Match of the Round
Kahibah FC v Thornton Redbacks FC
Kahibah Oval, Sunday 2:30pm
Kahibah FC coach Mat Moncrieff is confident his side can secure all three points when they host Thornton Redbacks at Kahibah Oval on Sunday.
This match is a unique one, in that the two sides played against one another earlier this week on Tuesday night in a rescheduled round eight contest.
They finished all square at 1-1 in that game after Kahibah led for almost the entirety of the match, with a classy Riley Ferguson ninth-minute strike cancelled out by an 87th-minute Logan Watson goal from the penalty spot.
Those results left Kahibah third on the table with 19 points and Thornton fourth on 17 points as of Tuesday night.
Thornton and Kahibah have both shifted their focus to Sunday’s clash where they will both be looking to put the other away following the frustration of Tuesday night’s draw.
Kahibah’s coach Mat Moncrieff thought his side should have returned home with the three points on Tuesday and he wants to see his side take their chances this weekend.
“I think we should have won 7-0 to be honest,” Moncrieff said.
“Their keeper (Oliver Mather) saved a good five or six deadset goals.
“We played really good, to be honest. I walked away thinking ‘How did we not win that game?’. We dominated.”
Moncrieff said that the Redbacks fought hard and deserved their point but said he and his men are expecting another tough game on Sunday.
“They are well-drilled defensively and they have a couple of lightning-quick boys up front,” Moncrieff said.
“I can see why they’re up near the top of the table. They punish your mistakes, and we didn’t make any mistakes really until that penalty.
“If we can control the ball again and play our football, I think we’ll create plenty of chances again. We created probably 12 chances to their two maybe, and that’s not being biased.
“It just wasn’t going in for us.”
Thornton co-coach Gerard Carey was disappointed with the way his side defended in the first half on Tuesday but commended his men for pushing until the end and earning a point.
“I thought my backline was missing in action in the first half. We’re lucky it was only 1-0 down,” Carey said.
“That was only because of Oli Mather our goalkeeper.
“In the second half, we made a better effort in terms of containing their dangerous players. We made life difficult for them. They still got in behind us a couple of times though.
“We stuck to our plan on how we counterattack a little bit better.”
Carey said that the Redbacks will make four or five changes to their starting lineup this Sunday to account for the tough schedule they face, with more midweek games ahead and they are expecting another sharp Kahibah performance.
“Kahibah killed us out wide. They’ve got two really quick guys,” Carey said.
“Then Robbie Turnbull sits in and dictates the play and tells people when to play and who to play, and they cut you up pretty quickly.
“We’ve got a better idea now how they play. I don’t think they’ll dominate on Sunday the way they did in the first half.
“Our boys came off believing they could have won it. Oli made some big saves and we were finishing over the top of them. But that’s not to say we deserve to win because Kahibah were very good. There are lots of good players across the park for them, and if it was a boxing match, they won it clearly on points.”
The rescheduled round-eight results saw Thornton extend their current unbeaten streak to five games and Kahibah stretch theirs to three, and both sides are looking to improve that this Sunday.
Singleton Strikers FC v South Cardiff FC
Howe Park, Saturday 2:30pm
Singleton Strikers will host South Cardiff FC at Howe Park for the second time in four days on Saturday afternoon after the two sides went head-to-head there on Wednesday night.
The two sides were guaranteed to remain in the positions they entered the rescheduled round eight match in, which was second place for South Cardiff and eighth place for Singleton.
South Cardiff have set their sights on promotion this year and while many assumed that Belmont Swansea had already wrapped up top spot and the automatic promotion position earlier this season following their dominant start to the campaign, the Gunners are confident that they can chase the league leaders down.
Perry Mellon’s men were 11 points behind BelSwans before Wednesday’s match with a game in hand on them, and they will be looking to narrow whatever the gap stands at on Saturday.
Singleton went into Wednesday’s match winless in their previous six outings, five of which were losses. If that stands at seven heading into Saturday’s game, they will be more determined than ever to return to winning ways and recapture the form that saw them play finals football in 2023.
Belmont Swansea United FC v West Wallsend SFC
Blacksmiths Oval, Saturday 4pm
High-flying Belmont Swansea FC will host West Wallsend SFC on Saturday evening where they will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the table.
BelSwans scored their first win in a month last Sunday when they demolished Wallsend FC 6-0 away from home following two washed out games and a draw in the weeks leading up to that clash. It was a win that saw them move 11 points clear at the top of the table.
That gap may well have been reduced on Wednesday night, depending on the result at Howe Park between second-placed side South Cardiff and Singleton. But BelSwans are only focused on themselves, and they will be looking to maintain or extend whatever their lead is come Saturday.
The win against Wallsend was their 10th in 12 matches this season to go with a draw and a loss. They boast a remarkable goal difference of 42, which is even more impressive considering only three other teams have a positive goal difference, and they currently total a combined figure of 13.
The BelSwans boys, led by golden boot race favourite Kane Woolston and second-placed Adam Woodbine, have piled on 57 goals in 12 games this season so far.
Woolston and Woodbine have combined for 30 of those and are a feared strikeforce.
West Wallsend are well aware of this and are determined to produce a defensive effort on Saturday that ensures that the league leaders do not add to their tally.
The Bluebells were impressive as they kept their second clean sheet of the campaign last Saturday in a 0-0 draw with Toronto Awaba. They will be determined to put their chances away against BelSwans, which they were unable to do against the Stags.
The Westy men played last night when they welcomed Wallsend to Johnston Park. A win in that game would have seen them move into the top four, a position they will be playing to protect this Saturday.
Toronto Awaba FC v Cessnock City Hornets FC
Lyall Peacock Field, Saturday 4pm
Toronto Awaba host Cessnock City Hornets at Lyall Peacock Field on Saturday in a game that will finish under lights.
These two sides will also be meeting one another for the second time in four days after they faced off at Howe Park in Cessnock on Wednesday in a rescheduled round eight game.
A win in that match offered the Stags the chance to break into the top four, or at least rise from sixth to fifth, while Cessnock would have overtaken their opponents if they got the job done.
The two teams have top-four aspirations in 2024 and there is little doubt that the Stags would be up in there had they played as many games as the teams ahead of them. Wednesday night’s game was only their 10th in 17 rounds.
With playoff finals in mind and each team possessing quality all over the park, Saturday’s clash should be a quality contest as one of the two teams looks to bounce back from a loss or they both look to go one better after a draw.
Wallsend FC have the bye.