Match of the Round
South Cardiff FC 2-1 Belmont Swansea United FC
South Cardiff’s finals push is back on track after the Gunners earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory on home soil against Belmont Swansea United in this week’s Match of the Round at Ulinga Oval.
Perry Mellon’s men scored either side of the half-time break and led 2-0 late in the game until BelSwans scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
But the Gunners held on to earn a crucial three points that saw them move within three points of their fifth-placed opposition.
South Cardiff opened the scoring in the 45th minute when Alex Phillips ran onto a Tom Walker through ball and slotted his one-on-one chance to make the score 1-0 at the break.
Brendon King doubled the home side’s advantage in the 70th minute when he finished off a counterattack that had seen the Gunners create a three-on-two opportunity.
BelSwans scored in injury time when Reece Newton buried his penalty kick, but it was too little, too late for the visitors as South Cardiff earned a 2-1 win
The Gunners’ coach Perry Mellon said it was an important win and he added that he was content with the way his men played.
“It’s a massive win. We really needed that one. It would have been a nine-point gap otherwise, but it closes it to three for us now, which is good,” Mellon said.
“We did really well in horrendous conditions. Rain came down for basically the whole 90 minutes.
“A change of shape really worked. We were really compact and we didn’t give many chances away, and we were good enough to score more than they did.
“There was a lot of water on the pitch, so it was a game where we had to really dig in and win our individual battles and play to the conditions. We were really organised and the effort was really good.”
“We gave away a last-minute penalty, and I thought we looked really good up until that point.”
As the scoreline suggested, the home side did not have it all their own way. BelSwans had a goal disallowed for a tight offside about 10 minutes into the match, and then missed a penalty 10 minutes later.
For Mick Stafford’s men, it was an opportunity squandered to give his BelSwans side a six-pointer buffer between themselves and sixth place.
Stafford acknowledged that the conditions were poor for football but knew his side could play much better than what they did.
“I’m very disappointed with the outcome of the game,” Stafford said.
“I thought we started really well, with a disallowed goal and then winning a penalty that we missed.
“From there, conditions deteriorated and we went away from our game plan and struggled to get any hold of the game.
“I think that South Cardiff did the hard things well and played the conditions better. Credit to them, they deserved to get the win.”
South Cardiff are sixth following the victory as they snapped a three-game losing streak and are now hoping to take momentum into their away game against Kahibah this Sunday.
BelSwans remains fifth and will be hoping to bounce back from the loss on Sunday when they travel to challenge Toronto Awaba.
Toronto Awaba FC 4-3 Thornton Redbacks FC
League-leaders Toronto Awaba are now just one win away from clinching the premiership after they defeated Thornton Redbacks 4-3 at Lyall Peacock Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Stags trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes as Liam Hardy opened the scoring for the Redbacks.
But the hosts took a 4-1 lead into half-time after firing home four goals in 12 minutes during the first half.
Zane Winslade opened the scoring for the Stags in the 28th minute to make the score 1-1, and then Ethan Wilson put them ahead 2-1 with a 34th-minute strike.
Nick Roberts backed up his heroics from the previous week when he made the score 3-1 in the 39th minute, and then Wilson scored his second a minute later.
Thornton hit back in the second stanza when Pat Wand struck in the 63rd minute to make the score 4-2, which became 4-3 in the 66th when the Stags gifted Thornton an own goal.
But the Toronto Awaba men held on and got the job done as they secured the three points with a 4-3 victory.
The Stags’ coach Jarrad Hiles was back on the sideline following a two-week holiday and loved what he saw from his men.
“We started quite well and had a lot of possession, but Thornton scored from their second shot and I think that kicked us into gear,” Hiles said.
“We went on to score four good goals in that first half and we were cruising.
“I’m actually guilty of then over-coaching. We have a couple of boys on four yellow cards and I was thinking about next week so I made a couple of subs, and then we had a couple of moments where we weren’t concentrating and let them back in the game. But we rode out that storm and it was comfortable in the end. I was kicking myself and I would have put my hand up if we got beaten.
“I thought we were always comfortable though and we dominated large portions of possession and knocked around the ball quite well.
“We got the win, which was positive. They dug deep in that final 25-odd minutes. In previous years we go on to draw or lose that game and throw it away. I think it’s a testament to how far the boys have come.”
Toronto Awaba now turns their attention to a home clash against Belmont Swansea at Lyall Peacock Field this Sunday, while Thornton dropped to eighth following the loss and are still five points outside the top five, and now take on Cessnock City Hornets on Sunday.
West Wallsend SFC 7-0 Cessnock City Hornets FC
West Wallsend put the disappointment of their old boys day loss behind them as they responded in the best way possible with a 7-0 home ground victory against Cessnock City Hornets on Sunday.
The hosts led 1-0 at half-time at Johnston Park and then piled on six more in the second stanza to stay in touch with table leaders and Toronto Awaba.
The Bluebells’ gun frontman Kane Goodchild opened the scoring in the 41st minute to give his side a 1-0 lead at the break.
Josh Knight doubled West Wallsend’s lead in the 52nd minute and then Goodchild bagged his second on the hour-mark to make the score 3-0.
Spencer Clarke added a fourth a minute later, and then Wade Ciappara made it 5-0 in the 74th minute.
Luke Willard scored a well-deserved goal himself in the 85th minute. Jake Bower then rounded out the scoring in injury time.
West Wallsend are still 10 points behind Toronto Awaba in second place and they moved three points clear of Singleton after the Strikers had the bye in Round 22. West Wallsend have the bye this weekend.
Cessnock are still stuck at the foot of the table following their fourth consecutive loss and will be hoping to turn their fortunes around this Sunday when they host Thornton Redbacks at Turner Park.
Kahibah FC 2-1 Wallsend FC
Kahibah continued their push for a top-three spot with a wet weather win on Sunday at home against Wallsend.
The two sides were locked at 0-0 at the half-time break at Kahibah Oval after neither was able to break the deadlock in the first 45 minutes.
It was Curtis Baggs who found the breakthrough in the 59th minute when he intercepted a back pass and scored.
Kahibah scored again in the 71st minute, but this time it was into the wrong net as a Robbie Turnbull own goal made the score 1-1.
But the hosts restored the lead three minutes later when Riley Ferguson scored the winner from the penalty spot.
Kahibah’s coach Mat Moncrieff thought that his side deserved the three points on what turned out to be a tough day to play quality football.
“We played good football to start with, but then it started to pour down rain and it turned into a slop-fest. The pitch went to mud and it could have gone either way. It was one of those unpretty games where you had to dig in and do your best, and we came out on top, thankfully,” Moncrieff said.
“I would have been disappointed if we lost because we definitely had the most chances.”
Kahibah’s win sees them move to 33 points, just one behind third-placed Singleton. Moncrieff’s men’s next fixture is at home against South Cardiff this Sunday.
The loss resulted in Wallsend slipping to seventh after they were overtaken by South Cardiff. The Red Devils host Singleton at The Gardens on Sunday.