Match of the Round
Lake Macquarie City FC v Kahibah FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Friday 8pm
Kahibah FC coach Blair Newham said his side isn’t getting ahead of themselves as they prepare to go head-to-head with Lake Macquarie City FC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Friday night.
The Rams who are one out of two teams to not drop points so far this season understands facing Lakes who have not picked up a point could be a dangerous match for them.
“We’re pretty buoyant about it at the moment as anyone would be that starts two from two, but we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves yet,” Newham said.
“We’re aware Lakes have come down and they’ve got that NPL quality still hanging around their squad.
“We know that Lakes at home on a Friday night will be dangerous.
“It’s a dangerous game for us.”
Newham was confident about his side’s future but understands they will need to take the season week by week.
“I’m really excited about our prospects, but it’s important round three we don’t jump the gun just yet and keep trying to focus on what we want to do and how we want to play football,” Newham said.
“It’s a different style of football this year to what people would have been used to seeing from us.
“Obviously football’s a very fickle game and that could change very quickly, but I’ve got every bit of confidence in the boys and how they’re playing, it’s exciting prospects.”
Not only have Kahibah changed their playing style in 2025, but also their discipline.
At the end of round three in 2024, the Rams had already received 10 yellow cards, playing just two games. This season as they enter round three, they have received just two yellow cards.
“Our discipline record has been really good, we’ve only had two yellow cards in two games,” Newham said.
“So compared to previous years, it’s something we’ve really worked on. We did a zero tolerance seminar with the referees and I think that’s gone in our favour.
“Changing the discipline was a major goal for me, and it was also a major goal of the club as well. They really wanted to make sure that they changed that persona that they developed last year.”
Kahibah and Lake Macquarie have each scored first in the two opening rounds and Newham hoped his side could continue this streak on Friday night.
“Something’s got to give there for either team,” Newham said.
“We’re just hoping that it’s not us and with the form Daniel Byrnes is in at the moment, I’d back him to score another two this week.”
Kahibah will be at full strength when they travel to LMRFF.
Lakes coach Peter Preston knows his side is up to the challenge when they face Kahibah despite being 0-2 this season.
“It would be good to get that first one out of the way but it’s taken a couple of games. We’ll have another crack this week and do our best to be competitive,” Preston said.
“We know we’re competitive in this league, that’s a good thing.
“The boys are up to the challenge and we’ll just keep working hard at training and put our best foot forward come Friday.”
The shorter season put no added pressure on Preston as he believed if his side continued to work hard the wins would follow.
“It’s less games but we’re getting down to business and we continue to work hard. Like I always say if you continue to work hard then good things happen,” Preston said.
“We’re confident we can turn it around.
“I know some people thought that we were going to maybe be a top side but we definitely didn’t have those ambitions. We just come down and take it week by week and try to put our best foot forward every week and do our best.
“We’ve just got to turn those close losses into some hopefully close wins, so we can flip our season around pretty quickly.”
Lakes will need to remain disciplined on Friday night after having three penalty calls against them so far this season.
“Obviously, referees have a tough job to do and they’re making decisions. I just think a couple of them have been 50-50 calls, depending on what side of the fence you sit on,” Preston said.
“I think it’s a couple of tough ones in there. Over the course of the season, you’d like to think they even themselves out.
“We’ve got to learn from that and we just need to try and reduce the entries into our back third and if we can do that it will go a long way.”
The Roosters will be without defender Matthew Langton after he received a second yellow in round two for stopping a promising attack.
Toronto Awaba FC v Singleton Strikers
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Saturday 4:30pm
Singleton Strikers coach Doug West believes his side will need to tactically prepare when they travel to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to take on Toronto Awaba FC on Saturday afternoon.
The Strikers had a positive track record in 2024 when they went head-to-head with the Stags with one win and two draws, netting seven goals and conceding five.
But a significantly altered lineup will face the Stags on Saturday following their 1-0 loss to Dudley Redhead United in round two.
The Strikers went down to 10 men against Dudley after Jackson Cox received his second yellow of the match in the 75th minute for dissent.
The original charge was then upgraded to match official abuse with Cox now missing six matches.
“To have that situation across the playing group is very disappointing, we know it happened last year and we know at the start of the year referees put their foot down on this,” West said.
“We’re all about protecting the referees and we don’t condone it at all. We need to learn from that situation.
“We’ve got to show way more discipline than other clubs and players, that aren’t at that consequence.”
The Strikers will also be without three consistent starters when they face the Stags.
“It’s not just the loss of Jackson Cox, prior to that I had to make three injury substitutions. So that’s probably the larger collateral piece to losing that match,” West said.
“We lost Hayden Nicol, Jake Barner and Ben Henry to injury, all who are unlikely to play this weekend.
“We have just got to work out how to tactically prepare with the starting lineup that will be significantly different from what I would have expected a week ago.”
Toronto will have a boosted squad on the weekend, welcoming Sam Maxwell to the side for the first time this season after missing the first two rounds due to holidays.
Connor Fitzpatrick also returned to the side in round two after serving the last match of his 2024 suspension in round one. Fitzpatrick was subbed on in the 72nd minute and will be working hard to gain a spot in the starting lineup.
Toronto would have a confidence boost walking into round three after having back-to-back wins and returning captain Zane Winslade netting two goals in just his second game back.
The Stags will need to capitalise on their chances early after being held to one goal in round one and scoring their third goal in the final moments of round two.
They will be determined to continue their undefeated streak on Saturday afternoon.
Dudley Redhead United SFC v Thornton Redbacks FC
Lydon Oval, Saturday 4:30pm
Thornton Redbacks coach Scott Winslade knows his side can’t drop points when they go head-to-head with Dudley Redhead United at Lydon Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Redbacks will be looking to do a full 180 on the weekend after their second consecutive 4-1 loss against Kahibah FC in round two.
Despite the three goal defeat, Winslade believed his team were the better side and the scoreline didn’t represent the game.
Winslade was positive that results would start to turn in their favour.
“We can’t afford to drop points again next weekend,” Winslade said.
“It’s the very beginning of a project that the club and myself have put together. We’ll get there, I’m sure the results will start turning.”
Thornton’s Josh Gorman will be available for selection after serving his one match suspension in their Hahn Australia Cup match against South Cardiff on Tuesday night.
Dudley will look to keep the good times rolling after they defeated Singleton Strikers 1-0 in round two, securing their first win of the season.
The Thistles dominated on the day but were consistently denied by Singleton’s goalkeeper Stuart Plant.
They will need to convert their chances early and not wait until the dying moments of the match when they face Thornton on Saturday afternoon.
The Thistles are expected to come out firing, determined to win their second match of the season in front of a home crowd.
Cessnock City Hornets v West Wallsend SFC
Turner Park, Sunday 2pm
Cessnock City Hornets will be on a high when they welcome West Wallsend SFC to Turner Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Hornets locked in their first win of the season when they defeated Lake Macquarie City FC 2-1 in round two.
Cessnock will want to convert their chances and continue playing their patterns of football in order to walk away from the encounter with all three points.
Hornets coach Josh Maguire was positive his side would be all guns blazing to get a result on Sunday.
West Wallsend will be determined to walk away with a win as they enter round three undefeated with one win and a draw.
The Bluebells will enter into round three knowing they are capable of defeating Cessnock after securing the win two out of the three times they went head-to-head in 2024, netting nine goals and conceding just four.
They will need to have their foot on the pedal for the full 90-minutes and remain disciplined to prevent the Hornets from stealing the win in the final moments of the match.
The incident involving Blake Redman in round two will be considered by an obvious error review panel with sanctions to be confirmed Friday morning.
The Bluebells will be hopeful they can continue their streak and walk away with all three points on Sunday afternoon.
Wallsend FC v South Cardiff FC
Ladbroke Gardens, Sunday 4:30pm
Wallsend FC will be searching for their first win of the season when they face South Cardiff FC at Ladbroke Gardens on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Devils will be looking for a total turnaround for their season after they have conceded six goals in two rounds and netted only one.
A positive for the side is that they secured four out of their eight points in 2024 against South Cardiff with a 4-0 win in round one and 3-3 draw in round 19.
Wallsend will be without Piaget Abayo this weekend after he received a straight red in their round two clash with Toronto Awaba for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.
South Cardiff enters round three undefeated with one win and a draw.
The Gunners will need to convert chances and secure an early lead after securing their first four points in the dying moments of rounds one and two.
Coach Perry Mellon will be looking for more quality with the ball from his players on Sunday afternoon.
The incident involving Anthony Carter in round two will be considered by an obvious error review panel with sanctions to be confirmed Friday morning.
South Cardiff will hope to continue their undefeated streak, while Wallsend will be determined to walk away with their first points of the season when they go head-to-head.