New Lambton FC 1-2 Belmont Swansea United
Belmont Swansea United toppled premiers New Lambton in thrilling fashion on Saturday, winning the 2022 Northern League One grand final 2-1 at Jack McLaughlan Oval.
New Lambton were the favourites leading into the game. They had only been beaten once this season in their opening fixture against West Wallsend on a cold and windy Tuesday night.
Belmont Swansea were in the midst of a goal drought, having only scored three goals in the last six games. Belswans would need a crucial performance from their attack, specifically from this season’s top goal scorer Kane Woolston, to come away with an underdog championship.
Riley Taylor was the first to hit a shot on target early in the game as a weak header from the winger fell straight to the gloves of Belswans goalkeeper Daniel Bryant.
There was no dangerous action during the first 20 minutes, with both sides sceptical about risking an early goal conceded.
As the battle to control the midfield continued throughout the half, Belswans midfielder Reece Newton found the ball at his feet, quickly looked ahead and played a 40-metre through ball to Woolston.
With the ball at his feet and within shooting range of the goal, Woolston turned defender Kye Fauchon inside out and slotted his shot to the near stick of Alex Bozinovski, putting Belswans into a surprise lead against the premiers.
The conceded goal flicked a switch for the Eagles as the side shifted up a gear, upped the tempo and forced Belswans to soak up added pressure.
New Lambton finally found a break with five minutes remaining in the first half. A piece of individual brilliance from Chase Lattimore down the right flank gave the attacker time to cut it to Joel Caldwell positioned on the penalty spot. A composed Caldwell took a touch and finished into the top left corner with Bryant’s fingertip touch not enough to deflect the shot wide.
An earlier knock for Bryant was aggravated after the attempt to save Caldwell’s goal. Belswans coach Mick Stafford gave substitute goalkeeper Darren Gledhill the nod to make his appearance in the grand final. This goalkeeper change was one of the many storylines during this year’s grand final after joining Belswans halfway through the season from the local All Age Friday night division.
The second half started as the first ended with neither side able to control the midfield and chances scarce. A change in formation made by New Lambton coach Tom Davies with 30 minutes remaining to overload the midfield worked precisely how he would have liked as the Eagles finally started to take control of the tempo of the game.
Belswans' usual danger from deep free kicks was uncharacteristically nullified by their opposition. But in the 78th minute, from 40 metres out, substitute Clayton Poole spotted Alex Bozinovski off his line and hit a powerful, looping shot over the cluster of players and crucially over Bozinovski to give Belswans a second lead and one hand on the championship.
Despite desperate efforts from New Lambton during the final 10 minutes of their time in the competition, they could not muster a second for themselves and Belswans were crowned the 2022 HIT106.9 Northern League One champions, their third championship in seven years.
"It was a very tight game and could have went either way,” Stafford said.
“Both teams were on show and put in good shifts. It was a tense one but like I said to the boys at half-time, it will come down to key moments and bringing Clayton Poole off the bench for his first game of the year to score a free kick is a masterclass and it's the kind of group we are here. We've got good players everywhere.
"We were just gritty. We stuck to our structure and defended well in key areas. We didn't create a lot but when we did, we scored through Kane [Woolston] with a great goal. We just grind, we are hard to break down and I think we did that again today and got a win against a good New Lambton side.”
While Poole and Woolston’s goals were ones of brilliance, Belswans’ defence has also worth of special mention, particularly Ryan Stutchbury. The centre back closed down many potentially hazardous New Lambton attacks and was near impenetrable for the full 90 minutes.
"Stutchbury has been great all year. He came to us this season and [we] saw straightaway how good he was,” Stafford said.
“[Nathan] Bevan was good next to him and even [Mark Finlayson] when he came on did a job. The defence was solid and the goalkeeper was as well. The reserve goalkeeper came on for 60 minutes and did a great shift to get a clean sheet for himself. So that's great."
It was an emotional day for Stafford who will step away from his head coaching role after seven years at the helm. After victory on Saturday, he left the same footprint on the club as his first season in 2016, winning the grand final.
"I'm pretty proud of my time at the club,” Stafford said.
“I grew up in Blacksmiths and always saw it as a sleeping giant. The best thing we've got is our club culture and sense of community, as you could see today with all the people here.
“I'm just proud of what I and many others have created. I think it'll stick around for a long time and that's what local football should be about. It should be about community, not money. It should be about blokes playing for their shirt and our guys don't get paid much. It's just a great community club and I'm proud of where it is now.
"I'm heading for a well-deserved break. I love the club and will be back in some part with them eventually. I love the boys and I want to thank all our committee and all the teams in Northern League One for having another great year."
While it was all ecstasy for Belswans, the three-time reigning premiers New Lambton could not secure a championship before their promotion to NPL Men’s NNSW next season.
"It was a good grand final game,” Davies said.
“It was tight. Belswans were difficult to break down as they had a good defensive block and we struggled to get a foot in the first half. We got caught on the counterattack to concede that goal but we worked hard with good individual brilliance and a good finish in the box in terms of getting to 1-1 at half-time.
“Then we made some changes in the second half, changed our shape and I thought we dominated the game. We had a bit more width and an extra striker up top and I thought we did really well.
“We, unfortunately, copped a moment on a set piece where the keeper knows he should've done better. We huffed and puffed, threw everything at them and probably didn't create enough clear cut chances in the second half. But credit to Belswans, they dug deep and we struggled to get some more crosses into the box and make it more difficult for them to defend.”
A tactical change in the second half for New Lambton saw Davies' side take control of the game. Still, due to a tremendous effort from the Belswans' defence, the Eagles could not find a chance to equalise.
“While we had a lot of possession, I think we could have used a little bit more in the final third,” Davies said.
“But definitely think we dominated the second half. The first half was a bit more even. Belswans come up top and they were probably better in a couple of moments and that's what happens in a grand final.
“But pretty positive year for the boys. We’ll make sure they keep their heads up and go forward from there.
"What's been really positive is we worked hard throughout the season. We've got a lot of good processes in place, the coaching staff's excellent, the club's really supportive, backing us 100 per cent and the players are a really tight knit group.
“We didn't make too many changes this year and they were superb all season. It's only the second game we've lost all last year, so really positive in terms of that. Disappointing to lose, but sometimes that's football."