Match of the Round
Toronto Awaba FC 0-0 West Wallsend SFC
Saturday’s highly anticipated match of the round clash at Lyall Peacock Field fizzled out into a scoreless draw as both Toronto Awaba and West Wallsend SFC failed to fire against one another.
Westy looked the more likely to open the scoring as they created the better of the chances in the first half but Toronto nearly snatched the three points late in the game when they broke quickly and Damon Green struck a threatening shot on target, only for it to be saved superbly by Blake Redman.
Redman was playing his 100th game for West Wallsend on Saturday and was determined to keep a clean sheet. While he managed to do that, so did the Stags’ keeper Drew Olsen as the defending premiers and defending champions were forced to settle for a point each.
Toronto Awaba’s coach Jarrad Hiles admitted that his side was well below their best and struggled to create many chances.
“Not real good,” was how Hiles described the performance,” Hiles said.
“It’s probably one of the poorest games we’ve played in a while. We worked really hard to win the ball but then we just kept giving it back.
“We struggled to string passes together. Westy put us under pressure, which we knew was going to happen. I think we were just a bit flat.
“We missed Robbo (Nick Robertson) up top. He was away at a wedding and we missed his physical presence up there. But the way we played, we wouldn’t have got the ball to him anyway.”
West Wallsend’s coach Bailey Cox thought it was two points dropped rather than a point gained considering the way the Bluebells performed on the day.
“We played unreal. Probably one of the best performances we’ve had all year,” Cox said.
“We just couldn’t score our chances. We would have had probably seven clear chances in the first half but couldn’t put them away.
“Out of the 45 minutes in the first half, about 40 minutes was played in their half.
“We dominated, which is frustrating to say when it’s a nil-all draw.
“We defended really well, and the way we wanted to play with how we set up, we executed to perfection. It’s the second game in a row we’ve put together a really good performance and haven’t got a result, which is annoying.”
Toronto Awaba now turn their attention to the Cessnock City Hornets, who they will meet twice this week. The Stags will travel to Turner Park on Wednesday night for a rescheduled round eight clash and will then host Cessnock at Lyall Peacock Field in round 17 on Saturday.
West Wallsend will host Wallsend at Johnston Park on Wednesday night as their abandoned round 12 match resumes from the 51st minute with the Bluebells ahead 1-0. Westy will then travel to Blacksmiths Oval to challenge Belmont Swansea on Saturday.
Singleton Strikers FC 0-3 Kahibah FC
Singleton Strikers hosted Kahibah under lights at Howe Park on Saturday night and the visitors returned home with the three points after scoring a hard-fought but in the end comprehensive 3-0 victory.
The two sides were locked at 0-0 at the half-time break and it was either side’s to win with 20 minutes remaining as neither had broken the stalemate.
It was Tyson Masters who struck first when he drove a shot from just outside the 18-yard box into the bottom right corner to make the score 1-0 in the 71st minute and Lachlan Hodgetts picked out the same corner with a curling strike from just inside the 18-yard box two minutes later.
The Kahibah onslaught continued in the 75th minute when Robbie Turnbull curled in a corner and Lewis Hextell rose highest to head it into the back of the net to make the score 3-0, which was the way it remained at full-time.
Kahibah’s coach Mat Moncrieff admitted that it was nowhere near his side’s best performance but was proud of his men in their efforts to secure the three points on a night they were missing several first grade regulars and lost Brendon Robertson and Jaidyn Kianu in the first half through injury.
“I told the boys at half-time it was going to be a backs-to-the-wall job with only one more stoppage for a sub in the second half,” Moncrieff said.
“I asked them to grind it out, and they fought through it and got the result.
“It definitely wasn’t our best performance but it was good to find the back of the net three times and get a good result.”
The win saw Kahibah finish the weekend in third place on the table, just one point behind second-placed South Cardiff. Kahibah have now turned their attention to the Thornton Redbacks, who they will challenge at Thornton Park in a rescheduled round eight game on Tuesday night and then again on Sunday on home soil at Kahibah Oval in round 17.
The loss was Singleton’s fourth on the trot. They are eighth and are now eight points outside the top four. They will meet South Cardiff on Wednesday night in a rescheduled round eight game and then again on Saturday, on both occasions at Howe Park.
Wallsend FC 0-6 Belmont Swansea United FC
Belmont Swansea United returned to winning ways on Sunday afternoon when they thumped Wallsend 6-0 at Wallsend Park.
The last-placed Red Devils held out the league leaders for 25 minutes, but the floodgates well and truly opened at that stage of the game when the visitors piled on four goals in five minutes.
Ethan Hall (25th), Ian Matthews (26th), Cameron Lodge (28th) and Kane Woolston (30th) all found the back of the net.
The score remained 4-0 at half-time before Woolston struck first in the second stanza when the golden boot race leader netted his second goal of the game and 17th of the season in the 60th minute.
Reece Newton then completed the scoring in the 79th minute as BelSwans charged away to a 6-0 victory.
The win was their 10th in 12 matches and they are now 11 points clear at the top of the table. They will be back in action on Saturday when they host West Wallsend at Blacksmiths Oval.
Wallsend’s loss was their 10th in a row. They will be looking to snap that streak on Wednesday night when they tackle West Wallsend at Johnston Park before they sit out with the bye this weekend.
South Cardiff FC 0-0 Cessnock City Hornets FC
Neither side could find the back of the net when South Cardiff FC and Cessnock City Hornets met at Ulinga Oval on Sunday afternoon as the match finished all square at 0-0.
The two teams created many clear chances worthy of breaking the deadlock in what was a scrappy affair for the most part.
Goalkeepers Izaac Terry (South Cardiff) and Blake McDonnell (Cessnock) did what was required of them to ensure their sides secured clean sheets and their defensive lines in front of them also stood tall.
The Gunners are now unbeaten in seven matches and they remain in second place on the table. But they have slipped 11 points behind league leaders Belmont Swansea.
Perry Mellon’s men are going in to search for six points this week when they travel to Howe Park twice to challenge Singleton, firstly on Wednesday night in a rescheduled round eight match and then again on Saturday in round 17.
Cessnock is seventh and is three points outside the top four. They play Toronto Awaba twice this week when they host the Stags in a rescheduled round eight game on Wednesday night before travelling to Lyall Peacock Field on Saturday.
Thornton Redbacks FC had the bye.