Belt Up Regional Festival of Football: Sparrow geared up for Albany trip

It might not bring the Air Miles of the Australian Championship, but Bayswater City are on their travels again this week as they head to Albany for the Belt Up Regional Festival of Football.

Baysie's rewards for winning their first league title in eight years included entry to the inaugural national second-tier competition last October and November.

They can now add the annual Regional Cup clash against Perth Glory.

And an upturn in form has Matt Sparrow’s side primed for the trip south, where they will be supported by their sister club Albany Bayswater.

“We’re looking forward to a good weekend away and it’s a good opportunity to showcase the NPL in the regions and hopefully attract a decent crowd,” head coach Sparrow said.

Bayswater go into the New Balance NPL WA Men's Round 10 fixture at Retravision Stadium on a three-game winning run that has taken them up to second in the table. Before that, they had gone four matches without a win.

Sparrow said: “We had a really good win against a strong Olympic Kingsway side last Friday. The week before, we played well against Perth Azzurri and I challenged the players to do it again. If anything, they gave an even better performance. It reminded me of the Bayswater team from last year and the intensity levels were through the roof.

“In the first few games this season, we weren’t quite there and there was a bit of fatigue. That could have been something to do with us playing in the Australian Championship which meant our pre-season was six weeks instead of 12.

“The good thing is we stayed in touch with the top. Nobody is running away with the league this year and there are plenty of points to play for.”

A stand-out for Bayswater this year has been striker Chris Jackson, the league’s joint leading scorer with eight goals, while former A-League midfielder Daniel Stynes is displaying his quality.

“Jackson’s flying, I think he could be in the form of his life,” Sparrow said. “He’s contributing with his goals but he’s also really important in our build-up play. He’s a focal point.

“He couldn’t get in the team at the start of last year because of Cam Teece and Oli La Galia. But when he did, he took his chance and scored something like 12 in 10. Now he’s got eight this season, so his goal ratio is probably a goal a game over 20 games.

“Stynes is a great addition. In the last four weeks, he’s found his form and is showing what he can do. The ball he put in for our first goal against Olympic last week is a perfect example. He’s a key part of our plans.

“But there’s a long way to go and we need to keep everybody fit. We’ve now got four big away games, starting this weekend.

“It should be a great game. Glory can be unpredictable and you’re not sure what team they will have out, but they are a young, fit and talented side, and they had a very good result last week against Western Knights.”

The Glory-Bayswater game is a 4pm kick-off and part of an NPL double-header. First up at 2pm is the New Balance NPL WA Women’s Round Eight meeting between Hyundai Football West Academy and Perth Azzurri.

Entry on Saturday is by gold coin donation, with money going to Cancer Council WA.

• All four teams will hold a free open training session at Retravision Stadium on Friday night. The Academy and Glory will train between 6-7pm, followed by Bayswater and Azzurri (7-8pm).
• Football West would like to thank the WA Government for its support for the Belt Up Regional Festival of Football. We also recognise the Insurance Commission of Western Australia as the naming rights partner through its Belt Up road safety campaign.