Battlewin Premier League Preview | Round Eighteen

Sunday 28^th July: U/21’s 10:45am, RES 12:45pm, Firsts 2:45pm

East Gosford FC vs Berkeley Vale SC – Hylton Moore Oval

The Battlewin Premier League season enters the final straight on Sunday afternoon with East Gosford hosting a Berkeley Vale side who’ve just broken into the final’s positions for the first time in four weeks. After narrowly missing the 2018 finals series, the Rams have experienced a difficult 2019 campaign, struggling to find the net on a regular basis. Scoring at less than a goal a game, East Gosford’s 15 goals from 17 fixtures see them bottom of the Premier Leagues scoring charts. That being said, they have been fairly solid defensively so far this campaign with only one side outside the competitions top five having conceded less goals than the Rams with 30 so far this season (Wyoming, 28), something they’ll be leaning on when they face a Wombat’s side boasting the in-form Troy Mumford.

With six goals in his last three matches, Mumford has propelled his team into the premier league’s top five. After two goals in the Wombats victory over Killarney, Mumford netted a hat-trick against Toukley last Saturday night to move into second place on the Battlewin Premier League’s Golden Boot standings. Berkeley Vale will be looking at Sundays match with the Rams as a golden opportunity to shore up their place in the BPL’s finals positions, with two massive games to follow against both Southern and Ettalong United and Terrigal United in the following weeks.

The Entrance FC vs Wyoming FC – Pat Morley Oval

With just six points separating them from the relegation places on the Club Championship table, The Entrance face another crucial weekend of premier league fixtures when they face Wyoming at Pat Morley Oval on Sunday afternoon. After a 3-2 win over Gosford City saw them pick up their third victory of the season, they were well beaten by Southern and Ettalong United 5-1 last weekend, although the score only blew out within the last 10 minutes of the match. Desperate for Club Championship points, they’ll be looking for big performances across all three grades on Sunday afternoon as they look to hold off Toukley who’ve made up significant ground over recent weeks.

After an impressive return to the Battlewin Premier League, Wyoming are currently in the midst of their first real ‘rough patch’ of the 2019 season after racking up three successive losses. Their incredible 7-5 loss to Avoca was followed up by a 1-0 loss to Southern and Ettalong United and a 2-0 loss to Woongarrah last weekend. The losses have seen them drop outside the BPL’s top five for the first time in over 11 weeks, however with three of their remaining five fixtures against sides in the bottom five, you would expect them to return. A repeat of the 2-0 victory they achieved earlier in the season would be welcomed greatly as the side look to qualify for the finals series in their return to the Mens Premier League.

Gosford City FC vs Woongarrah FC – Gavenlock Oval

Gosford City face Woongarrah on Sunday afternoon after a heavy 9-0 defeat to Killarney all but sealed their relegation to Division One for the 2020 campaign. A 70-point gap exists between them and tenth place with a maximum of 90 Club Championship points left to play for this season. After suffering a 4-1 loss at Hamlyn Terrace earlier in the season, the Dragons will look to turn in a positive performance as they look to end the season on a high.

Woongarrah enter Sunday’s match as one of the competitions form teams as they look to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches with a win over the Dragons. Wins over Berkeley Vale, Terrigal United, and Wyoming over the last three weeks have seen them rise into fourth position on the Battlewin Premier League table, currently trailing the top two by just four points. The ‘Cats will be targeting six points from their next two matches as they face a tough last three weeks of the season with matches against Avoca, Southern and Ettalong United, and Killarney to close out the 2019 campaign.

Kanwal FC vs Toukley FC – Wadalba Sports Complex

One of the bigger matches of the round eighteen fixture list sees Kanwal host Toukley, with both sides desperate for Club Championship points to ensure their place in the top flight next season. Currently 16 points clear of the Gunners in 11^th on the CC table, the Bulls will be looking to take a big step towards securing their top flight status this weekend, with their two lower grades sitting above their opponents in their respective tables. After defeating the East Gosford Rams 1-0 in their round sixteen fixture, the Bulls backed up the performance with a disappointing 3-0 loss to Avoca last weekend, of which their opponents played 60 minutes with 10 men. They’ll be looking to overturn the 1-0 loss they suffered to the Gunners earlier in the year when they meet at Wadalba on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday’s match presents itself as another crucial opportunity for the Gunners to bolster their survival hopes, especially given their remaining four fixtures are against sides fighting it out for finals positions. They’ve made significant progress towards that goal in the last few weeks, closing the gap to The Entrance to just six points. Toukley will hope that their midweek defeat to Killarney on Wednesday night doesn’t result in player fatigue heading into Sundays match which is arguably their most important to date so far this season.

Avoca FC vs Southern and Ettalong United FC – Pluim Park

The big matches continue to come thick and fast as the end of the season nears, with Pluim Park hosting seventh placed Avoca’s clash with second placed Southern and Ettalong United. Four wins on the trot have seen the Sharks move within two points of a finals birth as they continue to mount significant pressure on the other six sides vying for a finals position. Last weekend’s victory over Kanwal was particularly impressive given they were reduced to 10 men mid-way through the first half after Jackson Carr was given his marching orders, with the Sharks going on to score three second half goals to clinch another valuable victory. The last time the sides met the Sharks managed a boil-over, defeating the Lions 4-1 at James Browne Oval.

Southern and Ettalong United have responded well following their big loss to Terrigal United a few weeks back, recording three consecutive victories as they continue to put pressure on competition leaders Killarney. Five goals in his last three matches including a dramatic 90^th minute winner against Wyoming has seen striker Keith Gumbs continue to streak ahead in the golden boot race, with his goals ensuring Southern remain in touching distance of the competition lead. Sunday’s clash shapes as yet another in a long line of big Battlewin Premier League clashes as the finals series begins to loom large.

Killarney District SC vs Terrigal United FC – EDSAAC North

The marquee fixture of the Battlewin Premier League round 18 fixture list sees first placed Killarney tackle third placed Terrigal United at EDSAAC North on Sunday afternoon as they look to extend their lead on the BPL table. After suffering a 2-1 loss to rivals Berkeley Vale two weeks ago, the Terriers have responded well, dispatching 11 unanswered goals in their last two fixtures to see them reclaim the outright lead on the BPL table. A 9-0 win over Gosford City was followed up by a 2-0 win over Toukley on Wednesday night in which play was abandoned in the 85^th minute after a severe leg injury was suffered. The Terriers will be keen to overturn the last-gasp 2-1 defeat they suffered last time the sides met as they head into a difficult few fixtures to close out the 2019 campaign.

With just one loss in their last ten matches, Terrigal United also head into Sundays clash on a positive run of form as they look to secure their position in the Battlewin Premier Leagues 2019 finals series. Currently third, Terrigal trail second placed Southern and Ettalong United by four points, whilst the sides loss to Woongarrah two weeks ago has seen the ‘Cats draw level with them on 34 points. A 2-1 win in what was one of the more memorable games of the 2019 season played out when the two sides faced off at Pluim Park earlier in the year, with Anthony Pace cancelling out an 88^th minute Killarney leveller barely a minute later to secure the three points. Terrigal face one of the toughest run-ins of the seven sides competing for a finals position, with four of their remaining five matches to be played against top seven sides.