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Blacktown City keen on capturing the 2021 Mayoral Cup

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It’s a fixture that has been firmly locked in the bank for both Blacktown City FC and fellow rivals Mt Druitt Town Rangers as this Sunday April 11th marks the fight for not only three points in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition but for the right to be crowned the Mayoral Cup winner for 2021 at Lily Homes Stadium.

It’s been billed as the “real battle of the West” as Mark Crittenden’s side goes head-to-head with Stewart Montgomery’s up and coming Rangers at 3pm.

It will be a baptism of fire for newly announced Blacktown City Executive Chairman Bob Turner who is eagerly anticipating his first ever Mayoral Cup battle since his appointment into the football scene.

Turner is pushing for a full house at the iconic Lily Homes Stadium with the club promoting an exciting initiative to reach that objective in tapping into the local Blacktown Council employees.

“We have made an offer to all Blacktown Council employees for free admission to this game and a reduced price of $10 for their partners.

“With 2,000 employees, hopefully a few will take up the offer and we can fill Lily Homes Stadium set to watch this blockbuster event.”

Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale and Blacktown City Deputy Mayor Julie Griffiths will both be keen observers of the highly anticipated match.

What: Blacktown Mayoral Cup – Blacktown City FC Vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC

When: Sunday, April 11, 3pm

Where:  Lily Homes Stadium, 5 Quinn Ave, Seven Hills

APIA and Sharks to lock horns on Wednesday night

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Nothing but a victory will be on the minds of the APIA Leichhardt FC players as they entertain the Sutherland Sharks FC tomorrow night at Lambert Park (7:15pm) when the two meet to play its rescheduled round 4 fixture.

Coming red-hot at Lambert Park on Wednesday evening is a buzzing Sharks outfit coached by Nick Dimovski and are smarting from its devastating round 5 display when they carved up a ten-men Mt Druitt Town Rangers outfit.

The star of the show at Seymour Shaw was James Andrew who bagged a hattrick. His pace will need to be watched carefully by the APIA defence who may be without one of its inspirational stoppers in Paul Galimi who is still suffering from slight concussion following their round 5 match against Manly United.  Should Galimi sit out, the club could opt to give its young promising defender Gian Fiorese a start after impressing when the 20-year-old came on for Galimi last Saturday.

Two players that have had a fantastic start to the 2021 season from the Shire based squad have been new recruit Chris Lindsay and midfield workhorse Chris McStay.

Former APIA players Jeremy Cox and Patrick Scibillio will also be hoping that their return to Lambert Park will be one to remember as the duo hope to steal the points from their former teammates.

Paul Dee will take charge of his first official match for the club after serving his one-match suspension that saw him miss the match against Manly United last Saturday.

The new manager will be expecting more from his players in getting the business done on Wednesday night.

The likes of young guns Will Mutch and Mathieu Cordier will be ones to watch out for while former Sharks striker Blake Powell is hoping that this will be the match he too will break his own drought in hitting the back of the net. APIA currently sit at the foot of the ladder with the worst attacking record having scored only two goals so Powell’s attacking ability will be one to look out for. As is the case in football once the former Sydney FC star notches one goal, more will follow and that’s exactly what Dee expects from his experienced marksman.

Veteran goalkeeper Ivan Necevski has turned back the clock having made a number of important saves in the last few matches while it was pleasing to see the return to form of Corey Biczo who notched up the team’s solitary goal last Saturday.

This match is evenly poised but is being billed as an absolute firecracker of a Wednesday evening match-up with three precious points up for grabs before their Easter Long-Weekend games.

Don’t forget you can watch this match LIVE and EXCLUSIVE only on NPL.TV from 7:15pm.

Bulls and Stallions to face off in rescheduled fixture tonight

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The rain may have eased in Sydney and the sun has finally come up as has more action in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition with last weekend’s postponed Round 4 clash between the Northbridge Bulls and Marconi Stallions set to take place tonight (Wednesday) at the Sydney United Sports Centre (7:30pm).

A maiden win for the season will be on Northbridge Bulls’ agenda as they take on the Stallions.

The Bulls nearly pulled off a second-half fightback as they fell to a 3-2 loss against Sydney FC in round 3.

While the results haven’t been exactly what coach Mile Sterjovski would’ve hoped for, his Bulls side has delivered several impressive performances across their opening three matches.

Rory Jordan was back amongst the scorers in round 3 after a brilliant display which could’ve easily featured three or four goals from the former Western Sydney Wanderers dynamo.

If the young attacker adds a clinical edge to his game, he will be a handful for opposition defences.

It will also depend on which current Bulls A-League first team players will come down to assist with club’s push for victory. With talented players such as Liam Rose, Moudi Najjar, Jake Hollman, Michael Ruhs and former Stallions stars Lachlan Sepping and Yianni Nicolaou all possibilities for this match-up.

Looking to stop the Bulls push for their first three-pointer is Marconi Stallions, who are also yet to win a game this season.

The Peter Tsekenis coached side were moments away from getting the job done against Rockdale in in an entertaining round 3 clash before conceding a late stunning equaliser in the 90th minute.

While it was a bittersweet result for the Stallions, they showed signs of their incredible potential.

A key aspect to Marconi’s performance was their attacking stars Mitch Mallia, Anthony Frangie and captain Marko Jesic all finding the back of the net.

When these three are firing on all cylinders, then Marconi will be hard to stop.

Emmanuel Peters also had a promising debut and will be one to watch as he tackles his former teammates.

This game is set to be an exciting clash and a great game to keep all you NPL NSW Men’s fans gripped to your seats with the game being shown LIVE and EXCLUSIVE only on NPL.TV.

Paul Dee appointed APIA Leichhardt Head Coach

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APIA Leichhardt have appointed Paul Dee as the club’s First Grade Head coach effective immediately.

Dee joins the iconic Inner West National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s club having taken time out of the game after spending six successful years at Manly United FC.

There the 46-year-old built a team that in the 2017 season won the NPL NSW Men’s Championship ironically defeating APIA.

Dee is a former APIA player and was a member of the 2003 NSW Premier League Championship winning side.

He brings a wealth of experience to the role and showed in his time at Manly his ability to maximise the potential of any group of players.

Dee will be in the dugout for this Saturday’s first home match of the season at Lambert Park against Sutherland Sharks FC.

“The Board is very excited to welcome Paul Dee back to Lambert Park,” a club spokesperson said.

“Paul joins us after a difficult start to the season, but we believe he is the right man to take us forward.

“His time at Manly demonstrated his considerable ability as a head coach, and we look forward to seeing him in APIA colours once again.”

Assisting Dee will be former player, Australian youth international and NPL NSW Men’s stalwart Nick Stavroulakis.

APIA Leichhardt parts company with John Calleja

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APIA Leichhardt has parted company with Championship winning first grade coach John Calleja.

While the decision to part company was an extremely difficult one, the club felt it was important to act quickly, given the poor start to the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s 2021 campaign.

Calleja joined APIA as assistant coach to Danial Cummins in 2017 and was part of the coaching staff as we won the NPL NSW Men’s Premiership that year. The team also made the Waratah Cup and NPL NSW Men’s Grand Final.

In 2018 he worked with APIA icon Billy McColl. The success kept coming winning the Waratah Cup in 2018 and also returning to the national spotlight thanks to a hugely successful FFA Cup campaign.

While we were knocked out by Adelaide United in the quarter-finals, we delivered the moment of the tournament claiming the scalp of then-national Champion Melbourne Victory at a packed Leichhardt Oval.

It was without doubt one of the finest moments in our decorated history and was soon followed by another following McColl’s decision to step down, Calleja was promoted to the top job in 2019.

Calleja helped deliver a long awaited NPL NSW Men’s Championship guiding the club to a 2-1 extra-time win in the Grand Final against Sydney United 58 in 2019.

It ended a 16-year hunt for the top prize and was a sweeter win than ever before after tasting defeat in the two previous Grand Finals.

“The club would like to thank John Calleja for his history making contribution to APIA Leichhardt,” a club spokesman said.

“John was a significant part of the most successful period in the club’s history, firstly as an assistant coach and then as a head coach, in particular the FFA Cup win against Melbourne Victory and the Grand Final win against Sydney United 58. Those are two moments everyone associated with APIA will remember forever.

“This was an extremely difficult decision to make but it is one we felt was necessary at this stage.

“John will always be warmly welcome at Lambert Park.”

An announcement on a new first grade head coach will be made in due course.

APIA Leichhardt Press Release