Match of the Round
Kahibah FC 0-1 West Wallsend SFC
One goal was enough to earn West Wallsend their fourth consecutive win as they downed Kahibah 1-0 away from home at Kahibah Oval on Sunday.
Spencer Clarke netted the winner in the 35th minute when he charged into the box onto a pin-point Kane Goodchild pass in behind the defence and made no mistake with his one-on-one strike.
Clarke then won a penalty 10 minutes into the second half but Goodchild’s strike was saved by Kahibah goalkeeper George Stephens.
Kahibah pushed hard for an equaliser but West Wallsend’s defence kept them out to earn a 1-0 win and secure a valuable three points.
Bluebells coach Bailey Cox did not think it was his side’s best game but was pleased that they got the job done.
“It wasn’t our best but it was still reasonably decent,” Cox said.
“The first half was pretty good. We started out playing how we want to play. Second half, we got into a bit of a scrap with them and the game also got a bit fiery.
“I’m stoked we got the job done though. I couldn’t be any happier with the boys and the effort we’ve been showing lately.”
Cox was thrilled that his side is mainting pace with the two teams above them on the table but is even more delighted by the gap they have created betrween the teams below them.
“I’m more happy with the fact we’re seven points clear of Kahibah and 15 clear of fifth place, so we’ve shored up semis unless we fall off an absolute cliff,” Cox said.
“It’s now just us, Toronto and Singleton in the race for first.”
Kahibah had their chances but were unable to find the back of the net. Their coach Mat Moncrieff enjoyed the match and thought it was a quality contest.
“I thought we played good and it was a good game,” Moncrieff said.
“It was one of them games that could have gone either way. The first 25 minutes we were really up for it. Then the last 20 minutes of the first half they got on top of us.
“Their goal was pretty soft from our standpoint but they missed a sitter straight after so that kept us in the game at half-time.
“We pretty much had the ball the whole second half, and although they missed a penalty, they didn’t have too many chances. I thought we were pretty dominant but it just wouldn’t go in.
“They put their chance away and we didn’t. It was a cracking game with not much in it.”
Moncrieff was also proud of the way his side played after they went down to 10 men midway through the second stanza when Lewis Hextell was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
West Wallsend remains third on the table following their win. None of the top three sides conceded any ground to each other as they all scored 1-0 away wins after Singleton downed Thornton Redbacks and Toronto Awaba defeated Cessnock City Hornets.
The Bluebells have now turned their attention to this Sunday’s Match of the Round derby against Wallsend at Johnston Park where they will be determined to make it five wins in a row.
Fourth-placed Kahibah have fallen seven points clear of Singleton and West Wallsend. They will go head-to-head with the Strikers away from home at Howe Park this Saturday.
Thornton Redbacks FC 0-1 Singleton Strikers FC
Singleton Strikers made it back-to-back clean sheet victories with a 1-0 win away from home against Thornton Redbacks.
A 73rd-minute Hayden Nichol strike was the difference turning on a defender just outside the 18-yard box down the right edge and fired a cracking strike from a tight angle across Thornton goalkeeper Oliver Mather and into the back of the net.
The Strikers’ injury woes continued just hours before the game when key defender Jackson Skinner pulled out with injury as the visitors entered the match without seven regular first graders.
Their coach Mick Jarvis was proud of the way that everyone who pulled on a Singleton jersey rose to the occasion.
“It was tough as expected from Thornton. They’ve got some very dangerous players, hence them rolling BelSwans and South Cardiff the past two weeks at home” Jarvis said.
“We were fully aware of the players that we needed to watch out for and we made that very well-noted in our chat before the game. I think our boys did a very good job on them.
“I’m very pleased with the clean sheet. We had one regular first grade defender and that was Marcus Morris, who had two 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old playing in the backline with him. For him to control those guys and give them the right information is great mentoring. That’s what you want in your senior guys.
“We were seven players short for the night but everyone stood up, which was good.
“Thornton put us under fire in the first 20 and we were bogged down our half a lot, but through good communication from the lads, we were picking the right players up and taking away their time and space. That first 20, we did really well turning them away.
“Corey Cleaver Singleton’s goalkeeper was sensational in goals too.”
Jarvis was also full of praise for his captain, Nichol, who has been “playing on one foot most of the season” but led by example producing another quality performance on Friday night.
Singleton remains in second place on the ladder and are still seven points behind ladder leaders Toronto Awaba, who also won 1-0 away from home when they downed Cessnock on Sunday. The Strikers will try to tighten that gap when they host Kahibah at Howe Park on Saturday.
The Redbacks went into that game in fifth place but slipped to sixth after Belmont Swansea earned three points on Sunday to overtake them. Thornton have the bye this weekend.
Wallsend FC 0-2 Belmont Swansea United FC
Belmont Swansea United rediscovered their goal-scoring form and kept another clean sheet, winning 2-0 away from home against Wallsend.
Mark Finlayson opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he brought the ball down inside the box from a corner and drove it into the back of the net.
The visitors thought they had another goal 10 minutes later when Joel Nicholson netted to cap off a brilliant team play, but the flag was raised for an offside in the build-up.
BelSwans took their 1-0 lead into half-time before Nicholson doubled their advantage when he completed a counterattack with 10 minutes to go to make the final score 2-0.
BelSwans coach Mick Stafford described the match as a scrappy one but thought the way that his side was able to come away with the three points highlighted their return to form.
“It was a scrappy game. It was a workman-like performance, I’ll put it that way,” Stafford said.
“It was another step forward for us though, to not concede a goal but this time be composed enough to score two.
“We should have had a few more to be honest.
“The hunger was there and although we dropped off for a few periods, it was good to see the full squad effort to continue on and score a second goal late.
“To be fair, Wallsend had a few chances in the second half. Our goalkeeper (Joel Perrin) got players’ player. He made a few good saves. Wallsend were in the game but I think we showed our quality, and our structure was better.”
The win sees BelSwans climb up the ladder into fifth. The defending champions are back at home this weekend when they host Cessnock City Hornets at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
Wallsend remains at the bottom of the table following their loss and will play away from home in the derby against West Wallsend at Johnston Park this Sunday.
Cessnock City Hornets FC 0-1 Toronto Awaba FC
Toronto Awaba got the job done as they edged out Cessnock City Hornets 1-0 at Turner Park on Sunday to stay seven points clear at the top of the table.
The Stags went ahead in the 15th minute when a Clancy Muddle cross was turned into the Hornets’ net by Zach Kronholm. The own goal separated the sides at full-time as the Toronto Awaba men claimed a valuable three points in the Premiership race.
Both sides finished the game with 10 men after Cessnock’s Riley Croucher was sent off in the 47th minute and then Toronto Awaba’s Nick Roberts was given his marching orders in the 57th.
Toronto Awaba’s reserve grade coach Kristopher Cook oversaw the game for his club in the absence of Jarrad Hiles, who is away on holidays. He thought the visitors were a bit lethargic but controlled the game.
“It was a scrappy game and it was a bit of a dogfight. It was very windy and a typical Cessnock pitch, a bit rough and bumpy,” Cook said.
“I think that we went out there and we were a bit lethargic. We were a bit slow on our passing and we weren’t as crisp as we normally are.
“The boys were motivated in the warm up but I don’t think that transitioned out on the field.
“But I think we played alright and controlled the game. Cessnock were really direct and we were able to handle that. It was just our final pass that let us down and we weren’t as clinical as we normally are.”
The Stags will play away from home again this Sunday when they travel to Ulinga Oval to challenge South Cardiff.
Cessnock remains eighth on the nine-team ladder following the loss and will also be in action away from home this weekend when they meet Belmont Swansea at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
South Cardiff had the bye.