Match of the Round
Singleton Strikers FC v Wallsend FC
Howe Park, Sunday 2:30pm
This weekend’s match of the round will be contested at Howe Park where the Singleton Strikers will host Wallsend in a bottom-of-the-table battle on Sunday afternoon.
These two sides are well below where they expected to be at this stage of the season and despite the fact that there is plenty of time left in the 2024 campaign, they are both eager to get the ball rolling this weekend to spark some form and begin a climb up the table.
Wallsend is last with three points following one win and eight losses so far, while Singleton is eighth on the nine-team table with eight points following two wins, two draws and six losses.
The Red Devils’ sole win this year was all the way back in round one on a night when they looked like genuine promotion contenders as they cruised past South Cardiff 4-1 away from home at Ulinga Oval.
But Wallsend have lost eight straight since then and they are eager to put an end to that streak on Sunday.
“Everyone says that you create your own luck, and it’s a very true saying in our case,” Wallsend’s coach Chris Gallagher said.
“That game against South Cardiff, we should have taken a lot of confidence out of that and gone on with it. For the most part we did against Westy (two weeks later), I thought we were quite good against them, but now we’re here.
“Do I think we deserve to be in the position we’re in? No. But with where we’ve come from and where we are now, I still think we won’t finish at the bottom.
“There’s been plenty of improvement and there are a lot of young players that are starting to out their hands up now.
“I think everybody was good (last weekend against Cessnock), but it’s just not consistent enough at the moment. We need it every week - consistency and concentration in the key moments. Hopefully, we can find that against Singleton.”
The Strikers have only won two games this year during a campaign that has been significantly impacted by injury. One of their two wins was against Wallsend in round five back in March when they outscored the Red Devils at The Gardens.
Singleton’s coach Doug West is confident his side can make it two from two against Wallsend and snap a five-game winless run, but he knows it will be tough against a resilient Red Devils outfit.
“The challenge for us is to make sure we have enough quality in our 11 to start the game,” West said.
“We should see a couple of players return this weekend, but we’ll have Jackson Skinner out as he has to serve his suspension. We might see Jackson Cox return to the squad, and Antoine Penot should be available as well. Lachie Nichol will have to do a fitness test before the end of the week but we’re hoping he’s back too.
“That’s been our challenge all year. We’ve carried a lot of injuries through a lot of games.
“Wallsend, from what I can gather we can expect the same from them. You have to stay in the game long enough, it’s a war of attrition against them. They defend valiantly and they stay in the game for long periods. They can ask a lot of questions of teams.
“For us, it’s a matter of staying in the game, sticking to the plan and limiting chances for them.
“I want to see more discipline around our structure. The last two games we had really good tactical plans that we didn’t execute well. A couple of individuals probably didn’t align with the plan well enough on the day and that’s all it took against those teams to go behind.”
Kahibah FC v West Wallsend SFC
Kahibah Oval, Sunday 2:30pm
Kahibah FC will battle to get themselves back in the top four on Sunday afternoon when they host West Wallsend at Kahibah Oval.
Mat Moncrieff’s men were second on the table, but back-to-back losses and a bye have seen them slip to fifth. They are on 12 points, which is two points behind second-placed Thornton.
A victory for Kahibah could see them finish as far up the table as second on Sunday if other results go their way.
West Wallsend are undefeated in their past three matches. They faced Cessnock last week when they replayed the final 35 minutes of a game that began in April and was abandoned due to injury. The match restarted with Westy ahead 2-1 and the Hornets at the penalty spot, and Blake Redman saved Zac Kronholm’s shot before the Bluebells went on to score twice to win 4-1.
The last time West Wallsend played against Kahibah was at home back in round five when they went down 4-1.
Their coach Bailey Cox thought they made too many mistakes and were poor in front of goals that day, something they have rectified since.
“I think in the last two games we’ve played (against Singleton and Cessnock), we’ve looked pretty decent,” Cox said.
“We’ve defended a lot better, our shape has been a lot better and we’ve scored goals.
“Our problem this season hasn’t been going forward or creating chances, it’s been putting the ball in the back of the net and also our defence leaking goals, but in those games, we haven’t leaked goals and we’ve put a few away.
“I wish we’d played a few more games and kept our form going, but I don’t think that will affect us too much.
“Against Kahibah, we just have to cut out the silly errors and not give away stupid free kicks like we did last time against them. We played alright against them even though we lost 4-1, but our errors led to their goals.
“I do rate Kahibah. They try to play footy and move the ball around and they have some good players, so we need to be disciplined with free kicks and with our shape in defence, and hopefully we can bang a few in.”
Thornton Redbacks FC v Belmont Swansea United FC
Thornton Park, Saturday 2:30pm
Thornton Redbacks and Belmont Swansea United will meet in their second top-of-the-table clash of the season on Saturday afternoon when they go head-to-head at Thornton Park.
It will be the first time that the Redbacks have played at Thornton Park this season following council upgrades and last Saturday’s washed-out game at the venue against Singleton.
Thornton is excited to finally play at home again and are eager to try and knock off the team at the top of the table.
Thornton is second on the table with 15 points, 12 behind BelSwans lead the way with 27.
The Redbacks will not only be playing to narrow that gap but also to stay in second as there are only three points between them and seventh-placed Cessnock City Hornets.
The last time these two teams met back in round five in March, it was also a first v second encounter, which BelSwans won 4-1 at Blacksmiths Oval. That was Thornton’s only loss so far this season and they now hope to turn the tables on the front-runners on home soil.
BelSwans have also only lost one game this year and they are now focused on stretching their lead at the top of the table to potentially 15 points.
South Cardiff FC v Toronto Awaba FC
Ulinga Oval, Saturday 7:30pm
South Cardiff FC and Toronto Awaba will meet again on Saturday night when they go head-to-head at Ulinga Oval.
These two teams have already faced off against one another once this season in round five when Damon Green made his Stags debut and scored the winner just 18 minutes after coming off the bench in the second half.
The Gunners will hope that a home-ground advantage works in their favour the way it did for Toronto Awaba the last time out.
The two sides are eager to get back out on the park following a rain-affected past five weeks that have left Toronto Awaba with four games to make up and South Cardiff two fixtures to be rescheduled.
But there will be added motivation this weekend, as the team that wins on Saturday night is guaranteed to finish the weekend inside the top four.
The Gunners are fourth on the table with 13 points and the Stags are sixth with 12 points. Either team could rise as high as second as both are within a win of the Thornton Redbacks who are currently second with 15 points.
Cessnock City Hornets FC have the bye.