Match of the Round
Kahibah FC 2-0 Toronto Awaba FC
Kahibah scored one of their most significant wins of the season on Sunday when they defeated Toronto Awaba 2-0 at Kahibah Oval in the Match of the Round.
The hosts were playing in front of a passionate home proud on old boys’ day, against the only side they had not yet beaten in 2023, and with third place on the line.
Kahibah managed to overcome the pressure and keep the premiers scoreless in the process.
The score was locked at 0-0 at half-time despite both sides creating several chances in the opening 45 minute.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute when Kahibah’s Tyson Masters flicked a headed shot over Toronto Awaba’s goalkeeper Drew Olsen to make the score 1-0.
Masters struck again in the 68th minute when he intercepted a back pass and found the back of the net to double Kahibah’s lead.
The hosts managed to hold Toronto Awaba out for the remainder of the game as they maintained their 2-0 lead up until the full-time whistle sounded.
Kahibah’s coach Mat Moncrieff thought the three points were well-deserved.
“We were really good today. It was a really good all-round performance,” Moncrieff said.
“The team defended well, in midfield we shut down the good midfielders that they have, and up front we created really good chances.
“I thought for the first 15 to 20 minutes they were really razzing us though. We lost Robbie Turnbull after about five minutes to a groin injury, so we were a bit disjointed early. But we sorted it out by about the 20th minute and we were good for it.
“We should have scored a few more too. We missed three runaway chances in the first half. Toronto had a couple of good chances too, but not point-blank ones.
“I didn’t think we were going to get beat from the start of the second half onwards.”
Moncrieff said he had identified attacking duo Jarrod Purcell and Nick Roberts as Toronto Awaba’s danger men and had challenged his side to limit their chances.
The gaffer was thrilled with the way his side responded to the task, which he said went a long way toward keeping the clean sheet.
The match was Toronto Awaba’s first since they claimed the premiership at home against Belmont Swansea in Round 23 last month before they sat out with a bye ahead of the washout weekend.
The Stags’ coach Jarrad Hiles thought they didn’t quite dust the cobwebs off for Sunday’s match.
“We started pretty well. For the first 25 minutes, we were pretty good and kept the ball, and our movement was good,” Hiles said.
“We hit the crossbar midway through the first half too.
“But we turned cheap ball over and simple passes went astray, and Kahibah got forward pretty quick.
“I think we were a little bit rusty from the break. But that’s no excuse.
“The goals we conceded was just a bit of hesitancy and then trying to be a bit too pretty. But I think Kahibah deserved the win. They were quite good.”
Kahibah will line up for the final time in the regular season this Friday night when they travel to Thornton to challenge the Redbacks. A win in that game could cement a third-place finish for Moncrieff’s men.
Toronto Awaba will be hoping to bounce back from what was their fourth loss of the season when they host Wallsend at Lyall Peacock Oval on their club’s old boys’ day on Saturday.
West Wallsend SFC 1-0 Singleton Strikers FC
Kane Goodchild fired West Wallsend to a 1-0 victory against the Singleton Strikers at Johnston Park on Sunday as the veteran frontman scored an 86th-minute winner in the battle for second place.
Goodchild broke the deadlock from close range after Wes Pryce had gotten onto the end of a Matt Paul corner kick at the back stick and headed it into the path of the number nine who made no mistake.
The win was West Wallsend’s third in a row since they went down in the Wallsend derby last month, and they have now almost certainly wrapped up second spot.
Westy will lock in second position if they earn just one point from their next two matches or if Singleton drops points in either of their two remaining games.
The Bluebells’ coach Bailey Cox was full of praise for his men on Sunday following their clean sheet victory. While he thought they should have put a few more goals away, he couldn’t have been any happier with how they performed at the other end of the pitch.
“The boys were brilliant. Our press was unreal and Singleton didn’t play out at all,” Cox said.
“I don’t think Reddo (Blake Redman) had to make a save all day. We were all over them. It was one of our best defensive performances all year. We were solid and everyone worked hard.
“We should have scored a few more though. We missed a good three or four big chances. One-on-one chances. It should have been more, but I’ll take a 1-0 win.”
The Bluebells can officially wrap up second spot when they take on Belmont Swansea United away from home in Round 26 this Saturday.
Next up for Singleton is another away trip on Sunday when they travel to Ulinga Oval to challenge South Cardiff.
Wallsend FC 0-4 Thornton Redbacks FC
Thornton Redbacks returned home from The Gardens with three points as they kept their slim hopes of finals alive with a 4-0 victory against Wallsend on Sunday.
The visitors fired in two goals either side of the half-time break as they scored their sixth win of the year to remain five points behind fifth-placed South Cardiff with just two rounds left to play.
Jaryd Abbot opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he got onto the end of a Coby Jenkinson cross from the left edge and fired home from close range.
Liam Hardy doubled the Redbacks’ lead 12 minutes later when he pounced on a loose ball to score after a Kyle Williams strike was saved by Wallsend’s goalkeeper Luke Jennings.
The score remained 2-0 until the 80th minute when Zane Estatheo netted the goal of the game with a tidy strike from a tight angle before Williams beat the offside trap on the break in injury time and scored a one-on-one strike to make the final score 4-0.
“They played so well,” Thornton’s coach Nima Nikfarjam said.
“They dealt with the style of football that the other side was playing. A very high defensive line. They used the space in behind it really well.”
Thornton plays at home again for the final time this season on Friday night, and Nikfarjam is after a repeat of Sunday’s performance when his men host Kahibah.
Wallsend are still battling for a finals spot but are now three points behind fifth-placed South Cardiff with two games to go. Next up for them is a must-win match away from home against premiers Toronto Awaba at Lyall Peacock Oval on Saturday.
Cessnock City Hornets FC 3-6 South Cardiff FC
South Cardiff took a major leap towards finals football in 2023 when they prevailed 6-3 away from home against the Cessnock City Hornets at Turner Park on Sunday.
The Gunners led 2-0 at the half-time break before the game came to life in the second stanza as the sides combined to find the back of the net seven times.
South Cardiff thought they had wrapped up the game by the 82nd minute when they led 6-1 before the hosts piled on two late consolation goals.
Tom Walker opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 20th minute with a powerful left-footed strike from just outside the 18-yard box that flew into the top left corner, and then Brendon King doubled the away side’s lead in the 34th minute.
The Hornets were trailing 2-0 at the half-time break on their old boys day, but Curtis Johnston got the home crowd off their feet three minutes after the break when he found the back of the net to make the score 2-1.
But Cessnock conceded a penalty 10 minutes later and Walker put it away to make the score 3-1, which became 4-1 in the 66th minute when King netted his second.
Vincent Asembo scored two goals in seven minutes as the Gunners shot themselves out to a 6-1 lead in the 82nd minute.
Johnston became the fourth player in the match to bag a brace when he scored his second in the 87th minute, and the hosts scored again in injury time as the Gunners won the contest 6-3.
“It was a good win and keeps us keeping on,” South Cardiff’s coach Perry Mellon said.
“It was probably our best performance in front of goal for a little while. We were clinical.
“Defensively, I know we conceded three, but we were quite solid for 90 percent of the game, which was pleasing.
“I think we dominated the game and deserved to win. Even though it was an exciting and high-scoring game, we were 6-1 up with five minutes to go, so we were well home and hosed.
“We were 2-0 up at half-time after scoring the two chances that we had. But there was a 20-minute patch in the second half where we scored four and could have had a few more to be honest.”
South Cardiff can secure fifth spot if they win their Round 26 match this Sunday when they host Singleton Strikers at Ulinga Oval.
Cessnock cannot finish any higher than last place as they slipped four points behind Thornton and now have a bye this weekend.
Belmont Swansea United had the bye.