Battlewin Premier League Preview | Round Eleven

Saturday 1st June: U/21’s 1:00pm, Reserve Grade 3:00pm, First Grade 5:00pm

Avoca FC vs Terrigal United FC – Pluim Park

Terrigal United return to Pluim Park after last Saturday nights 4-3 thriller with Toukley to face an Avoca side who extended their unbeaten run in the league to six matches with a 4-2 victory over The Entrance last weekend. Only three points separates the 7^th placed Sharks and their opponents in third and a win on Saturday night would likely see them climb into the top five for the first time this season.

Terrigal also find themselves on an unbeaten run heading into tomorrow afternoons match, going three matches without defeat since their 1-0 loss to Wyoming in round seven. Their dominance in last weekend’s 4-3 victory over Toukley probably wasn’t reflected in the scoreline as they struggled to put away a spirited Gunners side. Leaders Killarney face a tough trip to face Woongarrah on Sunday afternoon, so a win for Terrigal could see them cut the gap to as little as two points.

Sunday 2nd June: U/21’s 10:45am, Reserve Grade 12:45pm, First Grade 2:45pm

Berkeley Vale SC vs Gosford City FC – Mingara Club Oval

Two draws from their last two outings see Berkeley Vale head into Sundays match with Gosford City hungry for a victory to ensure they keep pace with the top five sides above them on the Battlewin Premier League table. The Wombats will be disappointed they didn’t take all three points from last week’s match with Kanwal at Wadalba, having more of the ball and arguably the better of the chances. Berkeley Vale will be looking to ensure that they take care of business this weekend in a match they should be winning, especially given they face matches with two of the inform sides in the competition over the coming weeks, Wyoming and Avoca.

Gosford City followed up a breakthrough first win over Kanwal with a rather disappointing performance against their city rivals the East Gosford Rams last weekend, falling to a rather routine 3-0 defeat. The Dragons close out the first half of the 2019 campaign this weekend against the Wombats where they will look to turn in an improved performance after last weekends missed opportunity. Unfortunately for Gosford City, the club is struggling across all three grades and have found themselves in the tough situation of needing to make up a 37-point gap in the Club Championship table to avoid relegation. Although certainly a tough task, a few victories in first grade over the back half of the season could see them back into contention for a spot in next seasons Men’s Premier League.

East Gosford FC vs The Entrance FC – Hylton Moore Oval

East Gosford welcome The Entrance to Hylton Moore on Sunday afternoon as they look to string together back-to-back wins for the first time this season and extend their unbeaten run to three matches. A solid 3-0 victory over Gosford City last weekend saw them jump above this weekend’s opponents The Entrance on the BPL ladder and into 9^th spot. A win over The Entrance this weekend could see the Rams jump another spot on the BPL table and overtake Toukley into eighth spot, signifying an extremely positive end to the first half of the campaign. A tough three fixtures follow for East Gosford, as they face Woongarrah, Wyoming, and Avoca after this weekends fixture.

The Entrance head into this weekend’s match on the back of their fifth straight loss last weekend, going down 4-2 to Avoca. The side haven’t managed a victory since putting five goals past Gosford City in round five and are slowly creeping closer and closer to the two dreaded relegation places on the Club Championship, currently sitting only six points clear of eleventh placed Toukley. A goal difference of -14 (4 scored, 18 conceded) since that victory over the Dragons has been telling, with the only thing saving them from falling further down the BPL table being the equally scratchy form of the two sides below them. Both this weekend’s match with the Rams, and next weekend’s match with Toukley look pivotal to their season, as following them they look ahead to a string of three consecutive matches against top four opponents.

Wyoming FC vs Kanwal FC – Alan Davidson Oval

Wyoming’s run of four straight victories came to an end last weekend as they look to get back to winning ways this weekend when they face Kanwal at Alan Davidson Oval. The Tigers went down 2-0 to leaders Killarney in a match that was fairly competitive throughout, however the class of the Terriers side came to the fore in the second half as they wrapped up the three points. The Tigers will look to this weekend’s match with Kanwal as a great opportunity to sure up their spot in the Battlewin Premier Leagues top five, a great result as we tick over the half way mark for one of the competitions newly promoted sides.

The Bulls head into this weekend’s fixture on the back of a solid 1-1 result against 6^th placed Berkeley Vale last weekend. It was a good response following the sides disappointing 2-1 loss to bottom placed Gosford City the week before, with focus now turning to following that up with a solid result this weekend. It’s been a frustrating season thus far for the Bulls, going down by only the single goal in six of their seven losses so far this campaign. If results had swung their way in only a few of those matches they could well find themselves much further up the premier league table. Similarly to The Entrance, this weekend is the start of another tough run of fixtures for the Bulls. Including this weekend’s match, they will face each of the top five sides over the next five weeks.

Toukley FC vs Southern and Ettalong United FC – Harry Moore Oval

Toukley welcome Southern and Ettalong United to Harry Moore Oval on Sunday afternoon as they look to bounce back from last weekend’s narrow 4-3 loss to Terrigal United. It was a much-improved performance from Ben Nichol’s side following on from their 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Wyoming the week before, however they fell just short in the end of coming away from Pluim Park with a point. This weekend looms as tough task for the Gunners as they face a Southern side who bounced back in rampant fashion last weekend, dispatching top four challengers Woongarrah 6-2 in what was a very polished performance. Following Sundays match, Toukley face fixtures with strugglers The Entrance and Gosford City, games that they’ll be targeting to pick up maximum points.

Southern and Ettalong United bounced back in impressive fashion last week with a 6-2 win over Woongarrah following a rough two-week period that saw them drop points in games they’d have been expected to win. The big win over Woongarrah ensured they took back second spot from their opponents, with striker Keith Gumbs starring with an impressive hat-trick, becoming the first player to break into double figures in the BPL golden boot standings as he reached 11 for the season so far. A win this weekend over the Gunners as well as a positive result from their match next weekend with Kanwal could see the Lions head into crucial fixtures against Killarney and Terrigal United in the coming weeks with plenty of momentum, hopefully leading to two cracking matches of premier league football.

Woongarrah FC vs Killarney District SC – Hamlyn Terrace

The match of the round in the Battlewin Premier League takes place on Sunday afternoon at Hamlyn Terrace as fourth placed Woongarrah tackle the competition front-runners, Killarney. The Wildcats will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s disappointing defeat at James Browne Oval to Southern and Ettalong United. The loss saw them drop two places on the BPL table as they head into this weekend’s match with the Terriers in fourth place, five points behind their opponents. A positive result for the ‘Cats in this fixture would certainly give a helping hand to the rest of the competition, as we’d likely see the top seven positions in the competition really tighten up again ahead of the commencement of the second half of the season.

The Terriers, meanwhile, have recovered well from their rough patch a few weeks ago, securing back-to-back wins over The Entrance and Wyoming to restore a three-point buffer between themselves and the chasing pack. The match with Wyoming last weekend saw the start of a fairly challenging run of fixtures for the defending premiers, facing the in-form Avoca before what looms as a blockbuster clash with second placed Southern following on from Sundays match with Woongarrah. Sundays clash certainly looks to be the pick of the weekends matches as two sides with legitimate title hopes face-off at Hamlyn Terrace, with first grade kicking off at 2:45pm.