Round 8 Preview – League One Men’s
Two months already? With every team having recorded a win, the League One Men’s Competition enters the second third of the season with plenty of Round Eight action to catch the eye.
It’s a weekend where we could have honestly picked four or five games to recommend but went for the safe option of a local derby. Enjoy!
Our Pick: Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC v SD Raiders FC; Saturday 30 April, 7pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Bonnyrigg White Eagles host SD Raiders in our pick of the action for round eight of the competition as local rivals face off.
The performances are there, but it’s now time for Bonnyrigg White Eagles to start picking up wins in the 2022 season under Abbas Saad’s guidance. This week’s hosts have walked away from games against St George FC and Western Sydney Wanderers with a glass half full and with tougher games on the horizon, this is an important match.
Against Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend, the team from Sydney’s South West were left wandering (insert sunglasses emoji here) how they didn’t pick up the three points. Aaron Peterson continues to prove a goal threat while Asmir Kadric came up with a spectacular finish to draw them level in extra time. It’s too good a league to continue to drop points and they’ll know how important three points is here.
It’s been a tough month for SD Raiders who find themselves winless in the past five fixtures. A couple of days ago against St George City, the Raiders matched it for large periods with their hosts so perhaps were unlucky to walk away empty handed.
In that one, it was Charles Abou Serhal and Daniel Bittar who looked most dangerous in attack, often providing their thrust out wide. It’s never a question of scoring goals for the Raiders though with their problems often coming at the other end where they will be missing Cooper Hannagan who saw red last time out.
“Form doesn’t matter going into a derby”. We’ve all that said before, now it’s time for that to be put to the test here in what promises to be a feisty affair.
St George City v NWS Spirit FC; Saturday 30 April, 7pm, Penshurst Park
St George City will be looking to make four wins in a row at Penshurst Park when they play host to NWS Spirit FC.
The home games keep on coming for St George City who are starting to pick up some momentum occupying second place heading into round eight. After knocking out a close to full strength Sydney Olympic in the cup last Thursday, City backed it up with a league win against SD Raiders on Monday.
Having served a lengthy suspension, Tarik Ercan returned to the side against Olympic and his leadership will be crucial for the remainder of the season. And in a welcome change for the club, there’s quite a bit of depth at Mirko Jurilj’s disposal. Look out for Nathan Roberts and Jordan Morfitis who both were crucial in their win against the Raiders, Roberts with a potential assist of the season for the second.
You don’t usually think of a David Perkovic team as one which struggles to score. However, in their three away trips this season NWS Spirit have only scored two goals. That problem does seem to be limited to the road though as they have recently found a way to score at Christie Park.
Last weekend, the Spirit came rather close to breaking their rivals winning run in a derby at Christie Park. Richard Darko picked up a second half brace to bring them back in to the match on both occasions, but they couldn’t find their way past Adam Hett’s side on a third occasion. Coming against a proven quantity, Spirit will be looking to continue their good head-to-head record against their hosts.
St George FC v Hills United FC; Saturday 30 April, 7pm, Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
Hills United make the trip to Sydney’s South looking to carry their momentum from their first win of the season when they take on St George FC.
But first, let’s look at the home side. You feel this first half of the season is going to be the toughest for Mark Milligan’s St George FC side. Although they have been in every match, they just aren’t winning the moments that win you game which is to be expected with a youthful side.
Last weekend, there were definitely some promising signs in the Saints performance. Jay Mcgowan a frequent danger on the left wing rewarded with a wonderful solo goal while Harry Jones continues to impress in central midfield assisting Mcgowan for that goal as well as putting in a solid shift. Another 90 minutes towards their goal, Can they get a confidence building victory here?
It’s nice to be writing about a Hills United win again. In fact, let’s write about two while we’re at it. Hills made the most of drawing a lower division side in the cup last week beating Nepean FC by a three-goal margin, scoring five in the process. A result which carried over to the following league game against Hakoah FC
It’s hard to pick out a player who had a bad game in that one. But what was noticeable was how the senior players stepped up to lead Brian Brown’s men to victory. Rainer Smahel was a rock at the back, Daine Merrin was influential in midfield while Wade Giovenali came on to make a difference in attack scoring within five minutes of entering the field. It’s starting to look better for Hills United and back-to-back league wins isn’t out of the question.
Mounties Wanderers FC v Blacktown Spartans FC; Saturday 30 April, 7pm, Cook Park (Mt Pritchard)
Two last start winners lock horns when Mounties Wanderers welcome Blacktown Spartans for an enticing fixture, Saturday night.
Mounties Wanderers are riding a wave of confidence heading into round eight of the competition. Jerry Bilokapic’s team are on a three-game winning streak which has seen them beat the likes of SD Raiders, Hills United and St George FC. And we’re beginning to wonder who will stop them?
Last weekend against St George FC, they came back from a goal down through goals to Carlo Imola (clearly the better Imola on the weekend) and Sam Perre. The first game in a while where Brad Bartels hasn’t scored, disappointing mate. Anyway, back to being serious, Sam Perre looks to be just the right man to lead the attack while Antonio Farkas continues to provide leadership at the back.
Blacktown Spartans will be looking to carry momentum from their second victory of the season last weekend. That win against Central Coast Mariners broke a four-game winless streak in the league after a confidence boosting victory in the cup beforehand.
But perhaps more importantly than the result were the promising signs all across the park. Alex Gollan and Billy Patramanis kept a dangerous attack quiet throughout which saw them secure their second clean sheet of the season. While Emmanuel Gonzalez seems to have rediscovered his goalscoring ways in attack, which I’m sure is music to ears of Andy Montgomery who has one of the league’s best strikers in Hamish Lamberton as well.
Hakoah FC v Western Sydney Wanderers FC; Saturday 30 April, 7pm, Hensley Athletic Field
A mid table clash with plenty on the line, Hakoah FC host Western Sydney Wanderers in a cross-city battle at Hensley Athletic.
It’s been a humbling few weekends for Hakoah FC. One point from their last four fixtures including a couple of home games, this is not where they would’ve expected to be approaching the halfway mark of the season. With six home games in their next eight fixtures, they’ll be eyeing this one as a chance to turn things last weekend.
Of all the results recently, last weekend would’ve hurt the most going down to a previously winless Hills United side. Substitute James Demetriou brought them some hope heading into injury time, but it wasn’t to be. Having convincingly won earlier that week against Narrabeen in the cup at home, they’ll be hoping to pick up where they left there in this one.
Granted there’s no easy games in this league but having seen off the “competitions best” teams in the past month, the fixture list looks a little more friendly over the next month for Western Sydney Wanderers.
Last week in a fixture which saw Tom Vidovic’s youthful side go up against one of the more experienced sides in the competition in Bonnyrigg, the Wanderers let a two-goal lead slip in heartbreaking fashion into injury time. Alex Badolato continued on his scoring ways for his side, while Daniel Wilmering and Mark Natta combined for the second. They will be looking to return to winning ways here but to do so they’ll have to do it without Alex Bonetig who picked up a suspension last week.
Two sides who need to turn around their most recent results, it’s a high stakes fixture in Sydney’s East for you to enjoy.
Central Coast Mariners FC v Northern Tigers FC; Saturday 1 May, 3pm, Pluim Park
A 2020 Grand Final rematch awaits us when Central Coast Mariners host Northern Tigers at Pluim Park, Sunday afternoon.
It’s a return to their comfort zone for Central Coast Mariners. If you go back to the back end of last year’s campaign, the Mariners have gained only 6 points in their last 8 away matches. Whereas at Pluim, they are a force to be reckoned with having beat Mounties Wanderers and Western Sydney Wanderers in their last two home games.
Last weekend, the Mariners were disappointing against Blacktown Spartans going down by a two-goal margin, granted it is one of the tougher artificial surfaces to play on. Against and unbeaten Northern Tigers side, they’ll want to do better this weekend.
The only team yet to taste defeat this season, Northern Tigers return to the scene of one of their tougher defeats last season with a score to settle. In a performance reminiscent of their gritty victory over Western Sydney Wanderers, the Tigers just edged out NWS Spirit last weekend.
For much of that one, the Tigers looked to be stuck with the pit limiter on with only their efficiency in front of goal guaranteeing victory. Shervin Adeli once again scored a penalty at Christie Park, Ally Brown scored a goal with his right foot and Hiyori Kawaguchi continued to make his case for playing further up field. Seven games without defeat, they now have to exercise some demons having not beaten the Mariners since 2019.
The last time these two sides played up at Pluim, it turned ugly for the visitors going down 5-0 last April. We surely won’t see a repeat of that this weekend.
Australia Cup Results
Mounties Wanderers FC 0-0 Mt Druitt Town Rangers (Mounties 4-1 on Pens)
Hakoah FC 4-0 Narrabeen FC
St George FC 0-2 Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC
Hills United FC 5-1 Nepean FC
Sydney CBD FC 1-5 Blacktown Spartans FC
St George City 1-1 Sydney Olympic FC (St George City 4-2 on Pens)
NWS Spirit FC 5-0 Coogee United
SD Raiders FC v Northern Tigers FC yet to be played
By FNSW League One Men’s Reporter Justin Smith
