Match of the Round
Lake Macquarie City FC 4-2 Kahibah FC
Lake Macquarie City FC coach Peter Preston believes hard work paid off when they defeated Kahibah FC 4-2 on Friday night at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to secure their first win of the season.
Lakes came out firing with quick transitions down the field with immediate focus on the goal.
The Roosters continued their run of scoring first in matches when Cade Thompson crossed to Angelo De Grandis who proceeded to strike the ball in the bottom right corner in the 17th minute.
Kahibah’s first goal of the match resulted from an own goal. Jaidyn Kianou crossed the ball into the box, deflecting off Lakes and hitting the back of the net in the 26th minute.
Lakes immediately responded when a corner kick found its way to Flynn Cosgrove who produced a volley sending the ball through a sea of his opponents and into the goal in the 28th minute.
Rams Daniel Byrne looked to equalise moments before half-time but Cobe Preston produced a fantastic save denying them the chance and sent his side into the sheds leading 2-1.
It was déjà vu for Lakes when the side went down to 10 men for the second week in a row just two minutes into the second half.
Goal scorer De Grandis was sent his marching orders after receiving a straight red for serious foul play.
Despite going down to 10 men Lakes didn’t slow down, scoring their third of the night in the 51st minute.
Thompson crossed to Marcus Field in a two on one with Rams keeper Jacob Zissis, hitting a low cross into the back of the net.
Kahibah clawed one back in the 70th minute when Tyson Masters headed the ball into the goal off a corner.
Lakes didn’t have to wait long for their fourth of the night when Rams Scott Travis mistakenly passed to Field who ran from half-way beating Kepreotes and Zissis scoring his second of the evening and securing his side their first win of the season.
“I’m happy for the boys, they’ve been working pretty hard and a couple of bounces of the ball or decisions here and there that’s gone against us early doors,” P.Preston said.
“I thought it was going to be a little bit of déjà vu with the early red card in the second half.
“But they dug deep and I thought we had a good day in the end.”
P.Preston believes they deserved the win following the hard work put in particularly when down to 10 men.
“It’s exciting because we know we’ve got players who can hurt teams whether it’s in this league or whatever, " P.Preston said.
“We’ve just got to keep believing in their ability and keep them organised and make sure we’re in games.
“They worked really hard tonight, so they deserve everything they get.
“It’s a great group and they’re doing really well, so super happy with them.”
Kahibah coach Blair Newham thought his side were below par on Friday night.
“For the first half we were well below what we’re capable of,” Newham said.
“I thought Lakes dominated major parts of that.
“They threw something different at us with quite a few players behind the ball and just frustrated us and again, they scored first.”
Newham believes despite getting back into the game, members of his side were not up to standard.
“We bounced back really well then got back into the game, but we just had too many players under their best today,” said Newham.
“Lakes had a couple of players that had really good games and that ended up being the difference in the end.
“We had some really good passages but we committed too many forward to go and try and get a result and that punished us, that’s what good teams do.
“We’ll get back to basics with ourselves, we know we’re a good team, we know we’re better than that.”
Kahibah will look to revert back to winning ways when they travel to Johnston Park on Saturday to take on West Wallsend. While Lakes will hope to keep the good times rolling when they go head-to-head with Dudley Redhead United on Sunday afternoon.
Toronto Awaba FC 3-0 Singleton Strikers
Toronto Awaba FC coach Jarrad Hiles thought his side was slow to get going in their 3-0 win over Singleton Strikers at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday afternoon.
It was a slow start to the match as the two teams failed to break through the midfield in search for a goal.
But it was the Stags who broke first when Kye Howland lobbed the ball over Strikers’ goalkeeper Stuart Plant and found the back of the net in the 16th minute.
Jarrod Purcell looked to add to the scoreboard moments before half-time but narrowly missed the goal and hit the post to send Toronto into the sheds with a 1-0 lead.
A strong Stags midfield continued to search for their second goal of the match but continued to be shut down by Strikers’ defence and Plant.
The Strikers searched for a goal but couldn’t equalise getting lost in the Stags midfield.
Toronto’s second goal of the match came in the 65th minute when Kade Howland produced an incredible solo effort when he beat Strikers’ defence and produced a long-range strike at the top of the penalty area.
The Stags put the nail in the coffin when Luke Callan crossed to Jamin Armstrong who slotted the ball into the back of the net.
“I thought we were pretty flat for the first 25, 30 minutes of the first half,” Hiles said.
“Just no sort of pressure forward up the pitch.
“Once we sort of worked into the game and cleaned the sort of combinations in there, we looked a lot better. I just thought we were a bit slow to start.
Despite the slow start, Hiles walked away with the positive of his side yet to concede a goal.
“The pleasing thing is we haven't conceded a goal yet, so that’s been great for us.” Hiles said.
Luke Callan and Sam Maxwell each made their debuts for the Stags on Saturday afternoon when they were subbed on in the 65th minute.
“They will only get better as well, they’ve got to find their way in the team because everyone’s doing a good job at the moment and it’s great,” Hiles said.
“It’s good, healthy competition.”
Singleton Strikers coach Doug West was disappointed in his side after their second loss of the season.
“I’m pretty disappointed,” West said.
“I think we were in the game for the first 20 but I think Toronto got on top and we showed a bit of fatigue, and then in the second half we did everything to get back into the game.”
“We had some chances and against the run of play they scored their second goal which probably deflated our boys.
“I thought we were a little loose and I thought we came off second best too many times.”
The Strikers will continue to search for their second win of the season when they go head-to-head with Wallsend FC this Sunday.
Toronto will look to make it four from four when they travel to Thornton Park to take on Thornton Redbacks on Saturday afternoon.
Cessnock City Hornets 2-2 West Wallsend SFC
It was familiar circumstances for West Wallsend SFC in their 2-2 draw with Cessnock City Hornets FC at Turner Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Bluebells hit the back of the net first in the 13th minute when Samuel Marr scored his first of the season.
The Hornets responded just six minutes later when Zachary Kronholm continued his momentum from round two and scored his first of the match in the 19th minute.
Neither team could continue their drive failing to extend their lead before half-time and sent the two sides into the sheds all locked up 1-1.
It took the Hornets just three minutes into the second half to edge ahead when Zachary Kronholm scored his second of the match and fourth of the season in the 48th minute.
The Bluebells equalised three minutes later when Dain Greentree scored his first of the season directly off a corner in the 51st minute.
There was a drastic change in mood for Greentree when he received his second yellow of the match and sent his marching orders for a reckless challenge in the 69th minute.
Things went from bad to worse for the Bluebells in the 71st minute when keeper Isaac Watts received a straight red for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity sending his side down to nine men.
The Hornets were unable to use the Bluebells' reduced side to their advantage but walked away with a 2-2 draw.
West Wallsend will hope to keep 11 on the field next weekend when they welcome Kahibah FC to Johnston Park.
Cessnock will look to secure their second win when they face South Cardiff away from home for the first time this season.
Dudley Redhead United v Thornton Redbacks
This game was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Wallsend FC v South Cardiff FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.