Round 20 preview

Saturday’s Round 20 fixtures see three of the bottom four taking on the Premier League’s top three, with only one tie seeing play-off contenders face up against each other.

Sunday’s games include two catch-ups from Round 16. In contrast to Saturday’s matches, these two fixtures involve four of the sides that sit in the crucial top five slots as we go into the weekend.

After last weekend’s reshuffle of the pack at the top of the ladder, this Round could again be decisive in determining the end-of-season finals qualifiers.

Match of the Round – Saturday 15 August

Albion Park White Eagles v Tarrawanna Blueys @ Terry Reserve – kick-off 2.30pm

Last weekend saw the White Eagles pick up four points from their two matches, whereas the Blueys slumped to their third defeat on the bounce away at Shell Cove. Those results left Albion Park in fourth and dropped Tarrawanna out of the play off positions for the first time in many weeks.

This is a must-win game for the Blueys if they are to maintain their challenge for a finals berth with only two matches left after this Round. They will be hoping top scorer Wandi Jajaw adds to his 18 goal tally for the season, after failing to score since his hat-trick at South Coast back in mid-July.

The Blueys’ record against fellow play-off challengers is not good, though, and they lost the reverse fixture at home 0-1 in May, so the White Eagles will come into this game full of confidence.

There’s no room for complacency in the White Eagles camp, though. They only narrowly beat bottom club Bellambi on Sunday, though fitness may well have been a factor there since it came only 24 hours after a tough battle against Wollongong United last Saturday. If the Blueys do manage to win this one, it will once again open up the play-off positions and may even keep things uncertain until the final whistle at the end of Round 22.

Other ties Saturday 15 August

Shell Cove v Dapto Dandaloo Fury @ Barrack Heights Sportsfield – kick-off 2.30pm

These are the two form teams in the Premier League at the moment. The Fury have now strung together six league wins on the trot, including a crucial victory away at Bulli last weekend. But Shell Cove have become the surprise package of this season, transforming themselves from the League’s draw specialists a few weeks ago with wins in their last three matches, including a six-point double-header last weekend.

Confidence must be sky-high at Shell Cove and they’ve started knocking a few goals in, with seven in the last three games. And with home advantage, this could be a very different tie from the reverse fixture, played only four weeks ago, when Fury ran out 3-0 winners.

Crucial to this tie will be how the Shell Cove back four cope with the likes of Robbie Shields in the Fury front line. Mitchell del Turco has also returned from mid season leave and he too got himself on the scoresheet against Bulli last week. It’s hard to see any result but an away win here, but Shell Cove have surprised many this season, so can’t be discounted.

Bellambi v Wollongong United @ Elizabeth Park – kick-off 2.30pm

Wollongong United is virtually assured of a play-off place after results last weekend left them seven points clear of sixth. They’ve gone eight games undefeated in the League and of course won the Bert Bampton Cup Final two weeks ago, so this is another side brimming with confidence at this stage in the season.

In contrast, bottom side Bellambi have lost their last six and are now sure to pick up the wooden spoon in the Premier League. Last weekend’s two defeats were both at home, but the 0-1 margin shows that Bellambi are not a team to be discounted either. If there’s any hint of complacency in the United camp – especially with a tough catch-up fixture against Bulli to follow 24 hours later – this could be Bellambi’s best opportunity to spring a surprise.

 

Woonona v Bulli @ Ocean Park – kick-off 2.30pm

Three defeats in a row have seen Woonona slip back to 11^th in the ladder after a run of form that had seen them cast off their early season gloom and rise to eighth. When they lost the reverse fixture 6-0 at Balls Paddock back in May, Woonona were at their lowest point in the season, so they’ll be hoping to capitalise on what might be a dispirited Bulli team, after they effectively lost the League title last weekend with defeat at home to the Fury.

The big issue for Woonona will be how to contain Bulli’s front line and speed of attack, if the visitors do come out hungry for the three points. Ben McDonald scored four in the 6-0 win in Round 9 and is still the League’s top scorer with 24 goals to his name. He may not have scored last weekend against the Fury, but he will always be a threat.

Anything is possible with Bulli this season, though. They have lost 3-0 to South Coast United in a match which may well prove to have been the turning point in the title chase this season, but they had a stunning 5-0 win over Tarrawanna and are capable of demolishing teams like Cringila, who fell 8-0 to Bulli back in June.

 

Port Kembla v South Coast United @ Wetherall Park – kick-off 2.30pm

With their 3-1 win last weekend over play-off rivals Wollongong Olympic, Port Kembla extended their unbeaten run to seven matches and leaped back into fifth, leaving them in the driving seat for achieving a finals spot at the end of the season.

The Port will be looking to gain revenge for the 2-0 defeat they suffered in the reverse fixture, but that defeat was in the middle of a poor run of form, and they didn’t at that time have new signing Takao Teramoto, who has now scored three goals in five appearances, after picking up a brace last weekend.

South Coast have had a topsy-turvy season, though. They are capable of surprise wins, like their 3-0 defeat of Bulli three weeks ago, and another win over finals contenders Wollongong Olympic a month ago.

Liam Unicomb is South Coast’s top marksman, and he picked up two more goals in last weekend’s win over Woonona.

 

Sunday 16 August

Cringila Lions v Wollongong Olympic FC @ Crehan Park – kick-off 2.30pm

Wollongong Olympic had a disastrous weekend, seeing two defeats in 24 hours, which leaves them with a very tough task to make the finals this season. They have the advantage of knowing by Sunday how their play-off rivals have fared in the rest of Round 19, and will be hoping other results on Sunday go their way.

Whatever happens elsewhere this weekend, a win is vital if Olympic are to maintain any challenge for a top five berth.

Cringila saw off bottom side Bellambi last weekend and lifted themselves into tenth spot in the ladder. They showed two weeks ago that they are capable of matching the other play off contenders, when they held Port Kembla to a 0-0 draw. They also have home advantage this time so may well do better than the 3-0 defeat they suffered at the hands of this weekend’s opponents when the sides met back in May.

 

Round 16 catch-ups

Dapto Dandaloo Fury v Port Kembla @ Dandaloo Sports Ground – kick-off 2.30pm

The reverse fixture back in April saw a 0-2 defeat for Port Kembla. It was the match that started a poor run that saw them slip from second in the ladder to eighth.

Arguably, Port Kembla need the points more than the Fury as they battle for a finals place at the end of the season. But even with an unbeaten run going into Saturday’s match, Port are a tough team to predict as they have been held to draws by lowly Cringila Lions and Shell Cove.

With six wins on the bounce for the Premier League leaders ahead of Saturday’s game, Dapto Dandaloo have to go into this catch-up as favourites. But they have actually been most vulnerable at home when playing other top teams this term, having seen defeat to both Wollongong United and Albion Park White Eagles.

 

Wollongong United v Bulli @ Macedonia Park – kick-off 2.30pm

If this game is half as entertaining as the reverse leg 2-2 draw back in April, fans at this game will go home satisfied. On that day, United took a late lead with five minutes left on the clock, but Bulli managed an equaliser deep into time added on.

At the time of that tie, back in April, there was everything to play for in the Premier League and teams were still establishing their formations for the weeks ahead.

This catch-up comes with just two rounds left to play, and both sides look certain to make the end-of-season finals. There’s still a chance that United could pip Bulli for second spot in the ladder, though, so they will be looking for three points this afternoon. A draw would virtually ensure the two teams end the season were they are now: in second and third spots.

- Simon Duffin -