MEN’S PREVIEW: SUTHERLAND SHARKS v MANLY UNITED

The Manly United Men’s 1st Grade team is on the road again this weekend for a Saturday night showdown with Sutherland Sharks.

This matchup brings back fond memories of the last time we played Sutherland – Bruno Mendes scored with a spectacular bicycle kick to win our Round 14 clash in 2022.

We will also be buzzing after Tuesday’s dramatic Australia Cup game against Wollongong Wolves. Despite trailing for large parts of the contest, Kieren Paull’s 96th minute goal took the match to extra time, and then Bilal Belkadi’s 119th minute strike sent the teams into a shootout, with Manly prevailing on penalties.

Sutherland are currently in 12th, three places and two points behind Manly. The Sharks were successful in their last league outing, defeating Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at Wanderers Football Park on Easter Sunday, and they were also victorious in their midweek Australia Cup fixture, comfortably dispatching Football NSW League Two outfit Prospect United with a 9-1 victory. Manly will need to keep an eye on influential Sharks midfielder Ally Brown, who scored the winner against the Wanderers.

For Manly, their Easter weekend fixture was a tough one which ended in a 3-1 away defeat to undefeated APIA Leichhardt on Good Friday. There were positives from the game, most notably Matt Sim’s goalscoring contribution off the bench, while captain Jimmy Oates was his usual solid self in the United backline.

Our U20s are undefeated in their last five matches and are only six points away from the top of the table. Max Martinello will be keen to back up after a strong performance on the Easter Weekend, and Stefano Rossello is in good form with three goals in his last two appearances.

If you can’t get to the ground for our Men’s 1st Grade clash, tune in on NPL.TV .

Sutherland Sharks v Manly United

Saturday 15 April, 6:30pm (U20s kickoff at 4:10pm)

Seymour Shaw