Round 2 Preview – League One Men’s

Having shaken the cobwebs off in round one, it’s time to look ahead to round two of FNSW League One Men’s this weekend.

Our match of the round takes us to see another one of the new/returning sides in the competition. While there are plenty of talking points elsewhere.

Match of the Round: Blacktown Spartans v Newcastle Jets; Saturday 15 February, 7pm, Blacktown Football Park

Newcastle Jets face their first away trip of the season as they take on Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park in our match of the round.

A first competitive meeting between the two sides and their first away trip in League One, Newcastle Jets will come into this one in a positive state of mind after their debut win last weekend. Stretching their unbeaten run to 31 games, they overcame Inter Lions courtesy of two first half goals.

They’ll face off against the Blacktown Spartans who worked hard for a point against Rydalmere Lions. They weathered a high press across the first hour before finishing the game on the front foot in the final half hour.

So let’s took a look at who could influence this one. Garang Arou proved a threat from the set piece last week for the Jets, joined by Xavier Bertoncello on the score sheet. Ethan Debono has also had a good preseason for the Jets while Ben Van Dorssen is likely to lead the side.

For the hosts Blacktown Spartans, they are a more known quantity across the park. An established defence including Peter Pelekanos, Blake Ilitch and George Timotheou provide the backbone for Ben Rollison’s side. While Aedon Kyra and Suleyman Bangura are likely to provide their attacking threat.

Home ground advantage could well play a role here, a fixture tough to call, you can watch this on the FNSW youtube page under the live tab.

UNSW FC v Dulwich Hill; Saturday 15 February, 5pm, The Village Green

As well as the match of the round, we will also be covering this one as UNSW FC and Dulwich Hill both search for their first win of the season.

Not the start they had hoped for, UNSW will be looking to put together a stronger performance at home this weekend. Last weekend, they went down to a 2-1 defeat away from home at Bonnyrigg White Eagles with Claudio Fabiano scoring the consolation goal in injury time.

Dulwich Hill had a similarly tough night against Hakoah FC in their round one clash. Circumstances went against them early with two players colliding and a subsequent trip to hospital. However they did dig deep following creating a few good chances to level things.

This game could see four former St George team mates face each other in Conor Quilligan, Richard Blanco at UNSW and both Andrew Di Blasio and Harry Jones at Dulwich Hill. Who will get bragging rights in this one?

Hakoah FC v SD Raiders; Sunday 16 February, 4:30pm, Hensley Athletic Field

The third game on our agenda takes us not far from the second as Hakoah FC host SD Raiders at Hensley Athletic.

Hakoah FC put together one of the more convincing performances of round one in getting the better of Dulwich Hill. They scored a goal either side of half time there one of which came from new signing Valentin Cuny who showed his striking instincts.

SD Raiders had to work a bit harder than their hosts in their round one victory over Bankstown City. They took the lead in that one on three separate occasions with the third time being decisive. Noah Chianese opened his account for the season joined by Lachlan Mcgrath and Ryoma Takagi.

Apart from Cuny, the Hakoah backline duo of Mitch Knight and Connor Shaddock played their part in their win. But they will be without a difference maker in Nicholas Tooley for this one after a red card. For SD Raiders, look out for their depth options on the bench, one of which in Ryoma Takagi scored their winner last weekend.

Quickfire Previews

Bankstown City v Macarthur Rams; Saturday 15 February, 5pm, Jensen Park

Things didn’t quite go to plan for Bankstown City last weekend as they went down 3-2 to SD Raiders away from home. There were positives in the way they fought after being reduced to ten men though with both Jonathan Grozdanovski and Rhett De Silva finding the back of the net. They will be missing Grozdanovski here however after his red card.

Macarthur Rams will have learnt a lot from their 2-0 defeat against Hills United last weekend. Things didn’t quite click together in open play throughout that fixture with most of their chances coming from the set piece. Connor Spurway was one of their better players on the park in round one. This is the closest game they’ll play to home in the first three rounds.

Hills United v Bonnyrigg White Eagles; Saturday 15 February, 7pm, Valentine Sports Park

Hills United made an impressive return to the competition with a match of the round victory over Macarthur Rams. A good all round performance from the side, Zen Gigliotti stood out as a player to watch in their midfield, scoring a goal and orchestrating other attacks throughout. This will be their first home game back at Valentine Sports Park.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles made a winning start of their own in round one action. They got the better of UNSW by a 2-1 margin at Bonnyrigg Sports Club. Charles Mendy scored on debut, while Daniel Bittar grabbed two assists on the night. Nikola Krljar is also a player to keep an eye on as he impressed stepping into midfield.

Mounties Wanderers v Northern Tigers; Saturday 15 February, 7pm, Wanderers Football Park

Despite not picking up the three points, there were some positive things which Mounties Wanderers can take into their round two fixture. The trio of Michael Trajkovski, Mitchell Gibbs and Kuot Maliet were all singled out as standouts in their 2-0 defeat against the Berries. You’d suggest scoring first this weekend will be important if they are to get a result here.

Northern Tigers got their season off to the perfect start with a 2-1 victory over Bulls FC Academy. Lachlan Lloyd opened their account before they were pegged back in the first half with super sub Olivier Beltran-Woodward scoring the decisive goal. Taliesin Dorigo a player to watch in this one after playing a part in both goals.

Bulls FC Academy v Canterbury Bankstown; Saturday 15 February, 7pm, Sydney United Sports Centre

Bulls FC Academy return home in their search for a first win under Nicolai Muller. Last weekend they were beaten by Northern Tigers with Atiya Waraga scoring their one goal to equalise in the first half. As well as the new faces, the likes of Flynn Madden, Will Mckay and Luka Sterjovski should feature in this one Saturday night.

They face a round one winning side in Canterbury Bankstown who beat Mounties Wanderers. They proved a particular threat on the counter attack in that one with Christian Torrelli utilising his pace. They will be without Kim Minjae who suffered an injury in the first half of that one. Pressure off them in this one, they could make life awkward for the Bulls.

Inter Lions v Rydalmere Lions; Saturday 15 February, 7pm, Majors Bay Reserve

Inter Lions weren’t quite there at the start of their round one encounter with the Jets. Some moments of indecisiveness ended up costing them dearly before James Ord pegged the deficit back to one. Indeed there was enough in their response to suggest they’ll be better off this week and they should be welcoming members of the squad back in the next few weeks.

Rydalmere Lions were involved in a tense scoreless draw with Blacktown Spartans last weekend. Being round one, they couldn’t quite maintain their press past the hour but when they did, it caused problems. You would suggest that getting on the end of their crosses will be a particular focus here as they search for an away victory.