Great clashes ahead
WHAT a fantastic round of men's premier league last weekend and with the sun continuing to shine, this week suggests more exciting football ahead.
Friday night sees the young Alstonville side hosting the powerful Lismore Workers team at Crawford Park from 8pm. Villa were stung last Sunday when beaten by Lennox Head in a game they would have expected to win and the game against Workers will have no place for lingering complacency.
The Redmen's strikers Martin Kelleher, Vinnie DeCarvello and Wayne Mortimer continue to make every post a winner and are being supported by a squad that is going from strength to strength. This will be a real test for the young Villa side, ably led by Eamon Banks.
Byron Bay will be looking for a big effort when they meet last year's major premiers Goonellabah at 3pm at Byron Bay. The Rams will be confident of testing the Hornet's outstanding keeper Brad Robertson with their classy attack and with Tom Ruhl, Victor Pires and Yantra Whitling in menacing form Goonellabah could be in for a busy afternoon.
This clash between two of the big guns for the title is an important race for early season supremacy, with vital points on offer.
Lennox Head will be brimming with confidence after victory last Sunday and despite losing Aaron Gray this week through suspension, coach Matt Kelso appears to have his squad firing. Veteran goalie Paul Hickey defied his elder statesman status with an inspirational performance reminiscent of yesteryear, showing he is still a formidable custodian.
Casino RSM must consider themselves unlucky to have no points after two credible efforts in recent weeks and coach Matt Kenny remains optimistic that a win is close at hand.
Italo Stars is a very proud club and in the face of adversity through lack of player quality they find themselves searching for something special that can arrest their horror start to 2012.
Lismore Thistles travel to Barrow Lane at 5pm with no thoughts of compassion for Stars and will want to assert their claims for being near the top of the ladder. The Blues will look to score plenty of goals against a team that has struggled defensively.
Rovers and Ballina meet in the final weekend clash and will need to re-focus with the expected quieter atmosphere of a Sunday afternoon fixture after all the hype of the appearance of Craig Moore last week. Acting Ballina coach Peter Lang orchestrated the first victory of the season but Rovers is a bigger challenge.
The next few weeks may start to sort out the top and bottom teams even though we're only six rounds in and with many catch-up games still to play.
