Preliminary Final
New Lambton FC 6-3 Broadmeadow Magic
New Lambton FC coach Craig Atkins admits he knew his side had a win in them when they defeated Broadmeadow Magic 6-3 at Alder Park on Saturday afternoon to book their first grand final appearance in the Cardiff Motor Group NPL Women’s NNSW.
The Golden Eagles entered the match on the back of a tough 5-1 defeat to premiers Maitland FC, while Magic were riding high following a thrilling 1(5)-1(4) win over Lake Macquarie City FC.
It was evident from the outset that Magic were determined to continue their high-flying form and their efforts paid off in the 12th minute when Wimberley Wright picked up the ball just in front of halfway and launched it towards goal. Her effort struck the crossbar before bouncing down and past goalkeeper Janali Haynes into the back of the net.
Magic quickly doubled their lead in the 19th minute. Jessica Wallace and Olivia Oto both had attempts before the ball eventually fell to Wright at the top of the box. Her initial effort was deflected but the ball returned to her feet and she made no mistake with her second attempt.
New Lambton looked to respond in the 27th minute when Tara Andrews found the end of a Lauren Allan header just in front of goal, but Magic goalkeeper Malli Blanch got a hand to the ball, tipping it onto the crossbar and out.
As Magic searched for a third and New Lambton began to find more possession and create chances, it appeared Broadmeadow would take a 2-0 lead into half-time.
The Golden Eagles, however, had other plans.
Moments before the half-time whistle, Caitlin Pickett received the ball just inside the penalty area and fired towards goal, finding the bottom-right corner and leaving the Magic defenders stunned.
New Lambton carried that momentum into the second half, with back-to-back goals from Andrews in the 52nd and 53rd minutes turning the game on its head and giving the Golden Eagles the lead for the first time.
Andrews completed her hat-trick in the 62nd minute when she met an Allan corner and headed the ball underneath Blanch and into the bottom-right corner to make it 4-2.
Magic refused to back down and clawed one back in the 73rd minute when Ava Bjorkman-Tracy whipped a corner into the penalty area, where Megan Janikowski rose to head the ball home and make it 4-3.
New Lambton responded emphatically, scoring twice more in the space of three minutes as Pickett completed her hat-trick in the 82nd and 85th minutes to seal a 6-3 victory and a place in the grand final.
“We were just out of sorts with that composure early and were just missing some of the basics,” Atkins said.
“We created a lot of chances, got a lot of balls across the box and just couldn't finish. And Magic at the other end, bang, bang, we're 2-0 down.
“I was always confident the girls could turn it around and I think Caitlin's strike just before half-time boosted the girls. Probably with about 15 to go in that first half, before we scored the goal, we sensed that the game was turning a little bit.
“We started to take a little bit more control and get back to the style that we play.
“There were a couple of hard truths at half-time, but more just focusing on the positive from that last 10 to 15 minutes.
“Full credit to the girls, what a second half.
“I knew they could do it. I could see their body language at half-time and I went, ‘Yeah, they've got a lot more fight in them here and they're going to turn it on in the second half’.”
Following New Lambton’s loss to Maitland in the major semi-final, Atkins reiterated that his side knew what they needed to do against Magic and it was evident they delivered.
“I just told the girls to go back, especially our centre-backs, just go back and focus on what we've done all year,” Atkins said.
“They know our system and what we're trying to do.”
Despite the improved performance, Atkins admitted there were still areas his side would need to work on, but he was thrilled with the way they responded throughout the match.
“Unfortunately, we conceded a soft goal from the corner, so that's something we need to address when Magic scored their third. It just kept them in the game a little bit,” Atkins said.
“But full credit to the girls, they just went, ‘Well, we're not having this,’ and the way they went and scored a couple more.”
Despite the loss, Broadmeadow Magic coach Jason Konjarski was impressed by his side’s work ethic throughout the match but admitted that, while they took their chances in the first half, it was something they had been missing in recent weeks.
“We're a team that doesn't stop until the end, that's just our way. We work hard, we try hard, so that's just the way that we go about things,” Konjarski said.
“We worked hard on and off the ball for 90 minutes and I don't think we were ever actually out of a game.
“But they just took their chances. I mean, when you've got Tara Andrews up front, it's more than likely that she's going to end up scoring a goal eventually in the game.
“They took their chances in the second half and, to be fair, I think we took our chances very well in the first half too. We've probably been missing a little bit of that.”
After finishing the 2025 season last with just one win, Konjarski was thrilled to see his side make their way to the preliminary final in 2026 and believes they can hold their heads high.
“The girls battled and in the end, we'd just come up short in that one game, but we weren’t predicted to be there anyways,” Konjarski said.
“So, the girls can hold their heads up high.”
New Lambton will now meet premiers Maitland FC at Darling Street Oval on Saturday 12 September at 2pm in the grand final as they compete to be crowned champions.