Round 9 Preview – League One Men’s
Eight games into the FNSW League One Men’s season, we’re beginning to figure out who will be contending for a top two place in the competition.
As such, there are also sides who need to start winning hence our match of the round this weekend. While elsewhere a top of the table clash takes place at North Turramurra Recreation Area.
Match of the Round: Bulls FC Academy v Bonnyrigg White Eagles; Sunday 6 April, 3pm, Valentine Sports Park
Our match of the round this weekend is an important one for both these sides as Bulls FC Academy host Bonnyrigg White Eagles at Valentine Sports Park, Sunday afternoon.
There’s just a point separating these sides after eight games as they look to keep touch with the top two sides above them.
We’ll start with Bulls FC Academy who are unbeaten in their last six games. However that run does include three draws as well as three wins which has halted their rise up the table. Last weekend, they claimed a 1-0 win at this same venue over Hills United in an away game.
They face a Bonnyrigg White Eagles side who have struggled on their trips away from home so far this season. Sitting in seventh, they have picked up just two points in their last three games including a defeat to Dulwich Hill at Arlington Oval last weekend.
As you would expect, there are plenty of young players to keep an eye on in the Bulls FC Academy side. At risk of repeating ourselves, Frans Deli is a player to keep an eye on in midfield alongside Flynn Madden who scored his first of the season last weekend. While Zane Helweh is their leading scorer with five goals this season.
For Bonnyrigg this weekend, we should expect to see a response after last weekends defeat. They created plenty of chances so it will be up to their attacking players to show more efficiency in front of goal. As such, Charles Mendy, Mason Versi and Daniel Bittar could be key to their efforts in this one.
You can catch this one on the Football NSW youtube page under the live tab.
Northern Tigers v SD Raiders; Saturday 5 April, 4:15pm, North Turramurra Recreation Area
In our other featured match of the weekend, there’s a top of the table clash to look forward too as Northern Tigers welcome SD Raiders to North Turramurra.
The hosts come into this one having not conceded in their last three fixtures. Indeed they have held clean sheets in five wins this season including last weekend in the match of the round against Hakoah FC.
That game was a game of few chances, however full of confidence, they were able to find the back of the net twice in the second half. Kai Denton scored both their goals to take his tally to nine goals for the season while Ally Brown was also impressive on the left hand side. It’s also worthwhile to note the performances of Nic Petrillo and Cole Mutton in their defence.
SD Raiders returned to winning ways with their sixth victory of the season last weekend. They remain the only side undefeated this season in doing so with a game in hand against UNSW FC over their hosts.
However, there are things to improve for Goran Ljuboja’s side who have had to rely on goals in the last 30 minutes on multiple occasions this season. An example of that being last weeks win over Canterbury Bankstown, when Charlie Ragg and Riley Cox-Barlow scored in the last fifteen minutes. Similar to their hosts they have also only conceded 5 goals this season, game on!
Quickfire Previews
Blacktown Spartans v UNSW FC; Friday 4 April, 8:15pm, Blacktown Football Park
The form of these two sides has flipped in the last month with Blacktown Spartans now coming into this one full of confidence. Five games unbeaten, the now sit in the top four with every chance of progressing further. Last weekend it was goalkeeper Jeremiah Cleur who stood out keeping a clean sheet for the third time in four games.
It’s not been a easy few weeks for their visitors UNSW FC. A couple of season ending injuries and the loss of Gabriel Lopez has seen them drop points in their two most recent fixtures. Last weekend against Inter Lions, they just couldn’t match it with their visitors in either box falling to a 2-0 defeat. Can they turn things around here?
Macarthur Rams v Dulwich Hill; Saturday 5 April, 5pm, Lynwood Park
Things are looking more positive from a Macarthur Rams perspective after a couple of good results. They secured their first win of the League One Men’s season last Saturday against Mounties Wanderers before backing it up 48 hours later with a cup win over Inner West Hawks. Back to the Mounties game and it was the likes of Anthony Vastag, Emmanuel Gonzalez, Josh Taylor, William Miranda and Conor Spurway who impressed.
Dulwich Hill themselves were another side who picked up three points in round eight action. Overcoming Bonnyrigg White Eagles at home for their third victory of the season, they sit in 12th with a game in hand over sides around them. The headline from that game being Antonio Orlando who scored a within a minute of coming on.
Inter Lions v Hakoah FC; Saturday 5 April, 7pm, Majors Bay Reserve
Inter Lions managed to turn around their recent struggles with a 2-0 win away from home against UNSW FC. Keeping a clean sheet for the first time this season, they did an excellent job at limiting the students scoring opportunities while Domenic Konjarski and James Ord both scored in the second half.
They are set to come up against a desperate side in Hakoah FC this weekend. Sitting in 15th, they haven’t found the back of the net in their last four matches and as such have succumbed to four straight defeats. They had chances last weekend against Northern Tigers particularly from set pieces so that’s something to keep an eye on here.
Newcastle Jets v Mounties Wanderers; Saturday 5 April, 7pm, Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
Favourites for this one will be Newcastle Jets who picked up their fifth win of the season over Rydalmere Lions last weekend. As they have found on a couple of occasions this season, they really had to wait to the second half before looking their most convincing. Four different scorers there, they have plenty of attacking threat to watch out for here.
They line up against a side who have gained a reputation as one who is hard to beat in Mounties Wanderers. Last weekend saw them slip to their first defeat under Brett Hewit going down by a solitary goal against Macarthur Rams. This will be a tough test for the Wanderers but with lessons learnt from last weekend and steady progress being made, they could well find a result.
Canterbury Bankstown v Bankstown City; Saturday 5 April; 7pm, Jensen Park
Our first Jensen Park derby sees Canterbury Bankstown host Bankstown City this weekend. Their were positves last weekend for Wally Savor’s side despite going down 3-1 to SD Raiders. It was a close game for the opening 75 minutes before SD Raiders found a way in the last fifteen. James Ralston scored their equaliser, but there definitely will be an effort to improve communication at the back in training this week.
Bankstown City for their part probably are the side who need a result more. Ninth place after eight rounds is not where they want to be after a string of inconsistent results. Last weekend they tasted defeat against Blacktown Spartans at this same venue. Another side who could do with converting some more chances, they need to find another way to goal outside of Jonathan Grozdanovski.
Hills United v Rydalmere Lions; Saturday 5 April, 7pm, Valentine Sports Park
Another defeat for Hills United last weekend saw their slide down the table continue. Ten points off the top two, they are in need of some consistency if they hold any hopes of returning to the top flight. Last weekend, they just couldn’t click in the final third in a good game of football against Bulls FC Academy. Their next couple of games give them a good chance at returning to form.
They face a Rydalmere Lions who are just as desperate for a result, sitting just outside the bottom two on goal difference, they are four games without a win. Despite a good performance for an hour, they eventually went down to a 4-0 result. Look for a response here in this important clash as we start the third month of the season.
By Justin Smith
