Match of the Round
Lake Macquarie City FC 7-2 Dudley Redhead United
Lake Macquarie City FC head coach Michael Body praised his side's quick response to falling behind as the Roosters produced a stunning 7-2 thrashing of Dudley Redhead United at Macquarie Field on Sunday afternoon.
The result follows a 7-1 win over West Wallsend SFC in midweek, with Lake Macquarie now having scored 14 goals across their last two matches against quality opposition.
The game started well for Dudley, who broke the deadlock inside the opening two minutes through Blayke Reeves.
Lake Macquarie wasted no time responding, levelling through Josh Frazer Whitten in the 17th minute.
Carter Smith then converted from the penalty spot in the 21st minute to give the hosts a 2-1 lead at the break, in what was a tight contest through the opening 45 minutes.
Dudley dragged themselves back level early in the second half through Luke Wilson in the 49th minute, and for a moment the contest looked as though it could go either way.
From there, however, Lake Macquarie were ruthless, with Mason Rae restoring the lead in the 55th minute before Cade Thomson took over, completing a hat-trick in the 66th, 70th and 80th minutes to make it 6-2, with new signing Markus Wolscher rounding out the scoring in the 90th.
Body said his side's ability to overturn an early deficit was a significant marker for the rest of the season.
"For 88 minutes, we were absolutely outstanding. We conceded two goals, both in the first two minutes of both halves, which was obviously frustrating, but it's the first time this year we've actually been down and won a match," Body said.
Body pointed to the manner in which his side has responded to setbacks throughout the season as the foundation for the result.
"It's something we've been building through, just our resilience to negative moments," Body said.
“We conceded first in all three of our losses this year, so we can bounce off that and know that when we go behind, we can come back and get results”.
Body said the result puts his side in a strong position heading into the business end of the season.
"We've got five games to go, and they're five massive fixtures to see where we end up," Body said.
"We'll enjoy tonight, but then it's straight back to work."
For Dudley, head coach Mark Wilson admitted his side were second best for long stretches of the contest.
"We were down by a goal at half-time, and they were the better side. We got it back to 2-2, but after that, the game just got away from us," Wilson said.
Wilson pointed to poor ball retention as the difference once Lake Macquarie hit their stride.
"It wasn't really a defending issue; it was our ball retention. Against a good side, if your pass completion is poor and you turn the ball over as we did, you'll just chase the game all day, which we did," Wilson said.
"We had a lot of guys out there who were off today.
“Against a good side like Lakes you get punished for that."
The result continued a pattern this season for Dudley, as they struggled to get results against the sides towards the top end of the table.
Despite the heavy defeat, Dudley remained in a strong position on the table.
They will look to take the positives from where they sit on the table and move past the result quickly as they head into the back end of the season.
They will now look ahead to their trip to Cessnock City Hornets next round, where they will look to bounce back from their heaviest defeat of the season.
For Lake Macquarie, victory moves them to top spot and sets up a huge fixture away to Newcastle Croatia next round, one that could further shape the promotion race.
Toronto Awaba FC 0-2 Cessnock City Hornets
Cessnock City Hornets head coach Josh Maguire praised his side's determination as the Hornets ended an eight-game winless run with a 2-0 victory over Toronto Awaba FC at Lyall Peacock Oval on Saturday afternoon.
It was a tight, nervy affair on a wet pitch, with both sides feeling the weight of their respective positions at the bottom of the table.
Cessnock started the better of the two sides and were rewarded in the 13th minute, with Adam Cawley breaking the deadlock from inside the box.
Toronto pushed hard for an equaliser through the second half, but Cessnock soaked up the pressure and broke clear late on, with substitute Mitchell Brown sealing the result in the 83rd minute.
Maguire said the performance was built largely on effort.
"It was a full team performance, and I'm really proud of the guys," Maguire said.
“It was more about effort and determination today than anything else, especially on a wet pitch against a side fighting for survival.”
Maguire pointed to the importance of the clean sheet, the side's first in eight matches, given how tight the table remains below them.
"We knew we were only one goal away from being right back in it again, so to not concede was massive for us," Maguire said.
"There are four or five teams around us on almost the same points, so when the goal difference comes into it later in the season, a clean sheet like that is huge."
Looking ahead, Maguire said managing his squad's workload would be a priority before facing Dudley United Redhead in round 14.
"The week off will help manage the loads of a few of the boys who've been playing heavy minutes," Maguire said.
"The job isn't done yet, we still need at least two more wins to really be clear of that bottom mix, so the quicker we get there, the more relaxed everyone will be."
For Toronto, the result is a disappointing one, knowing a win would’ve lifted them out of the relegation zone for one of the first times this season.
Toronto will be eager to bounce back and give themselves another chance to climb out of the bottom spot.
The Stags will look to put the result behind them quickly and turn their full attention to a tough fixture against Wallsend FC at home in round 14.
West Wallsend SFC 2 -1 Newcastle Croatia
West Wallsend SFC fought back from a half-time deficit to complete a 2-1 comeback over Newcastle Croatia at Johnston Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was a tight, well-contested affair throughout, with Croatia leading at the break before West Wallsend turned the contest around in the second half.
Croatia broke the deadlock in the 39th minute through Jake McGuinness, his 11th goal of the season, with the forward sitting in second on the league's golden boot tally.
West Wallsend levelled in the 54th minute when Josh Williams converted from the penalty spot, before Jonah Reed completed the turnaround in the 63rd minute to put the hosts ahead for the first time.
While it was a nervy final 30 minutes, West Wallsend defended well to hold on and claim all three points.
The result is a significant one for West Wallsend, coming off the back of a heavy midweek loss to Lake Macquarie City FC.
Their defensive performance was a much-improved display, particularly against a Croatia side with one of the league's best attacks.
The win moves West Wallsend to within three points of both Croatia and Dudley Redhead United, who occupy third and fourth, respectively.
For Newcastle Croatia, the defeat brings an end to a three-game winning streak and comes at a costly time against a side sitting just below them on the table.
The result also opens the door for New Lambton, who sit just a point behind Croatia and hold a game in hand, to overtake them back into the top four.
Newcastle Croatia will now look ahead to hosting Lake Macquarie next round in another fixture with major implications for the top-four race.
For West Wallsend, they will welcome New Lambton FC to Johnston Park in round 14, in what shapes as another huge test in the battle for the top four.
Wallsend FC v Singleton Strikers FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
South Cardiff FC v New Lambton FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.