Round 12 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Well we’ve finally arrived at the halfway point of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, as the twelve clubs turn the corner and commence their return fixtures on the run in home.
Western NSW Mariners start us off in Round 12, when they entertain Stanmore Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Proctor Park, with the match kicking off at 5-00pm.
The Mariners had the weekend off last round courtesy of the rain in Bathurst, and will be fresh from the rest in time to try and counter the Hawks, a team who have been in fine form over recent weeks.
The home side are bottom of the league, but with three teams within three points above them, a win to the Mariners could be just the tonic they need to kick start their second round.
But Stanmore won the first round encounter 2-1 at Arlington Oval, and they’ll know that another three points here will keep them in touch with the teams at the summit.
It will be a special night for Adam Scimone – the Mariners’ skipper will be hoping to spearhead his team to victory over his old club.
Dulwich Hill meet Granville Rage at Arlington Oval on Saturday night, with the match kicking off at 7-00pm.
Dully lead the first round match 3-1 late in to the contest, before a couple of late goals from the Rage gave the two teams a share of the spoils. Dulwich Hill have plenty of quality across the paddock to suggest they should be higher up the ladder, but they need to translate that quality into match day application to kick start their second round.
Granville Rage have had a new focus over the past month or so and have in fact pushed themselves up in to 6th spot on the ladder, and being on 14 points, they will be within touching distance of the top five with a win here. The Rage showed plenty of fight midweek to claw themselves back to 3-3 after being 0-3 down against Dunbar Rovers, and it will take more of these fighting qualities to continue their climb towards finals football.
Dunbar Rovers welcome Gladesville Ryde Magic to Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday evening, hoping to continue their recent run of great form.
The Rovers won their midweek catch up game against the Rage, and the three points sees them hurdle Hills Brumbies and in to top spot on the competition ladder, a reflection on their dogged persistence and determination.
Dunbar’s first ever match in the NPL3 was against Gladesville Ryde Magic way back in Round One, and it was a memorable first foray in to this league when they celebrated with a 4-0 victory.
Magic have been somewhat hot and cold this season, and have struggled to display a level of consistency to challenge for a finals position. But with an experienced backbone, Gladesville on their day can upset anyone in the league, so don’t expect them to lie down come Saturday evening.
Sydney University will have their hands full on Saturday night when they tackle Hills Brumbies, at a venue still yet to be confirmed (please view the Football NSW for details).
The ‘students’ are missing some players at the moment and couldn’t face a more sterner test than the lightning quick Brumbies.
Sitting fifth on 18 points, it will be a great opportunity for Sydney Uni to bridge that 8 point gap between the two sides and stay well in the mix for a finals berth.
Hills won the corresponding fixture last time around with a 4-1 win at Lilys Football Centre with a couple of goals from Peter Cejkaa, and will again look to the sharp shooter to steer them to victory on Saturday night.
Inter Lions clash with the resurgent Hawkesbury City on Sunday afternoon, the match kicking off at 3-00pm at Concord Oval.
Daniel Fornito was the lone goalscorer when these teams met in Round One, giving the visiting Lions all three points, and Inter will hope for a repeat result to stay in touch with the top half of the ladder.
Dean Bertenshaw’s Hawks have seemingly turned the corner, performing better than they did when they started the season, and have now had two wins and a draw (against the high flying Hills Brumbies) over the past three weeks.
As a result, Hawkesbury have subsequently hauled themselves off the bottom of the ladder and in to 10th spot, sitting on 8 points, and a win here away from home will continue their ascent up the ladder.
Balmain Tigers will once again play at Leichhardt Oval this Sunday evening at 7-00pm, looking for retribution of sorts against the Rydalmere Lions.
Back on the opening day of the season the Lions ran riot to the tune of 8-0, including hatricks to Lloyd Owusu and Joey Steenbergen. That superb start gave Rydalmere the platform to build upon and they have been there or thereabouts at the summit of the competition ever since.
But half a season is a long time in football, and the Tigers have recently recovered to be sitting on 9 points in 9th spot. A change in personnel has given them a spurt of energy and confidence, evident in their recent drubbing of Dulwich Hill, and they will be keen to put the record straight come Sunday evening.
MIDWEEK CATCH UP
Granville Rage – Dunbar Rovers 3-4 – Wednesday, June 15, 8-30pm at Garside Park
We have new leaders of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition as of last night, with Dunbar Rovers proudly perched on top courtesy of their 4-3 away victory over Granville Rage at Garside Park.
Dunbar Rovers knew that top spot was available prior to the rescheduled match, and came out firing, racing to a 3-0 lead within half an hour or so.
David Desmond put the Rovers in to the lead on 16 minutes, collecting a cross field pass from Andrew Doddy to finish clinically with a left foot strike. Desmond had his second just four minutes later, clipping home from a Rene Mrva cross in the 20th minute.
Rage were struggling to contain Desmond, who turned provider shortly afterwards by teeing up Michael Sealy for Dunbar’s third, and the home side were reeling.
But Daniel Bittar got them back on track by reducing the deficit in the 40th minute, capitalising on Dunbar’s failure to clear the danger to strike home.
Incredibly the Rage scored again before the break, Daniel Bortolazzo piercing Dunbar’s offside trap to lob over the advancing Dunbar goal keeper, Stephen Deasy.
The half time whistle seemingly stopped the inevitable, as the Rage picked up their intensity after the break to sensationally equalise on the hour mark. Jess Casey scored his second goal in a matter of days to restore parity, and it was now anybody’s game for the taking.
Some frenzied activity saw both sides rattle the woodwork, but it all came down to Dunbar’s captain, Robbie Deasy, to settle matters in the 77th minute. Deasy curled a brilliant free kick in to the top corner of the net to give Dunbar Rovers a dramatic 4-3 triumph, with the subsequent three points taking them to 27 and in to first place on the competition ladder, one point ahead of Hills Brumbies.
