Round 2 Preview – NPL NSW Men’s
After a fixating opening round of the 2023 NPL NSW Men’s, we’re set for another blockbuster round of fixtures this week.
In what was the first competitive outing for these teams, there were plenty of thrills and spills, but early points remain up for grabs.
Here’s the rundown for round two.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Blacktown City FC
7:30 pm, Friday 10 February, Wanderers Football Park
Western Sydney Wanderers will intend to build on their superb start to the competition as they host Blacktown City at Wanderers Football Park in the first of two Friday night fixtures.
It didn’t take the Wanderers to show the NPL NSW a glimpse of their quality scoring all three goals in the space of four minutes early on against Central Coast Mariners in a 3-1 win last weekend.
Talented attacker Ariath Piol opened the scoring for the side before Teng Kuol and Marcus Younis also found the net in what were a dreamy first 15 minutes for the side.
Coach Andrew Christiansen will now set his sights on making it two in a row but facing reigning champions Blacktown City is a significant challenge for his young squad.
City opened their account for 2023 with a 1-1 draw against Manly in last year’s grand final rematch.
Jak O’Brien fired the team ahead 11 minutes in with an opportunistic finish, however, the side were unable to make the most of a strong first-half performance.
United equalised just after the hour mark forcing Blacktown to settle for a point on the opening weekend.
With both sides keen to put three points on the board, this one will be an essential watch.
Sydney United 58 FC v Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC v
7:30 pm, Friday 10 February, Sydney United Sports Centre
Sydney United 58 host Mt Druitt Town Rangers on Friday night at Sydney United Sports Centre with the sides coming off contrasting results in round one.
The Rangers fell to defeat in their first outing in the NPL NSW for 2023 going down to Sydney FC 4-2 away from home.
However, promising youngster Nikola Skataric and newly acquired defender Nikola Djordjevic found the net in consolation for Stewart Montgomery’s team.
The team will hope for better fortunes this Friday night especially considering they held United to draws in both meetings in 2022.
Sydney United staged a late comeback in their round 14 clash against the Rangers last season with two goals in the final 15 minutes from the side seeing the points shared.
For this season, Miro Vlastelica’s team got off to the best possible start downing Marconi Stallions 3-1 in front of their home support last weekend.
Attacker Leroy Jennings played a pivotal role in the victory picking up a double on debut with a couple of sharp finishes at either end of the second half.
With eight goals across last season’s matches between these sides, there should be an anticipation of something similarly entertaining this time around.
Bulls FC Academy v Central Coast Mariners FC
5:00 pm, Saturday 11 February, Sydney United Sports Centre
Two academy sides will be in action again as Bulls FC Academy face Central Coast Mariners at Sydney United Sports Centre on Saturday night.
Bulls coach Zeljko Kalac succumbed to defeat in his first match in charge going down 2-0 to newly promoted NWS Spirit.
The result means the team are one of only two sides in the NPL NSW who are yet to find the net and they’ll be intent on changing that this Saturday.
The Mariners and will be seeking a better result after last week’s 3-1 defeat to Western Sydney Wanderers.
It was a horror start to the round one match for Luke Wilkshire’s team finding themselves 3-0 down within 15 minutes, conceding all three goals in a four-minute period.
James Bayliss pulled one back for the side around half an hour in, but it proved merely a consolation.
After losses to start the season, both sides will be desperate to turn their fortunes around this weekend making it an important match-up.
NWS Spirit FC v St George City FA
5:30 pm, Saturday 11 February, Christie Park
Promoted sides NWS Spirit and St George City face off on Saturday at Christie Park after competitive showings in round one.
A goal at the end of either half was enough for Spirit to claim a 2-0 win over Bulls FC Academy with Matthew Cahill and Michael Konestabo doing the damage.
This could be the start of a deadly front-line partnership for the side with the duo likely to provide ample attacking quality throughout the season.
David Perkovic will be keen to make it two-from-two at home this season after last week’s solid victory, as the side faces two away matches in a row after this Saturday.
St George gave an admirable account of themselves in their opening round fixture falling to a narrow 4-3 defeat against Rockdale Ilinden.
Former ALM players Makis and Kosta Petratos picked up a goal each for the team within half an hour, but Rockdale’s quality proved too much in the end.
Despite St George City claiming the FNSW League One championship in 2022, they failed to beat Spirit in either of their meetings.
Spirit defeated St George 3-1 in round eight courtesy of a blistering first-half performance where they went into the sheds 3-0 up before the sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw later in the campaign.
It’s an intriguing clash on Saturday in what will be a reflection of where the teams sit against each other after last season.
Sutherland Sharks FC v Wollongong Wolves FC
6:30 pm, Saturday 11 February, Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks and Wollongong Wolves will be after their first set of three points at Seymour Shaw on Saturday night.
The Sharks faced a tough task in round one taking on premiers Sydney Olympic where they ended up losing 3-0 but the scoreline did not reflect how Damir Prodanovic’s squad played as they controlled the majority of the match,
There were plenty of positives for the Sharks with the side creating several opportunities throughout the game despite being unable to find the net.
Hamish Lamberton proved a threat for Sutherland in that match and will be eying off a defining impact with the attacker facing his former team on Saturday.
The Wolves couldn’t have hoped for a better start against premiership hopefuls APIA Leichhardt last Friday finding themselves 2-0 up at halftime.
Although, it slipped away for David Carney’s side conceding a late equaliser to only take a point in a 2-2 draw.
Takumi Ofuka and Mirza Muratovic found the net within 20 minutes last Friday night, while fullback Walter Scott was a threat going forward for the Wolves.
It was hard to pick these sides in 2022 with either fixture being a close encounter.
Josh Macdonald’s goal nicked the points for Wollongong in a 1-0 win in round 11 before the teams played out an entertaining 3-3 draw on the final day of the season.
Both sides put in solid performances in round one without the reward of victory and they’ll be keen to make sure they get the right result in this one.
Manly United FC v Sydney Olympic FC
7:00 pm, Saturday 11 February, Cromer Park
Manly back up last weekend’s grand final rematch with another tricky matchup this time against Sydney Olympic at Cromer Park on Saturday night.
United played out a 1-1 draw with Blacktown City in round one where they came from a goal down as Harry McCarthy passed home the equaliser in the 62nd minute.
Olympic earned all three points last Sunday with a clinical 3-0 victory over Sutherland Sharks.
Former A-League Men’s duo Nick Fitzgerald and Roy O’Donovan each scored a goal before Oliver Puflett added another later in the piece.
The games were incredibly close between these teams last season with just three goals across the three matches.
Manly edged their round one encounter thanks to veteran Matt Sim’s goal on the stroke of halftime before the sides drew 0-0 later in the regular season.
However, Olympic claimed last season’s premiership over Manly by a single goal differential on that hectic final day in 2022.
In the finals series, the match between these two required penalties to decide victory, where United got up 4-3.
It was a special rivalry between these teams last year and it will be the first iteration of that for 2023 on Saturday.
Marconi Stallions FC v Sydney FC
7:00 pm, Saturday 11 February, Marconi Stadium
Marconi will seek to put points on the board for the first time in 2023 against Sydney FC on Saturday night at Marconi Stadium.
The Stallions lost 3-1 to Sydney United 58 last Sunday away from home.
Despite equalising through Marko Jesic in the 58th minute, two late goals for United confirmed the result.
It was a much better weekend for the young Sky Blues who powered home to a 4-2 victory against Mount Druitt.
Last season’s stars Jaiden Kucharski and Adrian Segecic both scored while Nathan Paull and Alexander Parsons’ finishes added further gloss to a high-scoring performance from the team.
These sides also met in round two of 2022, with Sydney FC running out narrow 1-0 winners before Marconi got up in an exciting 5-3 win in round 13.
With goals aplenty at Marconi Stadium in that round-13 match, both Marconi’s Jesic and Sydney’s Segecic managed to score braces.
A similarly exhilarating affair maybe on the cards considering that the goals have been flowing so far this season.
It’s an important match for the sides heading into this one, so expect a competitive game on Saturday night.
MATCH OF THE ROUND
APIA Leichhardt FC v Rockdale Ilinden FC
5:00 pm, Sunday 12 February, Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt and Rockdale Ilinden will be the only match on Sunday as the sides go head-to-head at Lambert Park.
Franco Parisi’s APIA had to fight from two goals down to claim a point against Wollongong last Friday night.
The lively Rory Jordan scored 57 minutes in before Yianni Nicolaou headed home an equaliser in the final two minutes.
Rockdale were involved in a seven-goal thriller over the weekend downing recently promoted outfit St George City 4-3.
It was the usual suspects for Paul Dee’s team with ace Alec Urosevski bagging a brace to get his 2023 campaign underway while Bai Antoniou and Jaden Casella found the net once each.
It will be a different challenge against APIA this weekend, with the title hopefuls eager to get their first set of three points of the season.
The teams picked up a win each in their two matches last season as Rockdale won 2-1 in round three before APIA posted 2-0 victory in round 14.
It was tight between these sides in 2022, and three points either way could be a massive momentum builder early on this season.
Preview by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_