- Central Coast Mariners NPL have four points from their first two League One matches
- Dulwich Hill F.C. have one point after 2 games
- Central Coast’s academy side plays a possession-based game with pace and width from the wings
Mariners’ academy side look sharp in 2026 League One start
Central Coast Mariners NPL have started the 2026 League One season with a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 win to have four points from a possible six in League One.
Lucas Vilela’s academy squad has been built to develop players, so they play a possession-based style with structured width and pressure.
The team’s tempo and pressing force opponents into defensive mistakes and allows the young attacking players to play in a familiar way, but the Mariners have been wasteful in the attacking third.
Ahmad Elhelou scored in the opening round and frequently makes late runs into the box, while Bailey Brandtman and Arthur De Lima provide flair and tempo from the academy.
Central Coast sit above Dulwich Hill in the early table after their unbeaten start to the new season, but Tony Valavanis’ side have shown promise in attack already.
Samuel Gulisano is a target man up front and scored the team’s first goal of the season, while Lomeo Nicollielo and Dominic Sameenang have added pace and creativity to the forward line.
The Hillers’ youth rebuild isn’t yet showing in results with a 1-1 opening round draw against Hakoah and 1-2 loss to Hills United in the first two games of the new campaign.
They will be looking for their first win of the year on Sunday and the game will be a good chance for the new players to make an impact.
Tight game with both teams scoring likely
Both Teams To Score is the main selection for Sunday’s match as both Central Coast and Dulwich Hill should play with a lot of attacking intent and will have moments where their defensive frailties will be exposed.
The odds on this market are short, but 1.4 seems to be far too short.
Central Coast will be favourites in the full time result market at 2.48, with Dulwich Hill available at 2.32 and the draw at 3.6.
This game is a really interesting fixture in the context of both clubs’ ambitions for 2026 and could go either way, but our selection is for the hosts to extend their unbeaten start and strengthen their position in the table.
Central Coast’s technical width and pressing should cause Dulwich Hill to play with numbers behind the ball and the Hillers are most dangerous on the counter and from set-piece situations.
The weather is expected to be warm with thunderstorms and showers possible, which could affect pitch conditions and influence the flow of the match.
Central Coast Mariners NPL have an academy full of young talent ready to step up, so they are taken to squeeze out a narrow victory against Dulwich Hill F.C.
