The final five rounds of the Bankstown Umbro Premier League are upon us as the battle for the top five spots continues to heat up.
The match of the Round this week sees a crucial 2nd vs 3rd clash as Yagoona Lions host Central Sydney Wolves, where the winner from this game could move up to the top of the ladder.
Earlier, an important game between Panania Diggers and Georges River Thistle as Thistle look to keep up with the top five teams, while Revesby Workers take on Padstow Hornets as Stuart Street Reserve opens its gates once again to Premier League football.
Elsewhere, Bankstown Sports Strikers look to bounce back off a loss as Bass Hill Rangers visit.
Padstow United have the bye this round.
Match of the Round: Yagoona Lions vs Central Sydney Wolves, 24th June 4pm @ O’Neill Park
Previous Meeting: Central Sydney Wolves 4-3 Yagoona Lions – Rd 8, 2023
Yagoona Lions return off a bye in Round 13 and are in their best form of the season with four straight victories, while Central Sydney Wolves have won four of their past five matches and come off a massive victory against Bankstown Sports Strikers with halfway screamer earning them a 1-0 victory.
When these two sides met in Round 8, Central Sydney Wolves claimed all the three points after they scored four goals in the first half and then held off Yagoona Lions late to win the match 4-3.
2nd placed Yagona Lions have climbed up the ladder and only sit one-point behind the leaders, however, with a game in hand on the teams above and below them, they average the most points per game this season.
Their main man in attack, Jamie Bazevski, has scored 13 goals in their past four matches, all games in which they have won. Expect Bazevski to be menace for Yagoona once again to help his side power onto victory.
Yagoona have struggled to hold off the top sides in the competition from scoring against them, however, with only 1 goal conceded in their last two matches, expect an improved defensive performance by the hosts.
Yagoona Lions have won all their games at home this season, they are playing at O’Neill Park again this weekend so expect the hosts to come our firing to continue their 100% win record at home.
3rd placed Central Sydney Wolves knocked over Bankstown Sports Strikers for the second time this season last weekend as they look to use that victory to power on moving forward.
Their defence has improved dramatically in recent weeks with three clean sheets in their past five matches; look for the Wolves to make that a focus once again as they look to spring with pace in attack.
With multiple goal scorers in the Wolves attack including the likes of Vitor Fernandes da Guia, Abdulraman Kamara and Kallie Bangura, expect the Wolves to look to be dangerous in attack when going forward in transition.
A win for Yagoona Lions could take them as high as 1st place if results go their way, whereas if Central Sydney Wolves lose, they could drop as low as 5th place with teams behind them having a game in hand; the three points is crucial for both sides and these teams will give their all to push for victory.
Panania Diggers vs Georges River Thistle, 23rd June 8:30pm @ Padstow Park
Previous Meeting: Georges River Thistle 1-3 Panania Diggers – Rd 1, 2023
Panania Diggers come off a disappointing 2-1 loss to the Padstow Hornets in Round 13, while spirits are high in the Georges River Thistle squad after their biggest victory of the season as they put Bass Hill Rangers to the sword in a 9-0 victory last weekend.
When these two sides clashed in Round 1 of this season, Panania Diggers scored three late goals in the second half to claim all three points.
1st placed Panania Diggers have been one of the standout teams in the competition this season, however, in one of the tightest competitions to date, a loss this weekend could see them drop to as low as 3rd place and only sitting 4-points away from 6th place.
Following a loss last weekend, look for Panania Diggers to come out looking to prove to the competition why they are at the top of the ladder.
Look for Panania’s Joshua Adams and Nicholas Vertsonis to be their main men in attack as they look to potentially open the gap between themselves, and 6th place to 10 points and almost guarantee themselves finals football this season.
6th place Georges River Thistle have it all to play for in this match as they look use their positive momentum from their 9-0 victory over Bass Hill Rangers last weekend to continue to push for a top five spot this weekend.
Georges River Thistle have only managed one win against the top five teams this season, a statistic they will need to change if they are to make a push for a finals spot with four of their last five games being against the top five teams.
Georges River Thistle will look to be more positive going forward after they scored nine goals last weekend with their attacking players determined to continue to score more goals in the competition.
Panania Diggers will be eager to stay at the top of the table this weekend while Georges River Thistle are determined to keep their finals hopes alive with a crucial three points; expect this match-up to have everything with both teams prepared to fight to the end.
Revesby Workers vs Padstow Hornets, 24th June 3pm @ Stuart Street Reserve
Previous Meeting: Padstow Hornets 3-2 Revesby Workers – Rd 7, 2023
Revesby Workers continue to struggle after their 7-0 loss to Padstow United last weekend, while Padstow Hornets come off their third straight win including their most recent being a 2-1 victory over league leaders Panania Diggers.
Padstow Hornets scored in the 89th minute to clinch victory when these two sides met back in Round 7 this season.
8th placed Revesby Workers are struggling to find form late into the season having lost their past three games and conceding twenty unanswered goals over the last three rounds.
Revesby Workers face enough very tough challenge this week playing an inform Padstow Hornets who make their grand return to the Hornets Nest (Stuart Street Reserve) for the first time since June 2021.
Revesby Workers will continue to show resilience and pride in how they defend and play each week as they look for a victory this weekend to give them some positive momentum moving forward.
5th placed Padstow Hornets come off a massive 2-1 victory over league leaders Panania Diggers courtesy of a late winner by their very own Mike Cklamovski.
Padstow Hornets are coming off some good momentum with three straight victories whilst they have even more to play for this weekend with this being their first Bankstown Men’s Premier League fixture on Stuart Street Reserve since the 1st of June 2021.
With their boys fired up and ready to put on a strong performance in front of their home crowd for the first time in a long time, expect the Hornets to come out looking to put Revesby Workers to the sword.
With one side out of form and another side in the best form of their season, the score in this match could be anything as Revesby Workers and Padstow Hornets go head-to-head at Stuart Street.
Bankstown Sports Strikers vs Bass Hill Rangers, 24th June 4pm @ Crest Sporting Complex
Previous Meeting: Bass Hill Rangers 0-3 Bankstown Sports Strikers – Rd 1, 2023
Bankstown Sports Strikers come off a disappointing 1-0 loss to Central Sydney Wolves, while Bass Hill Rangers were dismantled in a 9-0 loss to Georges River Thistle in Round 13.
When these two sides met in Round 1 this season, a 22nd minute red card for Bass Hill Rangers saw them struggle as Bankstown Sports Strikers scored three unanswered goals in the second half to win the match 3-0.
4th placed Bankstown Sports Strikers have hit their worst form of the season having won one of their past three matches.
Bankstown Sports Strikers have struggled to put sides away when they are dominating matches, however, as they face 9th place Bass Hill Rangers, they will hope they can begin to dominate this game early and build some momentum back towards the business end of the competition.
If Bankstown Sports Strikers can get the three points this weekend, they could move as high as first on the competition ladder; expect that to give the Bankstown Sports Strikers side some added motivation heading into this match.
9th placed Bass Hill Rangers come off a 9-0 loss to Georges River Thistle in Round 13 having conceded six goals in the last 30 minutes of the match.
Bass Hill Rangers need to look to be more resilient in defence this weekend as they aim to hold out Bankstown Sports Strikers attack for as long as possible to build more belief that they can get a result in this match.
Bass Hill Rangers need to find a goal this weekend which they have been unable to do in their past three matches, with finals football not possible for the Bass Hill side this season, expect them to try new things going forward in attack.
Expect this match to be an exciting encounter with plenty of attacking force as both sides have a point to prove.
