Round 22 Preview – League One Men’s
Nine games to go in the FNSW League One Men’s season with a crowded top half of the table, it’s another weekend with a lot on the line in the competition this weekend.
Our match of the round sees 14th placed Dulwich Hill travel to face 15th placed Mounties Wanderers.
Plenty to look forward too, let’s take a look at the weekends action.
Match of the round: Mounties Wanderers v Dulwich Hill; Saturday 5 July, 7pm, Wanderers Football Park
Our match of the round sees Mounties Wanderers host Dulwich Hill in a big six pointer at Wanderers Football Park.
Both sides capable of picking up results in recent times, Dulwich Hill have picked up six points in their last five, while Mounties Wanderers have five in the same amount of time.
We’ll start with Mounties Wanderers who lost their last game against Hakoah after draws against Rydalmere and UNSW FC. Sitting three points below Dulwich Hill, this looks a bigger game for the Wanderers with nine rounds remaining.
Last weekend, Mounties Wanderers looked a different side both on the team-sheet and on the field. Bringing in the likes of Jake McGing, Daanish Awaz and Dylan Susovic into the starting line up. While former Jets 20’s player Amos Okumu came off the bench.
Their opponents Dulwich Hill gave a good account of themselves against Rydalmere Lions last weekend. They took a two goal lead before they conceded defeat in heartbreaking fashion through a late goal.
Trusting their recruitment process of recent times, they brought in four 22-year-old players in Zachary Kalogerou, Jacob Palamidas and Samuel Tzanakes who started last weekend while Stefan Visscher came off the bench. Tzanakes and Kalogerou both scoring on their club debut.
The last meeting between these two sides saw Mounties Wanderers pick up a 1-0 win, a repeat result here will throw the survival battle wide open with eight games after this one.
You can catch this game on the Football NSW youtube page this weekend both live and on demand.
Blacktown Spartans v Hakoah FC; Friday 4 July, 8:15pm, Blacktown Football Park
Three wins on the trot, Blacktown Spartans have firmly played themselves in the top two conversation in recent times. Sitting in fourth, they are now in better form than teams around them.
Against Bulls FC Academy last weekend, they found a way to secure an important win scoring twice from corners with Peter Pelekanos and Suleyman Bangura finding the back of the net. They also have the confidence boost of winning the first meeting by three goals.
They meet a Hakoah FC side who are quickly becoming one of the leagues entertainers this season. If we add together goals scored and conceded, there have been 82 goals combined this season (the most in the league).
Last weekend, they prevailed over a rejuvenated Mounties Wanderers side. Nicholas Tooley scoring a brace, joined by Gabriel Antoniades on the score sheet, Tooley scoring a brace in back-to-back games.
Newcastle Jets v Bulls FC Academy; Saturday 5 July, 5pm, Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility
A win over Northern Tigers last weekend has very much brought Newcastle Jets back into the top two conversation. They now sit five points behind top and four below their opponents in this one this weekend.
Back to last weekend, Oliver Cockle and Xavier Bertoncello both continued their scoring form before they were joined by Maxwell Cooper who scored a late winner. They have showed signs of turning around their home worries in recent times with seven points in three games.
In contrast, Bulls FC Academy have slipped up in their chase for a top two position. A result of a lot of players leaving due to Aleague duties or leaving the set up, they have lost to Inter Lions and Blacktown Spartans.
Last week against the Spartans, they suffered defending set pieces conceding two goals. Atiya Waraga their goal scorer to equalise earlier on, his fourth goal in as many games. Can they turn around their form in this one?
SD Raiders v Bonnyrigg White Eagles; Saturday 5 July, 5pm, Ernie Smith Reserve
Despite defeat to UNSW FC last weekend, there were some good signs from a SD Raiders perspective. So the result and in turn the poor form of the Raiders doesn’t quite reveal the complete story.
This is a test of their depth however having received two red cards in the UNSW defeat. Both Michael Figueira and Mihael Marcic given their marching orders. There were signs of them getting back into flow however so it will be interesting to see how they go this weekend.
They face a Bonnyrigg White Eagles side who will be well up for this one as they look to give their rivals a blow. It will have to come against the odds however having not won in almost ten weeks. Their round 21 meeting with Bankstown City brought to a premature close down a goal.
Football aside however, we do want to wish Bonnyrigg White Eagles stalwart Sam Gallaway all the best in his recovery after a serious injury last weekend.
Macarthur Rams v Northern Tigers; Saturday 5 July, 5pm, Lynwood Park
Continuing to pick up points in the efforts to survive in the league, Macarthur Rams secured their fourth win in their last six games last weekend against Canterbury Bankstown away from home.
In the process, they picked up their fifth clean sheet in the process as well. Last weekend they started well and continued on with it. The likes of Aaron Green, Alex Gollan and Connor Spurway all earning mentions from coach Tim Aitken.
This could well be a difficult match for Northern Tigers after a midweek cup final Wednesday night. Focusing on the league however, they tasted defeat last weekend against Northern Tigers which tightened up the promotion race once again.
In that, they took the lead twice through Kai Denton who scored his 17th and 18th goal of the campaign. It was a frustrating night though and they’ll be focusing on being more clinical in the moments they are on top, can they cap off a big week for the club here?
Bankstown City v Inter Lions; Saturday 5 July, 5pm, Jensen Park
Bankstown City had a good start to their fixture against Bonnyrigg White Eagles last weekend. Up 1-0 courtesy of a Henry Davies, the game was brought to a premature end dude to player injury.
Last week also saw the club announce a new signing in that of Jason Cakovski from Rockdale Ilinden’s youth ranks, a sign of intent as they look to finish the season strong. Their record at home isn’t the greatest this season with five wins in eleven games.
Inter Lions suffered a blow in their chase of top two spot with a defeat to Hills United at home. Sitting on 34 points, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room left in their chase of a top two position though results did help them out.
The Lions lacked fluency in possession against a well set Hills defence. They still managed to created chances but they were kept scoreless. Indeed they either score three recently or none, Which will it be in this one?
Rydalmere Lions v UNSW FC; Saturday 5 July, 5pm, Rydalmere Park
Another game with a lot riding on it, Rydalmere Lions host UNSW this Saturday afternoon.
Rydalmere come into this one as one of the form sides in the competition with four wins in their last five games. Last weekend prevailing over Dulwich Hill in thrilling fashion coming from two goals down.
We have to go back to round 16 for the last time they didn’t score at least two goals in a game with Ahmad Taleb, Conor Kerr and Adil Toska all scoring. Toska in particular the notable one there with three goals since he broke into the starting line up in round 17.
In terms of UNSW FC, they picked up a crucial three points in their chase for a top two spot last weekend. Against SD Raiders, defensive solidarity proved the basis for the result before a late free-kick secured the points.
It’s no surprise then that their defensive aspect improved with the return of Claudes Fabiano. While we all know what the likes of Nathan Roberts can do in this division, Roberts joined by Joseph White and Kai Kamikura as midseason acquisitions.
Hills United v Canterbury Bankstown; Saturday 5 July, 7pm, Valentine Sports Park
Having seen off some good sides in the past month, another challenge awaits Hills United this weekend in a game where they will come in favourites. Knocking off four top eight sides without conceding, they will be confident in this one.
Last weekend, they overcame Inter Lions away from home creating multiple chances in transition with a Dimi Petratos goal separating the sides. They have won their last three home matches against the Berries stretching back to 2019.
They face a Canterbury Bankstown side who have strengthened their ranks in the mid-season window. One of the more active sides they have brought in Stefan Dubocanin and Stefan Nikolic from Bonnyrigg.
In round 21 action, they were beaten courtesy of an early goal from the Rams. Winless in their last seven, the challenge now is to turn that around and for the run to not get on top of them mentally.
By Justin Smith
