Round 13 Preview – NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Another weekend of premium football will soon be upon us as we examine all the action coming up in round 13 of the National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition.
Sydney Uni and Gladesville will be the first fixture off the rank on Friday before Bankstown City’s tie with Rydalmere is the pick of the bunch in the remaining five encounters on Saturday.
Round 13 kicks off under lights at Valentine Sports Park #2 as Sydney University SFC host Gladesville Ryde Magic at 8:15pm.
Gladesville registered a much-needed win last time out and against the Hawks and sit in fourth ahead of their meeting with ninth placed Uni.
Uni will feel like last weekend’s clash up the coast was a case of two points lost after they failed to beat a 10 man Pirates outfit.
Past history does not do the men from Camperdown any favours with their first meeting at Christie Park ending 4-1 to Magic.
Arlington Oval will be the venue for the clash between Inner West Hawks FC and Macarthur Rams FC with proceedings set to get underway from 7pm.
There will be a change in the managerial hotseat for the visitors who recently parted ways with Jason Breton.
The Rams have performed well throughout the season and are sitting in seventh ahead of their fixture with the bottom of the table Hawks.
Mark Symington has scored three times in his last two appearances for the Rams who will be favourites to take all three points against a side who they put four goals past without reply back in March.
Turning our attention to the eastern suburbs where Dunbar Rovers FC will be pitted against Central Coast United FC with kick off set for 7pm.
A back to the walls performance from Central Coast saw them share the points with Uni. Young gun Mason Wells was the Pirates’ saviour on that occasion and he will most likely be amongst the goals again come Saturday.
It was Wells’ striking partner, Daniel McFarlane, who came up with the goods when these two sides first met up the coast back in round 2. A repeat score line would do wonders for the side’s finals aspirations.
Bankstown City FC will be taking part in another blockbuster fixture this weekend as they welcome rivals Rydalmere Lions FC to Jensen Park at 7pm.
These two sides have already forged quite the bit of history over the last few seasons. A stoppage time winner in last year’s grand final will be something that the Bankstown faithful may find hard to erase from their memory.
A disappointing defeat against their arch-rivals Bankstown United has not been the ideal preparation for City while Rydalmere – well they made light work of Inter, coming out on top 5-0.
If we are to use past results to predict this match then we would not be wrong to think that this match will be a close affair given that they endured a 1-1 stalemate earlier this season.
Making our way to Concord where Inter Lions FC and Dulwich Hill FC will be doing battle at Majors Bay Reserve at 7pm.
Inter’s four match winning streak came crashing down at Rydalmere last weekend. This match will provide a perfect indicator to see how they respond after what has been a highly profitable period for John Theo’s men.
Meanwhile, second placed Dully are undefeated since the beginning of May and are building up quite significant momentum ahead of a challenging road ahead which sees them go head to head against both Bankstown City and Rydalmere after Saturday’s fixture.
Bankstown United FC will have a spring in their step ahead of their meeting with Canterbury Bankstown FC at the Crest on Saturday night.
Scott Belgre’s side secured a sweet victory over their rivals last weekend and sit in fifth position ahead of their visit to Bass Hill to take on the 11th placed Berries.
The home side recently broke out a four match losing streak – claiming a point on their travels to Dulwich Hill.
The encounter marked a special occasion for Kohei Makanai who got on the scoresheet for the first time this season.
He will be hoping to add to his tally on Saturday as his side look to deny United what could be their sixth win of the campaign.
-By NPL 3 NSW Men’s Chief Writer Samuel Greco Schwartz (Twitter handle: @SamuelGS97)
