Round 3 Preview – NPL NSW Men’s 20’s

Early leaders Wollongong Wolves will get a test of their mettle against Sydney FC, APIA Leichhardt Tigers get their season underway against Marconi and Blacktown City host Bonnyrigg White Eagles looking to halt a poor run of form in round three of the NPL NSW Men’s 20’s competition.

Match of the Round

Blacktown City v Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Saturday 5.00pm at Lily’s Football Centre

Blacktown City finds itself at the bottom of the table after two rounds and needing a win when Bonnyrigg White Eagles arrive at Seven Hills on Saturday afternoon.

After beginning the campaign with defeats to Wollongong Wolves and Sydney United 58 the pressure is on John Carnevale’s side to get off the mark against the White Eagles but they’ll have to overturn both a barren run of form and a poor recent history against Bonnyrigg to do so.

Blacktown’s two defeats to start the year mean City haven’t won a league fixture since round eighteen of last season, meaning another defeat may begin to send alarm bells ringing for one of the competition’s heavyweights.

City have also lost their past four fixtures against Bonnyrigg over the last two seasons which will provide the visitors with a great amount of confidence heading into the contest.

With last Sunday’s round two clash with Marconi postponed Bonnyrigg have had an extra week to recover from a gruelling opening day victory over Sydney Olympic in which Milan Parenta’s penalty gave them a 1-0 win.

Saturday

Sydney FC v Wollongong Wolves, 3.45pm at Lambert Park

Sydney FC have a great chance to remind the competition of their quality when they host in-form Wollongong Wolves at Lambert Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Sky Blues were hammered 6-1 by Sutherland Sharks last Saturday in a contest that saw Sydney play the majority of the counter with 10 players following the dismissal of goalkeeper David Malishev.

Despite their numerical disadvantage Sydney emerged from their heaviest ever NPL NSW defeat with a great amount of credit and will no doubt be eyeing the Wolves clash with a certain amount of vengeance.

Wollongong have enjoyed a flying start to the year after back to back wins against Blacktown City and Rockdale City Suns with Tory Musumeci, James Markovic and Jordan Nikolovski all among the goals.

The South Coast side only managed consecutive wins once throughout the entire 2017 campaign and with that feat already matched a third win in a row against a serious title contender would raise eyebrows around the competition.

Hakoah Sydney City East v Sutherland Sharks, 5.00pm at Hensley Athletic Field

Sutherland Sharks continue their title defence against Hakoah Sydney City East at Hensley Athletic Field on Saturday searching for back to back victories.

Nick Dimovski’s side were big 6-1 winners against Sydney FC last Saturday and although the Sharks showed flashes of brilliance against the Sky Blues there will likely be opportunities for Hakoah to capitalise on some early season rustiness.

Hakoah arrive into the fixture following a 3-1 defeat to Sydney and 1-1 draw with Manly Unied but will have plenty of cause for optimism after being one of the only teams to remain undefeated against Sutherland in 2017.

Paul Hubbard’s side held the Sharks to a 2-2 draw at Seymour Shaw and beat them 2-1 at Hensley Athletic Field late in the campaign – Hakoah frontman Connor Eldridge netted the winner in that fixture and will be looking to get off the mark for 2018 after two goalless appearances so far.

Marconi Stallions v APIA Leichhardt Tigers, 5.00pm at Marconi Stadium

APIA Leichhardt Tigers are set to get their 2018 campaign underway when they travel to Marconi Stadium to take on Marconi in Saturday’s final fixture.

Last season’s grand finalists have missed the opening two rounds due to their Viareggio tour in which APIA faced development squads from the likes of Inter Milan and Parma but Franco Consentino’s side will now turn their attention to Marconi on Saturday.

Marconi have enjoyed a week’s rest after the cancellation of their round two fixture against Bonnyrigg following their narrow round one defeat to Sydney United 58.

Former Sydney Olympic attacker Luca Kmet could be one for Marconi to watch out for after the APIA man impressed in Italy while the Tigers defence will need to keep a close eye on Stallions striker Brandon Stojcevski who found the net against United 58 in round one.

Sunday

Sydney Olympic v Manly United, 12.40pm at Belmore Sports Ground

Sydney Olympic and Manly United are both after their first wins of the year when they meet at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday lunchtime.

Both sides finished ninth and tenth respectively in 2017 and played out a pair of entertaining 3-3 and 2-2 draws in their respective fixtures.

The Blues were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Bonnyrigg in round one and had their round two fixture with APIA Leichhardt postponed.

Attacker Dylan Woznickza impressed in that opening day defeat to the White Eagles and will be one to be closely marshalled by the Manly defence.

Manly United meanwhile gained their first point of the year following a draw against Hakoah Sydney City East in round two.

Rockdale City Suns v Sydney United 58, 3.00pm at Ilinden Sports Centre

Sydney United 58 will aim to preserve their 100% winning record at Ilinden Sports Centre against Rockdale City Suns on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds have made a promising start to the year after back to back wins over Marconi and Blacktown City and with first placed Wollongong involved in a tricky encounter against Sydney FC the day before there’s a good chance United 58 can gain an early lead of the competition with a win over the Suns.

Rockdale will be out to stop that from happening – the Suns drew 1-1 with Sutherland on the opening day but were defeated 3-1 by Wollongong in round two having led 1-0 at half time.

Stamati Glaros’ side should be boosted knowing they defeated the Reds in both clashes last campaign as they search for their first three points of the year.

-By Jacob Windon