KICKOFF 2020 11TH - 13TH ROUND 07 SEPTEMBER MEN’S FIXTURES - ROUND 07 7:30 PM • FRI 11 SEP • CROMER PARK Referee: A. Arndt Assistant Referees: J. Park Fourth Official: M. Allum 7:30 PM • FRI 11 SEP • LILY HOMES STADIUM Referee: S. Kelly Assistant Referees: A. Filacouridis Fourth Official: M. McOrist 4:00 PM • SAT 12 SEP • MARCONI STADIUM ® Referee: S. Lucas Assistant Referees: P. Teleki Fourth Official: E. Kocbek 3:00 PM • SUN 13 SEP • ILINDEN SPORTS CENTRE Referee: K. Ams Assistant Referees: S. Edeling Fourth Official: N. Wotton 3:00 PM • SUN 13 SEP • LAMBERT PARK Referee: M. Weiner Assistant Referees: J. Adabjou Fourth Official: D. Alter 3:00 PM • SUN 13 SEP SYDNEY UNITED SPORTS CENTRE Referee: K. Patterson Assistant Referees: B. Wright Fourth Official: A. Hosnani 2 #NPLNSW PLAY IT SAFE AND REDUCE THE RISK PREPARE AND WASH OR SANITISE YOUR DRESS FOR GAMES HANDS BEFORE AND AT HOME AFTER YOUR GAME SOCIAL DISTANCING TO BE IMPLEMENTED AT ALL TIMES DO NOT SHAKE HANDS, FILL AND BRING YOUR OWN HIGH FIVE OR HUG OTHER CLEARLY LABELLED DRINK PLAYERS, OFFICIALS, TEAM BOTTLE FROM HOME. OFFICIALS OR SPECTATORS DO NOT SHARE DRINK BOTTLES. DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU EXHIBIT ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS FEVER COUGH FATIGUE SORE THROAT SHORTNESS OF BREATH PREVIEWS It’s Round 7 of the National Premier Leagues Western Sydney Wanderers and in the final NSW Men’s competition and with only five match of the round Rockdale Ilinden playing matchdays remaining in the regular season, host to Wollongong Wolves. the pressure is on to make every game The battle for the Premiership is very much count. alive with only a few points separating the Sydney Olympic lead the competition coming top six teams. It’s building up to be another into this week’s fixtures after leapfrogging blockbuster weekend of NPL NSW Men’s Sydney FC at the top of the table. action. This week’s matches get underway with two Manly United v North Shore Mariners, 7.30 big games on Friday night as a resurgent Manly pm Friday at Cromer Park United host North Shore Mariners while Sydney FC will be out to bounce back when they go up Manly United will be fighting to stay in the hunt against the bottom of the table side Blacktown for finals football when they host North Shore City. Mariners at Cromer Park on Friday night. Marconi Stallions will also be on the hunt for a Manly has found their groove in recent weeks return to the winner’s circle when they host Mt winning two of their past three games and Druitt Town Rangers on Saturday afternoon. scoring nine goals in the process. On Sunday there will be three matches with It’s a stark contrast from their opening three Sydney Olympic taking on local rivals APIA matches of the season where the Northern Leichhardt, Sydney United 58 going up against Beaches based side was unable to find the back 4 #NPLNSW of the net at all. tries to put his finger on what has gone wrong since the season restart. Last week Manly scored five goals in a 5-2 drubbing of APIA Leichhardt which was sure to A 2-0 defeat on the road against Wollongong put a smile on the face of their new coach Adam made it four straight defeats for City who have Griffiths. only scored one goal during that run. Veteran attacking stars Brendan Cholakian Finding a way to the back of the net seems to and Dejan Pandurevic delivered exceptional be Blacktown’s biggest challenge with Charles performances in the win and displayed how Mendy and Hassan Jalloh the club’s only dangerous they can be when in form. goalscorers so far this campaign. Griffiths will be hoping the pair can carry that Improved contributions from attackers Mario level of play into this match while also helping Shabow, Leroy Jennings, Rhett Desilva, rising stars Luca Kmet and Jordan Devries who Dakota Askew and Daniel Araujo are needed have also found their scoring touch. if Blacktown are to improve in their final few matches. Manly comes up against a North Shore Mariners side languishing towards the bottom of the They will be up against a Sydney FC side which table after a difficult return to action during the has had no such issue scoring and will be driven rebooted season. towards reclaiming their spot on the top of the competition ladder. A 1-1 draw against Mt Druitt last week was somewhat of a bittersweet result for the Joe A 4-2 loss against Sydney United 58 last round Haywood coached side after they had taken a would’ve been a bit of a reality check for the 1-0 lead in the match. Young Sky Blues who had been flying high since the start of the rebooted season. Haywood will be looking to Manny Peters to take his game to another level over the closing Coach Jim van Weeren faces an important test weeks of the campaign after a slow start from in this match as he is tasked with getting his the talented attacker. young team back on track. Manly will be favourites to take this match at Patrick Wood continues to go from strength to home but will need to avoid complacency strength this campaign with his tally of seven against a competitive Mariners outfit. goals this campaign a big part of Sydney FC’s success. Blacktown City FC v Sydney FC, 7.30 pm Friday at Lily Homes Stadium Blacktown will offer plenty of resistance in front of their fans but if Sydney FC can rediscover Blacktown City will be determined to fight their scoring touch then it may be a tough night their way off the bottom of the table with a win at the office for the home side. against Sydney FC at Lily Homes Stadium on Friday night. Marconi Stallions FC v Mt Druitt Town Rangers, 4 pm Saturday at Marconi It’s been a season which has gone from worse Stadium to worse for Blacktown and coach Mark Crittenden will be scratching his head as he A heartbreaking defeat last round will have NPLNSW.COM.AU 5 PREVIEWS Marconi Stallions fired up for victory when incredible comeback win last week as they they host Mt Druitt Town Rangers on Saturday scored a last-minute goal to snatch a 2-1 victory afternoon at Marconi Stadium. against Marconi. Despite a dominant first-half performance, The star-studded squad coached by Ante Juric the Stallions suffered a dramatic defeat last is getting better by the week and demonstrated round against Sydney Olympic who staged an their winning edge in last weeks triumph. incredible fightback to snatch a 2-1 victory in The trio of Adam Parkhouse, Charles Lokolingoy the final seconds of the match. and Fabio Ferreira is an attack that sends chills Mitch Mallia’s performance in the opening 45 down the spine of any opposing defence, minutes last week was arguably one of the best- while club veterans Thomas Whiteside, Jason attacking displays seen this season. If he can Madonis and Chris Gligor provide plenty of replicate that this week then the Rangers could steel in midfield and defence. be in for a tough match. Their opponents APIA have experienced far However, defensive consistency will be the different fortunes since the season restart as message from coach Peter Tsekenis who will be they go into this match slumped down in tenth hoping the loss to Olympic has taught his side on the ladder. the importance of staying composed for the full A tough 5-2 loss to Manly United last week 90 minutes. was the latest frustrating result for the reigning They go up against a Mt Druitt side whose champions who have struggled to find their improving performances have seen them fly feet since the competition restart. under the radar into finals contention. APIA coach John Calleja has been forced to Coach Franco Cosentino has a team capable of rotate his squad extensively this season due to testing the leagues best. long term injuries and suspensions with a total of24 players seeing minutes so far, the most of Goals have no been a concern for Mt Druitt with any NPL NSW team. stars Jack Stewart and John Roberts playing impressive football in recent weeks. Veteran star Franco Parisi is one of only five players to have appeared in every game and his Marconi will be the favourites for this match experience will be imperative if APIA is to pull but if they let their guard down as they did last off an upset. week, Mt Druitt has the firepower to cause an Olympic will be heavy favourites for this match upset. but if APIA bring their top form it could down Sydney Olympic FC v APIA Leichhardt, 3 to the wire. pm Sunday at Lambert Park Sydney United 58 v Western Sydney Niceties will be put aside when traditional rivals Wanderers, 3 pm Sunday at Sydney United Sydney Olympic and APIA Leichhardt face off at Sports Centre Lambert Park on Sunday afternoon. Sydney United 58 will be looking to make it Olympic sits on top of the table after an three wins in a row when they host Western 6 #NPLNSW Sydney Wanderers at Sydney United Sports Rockdale Ilinden FC v Wollongong Wolves, Centre on Sunday afternoon. 4 pm Sunday at Ilinden Sports Centre The departure of coach Zeljko Kalac last week A big bounce-back performance will be on the could’ve derailed United 58’s season but agenda for Rockdale Ilinden when they host instead they took their game to the next level with a dominant 4-2 win against premiership Wollongong Wolves on Sunday.