After two away matches on the trot and not playing at WIN Stadium since March 26, Wolves coach David Carney is relishing this Friday's home fixture.
Wollongong come up against defending champions Blacktown at the venue in round 14 of the NPL NSW competition off the back of three games unbeaten.
Perhaps more notably is the lack of goals the team has conceded of late. With two clean sheets out of three and only two goals conceded in the same amount of games, Carney and the Wolves seemed to have sorted out their defensive woes which hampered them for most of the opening stanza of the campaign.
The Wolves will host City this Friday before playing Mt Druitt the following week, again at home.
To add to this, three out of four fixtures in May will be home fixtures.
Carney told the Mercury that this was a crucial period for the side to pick up maximum points in the month of May and make their way up the ladder.
"You need to win your home games," he said.
"I think in this league everyone's beating everyone, especially up the top and even down the bottom. So if you can win two or three on the bounce you will be right in the mix. We're not looking at the points margin, we're just taking it game by game.
"We just know we've got four points out of the last two games so if we can win on Friday that's seven points out of nine. Then next week if we win against Mt Druitt at home, which we should be capable of, that's a lot of points we're taking.
The Wolves will welcome back their 'best player this season' according to Carney in Walter Scott from suspension for the match.
Currently in 10th spot with 16 points, the Wolves can make ground on teams above them on the ladder with a win against City.
The next two matches against Blacktown and the Rangers will mark the half-way point in this season's longer competition.
This campaign there are 30 matches without finals football but with relegation for the team that finishes 16th.
Kickoff for the match is 7:30pm.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Jordan Warren
From the Illawarra my whole life, I have a passion for sports writing. Favourite sports include football, cricket and rugby league. Career highlights include covering the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2022 UCI Cycling World Championships in Wollongong. I cover a range of sports, mainly football, but have written about rugby league, rugby union, racing, basketball, volleyball, Aussie Rules, cricket, mixed martial arts plus more. Particularly enjoy providing the latest updates to local fans of the Wolves, Illawarra Premier League (men's and women's) as well as the District League.
From the Illawarra my whole life, I have a passion for sports writing. Favourite sports include football, cricket and rugby league. Career highlights include covering the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2022 UCI Cycling World Championships in Wollongong. I cover a range of sports, mainly football, but have written about rugby league, rugby union, racing, basketball, volleyball, Aussie Rules, cricket, mixed martial arts plus more. Particularly enjoy providing the latest updates to local fans of the Wolves, Illawarra Premier League (men's and women's) as well as the District League.
