Match of the Round
Wallsend FC 1-0 Cessnock City Hornets
Wallsend FC coach Chris Gallagher felt their 1-0 victory over Cessnock City Hornets at Ladbroke Gardens in the match of the round was a relief.
The Red Devils' Bailey Ryan hoped to open the scoring when he chipped Hornets keeper Blake McDonnell just nine minutes into the game but instead sent the ball out of the field.
The Hornets attempted to get one on the scoreboard moments later off a corner before some scrappy Wallsend defence cleared the ball to Cessnock who sent it over the crossbar.
The two sides remained in an end-to-end contest before Wallsend’s Cody Halpin was handed a straight red for violent conduct.
Cessnock were unable to use the extra man to their advantage and were locked up 0-0 at half-time.
The Hornets came out firing, spending large portions of the second half in Wallsend’s end but were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute.
Sam Hudson received his first yellow in the 68th minute and was handed his second just five minutes later for a reckless challenge.
The only goal of the match came two minutes later in the 75th minute when persistent work from Wallsend paid off.
Ryan secured his first of the season as he maneuvered his way through Hornets' defence and sent a low, powerful shot into the back of the net.
Moments later, Cessnock were awarded a free kick but sent the ball high over the crossbar.
Just nine minutes after their goal, the Red Devils were reduced to nine men after Piaget Abayo received a second yellow for stopping a promising attack in the 84th minute.
As the game came to an end, the Hornets had their second free kick of the match but sent the ball straight out.
Despite a persistent attack by Cessnock, the Red Devils were able to hold on and secured their first win of the season.
“It's a relief for the boys to be honest because they’ve worked hard,” Gallagher said.
“I feel pretty good about the match.
“We actually defended really well, the boys when we went down to 10 were just up to fight for everybody.”
Gallagher wanted to start seeing results from his side and believed their round four match against Singleton Strikers contributed to their four points in a week.
“We gave them (Singleton) the game, but I definitely think it was the game against Singleton that was the turning point,” said Gallagher.
“We’re still not at full strength, which is good, so those boys have dug in and tried to keep their shirt.”
It was Wallsend’s third red card of the season, but Gallagher doesn’t believe there’s a discipline problem among his side.
“I think it’s a lot of dumb choices,” Gallagher said.
“Yes, it’s discipline because if you have a disciplined approach to the game, you don’t give away those silly fouls.
“The one in the first half was a clip, he clipped somebody, the second half was a foul that midfielders give away all day. It should be just a yellow, but the first one was silly.”
Cessnock’s coach Josh Maguire was disappointed in the loss but understood the risk Wallsend posed.
“I’m disappointed, we wanted to go one more before Easter,” Maguire said.
“I think the chat before the game and the warmup was ‘we know these guys, if you give them a sniff they can play well’ and credit to Wallsend because it was a good goal.
“You know it’s going to be difficult to come here to the Gardens and get a result. They’ve turned a lot of teams over.”
Despite the three send-offs offs Maguire didn’t believe it impacted the game.
“Bit of send-offs which I don’t think impacted too much,” said Maguire.
“But obviously when they went down to 10, they really gelled together and worked hard so credit to Wallsend because they probably deserved those three points.”
The Hornets now sit fifth on the table on equal points with two other teams.
Cessnock will look to return to winning ways when they host Dudley Redhead United at Turner Park in round six.
Wallsend will be hopeful to keep the ball rolling and secure their second win of the season when they go head-to-head with Lake Macquarie City.
South Cardiff FC 1-2 Dudley Redhead United
Dudley Redhead United coach Mark Wilson believed his side put in a great performance when they defeated South Cardiff FC 2-1 at Ulinga Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Dudley controlled large parts of the first half but were unable to capitalise on their chances early in the match.
Despite persistent efforts, the Thistles’ goal didn’t come until the 43rd minute.
Charlie Horsley unleashed a powerful strike from a corner kick that looked to be going out but instead struck the post and deflected into the goal.
South Cardiff couldn’t find an equaliser before half-time, sending Dudley into the sheds leading 1-0.
It took the Gunners just seven minutes to find the equaliser after Zayne Morphew-Watson tapped the ball to Jackson Pereira who released a powerful shot from the top of the box, hitting the back of the net.
The Gunners continued to push for their second goal of the match, but it was Dudley who broke first after Connor Allan scored in the 62nd minute.
South Cardiff looked like they were to even the score when Dudley’s Alex Pichaloff mistakenly passed the ball to Justin Banek who pounced towards the goal.
Banek was one-on-one with goalkeeper Kye Predebon, who was out of his box. Predebon tapped the ball into the air, sending it out next to the goal.
Despite the Gunners efforts, Dudley walked away with all three points.
“It was a really good performance, it’s a hard place to come on a good day but on old boy’s day, it’s not a good place to come and get three points,” Wilson said.
“Today was really important. We’ve gone two from four now, but it could have been one from four, so it was a big game for us.
“It was great to get the result.”
Wilson believed his side were the better team in the first half.
“I think we were better than them in the first half and deserved the lead,” Wilson said.
“We probably sat back a bit too much and defended that 1-0 lead a little bit. You’ve still got to keep playing, it was tired legs, and the boys dug in so it was good.
“I’d like to see us put two halves together like the first one.”
South Cardiff will look to return to winning ways when they travel to Kahibah Oval to face Kahibah FC in round six.
Dudley now sits sixth on the table and are one point outside of the top four.
The Thistles will want to keep the good times rolling when they host Thornton Redbacks in their round three rescheduled match on Thursday night.
Thornton Redbacks 3-1 Lake Macquarie City
Thornton Redbacks secured their first win of the season when they defeated Lake Macquarie City FC 3-1 at Thornton Park on Friday night.
Neither side was able to find the back of the net in the first half as they went into the sheds locked up at 0-0.
Redbacks’ Nathan McAllister was the one to break the deadlock when he netted his first of the evening in the 59th minute.
Jett White doubled his side's lead just five minutes later when he found the back of the net for the first time this season in the 64th minute.
The Roosters’ Flynn Cosgrove put his side on the scoreboard in the 75th minute, just 10 minutes after being subbed on.
But McAllister put the nail in the coffin for the home side after he found the back of the net for the second time that evening in the 78th minute.
The Redbacks will be determined to build on their victorious performances for the remainder of the season and defeat Dudley Redhead United in their rescheduled round three match on Thursday night.
Lake Macquarie fell to seventh on the table and will want to return to winning ways when they face Wallsend FC at home after the Easter break.
Kahibah FC 4-2 Toronto Awaba FC
Kahibah FC put a stop to Toronto Awaba FC’s undefeated run when they were victorious 4-2 at Kahibah Oval on Saturday afternoon.
It took the Rams just four minutes to put one past Toronto’s goalkeeper for the first time this season.
Tyson Masters was the one to put an end to Drew Olsen’s zero goals conceded when he found the back of the net for just the second time this year.
Jonathon Middleby doubled his side's lead in the 13th minute.
Olsen was subbed off just moments later in the 16th minute due to back spasms, replaced by reserve grade goalkeeper Reef Parker.
The Stags’ Nick Roberts scored his side’s first of the day in the 37th minute. It appeared the Stags would be heading into the sheds just one goal away from equalising but an own goal in the 45th minute sent the Rams into half-time leading 3-1.
Kahibah’s Riley Ferguson returned to the HIT106.9 Northern League One competition with a bang when he netted his first of the season in the 64th minute in his first game of 2025.
Toronto’s Kye Howland clawed one back in injury time to reduce his side's deficit to 4-2.
The Rams remain second on the table but are now two points away from top spot.
They will look to steal the spot from the Stags when they host South Cardiff after the Easter break.
Toronto will look to return to winning ways and maintain their spot on top when they take on West Wallsend at home in two weeks’ time.
Singleton Strikers 1-1 West Wallsend SFC
West Wallsend SFC secured their fourth draw of the season when they drew 1-1 with Singleton Strikers at Howe Park on Saturday night.
The two sides couldn’t be separated in the first half as they went into half-time locked up at 0-0.
It was the Strikers' Jake Barner who broke the deadlock first when he netted his sides first and only goal of the match in the 54th minute.
Bluebells’ Joey Licata equalised and secured his side a point in round five when he found the back for the first time this season in the 78th minute.
The Strikers were reduced to 10 men when Jackson Skinner received a second yellow for stopping a promising attack in the 83rd minute.
Neither side could capitalise on their chances and ended the night all locked up 1-1.
West Wallsend remain as the only undefeated team in the competition and will hope to continue this streak when they go head-to-head with Toronto Awaba FC in round six.
Singleton sits fourth on the table and will look to secure their third win of the season when they host Thornton Redbacks after the Easter break.
