Round 24 Preview – League One Men’s
The stakes are rising every week in the FNSW League One Men’s competition as we approach round 24 this weekend.
With teams having less wiggle room in both the promotion race and relegation fight, drama is guaranteed. Let’s take a look at the weekends matches below.
Match of the Round: SD Raiders v Northern Tigers; Saturday 19 July, 5pm, Ernie Smith Reserve
Well, wasn’t this a good game the first time around! SD Raiders host Northern Tigers at Ernie Smith Reserve field 2 this weekend.
Glass half full or glass half empty? It’s hard to know what to make of SD Raiders scoreless draw with Canterbury Bankstown last weekend. Two draws in their last two games has stabilised them in 7th position heading into this one.
It’s quite the drop off after their strong first half of the season. So what’s happened? Well firstly, the goals have dried up with four goals in their eight games since round 16. However they have always been in their games outside of round 16 so that’s a positive from a defensive stand point. Since we last met them, Ethan Beaven and Luka Knezevic have joined Lachlan Everett in the starting side.
They face a Northern Tigers side who look confident at the top of the table with four wins in their last five games. Holding a five point advantage over third when the other top three sides face off this weekend, this is a big opportunity.
A big reason why they are in this position is their defensive record conceding 23 goals in as many games. As such, it was no surprise to see Cole Mutton named their internal man of the match last weekend with Oliver Scott and Koya Nakano also playing a key role in this side. While new signing Taiga Kawano scored his first for the club against Hakoah as well.
As we said in the introduction, this was great fun back in April. You can catch this game on the Football NSW youtube page with a couple of familiar voices in commentary.
Hakoah FC v Inter Lions; Saturday 19 July, 4:30pm, Hensley Athletic Field
Hakoah FC weren’t far away from picking up a result against competition leaders Northern Tigers last weekend. Going down by a goal, they had their chances and on another day could have walked away with three points.
Sitting on 29 points, they aren’t in any real danger from the bottom two while too far away from competing further up. They have won their last two games at the venue though and against a out of form Inter Lions side, this is a big opportunity for three points.
They face a Inter Lions side who are winless in three games in eighth position. Unfortunately for the Lions, the injuries you would expect from a season have all come at the same time making things difficult for Shane Cevenini and his side.
Last weekend, they nearly did get a point against UNSW FC. Looking solid defensively, it came down to a moment in the first half, they will need to offer more offensively if they are to take something away from home here.
Rydalmere Lions v Hills United; Saturday 19 July, 5pm, Rydalmere Park
Last weekend was a tough result for Rydalmere Lions to swallow having held a two goal lead twice last weekend. Now it will be interesting to see how they respond as they face another tough opponent in Hills United.
Amongst the chaos from last weekends game, it was notable that three of the goals Rydalmere conceded were from set piece scenarios, so they’ll want to improve on that aspect this weekend. As always, Ahmad Taleb and Robert Eremugo are worth the trip out while it was only the fourth time they conceded four goals this season.
Hills United continued their unbeaten run with a round 23 draw with Bulls FC Academy last weekend. That run stretching out to seven games, they are a side nobody above them wants to face in the remaining weeks of the season.
Last weekend once again showed the new found character in the squad coming from behind to take a lead with five minutes left. Outside of the goal scorers, Walid Moutaouakkil was a big threat down the right wing throughout so his worth keeping an eye out here.
Bankstown City v Canterbury Bankstown; Saturday 19 July, 5pm, Jensen Park
On the back of a round 22 win over Inter Lions, Bankstown City couldn’t quite back it up with a result against Blacktown Spartans last weekend. In 11th position, they still could have a big say on what happens to teams around them.
Back to last weekend, they took the lead against the Spartans through Shun Maeta’s first goal since the end of May. Another result which they can take positives from, can they build upon that and get revenge for their round one result here?
Canterbury Bankstown picked up a welcome point against SD Raiders in their round 23 fixture. Sitting on 26 points, they’ll still be looking over their shoulder with some anxiety as Macarthur Rams and Dulwich Hill have pretty much caught them.
There was an improvement defensively last weekend with a clean sheet a week after conceding five. Though they did struggle to create meaningful chances with the ball, let’s see if that improves this weekend.
Dulwich Hill v Macarthur Rams; Saturday 19 July, 5pm, Arlington Oval
There were positives and negatives from Dulwich Hill’s performance last weekend. A draw against Bonnyrigg White Eagles was good on paper but it might have been more after a good performance particularly in the first half.
The positive from the game being that first 45 and their ability to come from behind twice in the second half to take a point. But they will want to tighten up defensively after conceding four goals from not many more chances.
They face a Macarthur Rams side who like them are picking up results. Three wins in their last four games, they could well jump one of the Bankstown clubs this weekend with a result here as they look to finish the season strong.
Last weekend, they proved too good for Mounties Wanderers at home. An excellent performance from the team, Jay Tram and Joshua Taylor scored the goals to cap off an important win which gave them a 7 point advantage over 15th.
UNSW FC v Blacktown Spartans; Saturday 19 July, 5:30pm, The Village Green
It’s the time of the season where results are as important as the teams performance and such was the case for UNSW FC. Not their best showing against Inter Lions last weekend but a Jack Fulton goal gave them three points.
You’d suggest that game could stand them in good stead ahead of this one against a side who can display similar tendencies. Tacettin Kumsuz and Kai Kamikura are two players to watch in this one. While we’ll also shoutout 17-year-old Cassius Flavell who kept a clean sheet.
Outside of the match of the round this weekend, this is the pick of the fixtures as visitors Blacktown Spartans come into this on the the back of five straight wins. Two points above their hosts, they won 2-1 against Bankstown City last Friday night.
Against Bankstown City, they came from behind with Suleyman Bangura equalising and Blake Ilitch scoring a winner in the 85th minute. While new signing Zac Sfiligoi made a starting debut for the club, they’ll have to do it without Darcy Ellem though whoreceived a second yellow deep into injury time.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Bulls FC Academy; Saturday 19 July, 7pm, Bonnyrigg Sports Club
No getting around, last weekend didn’t quite go to plan for Bonnyrigg White Eagles. A draw and results for teams above them has them eleven points from safety with seven and a half fixtures to come.
Therefore turning one point into three should be a priority here in this one. If we are to take positives from last weekend, it was the first time since round three that they have scored three goals or more in a fixture with Daniel Bittar, John Roberts and Mabior Garang all scoring. Garang singled out as their biggest threat against Dulwich Hill.
Bulls FC Academy steadied their course with a draw last weekend against Hills United in our match of the round. Their first point in a month, they are sitting three points behind second placed Blacktown Spartans going into the weekend.
Against Hills, they both took the lead and equalised in the fixture. Their second goal coming from Lachlan Sattout who made a bit difference off the bench. Aside from him, Justin Cardozo was another player who looked good in the result.
Mounties Wanderers v Newcastle Jets; Saturday 19 July, 7pm, Wanderers Football Park
Perhaps the team who have been hit hardest by recent results, Mounties Wanderers suffered back-to-back defeats to teams just above them on the competition ladder. Yes, a 2-0 defeat to Dulwich Hill was followed by a 2-1 defeat to Macarthur Rams last weekend.
A common factor in both those games being conceding an early goal in both and making things harder for themselves. Indeed we have to go back to their round 18 fixture for the last time they scored first in a game. Can they change that here?
Although it wasn’t three points last weekend, Newcastle Jets once again showed a lot of heart in a high scoring draw with Rydalmere Lions. Coming back from two goals down in the second half, they have a chance to continue that momentum here.
In a match where all the front four showcased their ability, Janni Rafty was the standout with a brace on the night, his second coming through a stunning free-kick. They’ll be expected to win this one as they look to spark their promotion bid.
By Justin Smith
