Round 7 Preview – League Three Men’s

Round seven of the League Three Men’s competition will be hard to top, but the fixtures spell promise and potential as we move into another weekend of Football NSW League Three Men’s action. 

UNSW FC will open round seven on Friday night against Parramatta FC, before South Coast Flame host Camden Tigers on Saturday at 5pm.

A trio of matches will commence in the classic 7pm timeslot on Saturday as Hurstville FC play Prospect United, with both sides in great form to begin the season.

Fraser Park will take on Hawkesbury City, while Nepean FC will play Western Rage to conclude the round, with no games on Sunday this weekend.

Meanwhile, Newcastle Jets have gone through a coaching change, with Daniel McBreen departing and Ric Marchioli taking over the reins in the Hunter Valley.

UNSW FC vs Parramatta FC – Friday 8pm, Hensley Athletic Field

UNSW FC will take on Parramatta FC to begin the weekend of action on Friday night at Hensley Athletic Field, with both sides looking to bounce back from losses in the previous round.

UNSW will attempt to continue their scoring streak, having scored in every game so far this campaign with an average of 2.2 per match.

All of their three defeats this season have come by the solitary goal in a highscoring manner, while they haven’t played in a game that has contained below three goals so far this season.

Meanwhile, Parramatta FC have only played three matches so far this season, and will be looking to find some consistency simply in matches this weekend, as they’re set to play their first round of consecutive weekends this season.

Parramatta lost 1-0 to Hurstville FC last round thanks to a stunning goal from Jacob Botic, with their only other defeat of the campaign coming against Newcastle Jets, while winning at home to Camden Tigers in round four.

South Coast Flame vs Camden Tigers – Saturday 5pm, Ian McLennan Park

South Coast Flame will take on a refreshed Camden Tigers in the first fixture on Saturday, with the latter coming off a bye in round six.

South Coast Flame were beaten by an 88th minute strike from Luke Zepina last weekend, after impressively drawing scores level after being down 2-0 at halftime.

Both Camden Tigers and South Coast Flame have scored in every League Three Men’s match they’ve played in so far this season, but neither team has managed to keep a clean sheet.

Camden Tigers won their most recent match against Western Rage, and will be looking to make it two consecutive wins for the first time this campaign, while South Coast Flame are looking for their first victory of the season.

Jayden Russel has three goals in his last two matches – including a brace in their previous game – and could be one to watch for Camden on the goalscoring front this weekend.

Hurstville FC vs Prospect United – Saturday 7pm, Penshurst Park

Hurstville FC will be looking to break Prospect United’s unbeaten run in the League Three Men’s season, with the away side yet to lose a match this season.

Hurstville currently sit third on the table, but level with Hawkesbury City and Newcastle Jets who are both above them on goal difference, although with the latter team having played one less match.

The home side gained their second clean sheet of the campaign in their victory over Parramatta FC last weekend, and conceded seven goals in six games this season, with five coming against the top two sides on the table.

Hurstville have also scored 10 goals of their own, with Jacob Botic finishing four to lead his side in goals this season.

Meanwhile, Prospect United’s Luka Zepina has six goals in four games this season – a rate of 1.5 – including a hattrick last weekend, and will be key to his side attempting to keep their unbeaten and scoring streak going – Prospect has scored in every match they’ve played so far this season, with Zepina netting 66.7% of those goals.

Prospect United have only dropped points against Nepean FC so far this season, and remain one of the only two unbeaten sides of the campaign, alongside table toppers Newcastle Jets, who have a bye this weekend.

Fraser Park vs Hawkesbury City – Saturday 7pm, Fraser Park 

Fraser Park will be taking on Hawkesbury City in an intriguing matchup, with the home side looking to bounce off their first victory of the season and the away team losing for the first time this campaign.

Fraser Park won 4-3 to gain their first win of the season, with goals to Shu Torihara, Miki Bisceglia, Benjamin Astudillo and Samuel Paslis.

Hawkesbury City have come off a tough couple of fixtures, playing Hurstville FC and Newcastle Jets, the two teams closest to top spot other than themselves.

Hawkesbury is another side who has scored in every match this season, with Marco Turpeinen their top goalscorer, having scored six in six at a rate of a goal per game.

The away side will be looking to bounce back after a tricky few weeks with a win over Fraser Park as they continue to look to their title hopes for the season.

Nepean FC vs Western Rage – Saturday 7pm, Cook Park

Nepean FC will continue and conclude the trio of Saturday 7pm matches when playing Western Rage at Cook Park, in what will also be the end of round seven.

Nepean FC beat UNSW FC in an intense affair last weekend, coming back from two goals down to prevail 3-2 with a goal in the 86th minute from Jack Hoban securing victory.

The home side has kept one clean sheet this season, but interestingly it came against league leaders Newcastle Jets, while they have scored in every match but that Jets game.

Meanwhile, Western Rage have been a high scoring side themselves, having netted nine goals in six matches this season.

Interestingly, the away side have had a different scorer for every goal this season, showing the versatility within their attack.

Western Rage will be looking for their first victory of the season, while Nepean will be looking for the second consecutive victory.

Bye: Newcastle Jets

Newcastle Jets coach Daniel McBreen has departed, with his last match coming in a victory against Hawkesbury City.

Ric Marchioli has taken over as coach, and will be given a bye to begin at Newcastle.

By Football NSW League 3 Men’s Reporter, Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)