PS4 NPL Round 3 Preview
Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Patrick Kearney
A traditional derby, potential ‘six-pointers’ and a bottom of the table clash – Round 3 of PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues again offers plenty of exciting match-ups.
Redlands United FC v Moreton Bay United FC
Friday, March 11 | 7:00PM
Cleveland Showgrounds, Redland City
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – Redlands 3, Jets 3, Draws 0
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Jets won 2-0 at Wolter Park (June 13, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – Redlands 2nd (2W-0D-0L), Jets 3rd (2W-0D-0L)
Early season high-flyers Redlands and Jets clash in a possible test of each club’s top four credentials in the first Friday night fixture of the season.
Both sides recorded wins in their opening two games and know a further three points could well see them in top spot come round’s end.
The tactical midfield battle is set to be crucial with both sides boasting dynamic playmakers and scoring outlets across the entire width of the pitch.
History does suggest plenty of goals – with an astounding 28 combined over the team’s past six meetings – but with neither side yet to record a clean sheet in 2016, both coaches may put the emphasis on tighter defensive returns as their respective campaigns gather momentum.
Redlands Squad: 1. Brendan WHITE, 2. Michael MCGOWAN, 3. Grant BRIX, 4. Kai HALLIDAY, 5. Paul O’BRIEN, 6. Gregory WARDEN, 7. Michael LEE, 8. Russell WOODRUFFE, 9. Stephen GREEN, 10. Nicolas BECHAR, 11. Graham FYFE, 12. Adam CHANDLER, 14. Nicholas DANICIC, 16. Igor SAO JOSE, 17. Samuel LANGLEY, 20. James EDGAR
In: Samuel LANGLEY
Out: Doyle BISSETT
Jets Squad: 1. Matthew STEIN, 2. Reyze KELLY, 3. Scott STEWART, 4. Matthew BYRNE, 6. Liam PREVITERA, 7. Jordan FARINA, 8. Matthew CAPELO, 9. Royce BROWNLIE, 10. Joey MASUDA, 12. Sebastian KALOS, 13. Finn BEAKHURST, 14. Alex JANOVSKY, 15. Taiga ISHIKURA, 18. Jonathan MARRAIYA, 19. Jacob MITCHELL, 20. Ryan ATKINS
In – Matthew CAPELO
Out – Jacob FULLUCK
Officials – Alan Milliner (referee), Joseph Lee (assistant), Benjamin Orwell (assistant), Zijad Ahmetovic (fourth)
Brisbane City FC v Olympic FC
Saturday, March 12 | 6:30PM
Corporate Travel Management Stadium, Brisbane
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – City 2, Olympic 5, Draws 0
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Olympic won 5-0 at Goodwin Park (July 11, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – City 7th (1W-0D-1L), Olympic 5th (1W-0D-1L)
Arguably the most passionate rivalry in the capital, City and Olympic will look to build on last week’s breakthrough wins when they clash for the first time in 2016.
Olympic boast an impressive record against their cross-river opponents and took all six points from their clashes last season.
However, City are a much-changed proposition compared to 2015 and will be somewhat enigmatic as coach John Kosmina continues to tinker with his set-up.
Key to the battle will be curtailing the influence of veterans Daniel Byrne and Antonio Murray – with both players’ tendency toward the sublime capable of proving decisive across the 90 minutes.
City Squad – 1. Timothy ALLEN, 2. Greg KING, 4. Kai SMITH, 5. Jayke CUSCHIERI, 6. Luke PAVLOU, 7. Nathan BIRD, 9. Antonio MURRAY, 10. Scot COULSON, 11. Nicholas BUCKLEY, 13. Jason PARK, 13. Paul STEVENS, 15. Kai BARNES, 17. Samuel SIBATUARA, 18. Kakehi MOTOKI, 19. Mitchell HORE, 20. Jake CLANCY
In – Paul STEVENS, Kai BARNES, Jake CLANCY
Out – Luca JANNESE, Thomas SCHULZ, James HARKIN
Olympic Squad – 1. Nicholas MOONEY, 2. Liam O’BRYAN, 3. James CUMINAO, 5. Scott BOW, 6. Matt MUNDY, 7. Logan GRILLO, 9. Abel FESSEHA, 10. Daniel BYRNE, 11. Matthew HEATH, 12. Ryan RODERICK, 13. Brad SCOTT, 14. Kosi YANNAKOPOULOS, 15. Sam CRONIN, 16. Matthew GORDON, 17. Youeil SHOL, 20. Dakota SPRANGE
In – Kosi YANNAKOPOULOS, Dakota SPRANGE
Out – Panayoti BELLAS
Officials – Katie PATTERSON (referee), Trent SLEEMAN (assistant), James SHERRY (assistant), Patrick DWYER (fourth)
Western Pride FC v FNQ FC Heat
Saturday, March 12 | 7:00PM
Briggs Road Sporting Complex, Ipswich
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – Pride 1, Heat 3, Draws 2
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Heat won 2-0 at Briggs Road Complex (July 25, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – Pride 10th (0W-1D-1L), Heat 1st (2W-0D-0L)
Pride face another tough test as they search for their first win of the campaign against early season league leaders FNQ Heat.
With just a single point from their first two matches at home, Pride will be desperate to carry momentum into next week’s first away trip of the season to Townsville.
Standing in their way is Heat side that has made their best ever start to a PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues season and is the only team to keep a clean sheet thus far in 2016.
Notably, Pride’s defence has conceded more goals than any other after two rounds and will again be under the pump from Heat’s attacking quartet of Jamie Carroll, Jamie Gosling, Joshua Pin and Keiran Sanders.
Also in the visitors’ favour is Pride’s less than stellar record against their Cairns-based opponents – with Pride not getting the better of Heat since 2013.
Pride Squad – not submitted
In – n/a
Out – n/a
Heat Squad – 1. Kevin WARD, 2. Shaun OWENS, 3. Shimon WATANABE, 4. Charlie BEVERLEY, 5. Ari ISMAN, 6. Jamie GOSLING, 7. Joshua PIN, 8. Christopher O’HARE, 9. Jamie CARROLL, 10. Keiran SANDERS, 11. Darcy MCCORMACK, 12. Cameron NUCIFORA, 13. Mqondisi NKIWANE, 16. Bronson KOPPEN, 20. Joshua WILSON
In – none
Out – Matthew FILIP
Officials – Adam KERSEY (referee), Joseph LEE (assistant), Cameron FAWCETT (assistant), Adrian GIELIS (fourth)
Sunshine Coast FC v Northern Fury FC
Sunday, March 13 | 2:00PM
Kawana Sports Western Precinct, Sunshine Coast
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – Fire 4, Fury 1, Draws 1
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Fury won 3-1 at Sunshine Coast Stadium (July 5, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – Fire 11th (0W-1D-1L), Fury 12th (0W-0D-2L)
Both winless after the opening two rounds – and coming off heavy losses - Fire and Fury will need to overcome forced squad changes if they are to kick-start their respective campaigns.
Fury go into the match understrength with first-choice goalkeeper Matthew Bolton and captain Corey Waples both not listed in the match day squad.
Meanwhile the hosts will be without striker Jeremy Stewart due to injury, but coach Sam Saif has made his first moves to bolster his inherited squad – reuniting with his former Wolves FC fullback Matthew Lyell and also recruiting defender Paul Mikula from Albany Creek Excelsior.
The match provides Fire a chance to improve on their record at their secondary home ground – with their sole win in four previous league fixtures at Kawana Sports Western Precinct coming in 2014.
Fire Squad – 1. Samuel NICKOLLS, 2. Timothy HOLLINGWORTH, 3. Giacomo MELLINO, 4. Christopher JANCEVSKI, 5. Kyle TOWNSEND, 6. Connor HANCOCK, 7. Cameron NAIRN, 8. Grant DE CHASTEL, 9. Brady CRONK, 12. Jordan LLOYD, 14. James VERDIN, 16. Matthew LYELL, 18. Paul MIKULA, 19. Shochi KISHIMIZU, 20. Josh WALL
In – Matthew LYELL, Paul MIKULA, Josh WALL
Out – Kobe FULLER, Jeremy STEWART, Lucas LEWIS
Fury Squad – 1. Luke MCDONALD, 2. Caleb HOBSON, 4. George DALTON, 5. Thomas PEARCE, 8. Jae EURELL, 9. Benjamin STANLEY, 10. Michael EISENHUT, 11. Jonathon BAGLEY, 12. Joseph THORNTON, 14. Samuel HERLIHY, 16. Joshua VALLE, 17. Hamish CASSADY, 19. Charles SLANEY, 20. Ryan MURPHY
In – Luke MCDONALD,
Out – Matthew BOLTON, Joshua BOWMAN, Corey WAPLES,
Officials – David WIEBE (referee), Ben COOK (assistant), Jay HUDSON (assistant), Zac KEENAN (fourth)
Gold Coast City FC v Brisbane Strikers FC
Sunday, March 13 | 3:00PM
Duncan McKenna Field, Gold Coast
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – City 3, Strikers 3, Draws 1
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Strikers won 2-1 at Perry Park (August 9, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – City 4th (1W-0D-1L), Strikers 9th (0W-1D-1L)
The Surfsideres are looking to build on last week’s breakthrough win over Pride when they host a Strikers side still in search of their maiden three points of 2016.
The hosts showed plenty of attacking flair in their last start – including a hat-trick for resurgent striker Jarrod Kyle – but will be concerned by a less than stellar defensive performance.
Strikers have been less ruthless in the attacking third so far this season, but will be bolstered by the return of pre-season goal machine Rhys Meredith to the side.
With both teams considered strong contenders for a top four finish this match looms as a possible ‘six-pointer’ come season’s end.
City squad (four to be omitted, playing numbers unconfirmed)– Bradley SIMON, Nikola MIRKOVIC, Benjamin LITFIN, Jordon LAMPARD, Matthew JONES, Tim JACKSON, Lyndon DYKES, Daniel DRAGICEVIC, Zamin TSELEPY, Jason CAMPBELL, Eoghan MURPHY, Justyn MCKAY, Joshua LANGDON, Jarrod KYLE, Drew JESKEY, Roman HOFMANN, Shane VIITAKANGAS, Rees DUNCAN, Morgan SAUNDERS, Riley DILLON
In – Drew JESKEY
Out – none
Strikers squad – 1. Sebastian USAI, 2. Christopher MAHER, 4. Jake MARSHALL, 5. Greig HENSLEE, .6. Fraser HILLS, 7. Shelford DAIS, 8. Michael ANGUS, 9. Rhys MEREDITH, 10. Alistair DAVIS, 12. Shaun CARLOS, 13. Sam KNIGHT, 14. Jake MCLEAN, 15. Jesse WIEMERS, 18. Trent CLULOW, 20. Michael WEIER, 23. Samuel BALL
In – Rhys MEREDITH
Out – Samuel JOHNSON
Officials – Andrew LINDSAY (referee), Thomas CULLANE (assistant), Samuel OSBORNE (assistant), Christopher LONG (fourth)
Brisbane Roar FC Youth v SWQ Thunder FC
Sunday, March 13 | 5:00PM
Cleveland Showgrounds, Redland City
PS4 NPL Head-to-Head – Young Roar 3, Thunder 0, Draws 1
PS4 NPL Last Meeting – Young Roar won 8-1 at Perry Park (June 8, 2015)
PS4 NPL Standings – Young Roar 8th (0W-1D-1L), Thunder 6th (1W-0D-1L)
A home venue change sees Young Roar return to the scene of this summer’s Foxtel National Youth League campaign when they go in search of their first win of the season against Thunder.
Josh McCloughan’s squad have been close-but-no-cigar in the opening two rounds and will fancy their chances on a manicured surface that complements their style and helped facilitate an impressive 18 goals in just four home matches over the summer.
Thunder will need to breakthrough for their first ever away win in the league if they are to continue their burgeoning renaissance after they were brought back down to earth last week against Brisbane City.
However, history is truly stacked against the Thunder – with Young Roar undefeated against their Toowoomba-based opponents in four previous meetings.
Young Roar squad – 1. Tomislav BILIC, 2. Jaiden WALKER, 3. Cameron CRESTANI, 4. Mark RODIC, 5. Matthew SCHMIDT, 7. Dane INGHAM, 8. Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 10. Adam SAWYER, 11. Jayden PRASAD, 12. Joseph CHAMPNESS, 14. Daniel DRIVER, 15. Jesse DALEY, 18. Aaron REARDON, 19. Daniel LECK, 20. Jacob BROWN, 23. Nicholas PANETTA
In – Nicholas PANETTA, Jacob BROWN
Out – Dylan WENZEL-HALLS
Thunder squad – 1. Luke BOREAN, 2. Rowan SALOMON, 3. Keagan SHERIDAN, 4. Benjamin BARROWCLIFT, 5. Xavier PRATT, 6. Jackson HAUSSLER, 7. Thomas FANNING, 8. Lachlan ATKINSON, 10. Mustafa JAFARI, 11. Majok PIOK, 12. Matthew HULL, 13. Silde CANDA, 14. Jackson FRANKE, 18. Jacob BIGBY, 19. Nicholas TAYLOR, 20. Jayden FORMOSA
In – Matthew HULL, Silde CANDA, Jackson FRANKE,, Nicholas TAYLOR
Out – Jack PERCY, Nykodah SMITH, Trent BOWLES, Adam DALY
Officials – Matthew SKINNER (referee), Benjamin ORWELL (assistant), Jamie CUNNINGHAM (assistant), James MAINEY (fourth)
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