Round 18 Preview – League One Men’s
Backing up for a midweek set of fixtures for the second time this season, Round 18 promises to bring plenty of action of the park in the FNSW League One Men’s competition across Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Hakoah take on an in form Dulwich Hill side in our match of the round, while a clash between Bankstown City and Mt Druitt Town Rangers is certainly worth keeping an eye on elsewhere.
Match of the Round: Hakoah FC v Dulwich Hill; Tuesday 4th June, 8pm, Hensley Athletic Field
Hakoah FC host Dulwich Hill in our round 18 match of the round at Hensley Athletic Field, tomorrow night.
The hosts returned to form Saturday night with their victory over Canterbury Bankstown at Jensen Park. Needing a response after last weekends poor performance, they came out of the blocks well scoring twice in the first half.
Jayden Tran and Samuel Young were joined by Philip Lapanaitas in finding the back of the net in the fixture. Young in particular earning a mention from coach Craig Sharpley post game. While captain Yianni Spyrakis has returned to the side in recent weeks in a boost for the Eastern Suburbs based outfit.
They face a Dulwich Hill side whose game was brought to a premature close due to the weather, Saturday night. Prior to that, they picked up an important win over Blacktown Spartans the week before to bring to a close a longstanding winless streak.
An important inclusion for Dully has been that of Steve Kuzmanovski who has had a run of starts. Their main goalscoring threat being Daniel Fornito who scored a brace against the Spartans while Goncalo Paradanta will look to run the show in midfield.
You can catch this one when I’m usually writing my preview, 8pm Tuesday night on the Football NSW youtube page under the live tab.
Bankstown City v Mt Druitt Town Rangers; Tuesday 4th June, 7:30pm, Jensen Park
It’s a big game feel as Bankstown City host Mt Druitt Town Rangers at Jensen Park. The hosts for this one saw their game called off on the weekend so the last time we saw them was a 3-1 victory over Inter Lions in the round 16 match of the round. Chris Payne is the player to watch here as he was involved heavily in that comeback victory.
Indeed we last saw Mt Druitt Town Rangers was in a match of the round as well (know their was a reason this wasn’t picked as the match of the round)… Anyway back to previewing, they came back to win against SD Raiders on the weekend. Andre Martin was crucial in that, though Garang Awac was in good form as well.
Previous Meeting: Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2-1 Bankstown City
Inter Lions v Rydalmere Lions; Tuesday 4th June, 7:30pm, Majors Bay Reserve
It’s been a tough old period for Inter Lions who have gone without a win in their last four fixtures including the cup. Last weekend they were beaten heavily by UNSW FC paying the price for being a man down in the final 20 minutes or so. Ollie Green a key absence for this game.
Rydalmere Lions on the other hand are almost the opposite of their opponents from a form perspective. Two wins and a draw in their last three games, they will be well rested after having a game off on the weekend. This promises to be an entertaining fixture.
Previous Meeting: Rydalmere Lions 5-4 Inter Lions
UNSW FC v Dunbar Rovers; Tuesday 4th June, 8pm, The Village Green
It’s been a good little period from UNSW FC who have looked to have found their feet in the division in recent times. Last weekend they scored a big 5-0 victory over Inter Lions away from home with Jeremy Cox, Thomas Quilligan, Matias Da Silva Santos, Gabriel Lopez and Kevin Lopes all scoring in that. They will be wanting to prove a point after the first meeting between the two.
Despite the table position suggesting otherwise, it will be far from easy for the students this weekend with Dunbar Rovers gaining some confidence recently. Back to back results in recent times, Daisuke Yamaguchi scored twice on the weekend to take a point from their clash with the Spartans.
Previous Meeting: Dunbar Rovers 3-3 UNSW FC
Bulls FC Academy v Blacktown Spartans; Wednesday 5 June, 7:30pm, Sydney United Sports Centre
After seeing themselves move down a position having not played a game on the weekend, Bulls FC Academy will be looking to return to the summit here. Last time we saw them take the field, they showed maturity in beating Macarthur Rams. Joel Bertolissio and Frans Deli the standouts in that one.
Blacktown Spartans on the other hand are in search for consistency in the middle part of the season. Last weekend, they could only take a point from their fixture with Dunbar Rovers at home, both Suleyman Bangura and Jamie Percevski scoring in that one.
Previous Meeting: Blacktown Spartans 2-3 Bulls FC Academy.
Macarthur Rams v Canterbury Bankstown; Wednesday 5th June, 7:30pm, Jensen Park
Macarthur Rams return home in desperate need of a result after five consecutive losses. Last weekend saw them go down to then last placed Nepean FC after they took the lead early on through a Jacob Esposito penalty. Not in immediate danger of dropping into the bottom two, but they’ll want to give themselves some breathing room.
Canterbury Bankstown like their hosts on this occasion are also in search of a result after three winless games. They couldn’t quite match it with a quality Hakoah side on the weekend after two draws in the games previous. A win hear could see them jump above the Spartans back into fifth position.
Previous Meeting: Canterbury Bankstown 4-0 Macarthur Rams
SD Raiders v Nepean FC; Wednesday 5th June, 7:30pm, Ernie Smith Reserve
If the midweek round suits any team, it could be SD Raiders as they look to bounce back from their defeat at the hands of Mt Druitt Town Rangers. An evenly contested fixture throughout, it was the magic of Andre Martins which prevented them from a result with Noah Chianese and Riley Cox-Barlow looking dangerous particularly in the first half.
Confidence is a funny thing in football and Nepean FC are on the crest of a wave leading into this one. After breaking a losing streak with a draw the week prior, they broke their winless one a week later with victory over Macarthur Rams. Marcelo Martellotta and Lachlan Sepping scoring there.
Previous Meeting; Nepean FC 1-2 SD Raiders
Northern Tigers v Bonnyrigg White Eagles; Wednesday 12th June, 7:30pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Club. We’ll Preview this in this weekends round 19 review*
By Justin Smith
