are the best team in the competition after they came out on top in their top of the table clash with Dully last weekend.
Their opponents had a contrasting weekend as they came unstuck at Inter. However, their finals aspirations are well and truly alive and they will be hoping that home comfort comes to their aid on Saturday.
Next up on Sydney University’s agenda is a home tie against Dunbar Rovers at Valentine Sports Park on Sunday.
The men from Camperdown will have fond memories of their round five meeting with Dunbar as it was their inaugural win and first clean sheet of the season.
They have since gone on to add another four wins to their name while Dunbar have had quite a challenging campaign.
The eastern suburbs outfit sit in 10th coming into this fixture while Uni occupy 9th. If Uni complete the double over their upcoming opponents, then they will increase the gap to eight points.
Gladesville Ryde Magic will be welcoming Canterbury Bankstown FC to Christie Park on Sunday afternoon at 3pm.
Both sides have not been in great form of late, Magic snapped out a two match losing streak last weekend while Berries have fared slightly better after recording a win and a draw from their last two matches at home.
All three points for Wally Savor’s side this weekend could see them finally overtake Dunbar in the standings while a Magic defeat could see them switch places with the sixth placed Pirates.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
