Match of the Round
Singleton Strikers v Cessnock City Hornets
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Dudley Redhead United 3-0 Toronto Awaba FC
Dudley Redhead United head coach Mark Wilson praised his players' work rate and effort in the final third as the hosts secured a 3-0 victory over Toronto Awaba FC on the club's annual Spider Jones Old Boys Day.
The visitors faced adversity early when Flynn Fittler was shown a straight red card in the 12th minute for bringing down a Dudley attacker as the last man.
Despite the man disadvantage, Toronto defended and battled well to keep the scoreline locked at 0-0 heading into half-time.
The numbers were levelled early in the second half when Dudley’s Jared Dickinson received his second yellow card in the 50th minute.
But the dismissal managed to spark the hosts into gear.
They found the opening just four minutes later when Daniel Watson found the back of the net, despite just being reduced to 10-men.
Blayke Reeves quickly doubled the lead in the 58th minute, before substitute Kye Mclean sealed the three points with an 86th-minute goal.
Wilson was impressed by his squad's application over the 90 minutes, especially given the fixture's significance for the club.
"The commitment from the players was outstanding for both halves," Wilson said.
"It's always a big day for the club, so to see the boys step up today and do what they did was really positive."
Wilson also credited the opposition's first-half performance despite being reduced to 10-men, while explaining how his team improved on their recent form in front of goal.
“Full credit to Toronto after the send-off; they were really good for the rest of the first half," Wilson said.
"We spoke earlier in the week about our positioning in the front third.
“This week we improved; the ball got into good areas, and we had guys on the end of it to capitalise."
Midfielder Joseph Soergel earned high praise from Wilson for an outstanding performance, with the club also looking forward to welcoming back key players during the upcoming break.
"Joe had a great game. He gets through so much work over the 90 minutes and has been our player's player for the last few weeks in a row," Wilson said.
"We have some guys coming back now, so it will be good to freshen up with the weekend off."
The victory snaps a two-game winless run for Dudley and temporarily moves them to the top of the table, though the teams around them retain games in hand.
For Toronto, the result marks their second defeat to Dudley this season and stops them from building on their previous victory.
Despite a good first-half performance, they will be disappointed to concede three goals, especially after the man advantage was cancelled out early in the second half at 0-0.
The Stags remain tied on points with bottom-placed South Cardiff FC, who will now gain an opportunity to climb above Toronto due to their game in hand.
Toronto will have the weekend off to now prepare for their midweek round nine catch-up match against Lake Macquarie City FC on Wednesday 10 June.
Dudley will also use the weekend off to freshen up before travelling to face West Wallsend SFC in round 11.
Lake Macquarie City FC v West Wallsend SFC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
South Cardiff FC v Newcastle Croatia
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Wallsend FC v New Lambton FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.