Match of the Round
Dudley Redhead United v Toronto Awaba
Lydon Oval, Sunday 2pm
Dudley Redhead United coach Mark Wilson says the penny has dropped for his side ahead of their clash with Toronto Awaba on Sunday afternoon in the round 10 match of the round.
Dudley enters round 10 playing just one match since round seven after their round eight and nine matches were postponed.
While the Thistles were unable to play round nine, they took the field last Wednesday where they defeated Cessnock City Hornets 2-0 in their round six rescheduled match.
Wilson had asked for his team to piece two halves together this season and believes the moment finally came in their 2-0 victory over Cessnock.
“We couldn’t give away goals like we did in our 2-0 loss against Kahibah so we spoke about that and focussed on it and to the boys’ credit against Cessnock we came out of the blocks and took a 1-0 lead pretty early on,” Wilson said.
“That night we put two halves together and scored a second goal in the second half. That was probably the first game this year that we’ve put two halves together.
“I think by the boys getting that result at eight o’clock on a Wednesday night in Cessnock and it purely coming from putting two halves together, it showed them the importance of it.
“I think from a mindset perspective the penny dropped that night up at Cessnock.”
They will be eager to take the field this weekend and redeem themselves against Toronto who defeated them 1-0 in round one.
Since their introduction to the HIT106.9 Northern League One competition the Thistles’ have scored seven goals in just as many matches, the second lowest of any side.
But Dudley and Toronto have conceded the least number of goals this season.
“Our defence is something we’re going to be conscious of against Toronto as they pose a lot of attacking threats and they’ve been scoring some goals,” said Wilson.
“We’re creating a number of chances and we’ve been working really hard on finishing in that front third.
“So, it’s just composure, when that opportunity comes along just owning that moment and taking a chance and scoring anything.”
Dudley will be without Joey Soergel and Connor Allan who are both unavailable for round 10.
Toronto sits at the top of the table; four points clear of Kahibah FC in second with both sides having one game in hand.
But coach Jarrod Hiles would not allow himself to get too excited about the prospects of automatic promotion just yet.
“It’s a great position to be in, I’d rather be there at the top of the table than battling it down the bottom,” said Hiles.
“But there's still plenty of football to play, so we won’t get too ahead of ourselves.
“I guess the initial goal was just to be around that top four sort of area and give a chance at the promotion playoffs stage. But if we can stay there much longer then the bigger prize of automatic promotion comes in and that would be great.”
The Stags have netted the most goals this season, finding the back of the net 24 times with 12 coming in their last three matches.
“The last three games we’ve scored about 12 goals, and it’s good to see Nick Roberts and Jarrod Purcell getting consistently on the score sheet,” Hiles said.
“The beauty of it, we’ve been sharing the goals around. There hasn’t been one person we’re relying on.
“I think we’re improving all over the park and have a really strong squad now.”
A notable addition to the squad is former NPLM NNSW Maitland FC player Tyrell Paulson who made his debut in the 62nd minute of the side's dominant 6-0 victory over South Cardiff FC in round eight.
The Stags will welcome back Zane Winslade who has missed the past three rounds due to a hamstring injury as well as Sam Maxwell.
Thornton Redbacks v West Wallsend SFC
Thornton Park, Saturday 2pm
Thornton Redbacks coach Scott Winslade believes his side is ready to take things to another level when they host West Wallsend SFC at Thornton Park on Saturday afternoon.
In their past four matches Thornton have had two wins and two losses, with just one goal separating them and their opponents in both losses.
“What we were lacking was a bit of momentum at the beginning of the season and the two games we lost by a goal were close calls,” Winslade said.
“If we’d been a bit more clinical in our finishing and final passes, we would have probably come away with something a little extra.
“But we didn’t have a very good style, and we’ve pushed way up a level with everyone else at the moment.
“I’m confident now that we’ll push on a bit and start to string some more results together.”
The Redbacks sit second last on the table, joining the bottom half logjam and while Winslade admitted he didn’t want his side there he remained unphased of the looming threat of relegation.
“Everyone knew that relegation was on the table this year. I don't particularly want to be there,” said Winslade.
“But I have confidence in my boys and for us it was always going to be a little different because we’ve only got one player from that starting side from first grade last year.
“It was a whole new side put together and it was always going to be a little shaky at the start and trying to find the right formation, the right players for each area and combinations.
“We’re starting to look a lot better. We still need to be able to finish better, and our second ball pickup needs to improve, but they’re starting to pull it together now.
“I’m not worried halfway through the season about relegation. I’ll be worried at four games to go.”
Thornton will be without Levi White (torn quadricep).
West Wallsend will be hungry for a win in round 10 having not picked up any points since round five. The sides first five matches consisted of one win and four draws before Toronto Awaba put an end to the sides unbeaten streak in round six.
Since then, the Bluebells have been handed three consecutive losses conceding nine goals and scoring five. The side appeared to be adding points to their name in round eight as they entered the final moments of the match leading against Lake Macquarie City before two back-to-back goals awarded Lakes the 5-4 win.
West Wallsend will be hopeful they can repeat their round one performance against Thornton where they secured their only win so far this season.
The Bluebells will need to tighten defence and remain focused for the entire 90-minutes to return to the winning ways.
Singleton Strikers v Cessnock City Hornets
Howe Park, Saturday 4:30pm
Cessnock City Hornets will look to return to the winners’ circle when they travel to Howe Park on Saturday afternoon to take on Singleton Strikers.
Cessnock were one of two teams that took the pitch in round nine. They would have been hopeful searching for their third win of the season but instead were handed their fifth consecutive loss.
The Hornets have not secured points since their round four victory over South Cardiff FC and sit seventh on the table. While four teams sit at the bottom on seven points, Cessnock is the only side without a game in hand.
They will need to return to winning ways on the weekend to escape the gridlock at the bottom of the table and move themselves away from the risk of relegation.
Singleton were one of many sides who were unable to take the field in round nine but gained game time when they went head-to-head with Lake Macquarie City on Wednesday night in the round seven rescheduled match.
The Strikers were unable to secure points going down 3-2 but walked away knowing they were able to work themselves back into the match. Josh Frazer Whitten and Hayden Nicol got their side on the scoreboard in the second half after heading into the sheds at half-time down 3-0.
Despite the midweek defeat the Strikers will have confidence heading into the weekend knowing the last time they met Cessnock they walked away with their best win of the season and only clean sheet this season.
South Cardiff FC v Lake Macquarie City FC
Ulinga Oval, Saturday 7:30pm
A side looking to forget their worst loss of the season and a side reaching for second on the table will face off when South Cardiff FC host Lake Macquarie City FC on Saturday night.
South Cardiff were one of many teams unable to take the field in round nine but needed to in order to forget their nightmare defeat at the hands of Toronto Awaba in round eight.
The Gunners went down 6-0 to Toronto, the biggest deficit to any side this season. They sit sixth on the table with two games in hand but just one point ahead of the logjam of four teams that sit on seven points at the bottom.
They will be hungry to return to the pitch and wash away their recent run of results winning just one of their last four matches. A positive for the side will be knowing they downed Lake Macquarie City 3-2 in a thrilling opening match of the season claiming victory with an injury time penalty goal.
Lake Macquarie City enter round 10 with the game time advantage after they hosted Singleton Strikers on Wednesday night in their round seven rescheduled match.
Lakes secured their third win in a row after defeating the Strikers 3-2 and have not dropped points since round five.
They sit third on the table but are just two points away from second and six points from first.
Lakes will be eager to continue their run of results and end round 10 sitting second on the table.
The Roosters will look to rewrite their wrongs and walk away with the victory after going down to the Gunners in round one.
The side will need to remain disciplined after rewarding their opponents a penalty in the dying moments of their first clash in 2025.
Kahibah FC v Wallsend FC
Kahibah Oval, Sunday 4:30pm
Kahibah FC will have the upper hand when they go head-to-head with Wallsend FC in the closing match of round 10.
Kahibah were one of two sides that took the field in a heavily weather affected round nine and came away victorious.
The Rams defeated Cessnock City Hornets 1-0 through Riley Ferguson’s third goal of the season in the 34th minute.
The last time the two sides met Kahibah walked away with a 3-1 win. Daniel Byrne scored all three goals in the first seven minutes, something the side will be eager to repeat on Sunday.
The Rams will look to continue their six-game unbeaten run, having not lost since round three. They will hope they can do one better than their round one performance and walk away with their third clean sheet of the season.
Wallsend FC have not taken the field since the beginning of May after their round eight and round nine matches were postponed due to wet weather.
The last time the Red Devils were on the pitch for the HIT106.9 Northern League One competition, they painted Wallsend red after they defeated West Wallsend SFC 2-0.
But Wallsend went up against NPLM NNSW side Cooks Hill United in the Hahn Australia Cup just three days later and were defeated 8-1.
They will be hopeful the dominant loss to Cooks Hill United and an unexpected two weeks off hasn’t washed away their winning ways as they sit in the relegation zone.
The side sits last on the table with just two wins to their name, but a positive remains for the side with two games in hand and sitting on equal points with three other teams. A win this weekend is vital for Wallsend to move away from the bottom.
