Match of the Round
Cessnock City FC v South Cardiff FC
Turner Park, Saturday 5pm
Cessnock City Hornets are buzzing after their 2-1 win over high-flying Kahibah last weekend.
South Cardiff are the league's top goal scorers with 18 for the season so far but they came unstuck last week going down 3-1 to a resurgent Wallsend.
Both coaches acknowledged how tight this year's HIT106.9 Northern League One has become and were cognisant nothing less than 100 per cent was required for a result.
Hornets boss Brad Miles was acutely aware South Cardiff were wounded and looking to fire back.
"Another tough game coming up against a Southy side who will be looking for redemption after their defeat last weekend," Miles said.
"I'm sure Perry [Mellon] will have them primed ready to go come 5pm on Saturday.
"We will be looking for the same discipline we showed last week, sticking to the processes that work for us as a team.
"We are confident in our ability to get the job done but we must turn up on game day in the right frame of mind to execute our game plan. It's a very tight competition and if you don't turn up on the day you get punished.
"We have quite a growing injury list. We will be without Jacob Bartlett and I'm not 100 per cent on our squad for Saturday yet but hopefully not too many changes.”
South Cardiff coach Perry Mellon was looking for a reaction from his side.
"It's a long season this year so whilst two losses in a row isn't ideal it also isn't the end of the world," Mellon said.
"The boys are keen to get back on track and take some points from our third away game on the bounce before returning home.”
South Cardiff won their midweek Australia Cup match 4-1 against Westlakes Wildcats and will not know their full squad availability until match day.
Kahibah FC v Toronto Awaba FC
Kahibah Oval, Thursday 8pm
Toronto Awaba are fully rested after last week's bye.
Stags coach Jarrad Hiles has full respect for his opposite number and as a result, knows what to expect from Mat Moncrieff's Kahibah.
"Our games versus Kahibah are always very competitive and close encounters," Hiles said.
"Mat Moncrief has built a very good squad over the last two years and we will have to be at our best on Thursday.
"Fingers crossed the weather is kind and we get to play the match.
"We had a few boys pick up niggles from our cup match last Wednesday so the bye on the weekend worked out well.
"Flynn Fitler was sent off in that match so he'll serve his suspension versus Kahibah which is a big loss for us.
"As usual we will focus on what we can control and making sure we turn up with the right attitude because you know the competition is very tight and any team can punish you if you're not prepared for the battle.
"Mat will have them fired up and be looking for a response after their loss to Cessnock last weekend. Very much looking forward to the game and testing ourselves against a team who I genuinely think are one of the strongest in our competition.”
Toronto Awaba are in second place on the table and could go top if Singleton drop points.
After getting stung by the Hornets last weekend, Kahibah coach Mat Moncrieff wanted to get back to winning ways.
"We are looking forward to playing Toronto on Thursday night in front of our home crowd," Moncrieff said.
"We have had some real tough games against them in the past few years and they have had a good start to the season.
"We have been playing some good football and have some great depth within the club.
"Ben Higgins will be out for a few weeks but we hope to have Lewis Hextel, Liam Whithead, Levi Winter, Rhys Tippett and Luke Springett back in the squad that didn't play on the weekend.
"Tyson Masters who has been scoring goals for fun in reserve grade. He will also come into consideration.
"We are hoping to get our Easter weekend off to a good start with a good performance and get back on the winners list.”
Singleton Strikers v West Wallsend SFC
Howe Park, Friday 7.20pm
Singleton Strikers hung onto top spot, one point ahead of Toronto Awaba and chased by a pack of teams on the ascendancy.
After winning their opening four matches, Singleton were dealt a harsh reminder how tight this year's competition is after going down 4-0 to a resurgent Belmont Swansea United last weekend.
Singleton coach Mick Jarvis was relishing their first match of the season at Howe Park after a long absence from their beloved ground.
"First home game at Howe Park in over 18 months, it's Sponsors Day so plenty on,” Jarvis said.
"Last week was uncharacteristic regarding our standards, consistency is the key in such a tight competition.
"[We are] fine tuning what we do and how we do it. It's the small things that all add up, that end up making the difference between a win and a loss, doing the extras, the one percenters.”
Singleton don't have any injury concerns and Jarvis expects to name an unchanged squad.
If history is anything to go, West Wallsend coach Bailey Cox is expecting a tough match.
"This game is always a battle but we plan on playing our game and putting together a full 90 minutes, something we have been lacking all year," Cox said.
Thornton Redbacks v Wallsend FC
Thornton Park, Friday 8pm
The Red Devils of Wallsend sung their song loud and proud 'When the reds go marching in' after an emphatic 3-1 win over high scoring South Cardiff last Sunday.
Wallsend boss Michael Gatt embraced the win but was now focused on a Redbacks team who are on a roll.
The Red Devils will be backing up from two matches in 24 hours after they needed a second half penalty to down Zone League One club Bolwarra Lorn JSC 1-0 in round three of the Australia Cup on Monday night.
"Definitely was awesome, the lads did us proud against Southy and anyone on their day can win in this league," Gatt said.
"We have some very sore boys after the back up on Monday night [in the Australia Cup].
"So it's plenty of recovery this week and getting ready for Thornton who have really hit some form and they can catch you if you're not alert.
"We picked up a couple of injuries from Sunday and also in the Australia Cup but we will regroup and march into Friday ready to battle with our lads but happy with how the process is taking shape.”
Thornton Redbacks coach Gary Wand was approaching the game with cautious optimism.
"Approaching the game very cautiously," Wand said.
"Wallsend in the past have been a team we have struggled against and it was only a matter of time before they clicked and got a result.
"No serious injuries from the weekend and we have Jack Charnock returning after work commitments. Hoping to build some consistency as the competition is really even as the results have been showing.”
Belmont Swansea United have the bye
