Match of the Round
South Cardiff 4-3 Singleton Strikers
At 3-2 down, the writing seemed on the wall for South Cardiff, until the introduction of 16-year-old Alex Phillips who ultimately changed the course of the match as South Cardiff overhauled league leaders Singleton 4-3.
South Cardiff coach Perry Mellon provided match insights into the rollercoaster match at Ulinga Oval on Saturday night.
"A night to remember at Ulinga with a come from behind win with 10 men," Mellon said.
"We went down 2-0 early but a fight back from the boys brought it back to 2-2 early in the second half.
"Five minutes later we were down 3-2 with a player sent off.”
Mellon looked to his bench for inspiration and took a risk.
"We were chasing the game with 20 to go," Mellon said.
"Alex is a very direct and aggressive forward who finds the goal. We thought there was nothing to lose so why not give him a chance.
"Cometh the hour cometh the man, 16-year-old Alex Phillips on debut, 45 seconds in, with his first touch of the ball smashes it home to make it 3-3.
“A never say die spirit from us saw Sam Modderno win a penalty and our top goal scorer was as cool as ice to put it away to seal the three points and send Ulinga wild.”
After catching his breath, Mellon reflected on the match.
"Singleton were quick out of the blocks getting us on the back foot early," Mellon said.
"The lads showed tremendous character to come from behind twice, the second time with 10 men to win the game.
"Acknowledging the fact we had eight regular first graders unavailable as well.”
The investment in youth at South Cardiff is reaping rewards.
"Not only did Alex debut but we also had a 17-year-old on debut (Bailey Fisher) and a 16-year-old (Lincoln Davies) starting the match.
"It's been great to see our young players who have been at Southy for a period of time making an impact.
Round eight of HIT106.9 Northern League One had more twists than a pretzel but one constant was the goal scoring prowess of Singleton Striker Joel Barner who bagged two more goals to add to his massive tally.
There is little respite for the two clubs who back up on Wednesday night to do it all again in the Australia Cup.
"We now look forward to hosting Singo again at Ulinga in the Australia Cup on Wednesday night," Mellon said.
Thornton Redbacks 0-1 Kahibah FC
Kahibah bounced back from two losses to overpower Thornton Redbacks 1-0 at Thornton Park on Friday night.
Kahibah coach Mat Moncrieff was grateful the match went ahead.
"Firstly I would like to congratulate Thornton on making every effort to get the game played after copping a heap of rain during the week. I noticed most other games across Newcastle didn't get on Friday night," Moncrieff said.
"Thornton look to play football and are very well drilled.
"We scored early in the second half with a super team goal that had five different players involved. So it took a good goal to beat them.
The Friday night celebration was extra sweet with personal milestones reached.
"It was a special occasion for our club. Heath Kepreotes started his 100th first grade game, he is only the second player to do so since we joined the [NNSWF] competition.
"Riley Ferguson had his best game of the season and scored our goal. Brendon 'Dougie' Robertson was super in his release from the backline.
"It was a good result for us but we have plenty of work to do to be where we want to be.”
After a good run of form, Redbacks coach Gary Wand labelled their defeat as a reality check.
"There could have been a few more to Kahibah to be honest with you," Wand said.
"We were good for the first couple of chances early which you know could have changed the game but they wanted it more than us. They deserved it.
"We started off reasonably well with good chances and I think we thought it was going to be easy.
"Fortunately our goalkeeper had a decent night. It could have been worse than what it was.
"We've been playing ok. We've got a couple of newer players and that sort of thing. As a coach you tell players at the very least to match the opposition's intensity.
"I knew they would be desperate because they've lost two in a row. They're a decent team with some good players.
"We couldn't keep the ball, every time we won the ball, we gave it back to them and we're under the pump there for a bit.
"I thought we might have bolted down the other end. We missed a few half-chances, you often see that in the game.
"They are a decent side, it was a reality check for us and now it's back to the drawing board.”
Moncrieff already has preparations in place for NPL opposition in the cup.
"With the bye next week, we can have a red-hot crack at Adamstown on Wednesday night in the Australia Cup and continue to work on a few things that we need to improve on," Moncrieff said.
Belmont Swansea United 0-2 West Wallsend SFC
A gutsy West Wallsend defied the form book to defeat Belmont Swansea United 2-0 at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
BelSwans knocked off table leaders Singleton 4-0 a fortnight ago and last week Singleton defeated West Wallsend 5-0.
Goals from Josh Caroll and Quinn McNeil sealed the victory and Westy raised the roof singing their song loud and proud in the dressing room after the match.
The song was sung with such belief, it could be a defining turning point in their season.
West Wallsend coach Bailey Cox praised the valiant performance.
"I thought we just got up for it from the first whistle and wanted to win. Every player on the park gave it 110 per cent after a couple weeks where we couldn't piece together a full 90 minutes,” Cox said.
"Couldn't be more happy with the lads.
"13 was Quinn McNeill's lucky number. Josh Carroll's [goal] was a tidy finish and Quinn McNeill broke his 13-year goal doubt with a quality turn and finish in the box on his weak foot.”
Wallsend FC 4-3 Toronto Awaba FC
Singleton's defeat 24 hours earlier opened the door for the Toronto Stags to go top of the league but a determined Wallsend had other ideas winning 4-3 at The Gardens on Sunday.
It was a white-knuckle ride for Wallsend coach Michael Gatt who reflected on the match.
"Wow, what an absolute cracking game, where do I begin?" Gatt said.
"Toronto scored in the third minute from a corner then we scored via Matty Williams 1-1.
"Then we scored again through Daniel Keelan 2-1 then Toronto scored to make it 2-2.
"We scored again to make it 3-2 through a Matty Williams header then they scored around the 80th minute to make it 3-3.
"With about a minute to go young Ben Keelan scored on his first grade debut to seal the win 4-3. It was an absolute bottler of a game.”
Wallsend have been on a rollercoaster losing 7-0 to Kahibah in round four and 9-1 to Singleton in round five.
But diamonds are created from pressure and it was a proud moment for the coach to defy the odds and witness a victory through sheer determination.
"All the crowd left happy. It was a coach killer that's for sure. But the lads dug in deep, played with the Wallsend spirit and heart we have asked for week in and week out and handed Toronto their first loss of 2023.
"To say I'm proud of their heart and determination would be an understatement.”
Cessnock City FC had the bye