Round 9 Preview – NPL NSW Men’s
With eight rounds passed in the 2022 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season, the competition is heating up as the table starts to divide.
The battle for the top spot is still incredibly tight and the top four sides in particular have been bringing their a-game to prove they’re true contenders for the Premiership title.
With an exciting weekend of football, here’s what to expect in Round 9.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC v Manly United FC
7:00pm, Saturday 30th April, Popondetta Park
Mt Druitt Town Rangers kick off the Round 9 action on Saturday evening as they host Manly United at Popondetta Park.
Backing up from their Tuesday’s rescheduled match with Marconi where they went down 4-2, Mt Druitt will be hoping to secure some crucial points if they want to keep their hopes alive this season.
Mt Druitt desperately need to find their form as they continue to fall further and further away on the ladder.
While they have struggled to secure the wins they need, they have showed plenty of promise, particularly in their attacking arsenal with the likes of Jack Stewart, Bul Juach, John Roberts and Fumoto Kamada all creating chances for the Rangers.
Manly United, coming off a loss to Blacktown City in Round 8, will make the trip out west to face up against Mt Druitt as they look to bounce back and stay competitive in the middle of the ladder.
The Northern Beaches outfit has had a lot more consistency over the park, having conceded ten goals while netting nine.
Manly United will be hoping they can have their strong back to full strength as captain Jimmy Oates continues bring out the best in his team.
The return of Matt Sim would bring back some high-calibre experience to the visitors, but even without the NPL stalwart, they will surely bring a good fight to the west.
Marconi Stallions FC v Wollongong Wolves FC
7:00pm, Saturday 30th April, Marconi Stadium
Marconi recorded their first win since Round 1 last weekend and will be hoping to pick up momentum as they host Wollongong on Saturday night.
As the Wolves make the trip to The Palace they will face up against former members of the Wolf Pack Thomas James and Taylor McDonald in what is sure to be an entertaining clash.
Domenic Costanzo, Thomas James, Charles Lokolingoy and Connor Evans were standouts for Marconi in their Round 8 victory over Sydney United 58 and will be ones to watch in this match.
While they have seen the talent of James first-hand during his time in Canberra, the pace of Costanzo will likely rattle the Wolves’ defence as they look to hold out an attacking line that’s gelling together well under the leadership of Marko Jesic.
While Marconi showed what they’re capable of in Round 8, as did Wollongong with aq 3-0 victory over the Rangers.
Lachlan Scott and Nicholas Duarte were the starts of the show for Wollongong, while Darcy Madden proved a pillar of strength in defence.
The tidy Wollongong defence will need to hold out Marconi at home if they want to get some valuable points and jump the Stallions on the ladder this week.
That and the fact that they will be resetting once more after their midweek rescheduled fixture against Sydney Olympic will most certainly see a few tired bodies out there from the South Coast side.
Luke Wilkshire will look to possibly rotate a few players with this in mind.
Sydney United 58 FC v Sydney FC
3:00pm, Sunday 1st May, Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney FC jumped back into top spot this week after a convincing victory over Sydney Olympic and with only one loss to their name heading into Round 9, they are the favourites as they head to Sydney United Sports Centre.
Jaiden Kucharski once again impressed for the youngsters in Round 8, alongside Zac Sapsford. The duo have been crucial to the team’s success this season with a league-leading 21 goals for the side.
Despite leading in goals, they have conceded nearly as many, with 17 goals falling through the cracks of the young side.
Jimmy Van Weeren’s men have been in great form even with the loss of a handful of players to Steve Corica’s senior squad at the recent AFC Asian Champions League exploits.
United 58 have been a shadow of their former selves this year with 18 goals conceded this season and four losses from their past five matches.
New recruit Kyle Cimenti netted two against Marconi last week and has showed plenty of promise on the park, but the likes of Chris Payne and Patrick Antelmi will need to join him on the scoreboard if they have any hope of tsking down the young sky blues.
Then return of captain Adrian Vlastelica from injury this week will hopefully bring some stability and inspiration to the side.
Along with Vlastelica, the club is also hoping to bring in suspended Yianni Fragogiannis who missed out last week’s match hopefully strengthening the club’s back-line.
Will Sydney FC remain at the top of the ladder for another week or will Sydney United 58 find their magic and knock them off?
Blacktown City FC v Sutherland Sharks FC
3:00pm, Sunday 1st May, Blacktown City Sports Centre
After a small hiccup in their 2022 season, Blacktown City are back to their dangerous selves without a loss in their last four games.
The impressive side have the best goal difference in the league alongside APIA Leichhardt and it’s not surprising given their spread of talent on the park.
Jordan Smylie has been impressive throughout the season and shone for Blacktown City in Round 8 alongside Hiroaki Aoyama and Daniel Collins – the threesome featuring in the Round 8 Team of the Week.
Mark Crittenden’s men will be confident as they host Sutherland Sharks, who have had four straight losses heading into the match.
The Sharks, despite recruiting big in the off season, have only won two matches so far this season and have lost six times, conceding 20 goals – a number Blacktown City will be looking to add to.
After conceding six penalties in seven weeks, the Sharks focus will need to be on defensive strength to hold out Blacktown and let their impressive squad take their chances in their front third.
While on paper the Sharks have a strong side, they will have to be in their best form to get something from this clash – will they be able to make magic happen to upset Blacktown?
Rockdale Ilinden FC v Northbridge Bulls FC
4:00pm, Sunday 1st May, Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
Undefeated since their Round 1 loss, Rockdale will be ready to keep charging up the ladder as they host Northbridge Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
A 3-0 win over Sutherland will have them with plenty of confidence as they look to continue their unbeaten run over the young Northbridge Bulls.
With arguably the deepest squad in the league, coach Steve Zoric has plenty of talent to call on to keep impressing.
Jaden Casella scored two sensational goals in Round 8 and will be one to watch as the former A-League talent looks to make a name for himself on the park. He featured in the Team of the Week alongside Brayden Sorge, who was crucial in defence for Ilinden and goalkeeper David Bradasevic.
Keep your eyes peeled on Ilinden’s livewire Peter Kekeris who has also played a pivotal run in the club’s good run of form.
Northbridge’s Jed Drew also featured in the team and was the young Bulls standout in their 3-3 draw with APIA Leichhardt.
The youngsters have only secured one victory this season against Sydney United 58 but have managed to hold APIA to a draw as well, proving they are capable of rattling the cages of some of the league’s most experienced line ups.
Will Northbridge be able to pull off a big win over Rockdale or will Ilinden continue their top form?
Sydney Olympic FC v APIA Leichhardt FC
5:15pm, Sunday 1st May, Belmore Sportsground
The Festival of Football takes to Belmore this weekend as Sydney Olympic and APIA Leichhardt continue their annual derby match with a whole lot of extra entertainment.
While there will be plenty of action in the lead up to the Men’s match, the game itself is set to be a big one in this week’s Match of the Round.
Olympic continue to hold the league’s strongest defence, having conceded only six goals this season through the defensive combination of Ben Van Meurs, Michael Glassock and Nicholas Sorras.
Irishman Roy O’Donovan has been impressive on the attacking front and has served as quality inspiration to the young talent in the team – the likes of Sam McIlhatton, Oliver Pufflet and Darcy Burgess have all stepped up and performed this season.
Despite coming off a 3-1 loss to Sydney FC, Olympic had a five-game unbeaten run before that as they gave the league a glimpse of what they capable of.
Ante Juric’s men will be backing up from their midweek rescheduled fixture against the Wollongong Wolves so there could be some tired legs out there but the Blues are stacked with quality players ready to come in and do a job.
APIA Leichhardt have been impressive throughout the entire season, falling only to the league leaders Sydney FC.
While they shared points in a 3-3 draw with Northbridge last week, they’ll be firing on all fronts as they look to take back the top spot.
Themba Muata-Marlow, Sean Symons, Walter Scott and Jack Armson have been key players for the Leichhardt boys this season, but Danial Cummins has plenty of talent to draw on to keep impressing on the park.
It’s anyone’s game in this fiery battle and with plenty on the line this game is a must-see for football fans.
