Match of the Round
Wallsend FC v South Cardiff FC
The Gardens, Sunday 2:30pm
This weekend’s Match of the Round is a blockbuster clash in which finals chances and the Gallagher Shield will be on the line when Wallsend hosts South Cardiff.
These two sides are fighting for fifth place alongside defending champions Belmont Swansea, and they were both victorious last Sunday as the Red Devils downed Singleton 2-0 and South Cardiff defeated Kahibah 3-0.
BelSwans lost that same day, which saw all three teams finish the weekend on 24 points. That means that the winner of Sunday’s clash at The Gardens have the potential to finish the weekend in the top five, making it a must-win match.
Wallsend’s coach Mick Gatt believes that his players are motivated to qualify for the finals in 2023 and said they took confidence out of the win against a top-three team last weekend.
“The boys spoke before the game about how we had five games remaining and they want to push for finals,” Gatt said.
“We’ve beaten everybody in the top five bar Kahibah, so the belief there is they can do it.
“We want to make a finals push and be there at the end of the season.
“If you’re fair dinkum, whoever wins this one is in the box seat to make the finals, so it’s a do-or-die match for us and them. That’s what these final four games are about, making sure you cement your spot. With Southy being equal with us, it’s sort of a grand final for both of us and it’s about who can win it.”
The Gallagher Shield is also on the line and will be decided this Sunday. Wallsend is currently ahead in the race for the shield based on the two clubs’ previous first and reserve-grade results this year, and the Red Devils are looking to retain the shield again in 2023.
But Gunners coach Perry Mellon said that his side wants to come home strong to win it off Wallsend and claim a valuable three points.
“It’s a crucial game with us, BelSwans and Wallsend all on 24 points,” Mellon said.
“Like us, Wallsend have already had their last bye. We need to win - one, because we need to beat the bottom teams, two, because we need to give ourselves a good buffer, and three, there’s the Gallagher Shield on the line and we haven’t won that since 2020.”
South Cardiff will be boosted by the return of Corey Fletcher, who is back from suspension, and Riley West is also a chance of returning from injury.
Wallsend and South Cardiff have met on two previous occasions during the 2023 season, and the Gunners are yet to win. The Red Devils prevailed 3-1 at home back in April, and then the two sides drew 1-1 at Ulinga Oval in May.
There’s a lot on the line at The Gardens this Sunday and both teams are determined to make it a Match of the Round to remember.
Thornton Redbacks FC v West Wallsend SFC
Thornton Park, Friday 8:15pm
Kicking off Round 24 is another Friday night game at Thornton Park when the Redbacks host West Wallsend in what is a must-win match for the home side.
Thornton’s chances of playing finals football this year are slim at best, but coach Nima Nikfarjam is still hopeful that his men can climb above the three sides ahead of them and finish fifth.
The Redbacks are second last in eighth place on 20 points, just four behind Belmont Swansea, South Cardiff and Wallsend with four rounds remaining.
The Redbacks face one of the form teams in the competition in the second-placed Bluebells, but Nikfarjam is confident his side can earn the three points if they have faith in the coaching staff’s game plan, which they went away from in narrow losses last month.
“The little details are key in the big games when we play against the better teams,” Nikfarjam said.
“Paying attention to the instructions, sticking together and trying to play to our game plan.
“For instance, when we played Toronto, for 10 minutes we started to push high, which I never told the boys to push high. In those 10 minutes, we were very separated and disorganised and they punished us with four goals.
“The boys need to believe in the process we have in place and they need to understand that what we give them is the solution to the game, and they need to stick with it.
“If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility as the coach.”
The Bluebells enter Friday night’s clash rejuvenated after they had last weekend off with the bye. A week earlier, they demolished Cessnock City Hornets 7-0 at Johnston Park.
Bailey Cox’s men are no longer fighting for the premiership after that was wrapped up by the Stags last Sunday but their attention has now turned to securing a second-placed finish as their pursuit of a place in the grand final at their home ground continues.
The Redbacks won the first meeting between these two sides this year 3-0 back in April, but the Bluebells responded with an emphatic 6-1 win in May. Both teams will be pushing hard tomorrow night to win the head-to-head battle and earn the three points.
Belmont Swansea United FC v Singleton Strikers FC
Blacksmiths Oval, Saturday 2:30pm
Defending champions Belmont Swansea United will welcome Singleton Strikers to Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday afternoon as two sides desperate for a win prepare to meet one another.
BelSwans have found themselves in a three-way battle for the fifth finals spot following back-to-back losses in their last two games.
Coach Mick Stafford thought their season had turned a corner following two straight wins and three straight clean sheets prior to their latest slump, but they are now fighting an uphill battle to get back into the playoffs.
Stafford’s men are locked on 24 points with sixth-placed South Cardiff and seventh-placed Wallsend, and with those two teams meeting each other this Sunday, BelSwans could fall to sixth if they drop points and as low as seventh if they lose.
With a bye the following round and only two matches remaining after that, picking up three points this weekend is crucial for BelSwans’ dreams of a championship defence.
Singleton enters Round 24 having lost their past two matches and sitting out with a bye in between.
Mick Jarvis’ men are three points behind West Wallsend in third place, and now that the premiership has been wrapped up by Toronto Awaba, second place is what the Strikers and the Bluebells are fighting for.
Singleton have struggled to put the same team on the park in consecutive weeks during recent months due to injury and suspension, and they are now hoping to establish some momentum during the final four rounds of the regular season heading into the finals.
BelSwans were victorious when these two sides last met at Blacksmiths Oval in April as the hosts won 4-0, but Singleton turned the tables when they faced off again in May at Howe Park with a 2-1 win.
The Strikers are determined to win on BelSwans’ home turf for the first time since 2021.
Cessnock City Hornets FC v Kahibah FC
Turner Park, Sunday 2:30pm
Rounding out the weekend is a contest between Cessnock City Hornets and Kahibah at Turner Park.
Kahibah are hoping to bounce back from a convincing loss at the hands of South Cardiff last Sunday and gather some momentum heading into the finals. They are fourth but are still well and truly entrenched in the battle to finish in the top three despite last weekend’s loss.
Mat Moncrieff’s side have been without suspended defenders Lewis Hextell and Heath Kepreotes in recent weeks but the key duo are both available this Sunday.
Liam Whitehead will be missing this weekend after he became the third Kahibah player to be sent off in the past four games. The side have felt as though they have been unlucky with a couple of decisions, but discipline is an area they will be hoping to shore up with just four rounds remaining in the regular season.
Kahibah’s opponents this Sunday are a team with nothing to lose that have put an emphasis on finishing the 2023 season strongly.
Hornets coach Brad Miles conceded that his side’s finals hopes were more than likely gone following last weekend’s 0-0 draw against Thornton, but he said that he wanted to see a repeat of the side’s effort.
“I’d like to see the same sort of effort,” Miles said.
“I don’t know who we’ll have available but I just want everyone to show up for each other.
“For finals, I think we had to beat Thornton. I know mathematically we are still a chance, but realistically, we now just have to focus on playing our best in our last games.”
The two sides battled out two close contests earlier this season, with both teams scoring a 2-1 victory on home soil. Cessnock is now focused on continuing that trend by earning another home-ground victory.
Toronto Awaba have the bye.