Match of the Round
Kahibah FC v West Wallsend SFC |
Kahibah Oval, Sunday 2:30pm
West Wallsend features in another mouth-watering Match of the Round on Sunday when they take on Kahibah.
The Bluebells enter the Round 20 clash full of confidence following an inspiring performance last weekend that led to a 3-1 away victory against table leaders Toronto Awaba.
That result saw West Wallsend remain in third place on the ladder and they face another tricky task on Sunday when they challenge the team ranked just below them in fourth.
Matt Moncrieff’s Kahibah are also playing some quality football despite the fact that results haven’t quite been going their way of late. Their last win came back in May and their past four rounds have included two losses, and draw and a bye.
Kahibah still have the best defensive record in the competition, having conceded only 22 times in 17 matches.
One of Moncrieff’s goals this season is to win the first grade Premiership, and he is well aware that this weekend’s match against quality opposition West Wallsend is crucial if they are to achieve that.
“They’re as good a football team that’s running around in this competition at the moment. They’re the form team and I don’t think anyone would argue,” Moncrieff said.
“They have good depth. They were bringing some quality players off the bench last weekend.
“I’m expecting a really solid game. I think we match up pretty well against each other, we’ve had two close games this year already. Hopefully on our home turf, we can get another one over them like we did last time.
“We’re playing really good football at the moment. I think we can compete with the top three teams on our day.
“It’s a big game for us because if we don’t beat them, we’re going to struggle to beat them home this year. It’s all on the line this weekend and the next weekend too when we play Singleton.
“The minor premiership is any coach’s goal, but for us, we’d need Toronto to fall over for that to be achievable.
“We want to beat every team on the way home, but for now, we’ve just got to worry about beating Westy.”
Kahibah will be without midfielder Robbie Turnbull against West Wallsend after he picked up a fifth yellow card for the season in their 0-0 draw against Belmont Swansea last weekend.
But the side are otherwise at full strength, boosted by the return of their captain and leading goal-scorer Riley Ferguson following a 10-week stint on the sidelines with broken ribs. Fergerson will most likely be a straight swap in the centre of the park for Turnbull.
West Wallsend is at full strength for this Sunday’s match and their coach Bailey Cox is keen to go up against another quality team after last Sunday’s huge scalp.
“We have everyone back now. We had three fresh subs on the weekend,” Cox said.
“Everyone is ready to go.
“Every time we play them, it’s always a hard game. Every year for the past five years it’s always a tough game against Kahibah.
“This year, we got them in the first round and they got us in the second round.
“I’m expecting it’ll be a bit of a battle and we’ll be up for it.”
These two teams have contested two entertaining games already this year that were only separated by one goal, with West Wallsend winning 2-1 at home in Round Two and then Kahibah prevailing 4-3 at home in Round 11. Another tight tussle between two of the top teams in the competition is certainly on the cards come Sunday.
Thornton Redbacks FC v Singleton Strikers FC
Thornton Park, Friday 8:15pm
Thornton Redbacks are on a roll and they are intent on keeping it going when they host Singleton Strikers to kick off the round at Thornton Park on Friday night.
The Redbacks are unbeaten in three games and winning their past two. This has seen the side rise from the bottom of the table and up into finals contention now sitting fifth.
Thornton enters the round on 19 points, just one ahead of the four sides below them who are ranked sixth to ninth. Any result other than a win could send Nima Nikfarjam’s team into a freefall back down the table and they certainly won’t be letting that happen without a fight.
While the Redbacks haven’t beaten Singleton so far this season, but they also hadn’t beaten their previous two opponents either until a cold night at Thornton Park proved to be the undoing of Belmont Swansea and South Cardiff.
But the Singleton men know how to get the job done against the Redbacks at night after they beat them 2-0 back in Round Two on a Friday evening. The two sides then drew their next encounter 1-1 in Round 11.
The Strikers snapped a two-game losing streak when they beat Cessnock City Hornets at home last weekend. They were missing a plethora of first grade regulars in that match and coach Mick Jarvis is unsure if any of them will return for tomorrow’s game.
Singleton are currently ranked second on the table as they are fighting off an in-form West Wallsend side in an attempt to retain that position, while also trying to narrow the seven-point gap between themselves and the first-placed Toronto Awaba.
A win this weekend would go a long way towards helping both teams in the race for finals.
Wallsend FC v Belmont Swansea United FC
The Gardens, Sunday 2:30pm
Wallsend are hoping to climb their way off the bottom of the ladder when they host Belmont Swansea United at The Gardens on Sunday.
These teams are two of four that are currently on 18 points from sixth to ninth on the ladder, and Wallsend sit at the bottom due to their for and against difference.
Despite occupying that dreaded ninth spot, coach Mick Gatt and his men are well-aware that there is a long way to go yet with eight rounds to play, and that a win this weekend could see them finish the round as high as fifth.
“Anyone can beat anyone on their day this year, and looking at the table, it only takes one win and a couple of draws to turn your season around. Thornton are a prime example of that, going from last to fifth,” Gatt said.
“The top three or four are starting to break away and then you’ve got the bottom five that are all fighting for one finals position.
“So, this game is massive for us. These are the games that you need to get a result from to break away from the pack.
“We’ve played them twice this year for a win and a draw, so hopefully, everything going to plan, we should be right.
“We just have to make sure we take our opportunities when they arise. That’s been our biggest issue all season. We are building up and getting into the final third, but it’s just our finishing that’s costing us.”
Wallsend will be without Michael Wright against BelSwans after he picked up a fifth yellow card in the side’s most recent match, which was a 5-2 loss away from home against Cessnock, but will otherwise be at full strength.
But BelSwans will welcome back skipper Tom Stewart who will be an provide a huge boost as Wallsend begin their finals push.
BelSwans earned a crucial point last weekend when they drew 0-0 at home with Kahibah. That kept them off the bottom of the ladder and just one point behind fifth-placed Thornton,
A win and even a draw could see the defending champions finish the weekend in the top five.
BelSwans coach Mick Stafford was pleased with his side’s performance last weekend despite being unable to find the winning goal.
These two teams have met twice already this season. They contested a 3-3 draw in Round Two at The Gardens and then Wallsend scored a 2-1 away win in Round 11, with three points proving vital for both sides.
Cessnock City Hornets FC v Toronto Awaba FC
Turner Park, Sunday 2:30pm
Toronto Awaba are focused on bouncing back when they travel to Turner Park to challenge Cessnock City Hornets on Sunday.
The league-leaders will be forced to get a result without their leading goal-scorer Jarrod Purcell.
Purcell, who leads the competition with 13 goals, picked up a fifth yellow card at Lyall Peacock Oval last weekend as his team went down 3-1 against West Wallsend.
The Stags striker scored a penalty to move a goal clear of Singleton’s Joel Barner after both men entered the round having scored 12 times.
The loss was Toronto Awaba’s third of the season in 17 games but the side remains seven points clear of both Singleton and West Wallsend at the top of the table.
The Stags responded to their previous two defeats with away victories, and they are determined to achieve that again on Sunday.
The Hornets side are also coming into the weekend off the back of a loss after they went down 2-0 on the road against Singleton last Saturday.
The Cessnock men had won their previous two games and are focused on returning to the winner’s circle against the ladder leaders.
Cessnock and Toronto Awaba have gone head-to-head twice this season and the Stags won both games a combined nine goals to one after prevailing 4-1 in Round Two and 5-0 in Round 11.
Another Stags victory would see them finish the weekend at least seven points clear at the top with just seven rounds remaining, while Cessnock are in eighth place and are one of the four teams locked on 18 points. The Hornets could finish as high as fifth on Sunday if they can cause an upset.
South Cardiff have the bye.