Round 5 Preview – League Two Men’s
Round Five in the Football New South Wales League Two Men’s will see matchups between teams up and down the table as teams will look to prove themselves in different ways.
The Match of the Round this week sees last-placed Parramatta FC look for their first win of the season as they host a team looking to kick-start their season in Fraser Park FC.
Elsewhere, Nepean FC will look to make it five wins from five as Western Rage visit, Bankstown United FC will hope to bounce back at home to Hawkesbury City FC, while Inner West Hawks FC will chase their first win of the season as they host Sydney University SFC.
Meanwhile, Prospect United SC will look to build on their first win of the season as third-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic visit, Camden Tigers FC will chase their first win as last-start winners Hurstville FC travel, while the Newcastle Jets will look to continue their unbeaten start at home to the also-unbeaten UNSW FC.
South Coast Flame FC have a bye in Round Five.
Saturday 4th March, 2023
Match of the Round: Parramatta FC vs Fraser Park FC, 5pm @ Melita Stadium
Previous Meeting: Parramatta FC 2-3 Fraser Park FC
Parramatta FC had a bye last week before they lost in a catch-up match with Prospect United SC as they look for their first win of the season, while Fraser Park FC lost to the strong Nepean FC away last round.
These two sides last met in the final round of the 2022 FNSW League Three Men’s season last August, where Fraser Park FC picked up the victory away, 3-2.
Parramatta FC will look to bounce back from their 2-0 loss away to Prospect United SC on Tuesday night.
However, they will need to improve at both ends of the pitch, as they have conceded the most goals and scored the second-least this season so far.
If they can start to diversify their goal scorers and tighten up in defence to start, they could take something away from Fraser Park FC.
Fraser Park FC lost against the league leaders, Nepean FC, last round and will be looking to learn lessons from the defeat.
With a strong side and plenty to play for this season, they will be hoping to claim their first win since Round One.
If Fraser Park can hold a bit of possession away, they could wear down their opponent to gain a point or three.
Each side will be equally as keen on obtaining the three points this week for their own reasons.
Friday 3rd March, 2023
Nepean FC vs Western Rage, 8pm @ Wanderers Football Park
Previous Meeting: Western Rage 1-4 Nepean FC
Nepean FC continued their perfect start to the season last week as Western Rage travel to try and topple them.
The Rage lost at home 1-4 to Nepean in Round 18 last season and know they will have to be at their best to upset the league leaders.
Nepean FC were comfortable winners away at Fraser Park FC last round as they came away 4-0 winners.
They have two players tied for third in the top goal scorer standings, with Bradley Whitworth and Leonard Abdo both having scored three goals so far.
Watch for Nepean to use their pace to get in behind the Western Rage defence, both with the ball at feet and in the air.
Western Rage are winless and suffered their second loss in a row last week after they went down 1-3 to Hawkesbury City FC at home.
Their defence will need to be on top of their game this week, while they will also need to improve in attack if they are to threaten Nepean.
Away from home against a strong Nepean side, watch for Western Rage to look to hold strong defensively and score goals any way they can.
If the Rage can hold out Nepean early, they could challenge to be the first side to take points off Nepean this season.
Bankstown United FC vs Hawkesbury City FC, 8pm @ Padstow Park
Previous Meeting: Hawkesbury City FC 1-1 Bankstown United FC
Both sides had contrasting fortunes last week as they look to battle it out for three points at Padstow Park in Round Five.
This is the first matchup between the two sides since the 2019 FNSW League Three Men’s season, where honours ended even.
Bankstown United played much of their 2-0 loss to UNSW FC with 10 men after their send off in the 35th minute, while they ended the match with eight players due to injury and red cards.
However, one positive was how dangerous they looked from set pieces, which they will hope to utilise again this week.
They will look to shrug off and learn from the result as they face Hawkesbury City FC.
Hawkesbury got back to winning ways for the first time since Round One in their 3-1 win away to Western Rage last week.
They came away with the victory despite the league’s top goal scorer, Marco Turpeinen, not scoring, showing they won’t rely on one player for their attacking output.
They have scored the equal second-most goals this season with 10 and will be looking to prove their attacking prowess as they chase back-to-back victories.
Both sides will want to showcase their firepower and climb the table to cement themselves as threats in this league.
Saturday 4th March, 2023
Inner West Hawks FC vs Sydney University SFC, 7pm @ Arlington Oval
Previous Meeting: Sydney University SFC 2-3 Inner West Hawks FC
Inner West Hawks FC picked up their first point last week, while Sydney University SFC lost their first match as the two teams meet at Arlington Oval.
These two sides met in Round 19 of the FNSW League Two Men’s competition last season, where the Hawks came from 2-1 down to win 2-3.
The Hawks played a catch-up match against Hurstville FC on Tuesday night, where they reversed their fortunes as they scored an 89th minute equaliser to gain a 1-1 draw at home.
It was their second draw in a row, but they will have positive moment heading into this week.
The Hawks have shown promise in attack; if they convert their chances, they could pick up their first win of the season against Sydney University SFC.
Sydney University lost their first match of the season last week as they went down 2-0 away to Gladesville Ryde Magic.
They had plenty of possession but were unable to take their chances as the match got away from them in the end.
If they can dominate possession away from home again this week, they could trouble their opponents and pick up some vital points.
Both sides will be looking to improve in attack this week, so watch for this match to be filled with plenty of chances for both sides as they look to convert.
Prospect United SC vs Gladesville Ryde Magic, 7pm @ William Lawson Reserve
Previous Meeting: Prospect United 2-2 Gladesville Ryde Magic
William Lawson Reserve will welcome Prospect United SC, who claimed a 2-0 win at home to Parramatta FC in a catch-up match on Tuesday and Gladesville Ryde Magic, who continued their strong start to the season against Sydney University.
These two sides will meet in the league for the first time since the 2013 Men’s State League 1 season, meaning there won’t be much recent history to go off.
Prospect created plenty of chances in their 2-0 win over Parramatta FC, as Bradley Dollin and James Pelletier scored their first goals of the season.
That was Prospect’s first points and win of the season; they will look to build on it at home again this week.
However, they know they will have to continue to improve on the offensive end if they are to take down third-placed Gladesville Ryde Magic.
The Magic won consecutive matches after their tough 2-0 win over Sydney University SFC last week.
They will look to utilise their fast men to get in behind the Prospect defence and cause problems.
If they can continue from last week with an improved performance, they could prove a tough side to take down for Prospect.
With momentum with both sides in different aspects, this match could prove to be a wildcard in the round.
Camden Tigers FC vs Hurstville FC, 7pm @ Ron Dime Memorial Reserve
Previous Meeting: Camden Tigers FC 1-1 Hurstville FC
Camden Tigers FC fought late against the Newcastle Jets last week and will search for their first win of the season as they host Hurstville FC, who won their first match of the season last round against Prospect United SC.
These two sides met last season in Round 12 of the FNSW League Two Men’s, as Camden came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home.
Camden Tigers FC took the fight to the Newcastle Jets away last week but were unable to find a third goal late as they went down 3-2.
It was the third match in a row they have scored two goals, but also their second 3-2 loss of the season.
However, they showed they could score from set pieces as they scored from a free kick against the Jets.
Camden have goals in them, so if they can tighten up in defence, they could claim their first win of the season against Hurstville FC.
Hurstville picked up their first win of the season in emphatic fashion last week after their 4-0 win at home to Prospect United FC.
They also scored their first goals of the season in that match as their quality across the pitch came to fruition.
If they can build on the four goals and clean sheet, they can come into the match against Camden with confidence.
Expect this to be a close match, as Camden search for their first win and Hurstville look to build some momentum.
Sunday 5th March, 2023
Newcastle Jets vs UNSW FC, 5pm @ Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
Previous Meeting: Newcastle Jets 2-6 UNSW FC
The Newcastle Jets continued their unbeaten start to the season last week with a 3-2 home win over Camden Tigers FC, while UNSW FC claimed all three points in a 2-0 home victory over Bankstown United FC.
These two sides met in a high-scoring affair last season in FNSW League Three Men’s as Kevin Lopes scored four goals for UNSW in a 6-2 away win.
Newcastle stopped the comeback from Camden twice last week as they won 3-2.
Moonib Adus proved to be the super sub last week with his goal and he now sits on three for the season, which is the equal-third most.
They will be a tough prospect to play at home again this week, as they look for back-to-back wins against UNSW FC.
UNSW FC claimed a tough victory over 10-man Bankstown United FC last week as they controlled the match.
However, they will be looking to convert more chances if they arrive early after missing some and hitting the woodwork last week.
Kevin Lopes in the second-highest scorer in the competition so far this season and will look to prove to be a threat once again against the Jets.
These two unbeaten sides will hold nothing back as they search for a victory to assert themselves in the competition this season.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Writer, Dylan Costa @_dylancosta
