Round 13 Preview – League Two Men’s
With teams in form and the competition heating up, Round 13 of the 2024 Football NSW League Two Men’s season promises to deliver unpredictable action with teams bunched together towards the mid-way point of the season.
The Match of the Round this week sees two teams who have had found good wins in the past five weeks face off in a battle of the birds when Parramatta FC hosts Hawkesbury City FC.
Saturday, 4th May 2024
Match of the Round: Parramatta FC vs Hawkesbury City FC, 5pm at Melita Stadium
Last season: Hawkesbury City FC 2-2 Parramatta FC, Parramatta FC 1-2 Hawkesbury City FC
A battle of the birds sees 10th-placed Parramatta FC, or the Eagles, host 12th-placed Hawkesbury City FC, or the Hawks, in what should be an enticing Round 13 matchup.
Last season, Hawkesbury went unbeaten against Parramatta with a draw and a win, respectively, from the two head-to-head matches and will hope to repeat that dose this season as they look to catch up to them on the table.
Parramatta are hoping to respond following a tough 3-1 away loss to Hurstville FC last week and will know the areas they need to improve to do so.
They will hope to be brave in attack, both with and without the ball, and utilise the stamina in their squad to press and cause problems for Hawkesbury.
Youssef Badr scored in both matches against the Hawks last season – look for him to be the main attacking threat to do so again as Parramatta look to extend their consecutive scoring run to thirteen matches.
Hawkesbury, meanwhile, picked up a big win over Central Coast United FC last week and will hope to hunt down a fourth win from their past six matches when they travel to Parramatta.
Harry Drew scored against Parramatta in their draw with the Eagles last season and will hope to do so again, while their leading goal scorer for this season in Vincent D’Ermilio will hope to add to his tally.
Look for Hawkesbury to set up solid defensively and hope to frustrate the Eagles to pick up a big away win which would see the Hawks overtake the Eagles on the table.
In the battle of the birds, whoever can swoop in and take their chances in what should be a match full of them will look to take the three points.
Friday, 3rd May 2024
Hurstville FC vs Mounties Wanderers FC, 8pm at Penshurst Park
These two teams did not meet last season.
The league table does not tell the full story of the form of these two sides when 9th-placed Hurstville FC hosts 3rd-placed Mounties Wanderers FC in what should be an unpredictable encounter.
With no recent head-to-head history to base off, league form this season will play its part, instead, with both sides looking for a crucial win coming towards the mid-way stage of the season.
Hurstville may be in 9th but have won four consecutive matches to rise from last place in what has been their best month of football in recent years, following their 3-1 home win over Parramatta FC last week.
Their style of play should set up an interesting battle with Mounties, with a willingness to win the ball high up the field and hit teams quickly, particularly with strength in wide areas, while their defence has stood up in recent weeks to only concede two goals in four matches.
With the equal-second-best defence in the league and an attack which has continued to fire, Hurstville will hope to continue their rise as they hunt down a potential 6th-place on the table by the end of the weekend.
Mounties, meanwhile, had a bye last week but have failed to win any of their past three matches, with two draws and a loss coming from them.
With a week off to reset and rest, the away side will hope to get back to the form that saw them open the season with four wins from their first six matches.
Expect the goal threat to come from Yuki Kanai, who will hope to further prove his finishing abilities as looks to improve on his 12 goals for the season, as Mounties chase a win which could close the gap to 2nd place to just one point, while a loss could see them drop as low as 5th.
With Hurstville in form and Mounties out of it, the ability to take chances in front of goal may be the decisive factor in this contest as both sides look to improve on their league position and gain confidence from a big win.
Saturday, 5th May 2024
Gladesville Ryde Magic vs Newcastle Jets, 6pm at Christie Park
Last season: Gladesville Ryde Magic 0-3 Newcastle Jets, Newcastle Jets 3-0 Gladesville Ryde Magic
A last-versus-first encounter sees Gladesville Ryde Magic look to cause the biggest upset of the season when they host the Newcastle Jets.
Last season, the Jets did the perfect league double over the Magic with 3-0 wins home and away and will hope to pick up another strong win as they look to stay top of the table for a sixth-straight week.
The Magic lost a seventh-straight match after their 4-2 home defeat to Camden Tigers FC last week and will hope to cause the biggest upset of the season when they host the unbeaten Newcastle Jets in Round 13.
The Magic can take confidence in the fact they did take the lead twice in that match, which shows they can take the fight to strong opponents this season and will hope to find the first goal in this match to avoid playing from behind.
If the Magic can hold off the best attacking side in the league early, they will draw confidence from that and will hope to attack down the other end through the likes of Genki Kohyama to claim what would be their biggest win of the season.
The Jets, meanwhile, came from behind to draw 1-1 away with Inner West Hawks FC last week and will extend their unbeaten streak to 12 matches this season when they travel to face the Magic this week.
With the best attack and defence in the league, the Jets will hope to pick up a sixth clean sheet for the season, while they will also hope their attack can continue to fire, with an average of almost 3.3 goals per game so far this season.
Expect the Jets to come out firing against the Magic, where they know if they can score an early goal, that may just open the match for them to score more to claim a victory which would see them finish top of the league for a seventh-straight week.
Gladesville will need to battle against their form, while the Jets will hope to continue theirs as both sides look for big wins for their respective seasons.
South Coast Flame FC vs Camden Tigers FC, 7pm at Sir Ian McLennan Oval
Last season: South Coast Flame FC 3-1 Camden Tigers FC, Camden Tigers FC 1-0 South Coast Flame FC
A big match in the top half of the table sees 3rd-placed South Coast Flame FC look to return to the winner’s list when they host 6th-placed Camden Tigers FC, who have found form in their past five matches.
The spoils were shared between these two sides in the head-to-head last season, with both home sides picking up victories – that trend could either continue or be bucked this weekend.
The Flame will hope to respond to just their second loss of the season, a tough 5-3 away loss to Granville Rage, as they hunt down a third win in their past six matches to potentially rise back up to 3rd.
After starting the season five matches unbeaten, the Flame will hope to return to that early season form, with the likes of the league second-top goal scorer for the season in Michael Trajkovski leading the line.
Look for the Flame to put a tough loss behind them as they look forward to a tough challenge this week – as the fourth-best attacking and defensive side this season, the Flame will hope to return to winning ways against a tough Camden side.
Camden, meanwhile, have picked up some big results against sides on both ends of the table and will hope to add another big scalp to their wins this season when they travel down the coast to face the Flame.
The Tigers showed character to come from behind twice to beat Gladesville Ryde Magic 4-2 away last week and with another tough road trip ahead, will hope to start stronger against a defensively stout Flame side.
Look for Camden to utilise their pace out wide and set up in a solid midfield, with Bailey Simpson and Jack Harris hoping to add to their goal tallies for the season, as they look to chase down the top five.
A win for either side here would be crucial as the season approached the halfway point and neither side will want to give up any easy chances – expect a tight and physical affair from both sides as they hunt a big win.
Fraser Park FC vs Central Coast United FC, 7pm at Fraser Park
These two teams did not meet last season.
With 13th-placed Fraser Park FC looking to improve and climb away from near the bottom of the league and 7th-placed Central Coast United FC hoping to find more consistent results, an intriguing clash awaits between the two sides in Round 13.
With no clashes from last season to base this clash off, recent form will play its part as both sides hunt a respective big win.
Fraser Park showed fight but went down 4-1 at home to Prospect United SC in last week’s Match of the Round and will hope to end their three-match losing streak when they host the Pirates this week.
The bright sparks in attack for Fraser Park last week were David Ustimenko, who scored his fifth goal of the season, as well as Alexander Nicolosi and Shu Torihara, who both threatened in attack.
Expect Fraser Park to improve week on week as they look to turn their season around, which they will hope will start with a positive result this week against Central Coast.
The Pirates, meanwhile, lost their fourth match of the season last week after they fell 2-0 at home to Hawkesbury City FC and will hope to pick up more consistent results as they look to hunt down the pack in the top five, while a loss could drop them as low as 11th.
Last week was the first time in seven weeks the Pirates failed to score in a match, and they will hope to rectify that this week, with composure on the ball and an ability to play through pressure.
Expect the Pirates to focus on getting back to their attacking best this week, where they will hope to use their pace and intelligence in attack to break down a Fraser Park side which has only kept one clean sheet this season.
Both sides are hunting improvement, and neither will want to give up anything easily – expect a tense tactical battle to appear in this match where the result is crucial for league positions.
Prospect United SC vs Sydney University SFC, 7pm at Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub
Last season: Prospect United SC 2-1 Sydney University SFC, Sydney University SFC 2-1 Prospect United SC
Seven points separate 11th-placed Prospect United SC and 14th-placed Sydney University SFC as they meet in a clash which could either build or close the gap between the two sides this season.
Last season, both home sides picked up the 2-1 win, respectively, in the head-to-head in a sign of how close this matchup can be, where the home advantage could play its part.
Prospect ended a run of back-to-back losses following a big 4-1 away win over Fraser Park FC in last week’s Match of the Round and will hope to continue to build with striker Anthony Idehen back leading the line – he will hope to his goal tally of eight for the season this week.
The hosts will hope their win last week will also help with their mentality, which winning brings, as they look to build on a performance last week where they look dangerous in attack.
Expect Prospect to come out in this match with confidence in a fast start, where they will hope to drive University back and utilise their abilities of their attackers to their advantage.
University, meanwhile, have shown improvement lately without the results to show for it after their 3-0 loss away to Bankstown United FC last week and will hope to keep building on their footballing philosophy.
The students will hope to control possession and field position this week against Prospect as they look to improve on their ten goals scored for the season – the lowest in the league.
Expect University to show improvement in the attacking third, too, as they look to end their seven-match losing streak to move away from being near the bottom of the table.
With players back for Prospect and a game plan at the ready for University, expect a contrast of styles when these two do battle.
Bankstown United FC vs Granville Rage, 7pm at Padstow Park
Last season: Bankstown United FC 0-1 Granville Rage, Granville Rage 3-2 Bankstown United FC
The final match of Round 13 sees 2nd-placed Bankstown United FC host 8th-placed Granville Rage in what should be a match of many chances.
Last season, the Rage did the double over Bankstown and will hope to repeat that dose this season as they hunt their sixth win from thirteen matches.
Bankstown are flying high following their 3-0 win over Sydney University SFC last week, which was their fourth-straight, as they look to hunt down the ladder-leading Newcastle Jets.
Mitchell Cross continued to be a menace for opposition defences with another goal last week, which took his tally for the season to 14, one goal off being the highest scorer of the season so far.
With clinical finishing in and around the box, as well as confidence and belief from their past month of results, expect Bankstown to come out strongly in this match as they hunt a win which could take them top of the league, whereas a loss could leave them exposed to the chasing pack behind them.
The Rage, meanwhile, ended back-to-back losses with a big 5-3 home win over South Coast Flame FC – they end their run of facing four of the top five sides in consecutive weeks with this week’s match against the Flame.
Nikola Todoroski continued his good form this season with his 11th goal for the year, while Ante Tomic moved up to seven goals after his double – with the paid of them firing side-by-side, the Rage will hope to post more than just a threat for Bankstown this week.
Expect the Rage to come out strongly, once again, as they did against the Flame last week, as they hunt a victory which could move them up to as high as 6th place, while a loss could see them drop as low as 11th.
With both sides looking to take advantage in their respective attacking packs in the table, expect a tough clash which could go either way.
5th-placed Inner West Hawks FC have a bye in Round 13.
By Football New South Wales League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa (@_dylancosta)
