Promotion/Relegation Play-Off Series Final
Valentine FC 4-0 West Wallsend SFC
Valentine FC coach Cas Wright commended her side’s resilience as they locked in their NPL status for the 2026 NPL Men’s NNSW competition following a 4-0 victory over West Wallsend SFC at Magic Park on Saturday.
The Phoenix were forced to call on their resilience early when fullback Cooper Verstegen suffered an ankle injury in the 20th minute that saw him stretchered from the field.
But they managed to find the back of the net first when they won a penalty in the 33rd minute that Scott Pettit dispatched into the bottom-left corner.
Pettit should have doubled his side’s lead in the 40th minute when West Wallsend’s keeper Blake Redman was stranded on the turf following a diving save to deny a Campbell Ross strike, but the Valentine striker was unable to find a connection from point-blank range on the follow-up.
The Bluebells were saved by the woodwork four minutes into injury time when a stunning Dean Pettit long-range free kick cannoned away off the crossbar.
But there was no stopping his older brother 10 minutes into the second stanza when the skipper doubled his total and the side’s lead when he got onto a curling Cooper Fitchett free-kick and glanced a header into the back of the net from inside the six-yard box.
The Bluebells were pushing desperately to get a goal back when Valentine stung them on the counter-attack in the 84th minute as Dean Pettit netted the side’s third, and Liam Ryan completed the scoring with a cracker from close range in injury time.
The Phoenix showed their class in the second half as they defended their way to a third consecutive clean sheet in as many games in the series while finding the back of the net three more times at the other end.
Wright’s side entered the match without their skipper Harry Lane, who had suffered a season-ending injury just two weeks prior in the first leg of the semi-final, and they also had several players including Daniel Minors sitting on the sideline either injured or suspended.
But stand-in skipper Scott Pettit and his younger brother and player-of-the-final Dean Pettit led from the front to ensure their club remained in the top flight for next season.
Wright was full of pride at full-time and said the play-off final victory was one that would be the catalyst for a far more successful 2026 campaign.
“It feels amazing. We kept a clean sheet through the whole series, and that really shows where we are at and where we can be,” Wright said.
“We have so many promising young guys coming through, and our senior players give us stability, so I think the mix we have is really good. I’m really excited to see what next year brings.
“I think what got us over the line was our resilience to start off with, and then our composure with the ball and our ability to stick to the game plan and play forward to create goal-scoring opportunities.
“We’ve had replacements come in and be quality. That was the case again today. Everyone’s banded together to get the job done. Credit to everyone.
“For me, Valentine is my NPL club from a long time ago, so for me this was super important, and I’m so proud.”
For West Wallsend skipper Bryson Cox, the play-off final further highlighted that his side are not too far away from earning their long-awaited return to the top flight.
“This is definitely something to build on for us. We will be back bigger and better next year,” Cox said.
“I’m still so proud of the boys and the club. We can see from today where we need to improve, and that’s taking our moments in every game.
“It’s a very disappointing end. We didn’t have much luck today.
“They took all the chances they had, really. I feel like we had the better of the play for most of the game, and the only time they really looked dangerous was on the counter-attack.
“Things went against us that you need to go for you in games like this, so we had to push on and try to get the game back. That let them catch us on the break, and it was a sucker-punch to the gut.”
