Round 21 Preview

Everyone has now played all the catch-up matches, so there are two games left for each team, starting this Saturday.

After Dapto Dandaloo Fury claimed the Premier League title in emphatic style last weekend, attention now switches to the teams vying for end-of-season Finals places.

Three teams are still in with a shout at the fifth spot and although Port Kembla might be in the driving seat with a three point lead over their nearest rivals, they arguably have the toughest fixture this weekend with a trip away to in-form Wollongong United. It’s quite likely, therefore, that we won’t know the make-up of the play-off contenders until the final whistle has blown next week, at the conclusion of the regular season.

Match of the round

Wollongong United v Port Kembla @ Macedonia Park – kick-off 2.30pm, Saturday 22 August

Port Kembla will be trying to end United’s ten match unbeaten run as they push to stay in the play-off positions going into the last Round next week.

Wollongong United’s run has seen them leap up the ladder into second spot with two matches to go. Striker Matt Floro scored in the reverse fixture when United won 1-2 at Wetherall Park and he showed last weekend that he’s back to his sharpest best with goals in both United’s wins.

Until their defeat to the Fury last Sunday, Port were on their own unbeaten run of eight matches, though they will have been disappointed to drop points at home to South Coast United on Saturday. Nuno Pires became Port’s top scorer this season with his goal in that South Coast draw, and they’ll need him and new boy Takao Teramoto to be on target in this one.

A win for Port Kembla would leave them well-placed for the Finals berth. Any other result will keep them looking at the results elsewhere and hoping things go their way. And defeat may well see them concede fifth spot by the end of the weekend because of their poor goal difference.

Other ties: Saturday 22 August

Bulli v Shell Cove @ Balls Paddock kick-off 2.30pm

This tie puts together two teams that will be in shock after last weekend’s results.

Bulli managed only one point from six last week, and have won only one match in their last five. They have not only conceded the title race to Dapto Dandaloo in that time, but defeat to Wollongong United last Sunday meant they have slipped to third in the ladder, with Albion Park White Eagles breathing down their necks.

Bulli’s once solid defence has leaked three goals in three of their last five matches. And their top scorer Ben McDonald hasn’t hit the target for a few weeks either, though he did score in the reverse fixture back in May. Bulli will be looking for the three points here to keep the pressure on Wollongong United in second.

Shell Cove managed a draw in the reverse fixture, but any confidence from that result and their three wins on the bounce earlier this month will have been shaken by last week’s trouncing by the Fury. One of the Shell Cove scorers in the 2-2 draw with Bulli in Round 10 was Tommy Markovski, but he was one of two sent off for Shell Cove last weekend, so he’ll be absent for this one.

Dapto Dandaloo Fury v Cringila Lions @ Dandaloo Sports Ground – kick-off 2.30pm

The Fury’s double header winning weekend last week left them not only as Premier League Champions for 2015, but gave them a remarkable seven victories on the bounce. They beat Cringila 0-6 in the reverse fixture so some might be expecting another goal glut this weekend..

Cringila’s best hope is that for the Fury there is less hanging on this match, since they are guaranteed top spot. And Cringila’s form has not been bad of late, with only one defeat in five, including draws against play-off hopefuls Port Kembla and Wollongong Olympic.

Robbie Shields took his goal tally to 13 with last weekend’s hat-trick, and that’s in just 12 games. Fabian Iacovelli appears to be the other Fury marksman to watch at the moment, as he scored in both wins last weekend.

Wollongong Olympic v Bellambi @ PCYC – kick-off 2.30pm

In spite of managing only one point from their last three matches, Wollongong Olympic are still in with a shout at this season’s Finals. A win today against the bottom club Bellambi would see them regain fifth, if Port Kembla lose as well.

Whatever happens elsewhere, Olympic will be looking for three points in this tie, as it would keep those play-off hopes alive going into the last Round next weekend.

Olympic won the reverse tie 0-4, with Niklas Schon and Justin Potter getting two apiece that day in May. Potter and Schon are Olympic’s top scorers this season, but Bellambi will need to keep an eye also on Nathan Smith, who has got his name on the scoresheet twice in recent games.

Bellambi’s miserable run continued last weekend, with their seventh straight defeat. Not only that, but the Rosella’s have now gone about 500 minutes without scoring a goal.

Tarrawanna Blueys v Woonona @ Tarrawanna Oval – kick-off 2.30pm

Tarrawanna Blueys have lost their last four matches, but still have an outside chance of making the Finals if they win this match and other results go their way. It’s an extraordinary reversal for a team that was flying high just a few weeks ago.

It may be significant that top scorer Wandi Jajaw has failed to add to his goal tally since July, a run that coincides with his side’s four straight defeats. If Jajaw can find the net again, the Blueys might still get something out of the season.

But Woonona will be no pushover. They may have slipped back to eleventh in the ladder, but will have been buoyed by their draw with Bulli last week. Last week’s goal scorers were stalwarts Josh Hutton and Ryan Hunter, both of whom hitting their first goal of the season in 20 and 19 appearances respectively.

Sunday 23 August

South Coast United v Albion Park White Eagles @ Ian McLellan Park – kick-off 2.30pm

The White Eagles confirmed their place in this season’s Finals with last weekend’s emphatic win over Tarrawanna. Victory in this tie might even give them a chance at third spot, if Bulli continues to slide. But the White Eagles will know more about that by the time they kick-off on Sunday. If Bulli wins on Saturday, there isn’t much for either team to play for.

Both teams are capable of finishing strongly over the 90 minutes. Harrison Russell and Jack Balmforth came off the bench last weekend to add to the White Eagles goal tally against the Blueys. South Coast, meanwhile, came back from 2-0 to grab a point at Port Kembla.

Albion Park won the reverse fixture comfortably 5-1. But they’re a hard team to predict away from home, having hammered Shell Cove and Cringila earlier this season and beaten League champions Dapto Dandaloo away, but they have also lost to Woonona away, and South Coast is of course the team that beat Bulli 3-0 just a few weeks ago, thus effectively handing Fury the title.

- Simon Duffin -

Photo - Kyah Hufton