Round 15 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
The 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition continues to build momentum towards an exciting crescendo with what promises to be yet another exciting round of football this weekend.
Round 15 commences on Saturday afternoon, with two matches scheduled to kick off at 5-00pm.
Hawkesbury City have a chance to put four points between them and Dulwich Hill when they welcome Dully to David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday.
In an interesting turn of events, it will be the Hawks fourth successive match on their home patch, but it will only prove beneficial if they can manage to turn the game in to three points and continue their ascent from the league’s bottom rungs.
Dully have only picked up three points once in their last five outings, conceding 21 goals in the process, and for them this match could prove a crucial catalyst towards either salvaging their season, or on a bigger scale, fighting relegation.
In the corresponding fixture in the first round, Dully showed plenty of character to come from a goal behind and snatch a 3-1 win, so a similar application from the Dully players this time around will be critical if they are to take home the spoils.
The other Saturday afternoon, 5-00pm kick off will take place at Proctor Park in Bathurst where Rydalmere Lions hit the road to tackle the Western NSW Mariners.
The Mariners will no doubt need to be at their very best – and even that may not be sufficient – to stop a Rydalmere Lions side that has been in scintillating form over the past fortnight.
Two wins and 14 goals reflect a Lions side that is playing with confidence and cohesion, especially in attack. Yoel Silvestre has hit two hatricks in successive matches, yet he is one of four players who have notched six goals this season for the club, the others being Matthew Mayora, Amary Gauthier and Seijei Tarutani. With the burly figure of Lloyd Owusu himself on seven goals, you can see why the in form Mariners keeper, Adam Brakenridge, will have to once again be at his very best to deny the Lions weapons.
If the Round Four clash earlier this season is anything to go by, we can expect another heart stopper, given Rydalmere Lions snatched all three points at the death by scoring three late goals to overturn a 1-3 deficit to a 4-3 triumph.
No doubt the match of the round will take place at Arlington Oval on Saturday evening at 7-00pm, with Stanmore Hawks facing Dunbar Rovers.
The two sides come in to this match with almost identical records, with ten wins, one draw, and three losses from the 14 matches played. Both sit equal second on the competition ladder behind Hills Brumbies, with goal difference the sole separator, Dunbar having a five goal better differential.
But the Hawks still boast the best defence in the league in a season where teams are scoring goals at will, having conceded just 18 goals, due in large because of keeper, James Webb, who has been at his shot stopping best in 2016.
At the other end of the field, Dunbar will have to keep a close eye on Heo Wookbum, Stanmore’s skilful attacker last week moving to 5th on the top goal scorers list with 9 goals, one ahead of team mate, Sam Awad.
Dunbar Rovers will be hurting given the chance to go top of the league slipped through their grasp last weekend in that tight loss to Hills Brumbies. Expect the Rovers to respond accordingly, lead no doubt by two of their key protagonists, skipper and striker Robbie Deasy, and midfield general, Andrew Doddy.
On paper, the Hill Brumbies – Balmain Tigers match at Lily Football Stadium on Saturday night looks a mere formality.
The Brumbies are flying high at the moment, top of the league by four points, and scoring goals at will – 54 goals in 14 games this season, at almost 4 goals per game. Striker Peter Cejkaa leads the competition’s sharp shooters, with an impressive total of 19 goals so far, and he doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon.
Balmain Tigers have had some movement in personnel in recent weeks, both on a playing and coaching front. Their performances have improved somewhat, and even though they’ve lost three games on the trot, they can take some hope from the fact that each loss has been by a solitary goal.
It’s difficult to pick anything but a Hills victory in this match – the Brumbies would be happy with something similar to their Round Four 3-1 win – but football is a funny game, and Balmain will be out to prove the pundits wrong.
There will be two games played on the Sunday, July 10, and the ‘early’ 3-00pm kick off will see an intriguing clash between Sydney University and Inter Lions at Sydney University Football Ground.
Despite dominating late on, the ‘students’ threw away two valuable points last weekend when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Western NSW Mariners.
As a result, they have allowed those clubs beneath them to close the gap somewhat, especially Gladesville Ryde Magic, who are now within arm’s reach at two points below.
Inter Lions lost at the death against Stanmore Hawks last Sunday, even though they had twice clawed their way back to parity via goals from Daniel Fogarty and Clayton Musumeci.
Even though Inter Lions sit in 8th spot on the ladder, they are six points below Sydney University who currently occupy that coveted 5th and last finals’ position.
Needless to say this game becomes a ‘six-pointer’ for Inter, and they will focus on nothing short of a victory and three points in order to bridge that gap and stay well in contention for finals football in just nine weeks’ time.
The final match of the round takes place at Magdala Park with an unusual kick off of 4-30pm, with Gladesville Ryde Magic hosting Granville Rage.
Magic have had an improve in form in recent weeks, resulting in two wins and two draws from four matches, and now sit just two points outside the top five, a reward for their increased effort and application.
Skipper Chris Gaitatzis has been in superb form, his brace of goals last week in the 3-2 triumph over Dulwich Hill moving him to an impressive 11 goals for the season, third on the top scorers list.
Granville Rage on the other hand have lost three out of their last four games, including last week’s drubbing against Rydalmere, but will be hopeful of bouncing back to form as soon as possible, especially given a win will see them hurdle their match day opponents.
Last time these clubs met, Chris Tomaras scored a couple of brilliant goals to spear head Magic to a 4-2 win, but both sides have the weapons in attack to score goals, so expect plenty of fireworks in the final thirds.
