Round 9 Preview – NPL NSW Men’s

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It is Round 9 in the National Premier Leagues NSW competition and with the season edging closer to the halfway point the battle for positions in the top five is really heating up.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers and Sydney Olympic remain locked in a two-way battle for top spot with goal difference the only thing splitting them.

Blacktown City is back in business after they ended a three-game streak without a win. They travel to Rockdale City Suns this week.

Sydney United 58 have been rocked by the sudden resignation of Jason Culina after their shock loss to Bonnyrigg White Eagles in Round 8. Will they be able to rebound when they take on APIA?

Sydney FC v Marconi Stallions, 3pm Saturday at Lambert Park

Sydney FC will be looking to fight their way off the bottom of the National Premier Leagues NSW ladder with a win when they host Marconi Stallions on Saturday.

The Rob Stanton coached side has been competitive this season but has lacked the clinical edge to turn strong performances into wins.

They will hope to turn the corner and claim a much needed three competition points against a Stallions side which has proven it can challenge the best sides in the league.

Sydney suffered another narrow defeat last week against Sydney Olympic and the side will be focussed on maintaining their rigidity in defence for the full 90 minutes.

At the other end of the park, Hassan Jalloh and Jeremy Cox will be the main contributors in attack while captain Sam McIllhatton is once again expected to pull the strings from midfield.

Marconi come into the game off the back of consecutive wins after they downed a struggling Rockdale City Suns

The Stallions have rediscovered their winning form in recent weeks and are only just finding their feet after a mixed start to their first campaign back in the NSW top flight.

Coach Peter Tsekenis has a well drilled side which could be a bogey team for many during the second half of the season.

Rising young Stallions star Judah Cleur is a player to watch out for as the youngster has made an impressive start to his top tier NPL career.

Sydney FC are known for their energetic performances and the up-tempo style could prove problematic for Marconi’s veteran defence.

Marconi may have the better team on paper, but if the Young Sky Blues can keep it together for 90 minutes than they are a great chance of collecting their second win of the season.

Sutherland Sharks FC v Sydney Olympic FC, 6.30 pm Saturday at Seymour Shaw -Live streamed on Facebook

Grant Lee will have something to prove on Saturday night as his Sutherland Sharks outfit come up against his former team Sydney Olympic at Seymour Shaw.

The Sharks have been solid performers this season and coach Lee has the side playing great football.

However, the boys from the Shire will need to bring nothing short of their best as they take on one of the competition front runners.

Sutherland went down 2-1 last week to reigning NPL NSW champions Manly United courtesy of a Travis Oughtred header in the dying stages.

They will be desperate to not have a repeat result against an Olympic side renowned for swift counter attacks.

Leroy Jennings was the Sharks best in the loss and the tricky attacker will be out to back his previous performance up with another great showing.

Sydney Olympic snatched a 1-0 victory against Sydney FC in round 8 and will be determined to keep pace with APIA Leichhardt Tigers who they trail on the ladder by mere goal difference.

Radovan Pavicevic took advantage of his time on the park last week to head the winner. This former A-League rising star is a talented player and could prove to be quite a difficult operator for Sutherland.

Sutherland traditionally have a good record at home but there is a good reason Sydney Olympic are tied for top spot on the ladder.

It’s sure to be an exciting contest.

Sydney United 58 FC v APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, 7.30pm Saturday at Sydney United Sports Centre

Rocked by the resignation of coach Jason Culina after a derby defeat to Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Sydney United 58 will be out to keep their season from imploding when they take on league leaders APIA Leichhardt Tigers on Saturday night.

It is the second straight season United 58 has had their coach depart after the opening weeks with the club desperate to avoid missing out on the finals as they did last season.

Responsibilities will fall on the experienced players now that Culina is gone while the club hopes that their star attack force such as Patrick Antelmi and Chris Payne start to fire with Panny Nikas gone for another week.

The club has been boosted by the return of Yianni Fragogiannis while club captain Nick Stavroulakis could be making his first grade debut for 2018 after playing two matches in the Under 20’s recovering from a pre-season injury.

Goalkeeper Tom Manos has been a rock for the club since being reinstated as the number one keeper, and once more he showed his quality, making a number of high quality saves in last weekend’s loss.

Against APIA they will have an almighty challenge as Billy McColl’s men enter round nine at the competition summit.

The re-emergence of Tasuku Sekiya has only strengthened an already dangerous APIA attack with the Japanese attacker set to create more opportunities for Jordan Murray, Sean Symons and George Howard.

All eyes will be on United 58 to see how they respond to the drama off the pitch.

A win against APIA would go a long way to keeping the Reds in the race for finals football.

Hakoah Sydney City East v Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, 3pm Sunday at Hensley Athletic Field

Only a win outside the top five, Hakoah Sydney City East will be determined to stay in the race for finals football when they take on a revitalised Bonnyrigg White Eagles on Sunday.

Hakoah suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Blacktown City last week and were unlucky to come away from the contest without a point.

Gavin Rae’s side had Blacktown on the ropes at times but failed to keep their composure in the dying stages.

Mitchell Stamatellis has been an inspired addition to the squad this year and has filled the role Rae occupied last season before stepping aside to focus on coaching the side for this campaign.

Stamatellis’ experience and ability to read the game is second to none and provides a real strength to his side’s defence.

He will be put to the test against a fired up Bonnyrigg side fresh from an incredible derby upset over rivals Sydney United 58.

The White Eagles have breathed life back into their stuttering season with improved performances across the board.

Coach Brian Brown will hope to build on the improved morale in the squad with another great showing against Hakoah.

After two successive victories, Brown’s men will hope that they can make it three on the bounce.

Ben Tosi was impressive against Sydney United 58 as was David Vrankovic and Zac Mackenzie.

Both sides a very evenly matched and the result could easily go either way.

At Home Hakoah would be slim favourites, but don’t write off a Bonnyrigg side flying high on confidence.

Wollongong Wolves FC v Manly United FC, 3pm Sunday at WIN Stadium

The Wollongong Wolves will be focused on getting their season back on track when they host Manly United on Sunday

A loss last week to APIA Leichhardt Tigers was their third straight defeat with coach Jacob Timpano desperate to keep the wheels from falling off at WIN Stadium.

The Wolves were unable to bounce back after being denied a penalty against APIA and slumped to yet another loss.

A return home could be the perfect antidote to Wollongong’s recent struggles with veteran midfielder Nick Montgomery set to play a key role in midfield.

The experienced campaigner will need to keep his side composed with Manly out to snatch an upset.

Last week Manly continued their return to form with a last gasp winner against Sutherland.

The Paul Dee side is finally finding their way and putting together solid performances after a horror opening to the season.

Travis Oughtred has been in inspired form for Manly and was the hero last week nodding home in during the dying stages.

The solid defender will be kept busy by Wollongong strikers Yuzo Tashiro and Takuya Nozawa.

It will be a tough day at the office if Wolves are guilty of making the same mistakes of recent weeks. Hopefully in front of their home fans they can turn the corner and collect all three points.

Rockdale City Suns FC v Blacktown City FC, 5pm Sunday at Ilinden Sports Centre – Live streamed on Facebook

It has not been the start to the season Rockdale City Suns fans would’ve expected, but the Paul Reid coached side is set to put their struggles behind them as they take on Blacktown City this Sunday.

Sitting third from the bottom of the ladder, Rockdale have failed to live up to expectations after eight rounds.

But it has not been all bad from the Suns with the side showing glimpses of what they are capable of.

Against Blacktown they are sure to be tested. one bright spot this campaign has been the form of Alec Urosevski who is scoring for fun and creating chance after chance for his teammates.

He will need to be at his best if Rockdale can spring an upset.

Blacktown were pushed to the limit last round by a plucky Hakoah Sydney City East side but did enough to claim their first win in three weeks.

They will not want another lean spell of results like that again this season so expect nothing but strong performances from Mark Crittenden’s men.

Devante Clut is a player to watch in this match with the former Newcastle Jets midfielder out to prove he deserves another shot in the A-League while Joey Gibbs is hoping to hit some goalscoring form for the visitors.

Goalkeeper Stevan Savicic has also been rather solid since taking over the duties due to an injury to Tristan Prendergast as the youngster hopes to cement his spot as the number one keeper at the club.

Expect a high scoring game between two sides with plenty play for.