Round 22 Preview – League Three Men’s
The final regular season round of the League Three Men’s campaign is set to be a thriller, with all spots in the top five still accessible for different teams.
After two Tuesday night matches, Parramatta FC will host Newcastle Jets in the third and final midweek match of this round.
South Coast Flame will then take on Nepean FC on Saturday afternoon, before Newcastle play again when travelling to Blacktown City Sports Centre to take on Western Rage.
In two more Saturday 7pm games, Fraser Park and Camden Tigers will host Parramatta FC and UNSW FC respectively, while Hawkesbury City will play Prospect United to round out the last round of the League Three Men’s regular campaign with a crucial matchup.
Parramatta FC vs Newcastle Jets – Thursday 8pm, Melita Stadium
In a Thursday night fixture, Parramatta FC will take on Newcastle Jets at Melita Stadium as the away side looks to get closer to their finish at the top of the table.
Parramatta will be coming off a Tuesday night clash against South Coast Flame as they continue their intense with three games in five days to end the season, with a match every couple of days between Tuesday and Saturday.
Newcastle Jets, meanwhile, could move closer to finishing at the top of the table with a win over Parramatta this weekend.
The Jets will go four points clear of Hawkesbury with a win in this match, which means another victory in their match on the weekend will confirm their title despite Hawkesbury’s results.
Newcastle still has to play Hawkesbury once more in a currently unscheduled game, but wins in their next two games will confirm their spot at the top despite Hawkesbury’s result on Saturday.
South Coast Flame vs Nepean FC – Saturday 3:15pm, Ian McLennan Oval
In the first of a rampage of Saturday night games to conclude the last round of the League Three Men’s season, South Coast Flame will take on Nepean FC in the afternoon.
Both sides will be coming off Tuesday night games, with South Coast taking on Parramatta FC and Nepean playing Camden Tigers.
South Coast Flame will be looking to conclude their campaign strongly with a result over Nepean in their final home match of the season.
They’re currently eighth on the ladder, and depending on Camden’s results, could move up to seventh place with a win to finish their campaign.
Nepean, who’ll also have played a midweek match, will be looking to continue to push up the table with a finals spot now confirmed.
They’ll be looking to take strong form into the knockout campaign with a victory in their last regular season match of the season.
Fraser Park vs Parramatta FC – Saturday 7pm, Fraser Park
To continue the round, Fraser Park will come up against Parramatta FC in one of three concurrent 7pm kickoffs this Saturday night.
The home side for this match is, at the time of writing, on the longest unbeaten run of any League Three Men’s side, although they could head into the weekend with the joint record if Nepean wins or draws their Tuesday night game.
Fraser will be looking to continue their stellar form against a Parramatta FC side who has found similar success later on in the season.
Parramatta have lost just one match in their last five, and have drawn two and won two of their others.
They impressively beat Hawkesbury City and Western Rage, while drawing against two current top five clubs in Hurstville FC and UNSW FC.
Parramatta will be looking to continue their good form in this match which pits a battle for ninth place at Fraser Park.
Western Rage vs Newcastle Jets – Saturday 7pm, Blacktown City Sports Centre
In Western Rage’s final game of the campaign, they will take on league leaders Newcastle Jets at Blacktown City Sports Centre.
The home side will be looking to lift themselves off the bottom of the ladder after a high quality run of form was ended by four straight defeats.
Some tricky fixtures have hindered their progress, but they’ll be looking to cause an upset to ladder favourites Newcastle with a win to shake things up this weekend.
Newcastle, as mentioned, if winning on Thursday as well, will wrap up the league ladder for the campaign with a victory this weekend.
If not, they’ll face Hawkesbury City next week in a midweek fixture to decide first place for the season.
Camden Tigers vs UNSW FC – Saturday 7pm, Ron Dine Stadium
In Camden Tigers’ last match of the season, they’ll take on UNSW FC in another Saturday 7pm clash at Ron Dine Stadium.
Camden, while not able to make finals, will be looking to confirm seventh spot with a win over UNSW this weekend.
They’re unbeaten in their last two matches, as they impressively drew against league leaders Newcastle Jets before winning 1-0 against second placed Hawkesbury City.
UNSW FC, meanwhile, are on a four game unbeaten streak of their own.
They’ve defeated South Coast Flame and Western Rage in their last five matches, while drawing to Parramatta FC and Prospect United.
Their position within the top five hangs in the balance of results for Nepean FC and Hawkesbury City, but they could finish anywhere between fourth and second, even if they win their last regular season game of the campaign.
Hawkesbury City vs Prospect United – Saturday 7:30pm, Valentine Sports Park
In the final scheduled regular match of the League Three Men’s season, Hawkesbury City will take on Prospect United in a crucial fixture.
While the title is out of Hawkesbury’s hands, a win in this match is almost their only hope to force it to the last game of the campaign, where they could take on Newcastle Jets for the top spot on the ladder.
This depends on Newcastle’s results throughout the week, but the motivation nonetheless remains there as they look to push the Jets all the way to the finish line.
Prospect will be hoping that this isn’t the last time they play in the League Three Men’s competition this year, but their destiny remains in their hands.
A win against Hawkesbury will secure them a spot in the finals, a draw or loss will see them bow out by a narrow margin.
By Football NSW League 3 Men’s Reporter, Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
