Round 4 Preview – NPL NSW Men’s 20’s

Sydney United 58 hold an early lead in the fledgling stages of the NPL NSW Men’s 20’s competition but that comes under threat this Easter weekend with the visit of Sydney FC.

Match of the Round

APIA Leichhardt Tigers v Blacktown City, Friday 1.30pm at Lambert Park

APIA Leichhardt Tigers finally get their 2018 campaign underway on Good Friday when they welcome Blacktown City to Lambert Park for a clash between two traditionally strong U20 outfits.

Last year’s grand finalists have missed the opening three rounds given their involvement in the club’s Viareggio tournament while wet weather postponed last Saturday’s afternoon fixture with Marconi Stallions.

Franco Consentino’s side will therefore be relishing the visit of Blacktown as they look to begin their season and as one of the strongest rosters in the competition the pressure will be on to deliver from the start.

Blacktown City notched their first league win since round eighteen of last season when they defeated Bonnyrigg White Eagles 3-0 at Lily’s Football Centre last weekend in a result that should see confidence prosper again for John Carnevale’s men.

Friday

Sydney Olympic v Hakoah Sydney City East, 1.45pm at Belmore Sports Ground

Sydney Olympic and Hakoah Sydney City East are both searching for their first wins of the season when the pair meet at Belmore Sports Ground in Friday afternoon’s other fixture.

The hosts currently prop up the table after losses to Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Manly United and are yet to find the back of the net in their two matches played.

The Blues will fancy their chances at turning that record around when Hakoah come calling on Friday. Paul Hubbard’s side have conceded ten goals so far this campaign including six in a 6-3 loss to Sutherland in round three but have also looked more than capable of matching the competition’s best in their clashes with the Sharks and Sydney FC in round one.

Hakoah’s Finley Hayhurst has three goals to his name this season following a brace against Sutherland last weekend while frontman Connor Eldridge is yet to find the back of the net in 2018 – both will be attacking forces that require nullifying if Olympic are to get off the mark on Friday.

Sutherland Sharks v Wollongong Wolves, 4.30pm at Seymour Shaw

Sutherland Sharks will look to continue their title defence when Wollongong Wolves come to Seymour Shaw this Saturday afternoon.

After back to back wins in which Nick Dimovski’s outfit scored six against Sydney FC and Hakoah Sydney City East, Sutherland are moving through the gears rapidly in the early stages of the season.

New striker James Temelkovski is already hitting his stride with six goals in three matches for the Sharks while the likes of Leroy Jennings and Deren O’Brien have also made effective attacking contributions in the season’s fledgling weeks.

The form of the Sharks looks ominous for the visiting Wolves who were defeated 4-1 by Sydney FC last weekend after starting the campaign with impressive back to back victories. This should be a great test of character for Wollongong who have displayed great resilience and attacking threat so far this season in the form with Tory Musumeci and Jordan Nikolovski contributing five goals between them.

The visitors will also be buoyed by their 2-0 win at Seymour Shaw last season which stood out as a rare occasion when the Sutherland juggernaut was halted.

Bonnyrigg White Eagles v Rockdale City Suns, 5.00pm at Bonnyrigg Sports Club

Bonnyrigg White Eagles will be looking for a response when they host Rockdale City Suns at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday afternoon.

A disappointing 3-0 loss to Blacktown in round three was one of the poorer performances in recent seasons from a usually exciting White Eagles side and Hamish Brown’s men should be aiming to banish that display with an assertive showing at home.

Visitors Rockdale are also entering the encounter at Bonnyrigg on the back of a heavy defeat after the Suns were beaten handsomely 4-0 by Sydney United 58 last Sunday. Rockdale are without a win in their three matches played so far this season and despite an excellent opening day performance against Sutherland Sharks the Suns will need to deliver a strong effort away from home to get their season up and rolling.

Marconi Stallions v Manly United, 5.00pm at Marconi Stadium

Manly United are hoping for back to back wins when the Cromer Park outfit travel to Marconi to take on the Stallions at Marconi Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Manly opened their account for the season with a fantastic 3-0 victory over Sydney Olympic last Sunday which should give a vastly rejuvenated squad confidence heading into the clash with Marconi.

Attacker Gianni Stensness marked his first appearance for the season with a brace against the Blues and will be one to marshal closely for the Marconi rearguard.

Having had their round three fixture against APIA Leichhardt postponed the visit of Manly represents a great chance for the newly promoted Stallions to notch their first win at home.

With the likes of Dalibor Malesevic and Brandon Stojcevski featured in a line up stacked with potential Marconi have high hopes for the 2018 campaign and would have earmarked this clash with United as a must win.

Sydney United 58 v Sydney FC, 5.00pm at Sydney United Sports Centre

Competition front-runners Sydney United 58 are looking to maintain their early lead over the pack when they welcome Sydney FC to Edensor Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds boast a perfect record following three wins over Marconi Stallions, Blacktown City and Rockdale City Suns and have been in impressive nick with forward Kyle Cimenti impressing in particular with three goals.

United 58 possess a wide range of attacking threats in Sam Perre and Anthony Pedavoli who have both looked dangerous so far this campaign and with the Sky Blues having some shaky moments in defence recently the visitors will need to be wary.

Sydney beat Wollongong 4-1 last round to remind everyone of their quality but a victory against the in-form Reds would no doubt return the Sky Blues back among the competition heavyweights.

Hamish Lamberton has scored three so far for Sydney – the former United 58 forward could just be the difference in an encounter that is sure to go down to the wire.

-By Jacob Windon