Round 9 Preview – League One Men’s

As we enter the third month of the season and mid-season period, it’s an important weekend for many teams across the FNSW League One Men’s competition in round nine action.

Our cameras travel to Blacktown Football Park where Bonnyrigg White Eagles will be itching to make a statement after a poor defeat a fortnight ago. While action elsewhere see’s Northern Tigers take on St George FC and a top five clash to conclude things Sunday night.

Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans FC v Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC; Saturday 1 April, 7pm, Blacktown Football Park

Bonnyrigg White Eagles return to the pitch after a week off to play Blacktown Spartans in our round nine match of the round at Blacktown Football Park.

After a couple of consecutive losses, Blacktown Spartans had somewhat of a course correction in round eight action. And with that victory, their season prospects look a lot brighter sitting in fourth position on 16 points.

Ben Rollison’s side have the equal second-best defence in the competition with nine goals conceded, last week securing their second clean sheet against Mounties Wanderers. Michael Figueira and Peter Pelekanos stand out as important players at the back. While crucial in that one was Daniel Durkin finding the net for his second league goal of the season after a four game run without one. Alongside Emmanuel Dolo and Jovan Blagojevic, he will prove to be a threat for their opponents this weekend.

A victory here would see them well and truly return to form in a season with you’d suspect a few twists and turns.

Is a week off beneficial after a poor run of form? I guess we’ll find out this weekend when Bonnyrigg White Eagles take to the field for the first time since a round eight defeat to SD Raiders. That defeat coming after a run which saw them slide down the ladder after with two defeats and two draws coming in a row.

Still, with plenty of experience in the side, they are more than capable of turning things around starting here. Mason Versi could be singled out as a player capable of turning things around, while they still have the likes of Emmanuel Gonzalez and Aaron Peterson also capable of finding the back of the net. It’s defensively where they would want to improve though following their round eight showing and there will be plenty of eyes looking at this one to see if a response comes.

Set up to be an important fixture, be sure to tune in to NPL.TV to catch the action Saturday night.

Mounties Wanderers FC v Hills United FC; Friday 31 March, 8pm, Cook Park (Mt Pritchard)

A rare Friday night fixture awaits us as Mounties Wanderers host an in-form Hills United side in Sydney’s South-West.

It’s very much a case of contrasting fortunes coming into this one. Mounties Wanderers sit in last place with just four points in their opening eight games, while Hills United are now at the summit on goal difference with 19 points in the same time frame.

As such we have different things to discuss going into this weekend. Starting with Mounties who have recently undergone a coaching change after parting ways with Harry Tsironis, they last tasted a victory in round two. Now under the guidance of Nick Porreca, they will be hoping to spring an upset in this one.

With 22 goals in their opening eight fixtures, Hills United are having no such issues and sit top of the table. Led by captain Glen Kelshaw, they had a season best performance last time out against Macarthur Rams winning by a four-goal margin. They are impressive across the park and surely come into this one as favourites.

Central Coast United FC v Hakoah FC; Saturday 1 April, 5pm, Pluim Park

Central Coast United face a tough ask when they host Hakoah FC in the early kick off this Saturday.

Well, it can’t get any worse, can it? It was a grim watch for Central Coast United in our round eight match of the round. A defeat to then bottom placed Dunbar Rovers has them needing to respond in this one, otherwise they could find themselves bottom by weekends end.

Looking ahead to this one, they’ll be keen to improve across the board. Josh Swadling came off the bench in good news for the side who need to find something in attack. Entering the midseason period, a win here could be oh so precious for the pirates.

Another side not in great form coming into the seasons third month are Hakoah FC. One win in the past five games with two draws and two defeats to their name, they will be hoping that a trip up the M1 will play them into form going forward.

Last weekend, they tasted defeat at the hands of SD Raiders after being ahead at halftime courtesy of a Nicholas Tooley goal. They then backed that up with a cup win against Castle Hill RSL Rockets midweek in which Cam Philpot made his return. Against a struggling Central Coast United side this weekend, you’ll back them to pick up a win here.

Dulwich Hill FC v Inter Lions FC; Saturday 1 April, 7pm, Arlington Oval

Inter Lions will be looking for two wins in a row when they make the trip to Arlington Oval to face Dulwich Hill.

If the form pattern continues for Dulwich Hill, they are set for a fourth victory of the season here but it’s a tough ask against their opponents. Last weekend they were blown away in the first half against Bankstown City and couldn’t produce the comeback like the week previous.

Thomas Tranberg continues to be their main goalscoring outlet adding his fourth goal of the season last week, while they’ll have to do it without Dylan Lamour who was red carded last weekend.

Was round eight a turning point for the Inter Lions? After being on the end of some head scratching results, luck seemed to turn last weekend in their victory over Northern Tigers and they will be keen to make the most of it coming into this one.

There were a few players who contributed to that result, Anthony Costa in goal produced a few good saves while the bench certainly played its part as well with Thomas Quilligan and Jack Green combining for the winner. They triumphed over Dulwich Hill the last team these two sides met in round 19 last season at the same venue.

Macarthur Rams FC v Bankstown City FC; Saturday 1 April, 7pm, Lynwood Park

Four games unbeaten, Bankstown City will be confident coming into their round nine fixture with Macarthur Rams.

It’s been a good start to life for Bankstown City under the guidance of their new coach with eight points coming in their last four games. Last weekend a first half Moric scoring blitz saw them take a three-goal lead with Ante Tomic also starring in that one.

Still, there’s more to come from this side with coach Sasha Tirovski wanting his side to show a ruthless streak after a couple of shaky starts. Will that come here?

Macarthur Rams however are a side who has the ability and should have the hunger to match it with them which sets up Saturday night well. It’s been a tricky couple of weeks for Brett Hewit’s side who haven’t scored at one end while conceding six at the other.

Last weekend, Hills United proved too good for them at Landen Stadium. So look out for a response here partly because of that result and partly because Bankstown City had their measure in 2022.

Northern Tigers FC v St George FC; Saturday 1 April, 7pm, North Turramurra Recreation Area

An out of form Northern Tigers take on St George FC knowing that a loss could put them four games behind their opponents.

The recent form guide does not look pretty for Northern Tigers, three 1-0 losses in their last four with just the one point, it’s been a forgettable month of football.

Last weekend they fell to Inter Lions in a tight affair at Majors Bay Reserve. A late counterpunch consigning them to defeat in that one after Shervin Adeli was sent off a few minutes earlier. With 21 games to go in the season, you don’t want to write anyone off but a loss here could make promotion difficult.

Unbeaten since round two including five straight victories, St George FC couldn’t be primed better for this one. Last weekend, they overcame a late Canterbury Bankstown come back to continue their impressive run.

In that one, it was a tale of the first 80 minutes and the last ten which shows there is still room for improvement going forward. In terms of who too look out for coming into this one? They have the best defence in the competition with former Tiger Nicholas Kalogerou and Luke Vlastelica combining well in central defense.

Rydalmere Lions FC v Dunbar Rovers FC; Saturday 1 April, 7pm, Rydalmere Park

Another intriguing match to keep an eye on, Dunbar Rovers make the trip to Rydalmere to face Paul Frasers side.

With a victory here, Rydalmere Lions could find themselves in a top five position with a game in hand over their opponents. Last weekend, their game was called off, but prior to that they won their last two fixtures against Mounties Wanderers and Macarthur Rams.

A side who have recently found their stride in the competition, they haven’t conceded in their past two games, something which will only give them confidence going forward. While scoring ten in the cup against West Ryde shows they aren’t to be underestimated going forward, look out for Tom Chidiac and Ahmad Taleb who look set to break into the first team at some point.

Two victories in their last four fixtures, Dunbar Rovers are starting to feel like they belong in the division. Last weekend they produced their best performance of the season against Central Coast United away from home.

The key man in that one was Daisuke Yamaguchi who scored directly from a corner for the first and set up the second with his cross finding Reece Berelowitz for that one. Though it would be unfair to single out any more from an overall team performance. Having broken their away duck last weekend, who says they can’t pick up another victory here?

Canterbury Bankstown FC v SD Raiders FC; Sunday 2 April, 7pm, The Crest Athletic Centre

Finally we round off the weekend with a top five battle as Canterbury Bankstown host SD Raiders at the Crest.

It’s another test for Canterbury Bankstown who despite not taking anything away from their fixture against St George FC last weekend, probably gained a pass mark. Down a man and trailing by three goals, they made things nervy for the Saints scoring twice in the closing stages.

However, moving on to this week, it still looks a challenge given both Gino Cerasoli and Stefan Dubocanin will be serving suspensions for their respective red cards last weekend. Keep an eye out for Jairo Torne-Fernandez who was a standout in that one playing a key role in attack.

With four victories in a row, only St George FC and Hills United stand above SD Raiders on the form table. They backed up a convincing win over Bonnyrigg White Eagles in round seven with a victory over Hakoah FC at Ernie Smith Reserve in round eight.

In difficult conditions, they came back from a goal down on a heavy pitch, with set pieces serving them particularly well on the night. Youngster Riley Cox-Barlow opened up his seasons account with the first before you guessed it, Mihael Marcic also found the back of the net. The Raiders look well prepared for this one and will be hoping to solidify their position in third.

By Justin Smith.