Round 3 - Showdown Rd 1A

[chelsea]

Well its the showdown weekend in Adelaide and I hope the Power get the result on Sunday afternoon.

Hopefully Adelaide United win on Friday night. I dont expect to see many CSL A grade players heading out after the United game as many players have big games to play on Saturday.

Round 3 in the 1A also has some big match ups that reflect the showdown weekend.

Unley v Mercedes

I think this is the biggest game of the weekend. The local derby.

Results from 2014:

Mercedes 4 - Unley 2
Unley 1 - Mercedes 1

Mercedes did have the advantage over their neighbors in 2014 but it will be interesting how Unley react after their heavy defeat in the FFA cup last week.

My Tip - Unley

Pulteney v Grads Blue

Very early in the season but this is a big game for the two promoted clubs. Pulteney have started well with 2 draws away from home. Grads Blue need to win this game to get their season going. If Pulteney win this game then I would expect them not be be relegated in 2015.

Results in 2A in 2014

Grads Blue 2 - Pulteney 1
Pulteney 3 - Grads Blue 1

My Tip - Pulteney

Grads Red v Sacred Heart

Grads Red have got off to a good start and many have them as favourites along with Rostrevor. After a big win last week I expect them to win again at home.

Results from 2014

Grads Red 4 - Sacred Heart 3
Sacred Heart 3 - Grads Red 1

My Tip - Grads Red

Mt Barker v Uni White

Both clubs coming off a lose and Mt Barker yet to pick up their 1st point. They need this win to kick start their season if they are going to challenge for the championship. Both clubs had players out last week so hopefully all are back for the big match. Uni White need to bounce back from their heavy derby defeat. I think Uni White should hire a bus and take their international students to Hanhdorf for a beer and show them the sights of the Adelaide Hills if they win. That should get all their players there. We will see which Uni White team turns up.

My Tip - Mt Barker

Rostrevor v Pembroke

These are the last 18 meetings between these teams in the league:

2014
Pemb 0 - Rost 2
Rost 1 - Pemb 1

2013
Pemb 0 - Rost 0
Rost 0 - Pemb 1

2012
Pemb 0 - Rost 0
Rost 0 - Pemb 1

2011
Rost 0 - Pemb 0
Pemb 1 - Rost 1

2010
Rost 2 - Pemb 3
Pemb 3 - Rost 1

2009
Pemb 0 - Rost 2
Rost 0 - Pemb 1

2008
Pemb 2 - Rost 7
Rost 1 - Pemb 1

2007
Pemb 0 - Rost 0
Rost 1 - Pemb 2

2006
Pemb 0 - Rost 1
Rost 1 - Pemb 0

As you can see there have been many close and low scoring games.
The last time Rostrevor won at home was in 2006 in a league game. That year Rostrevor were champions.
They did beat Pembroke in a cup game in 2012 at home only to loose their league game at home to them the following week.

Record from the 18 games
Pembroke - 6 Wins / 7 Draws / Rostrevor 5 Wins

During the same period the teams also met twice in the cup. 1 win to each club but Pembroke did get the big one in 2006 when they won the final 2-0.

Its time for Rostrevor to win at home against Pembroke. Its been way too long.


My Tip - Rostrevor

I have gone with the 5 home teams this week.

Good luck to all - Look forward to the results.

The best outcome for me will be if the POWERROCS the weekend.

[roswil]

Great analysis as always Chelsea!

Grads Red v Sacred Heart (Grads Red)
Mt Barker v Uni White (Draw)
Pulteney v Grads Blue (Pulteney)
Rostrevor v Pembroke (Rostrevor)
Unley v Mercedes (Unley) - A great local derby, know to them as the El Clásico and coincides with Unley's annual Ladies Day event to raise awareness/money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Unley to get their CSL campaign underway, Mt Barker to also get their first point for 2015.
Grads Reds and Rostrevor to continue their hot start this season and unfortunately Grads Blue to struggle against a very confident Pulteney (who as Chelsea mentioned, kept Sacred Heart/Mercedes to a draw).

It’ll be interesting to see this weekend's results leading into some big Cup games next week.

Adelaide United v Brisbane Roar (United 3-1)
Crows v Power (Crows by 24 points)

Good luck to all teams - the weekend can't come soon enough!

[INTERISTA]

Just thank god for the dry weather!

[buzzy]

The last time Rostrevor won at home was in 2006 in a league game. That year Rostrevor were champions.
They did beat Pembroke in a cup game in 2012 at home only to loose their league game at home to them the following week.

You've outdone yourself this week Chelsea - that is an unbelievable stat!

[Squeezy Cheesey Peas]

Almost a weekend for the form book....
Grads Red and Rostrevor got the 3 points to keep their early season form going. Both are going like trains and will be hard to stop.
Big result in the Hills with Mt Barker getting their first points with an unexpected thumping of Uni Whites who never looked at the races again Saturday against a Barker team with a number of players still missing.
Good result for Pulteney to keep their points accumulation going in an early 6 pointer. Grads Blu are going to find it tough and it will only get harder as the depth of squads begin to tell mid season.
The one result that I didnt pick was Unley getting done by Mercs in a high scoring thriller it would seem!
Poor start for Unley who will need to pick up maximums in the next few rounds to keep in touch with the top 2.
Having seen 5 of the 10 Div 1 teams this season, I reckon Rostrevor and Grads Red have started strongly and are a fair way ahead of the other teams. The interesting thing is how closely matched the other teams are which will make tipping almost impossible!!
Early early call but the top 2 are gonna be hard to catch and it will come down to squad depths in those mid season games where all of us are usually down to the bare bones!!
On that logic (flawed as it may be!) I think Rostrevor might just shade it but the first game between them will be a corker and a referees's nightmare

[INTERISTA]

Perfect weekend for Chelsea, United won, ROCSC won & Power won.

[chelsea]

Perfect weekend for Chelsea, United won, ROCSC won & Power won.

And to top it off Chelsea became champions in the EPL for 2014/15.

Need a week off drinking after that weekend.

[chelsea]

Almost a weekend for the form book....

The one result that I didnt pick was Unley getting done by Mercs in a high scoring thriller it would seem!
Poor start for Unley who will need to pick up maximums in the next few rounds to keep in touch with the top 2.

Unley started out very slow. They were 3-0 down mid way through the 1st half. Half time score was 3-1.
They picked it up in the 2nd half. They never got on level terms but they did come back to 4-3. They even had chances to level or win the game.

They play again this week in the Cup. Same ground as well. If Unley can beat Mercedes then I would not write them off yet. They do have a new coach who is most likely working things out with his squad.

[chelsea]

My tip for 2015 was between Grads Red and Uni White to win the 1A title. I ended up going with Uni White but I am starting to loose confidence with their recent scorelines. I dont want to jump off yet but I am very tempted to swap trains at the next stop and get on the Grads Red.

Conceding 13 goals in 3 games is far from championship material. In 3 games you shouldnt concede more then 3 goals.

I have no idea what has happened down there in 2015. I dont actually remember seeing Uni White like this since I started in the CSL in 1998.

I will stay with them for a couple more games at least. Maybe Uni White can explain some things to us.

Is it a new coach / new players / missing players.

[roswil]

The Unley v Mercedes game was a cracker! In fact, all four games between them were fantastic! Each of the games, there were early dominance and late pressure to keep the lead to both sides. Always enjoy playing against Mercedes and at the end of the day, everyone let their football do the talking on the pitch and enjoyed some beers afterwards. The referees were great too and let all the lads play football instead of trying to steal the show - quality stuff.

Unley/Pembroke - can never count these two out and I'm sure will click as a unit sooner rather than later.

Mt Barker seems to have found their stride and Rostrevor/Grads Red continue their business as usual.