Round 10 Preview – League One Men’s
With plenty of Football NSW League One Men’s football action across the long weekend, there is plenty to keep you entertained as the competition hits ten weeks.
Our match of the round takes us to Fraser Park where Northern Tigers await Dunbar Rovers.
While elsewhere we have both a Friday and Monday game as an Easter treat.
So, let’s look at the fixtures ahead of us.
Match of the Round: Dunbar Rovers FC v Northern Tigers FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Fraser Park
Fraser Park is the venue for our round ten match of the round as Dunbar Rovers look to bounce back against Northern Tigers this weekend.
It was a significant blip in the road for Dunbar Rovers last weekend. With a victory against Central Coast United coming the week before, Rydalmere Lions proved too good for them last weekend.
Still, sitting in 14th position, there are reasons to be optimistic going forward as we get into the midseason stage of the campaign.
Indeed we only have to look back to their round six fixture to see they are capable of matching it with the existing sides in the division when they went down to Hills United by a single goal (3-2). That still remaining as their best 45 minutes of the season.
Look out here for Daisuke Yamaguchi as a key player, the midfielder playing an influential role in their recent victory over Central Coast United.
Last weekend was an important one for Northern Tigers who broke a four-game winless streak with a victory over an inform St George FC at North Turramurra.
The Tigers welcomed some returning faces to the team and three late goals gave them the victory. However a second clean sheet will have pleased them just as much going forward.
Kai Denton continues to be a consistent avenue to goal with nine goals in nine appearances. But it was Scott Browning and captain Lachlan Lloyd who were crucial to their victory. Browning returning after a month on the sidelines to pick up the club’s internal man of the match award.
Boosted by returning players and having already familiarised themselves with the venue with a midweek cup victory over Fraser Park, they will come in favourites for this one.
Make sure you catch this one on NPL.TV this Saturday night, with Dom Rizzuto on the call.
Hakoah FC v Blacktown Spartans FC; Friday 7 April, 5pm, Hensley Athletic Field
Third placed Blacktown Spartans make the cross-city trip to face Hakoah FC in Good Friday action.
Last week will go down as a good one for Hakoah FC who claimed their second away win of the season over Central Coast United. Sitting in seventh position after nine rounds, they will be hoping it will kick start their form going forward.
And as away games go, it couldn’t have gone more to script for Craig Sharpley’s side. Early goals for Samuel Young and Connor Shaddock setting the tone for them early before a deserved third goal killed the game off in the second half. The key addition being the return of Cam Philpot who made his first league appearance since round five.
Despite sitting in third position on 17 points, Blacktown Spartans still have plenty of improvement in them as we approach the second third of the season. Last weekend they featured in an entertaining match of the round for the neutrals.
Taking the lead twice through goals to Franco Scarcella and Daniel Durkin, they couldn’t kill the game off with Bonnyrigg good value for their point. So you would assume that will be a focus heading into this one and with four of their five wins having come on the road this season, they will be confident.
Hills United FC v Dulwich Hill FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Landen Stadium
Dulwich Hill have the tough ask of ending Hills United’s winning streak away from home this Saturday.
Hills United took the outright competition lead in round nine with a victory over Mounties Wanderers. It’s the latest in a five-game winning streak stretching back to the end of February against Inter Lions.
They didn’t have it all their own way last weekend against the team sat on the bottom of the table. Goalkeeper Ryan Wood had a bit of work to do in the first half to earn his third clean sheet in a row. While in front of him, Eoin Montford was singled out as their best with Mitchell Smith scoring the goal off the bench.
The visitors Dulwich Hill come into this one after back-to-back losses at the hands of Bankstown City and Inter Lions. Sitting on nine points from their nine games, they are four points above 15th placed Central Coast United.
One player who has risen to the occasion in recent weeks is Daniel Fornito, the attacker earning the praise of the opposition coach last weekend in their 2-0 defeat. With the second worst defense in the league on paper, they’ll have to improve in that facet of the game if they are to get anything here.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC v Central Coast United FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Two sides desperate for three points face off when Central Coast United travel to take on Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Bonnyrigg Sports Club.
Signs of improvement were there for Bonnyrigg White Eagles last weekend in their 2-2 draw with Blacktown Spartans in our match of the round. They were in control for large parts of the fixture however so not getting the three points would also be a source of frustration.
Anyway let’s focus on the positives here… Brad Bartels finally kicked a ball into the back of the net, his first goal for the club and first since round eight last season. Bartels joined by Zac Sfiligoi on the scoreboard. This will be their third game in a week after travelling to Rydalmere Park, Wednesday night.
Round nine saw the struggles of Central Coast United continue with their second straight defeat, their winless run stretching back to round three when they got the better of Dulwich Hill. That seems a long time ago as they’ve only scored three goals in six games of football since.
Last weekend, they were slow out of the blocks against Hakoah conceding twice early, a familiar yet frustrating pattern for the pirates. If they are to change their fortunes here, look out for Zac Pezzutto who has scored their last two goals.
St George FC v Rydalmere Lions FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
Another top six battle awaits us as St George FC host Rydalmere Lions at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
It’s a different task for St George FC who tasted their first defeat since the opening round of the season against Northern Tigers last weekend. Jane Talcevski’s side were able to show why they are in 2nd position on the table, but three late goals consigned them to defeat.
It has been a bit of a dip in form for the Saints who will be hoping a return home will spark some life into them after conceding five goals in two weeks which has double their goals against tally. A victory will be a course correction, but it’s by no means a guarantee against Rydalmere Lions.
Three wins in a row without conceding a goal, Rydalmere Lions look set for the challenge this weekend. Last weekend saw them put four goals past Dunbar Rovers at home in which they didn’t mess around with three of those coming in the first half.
That allowed them to give some game time to Tom Chidiac who picked up a debut first grade goal for the club while Andre Taouil was also handed some valuable minutes. Tony Spaseski is a player to watch in this one, the centre back controlling the game from the back last weekend.
Inter Lions FC v Canterbury Bankstown FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Majors Bay Reserve
Potentially the most intriguing match of round ten, two round nine victors in Inter Lions and Canterbury Bankstown take on each other at Majors Bay Reserve.
Six points and back-to-back clean sheets, things are now looking up for Inter Lions heading into round ten of the competition. Following up their victory over Northern Tigers, they scored their first victory on the road last weekend against Dulwich Hill.
Having to be patient for the victory, their two goals came in the late stages of either half through Fikret Berisha and Oliver Green. While Nicholas Paras in proving to be an important player creating chances. A win here could see them jump into the top half of the table.
Canterbury Bankstown returned to winning ways with a victory over SD Raiders in round nine. With three victories in their last five games, they sit in fourth position after nine weeks of the competition with some impressive scalps.
The big story around the Berries is the form of Jairo Torne Fernandez who has stepped up a gear in recent weeks scoring a brace last weekend, while Joel Beattie also found the back of the net in the first half. Nathan Manno will be unavailable for this one after being sent off last weekend.
Mounties Wanderers FC v Macarthur Rams FC; Saturday 8 April, 7pm, Cook Park (Mt Pritchard)
After two months without a victory, Mounties Wanderers will be looking to return to winning ways against Macarthur Rams.
Improving one game at a time, after last weeks narrow defeat against competition leaders Hills United, there can be no doubt that Mounties Wanderers are improving after a poor start to the season.
In Nick Porreca’s second game in charge, they pushed Hills to the limit with a few saves denying them the lead in the first half. Now it seems just a matter of time before they return to winning ways, question is, can they do it here against Macarthur Rams.
Speaking of, after Macarthur Rams head coach Brett Hewit called for a response from his players after back to back defeats, his side delivered with a round ten victory over Bankstown City at Lynwood Park.
And it what is becoming a familiar storyline, it was the goalscoring exploits of Anthony Proia which steered them to victory, Proia picking up another couple of goals to take his season tally to seven. They will see this as a chance to pick up back-to-back wins for the second time this season.
Bankstown City FC v SD Raiders FC; Monday 10 April, 5:30pm, Jensen Park
Finally to conclude our action this weekend, it’s a big day at Jensen Park as Bankstown City host SD Raiders as part of their annual Australian Macedonian Community Festival.
Both these sides tasted defeat in their last fixture and will be keen to bounce back in this one. Bankstown City going down to Macarthur Rams by a narrow 2-1 margin at Lynwood Park, while SD Raiders were edged out by Canterbury Bankstown last Sunday night.
The loss last weekend sums up the fortunes for Bankstown City so far this season, they’ve been unable to put together positive results in succession which sees them positioned in 11th position after nine rounds. Last weekend they did show a bit of character to level things up with ten men through a Nikola Todoroski header but they quickly found themselves behind again.
Like their opponents this weekend, SD Raiders displayed a lot of heart against Canterbury Bankstown at the Crest. Unfortunately for them though it wasn’t quite enough for them to walk away with reward, head coach Goran Ljuboja taking responsibility for the defeat post-game. Noah Chianese is a player to watch out for here, with Sebastian Malfara due to miss the fixture after a red card last weekend.
By Justin Smith
