Round 11 Preview – League One Men’s
Entering the second third of the season, there’s plenty to look forward to in round eleven FNSW League One Men’s action across the long weekend.
Hills United and Bankstown City will play out our match of the round, while there could be a surprise or two elsewhere.
Match of the Round: Hills United v Bankstown City; Saturday 19 April, 7pm, Valentine Sports Park
Our match of the round this weekend takes us to a game between two sides who have perhaps under performed so far this season as Hills United host Bankstown City at Valentine Sports Park.
The hosts are winless in their last four games while Bankstown City have won two and lost two in the same amount of time.
Bringing to an end a three game losing streak, Hills United took a point from their round ten fixture against Hakoah FC. Sitting in thirteenth spot, they sit just two points above the bottom two as we enter the second third of the season.
It’s defensively where there will be a few concerns of late conceding three goals in three of their last four against Canterbury Bankstown, Rydalmere Lions and Hakoah FC. While they weren’t able to put Hakoah away last weekend. Key players for our hosts in this one include Walid Moutaouakkil who scored a brace last weekend alongside Cameron Philp and Dimi Petratos.
Four positions above them sit Bankstown City who grabbed an important win against Mounties Wanderers last weekend. Coming from behind late on, the win saw them climb a few places into ninth with 13 points in their opening ten games.
‘In that game, Jamie Masson was the difference scoring a brace with goals around the 75th minute bringing his tally to three goals for the season (only behind Jonathan Grozdanovski on four goals). Alongside those two, Shun Maeta is always a good player to keep an eye on while Jackson Jarnet has seemingly become the preferred number one goal-keeping option.
You can catch this one Saturday evening on the Football NSW youtube channel under the live tab.
Elsewhere:
Northern Tigers v Bonnyrigg White Eagles; Friday 18 April, 4:15pm, North Turramurra Recreation Area
A true test of a side can be how they bounce back from a set back and Northern Tigers did just that last weekend against Blacktown Spartans. It was a trademark performance from Adam Hett’s side with Jesse Spang, Kai Denton and Olivier Beltran-Woodward all scoring. They currently have the best attack and equal best defence in the league after ten games.
This looks a tough ask for Bonnyrigg White Eagles who are winless in their last five. Struggling for consistency due to having players unavailable, they went down to their first home defeat last weekend against Newcastle Jets. In more positive news, Aaron Peterson made a welcome return from injury and scored their second last weekend.
Canterbury Bankstown v Rydalmere Lions; Saturday 19 April, 5pm, Jensen Park
Having both featured in midweek action, Canterbury Bankstown host Rydalmere Lions in a round eleven fixture at Jensen Park.
Prior to which, Canterbury Bankstown have taken four points in their last two fixtures. A round nine win against Bankstown City was followed by their first draw of the season against Dulwich Hill. Consecutive clean sheets definitely a positive for Wally Savor’s side approaching the second third of the season.
Rydalmere Lions themselves have turned a corner in season 2025 with two convincing wins in as many weeks, last weekends seeing them prevail over Macarthur Rams. In that, Ahmad Taleb led their attack with a hat-trick while the defensive efforts of Ryan Jom and Conor Kerr both contributed to the win.
Macarthur Rams v UNSW FC; Saturday 19 April, 5pm, Lynwood Park
Macarthur Rams are in the middle of a taxing run from a physical point of view. As such, they suffered a bit last weekend against Rydalmere Lions after taking the lead in the first half. They also face Canterbury Bankstown Tuesday night as they look to improve their record at home. Last weekend saw the debut of 15 year old Maahir Boonzaier off the bench, a good moment on a tough night.
Last weekend was a good one for UNSW FC who backed up a comprehensive win over Blacktown Spartans with a home win against Bulls FC Academy. Scoring two goals in the second half, it was a good performance from the students with Gil Duffy and Sean Woods scoring off the bench in the second half. They have won two of their four games away from home this season.
Inter Lions v Blacktown Spartans; Saturday 19 April, 7pm, Majors Bay Reserve
Fresh off the back of a match of the round win, Inter Lions are slowly creeping up the table undefeated in their last three. Two statement wins over UNSW and SD Raiders have solidified them as contenders. Owen Duke is in good goal scoring form while a lot of credit has to go to their defence. They will want to improve on their home record so far this season though with one win in four games.
Back-to-back home defeats has somewhat halted Blacktown Spartans in their tracks in recent times. Last weekend, they couldn’t quite hold on to an early lead which they gained through a Suleyman Bangura goal conceding three from that point onwards. However their away record tells a different story with three wins in five games so far this season.
Newcastle Jets v Hakoah FC; Saturday 19 April, 7pm, Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
A return home for Newcastle Jets will see them chase their first win at home in three games this weekend. Indeed, the Jets have had more joy away from home this season including a win against Bonnyrigg White Eagles last weekend. In that, their substitutions made a big impact with three players off the bench scoring in Will Southcombe, Luca West and Oliver Cockie scoring.
This seems a tough ask for their opposition in Hakoah FC this weekend. Another thrilling game saw them share the points against Hills United last Sunday. Despite the openness of the fixture, it was a case of Craig Sharpley’s side showing grit to take a point in a game where their visitors had the more chances. Coming into this one with little expectation, maybe this can be a turning point?
Mounties Wanderers v SD Raiders; Saturday 19 April, 7pm, Wanderers Football Park
Though there’s no doubt that Mounties Waanderers have improved in performance, however results haven’t quite matched it yet after an initial bounce. Last weekend, they narrowly lost against Bankstown City after being in control of the game after a Ejin Kishimoto goal in the first half. Two late goals perhaps showing they aren’t quite at the level of fitness of other sides just yet.
It’s hard to know what to take from the SD Raiders defeat to Inter Lions last weekend in our match of the round. They couldn’t quite find a response like the weekend before, left frustrated by a well organised Inter defence. A difficult night, it will be interesting to see how they bounce back this weekend in a game you would expect them to take three points.
Bulls FC Academy v Dulwich Hill; Monday 21 April, 7pm, Sydney United Sports Centre
The long weekend gives us the opportunity for a rare Monday fixture as Bulls FC Academy look to bounce back from a round ten defeat. So far this season, they are yet to find their groove at either end scoring just sixteen goals and conceding fifteen. With the A-league season reaching it’s conclusion, perhaps we can expect a more consistent output from here.
Dulwich Hill will be a tough side to break down for the academy side though having gained five points in their last three. The positive in that, back-to-back clean sheets including a 0-0 draw with Canterbury Bankstown. The negative, they can’t quite find a way through at the other end to maximise their results.
By Justin Smith
