Avondale FC v Broadmeadow Magic
Avenger Park, Saturday 3pm
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jim Cresnar is looking to exploit Avondale FC's recent player and coaching changes when they go head-to-head at Avenger Park in round two of the Australian Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Magic enter the round two clash just one point away from the same number of points they collected in their 2025 campaign, with a draw against heavyweights Wests APIA FC and a bonus point from a penalty shootout in round one securing them two points.
But now they face another tough task in NPL Victoria side Avondale who signed Hahn Australia Cup championship winning coach Sinisa Kohadzic.
Alongside Kohadzic, Avondale also signed nine new players for the Australian Championship and Cresnar was hopeful his side's season long connection would be the difference.
“They've signed nine new players and also new coaches as well within the last two weeks. So I think that will give us an opportunity to explore it as well," Cresnar said.
"They'll need time to develop and change their way of playing but at the moment it's probably a good time for us to play Avondale because of these changes.
"One of the areas that we looked at and identified to exploit with APIA as well as Avondale was around transition and especially when they start playing in central areas.
"If we can win the ball there and transition really quick with the ability of the likes of Jarred Baker, Luis [Lara Delgado] is back now as well, which is a major piece to the team. Then we've got Riley Smith and Ezra [Palombini], who can do something as well."
Magic showcased the dominant defence that allowed them to concede the fewest number of goals in the NPL Men's NNSW season against APIA but struggled to break forward.
Cresnar was hopeful the return of Delgado would be the difference to find the back of the net for the first time this campaign.
"Having Luis return is tremendous. That will be a major boost to the team because he has the mobility and ability to go forward as well," Cresnar said.
"He will create that work ethic apart from Riley Smith as well."
Cresnar was aware of the key areas his side would need to build on against Avondale but was positive they could make the changes to gain the three points.
“I think keeping our mid-block and keeping our shape, keeping our structure, keeping our discipline, is probably the biggest one,” Cresnar said.
“That’s probably the key area that we’re working on this week. We'll identify a few areas, which we're doing the video analysis for.
“I think that's probably the thing and just try to keep an eye on that and see how we can make changes to win a game of football."
Despite recognising key areas they need to build on, Cresnar was thrilled with the way his side kicked off their second Australian Championship campaign.
"It was a tremendous effort by the players but, more important, that confidence leading up to Avondale is tremendous," Cresnar said.
"I’m really, really happy with the way things are going at the moment.
"Last week was just important for the confidence and more importantly the self-belief.
"Going well and knowing we can compete with bigger teams was probably the biggest driver for me."
2026 AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND TWO
WHO: Avondale FC v Broadmeadow Magic
WHEN: Saturday 24 October
WHERE: Avenger Park
KICK-OFF: 3pm
TICKET DETAILS: Tickets are available HERE
KEY INFORMATION