Round 10 Preview – League One Men’s
Fixtures are coming thick and fast as we approach round ten of the FNSW League One Men’s season with plenty of our teams in Australia Cup action during the week.
Our match of the round gives our cameras a first look at competition leaders SD Raiders as they take on Inter Lions while there are some important fixtures lower down the table.
Match of the Round: SD Raiders v Inter Lions; Saturday 12 April, 7pm, Ernie Smith Reserve
Our match of the round gives us our first look at the league leaders as SD Raiders host Inter Lions at Ernie Smith Reserve.
Spirits will be high for the hosts who claimed a big win over Northern Tigers in a top of the table clash last weekend. They came from behind after conceding with less than fifteen minutes to go with a big impact from players coming off their bench.
As such we’ll start by referencing the goal scorers in Thomas Santarossa and Riley Cox-Barlow. Cox-Barlow perhaps providing a better celebration than his actual goal. Elsewhere look out for Michael Figueira and James Letta who have both played a role in their defensive efforts this season. Goran Ljuboja’s side conceding just six goals in eight games.
They face an Inter Lions team who will be determined to make a statement and get some form together. One win in their last five, their last league fixture saw them share the points with Hakoah FC at Majors Bay Reserve. Though they also hosted NPL side Sutherland Sharks in the cup Tuesday evening where they lost 2-0.
It’s possible however that they are set up well to face this SD Raiders side, something we could see come Saturday night. In their attack, Owen Duke and Harry Rushton are both players to watch with four and three goals respectively. While goalkeeper Evan Davis can expect to be called upon in this one. One thing is for sure, they can’t afford a similar start to last weeks.
You can catch this one on the Football NSW YouTube page under the live tab.
Hakoah FC v Hills United; Sunday 13 April, 3pm, Hensley Athletic Field
Two sides who we probably expected to be doing better in 2025 meet on Sunday afternoon as Hakoah FC play host to Hills United.
Just one win between them in the last five rounds, something has to give when they face off at Hensley Athletic Field.
It’s been a rough couple set of results for Hakoah FC. On the back of a draw with Inter Lions last weekend, they lost their cup match midweek against league two opposition in Parramatta FC. In 15th position nearly a third into the season, this has become a big game for the club.
Hills United are facing similar after a 3-0 defeat to Rydalmere Lions last weekend at home. They sit just two points above their hosts in 13th position after nine games after three straight defeats. This game a big one as they look to create some breathing space.
So where is this one going to be won or lost? Well both these sides have struggled to score goals averaging bang on a goal a game, while Hakoah have conceded 22 goals this season. Both sides featured in the cup midweek, so another question is will the Tuesday night kick off benefit the hosts. It’s a tough one to call as two desperate sides meet this Sunday afternoon.
Quickfire Previews
Blacktown Spartans v Northern Tigers; Friday 11 April, 8:15pm, Blacktown Football Park
Safe to say both these sides will want to bounce back in round 10 action. In the case of Blacktown Spartans, they went down to a hefty defeat on home turf conceding five against UNSW FC last Friday night. An uncharacteristic result after a good run of form, expect them to come out quickly in this one.
By no means did Northern Tigers play badly last weekend in their defeat to SD Raiders. A hard fought contest between two attacking teams, they opened the scoring through Jesse Spang who came off the bench before conceding two in the final ten minutes. They are undefeated in their opening four away games conceding just two goals in the process.
UNSW FC v Bulls FC Academy; Saturday 12 April, 5pm, The Village Green
UNSW scored an emphatic win in their round nine fixture with Blacktown Spartans. Two disappointing results saw a good response from the students scoring five goals with both Tom Quilligan and Jack Fulton scoring braces. It’s a big week for the club with this fixture just a few days after a cup game against Blacktown City, Wednesday night.
Bulls FC Academy continued their steady climb up the table with a win over Bonnyrigg in our match of the round last weekend. An impressive showing across the park, Flynn Madden was a player who stood out even scoring in the first half. Their last defeat came way back in round two and they sit just four points behind Northern Tigers in second.
Bankstown City v Mounties Wanderers; Saturday 12 April, 5pm, Jensen Park
Round nine saw Bankstown City go down to another disappointing defeat against Canterbury Bankstown. Though they’ve done a good job in keeping the margins close, they haven’t quite clicked in the attacking third scoring just over a goal a game, something they will need to improve if they have higher ambitions. They lost 2-1 in the cup against Marconi Stallions Tuesday night.
Mounties Wanderers are far from an easy task however after putting together a good run of results. Last weekend, they took a point from their match against Newcastle Jets away from home coming from behind twice in the fixture, their goalscorers Ejin Kishimoto and Anthony Windsor both from set pieces.
Dulwich Hill v Canterbury Bankstown; Saturday 12 April, 5pm, Arlington Oval
Dulwich Hill were solid last weekend in their scoreless draw with Macarthur Rams. The game wasn’t quite played on their terms so a point and their second clean sheet of the season were positives to take away. They will want to improve on taking the chances they do get approaching the weekend and they should be fresh being one of the few sides not to play cup midweek.
They face Canterbury Bankstown who have recaptured some of their early season form in recent weeks. Last weekend, they claimed a derby victory over Bankstown City at Jensen Park through goals to Christian Torrelli and Jordan Metcalfe. While also claiming their second clean sheet of the season and first since round one.
Rydalmere Lions v Macarthur Rams; Saturday 12 April, 5pm, Rydalmere Park
Last weekend saw an impressive win for Rydalmere Lions over Hills United. They started on fire scoring three goals in the opening half hour before seeing the game out from there. With players such as Robert Eremugo, Jihad Alsayed and Ahmad Taleb playing with a lot of confidence, it’s sure to give the whole team a boost.
They come up against a Macarthur Rams side who have four points from their last two fixtures. If you take out their game against Northern Tigers a few weeks ago, they have done a pretty good job defensively so far this season. They just need to find a way to score more goals as we approach the second third of the season, otherwise they could be in trouble.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Newcastle Jets; Saturday 12 April, 7pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Club
Returning home this weekend on the back of two loses, Bonnyrigg White Eagles will be hoping home comforts can give them three points. In fact their last victory came back on March 8 against Macarthur Rams. Last weekend in our match of the round, there were positives to take from their first half performance however they couldn’t quite keep it going in the second half.
Opportunity missed? One of the more intriguing sides to watch this weekend will be Newcaslte Jets. With the top two facing each other last weekend, they couldn’t quite hold on against Mounties Wanderers. Alexandro Nunes and Oliver Cockie found the back of the net and they do have a good record away from home this season with three wins to their name.
By Justin Smith
