West Wallsend SFC 4-2 Toronto Awaba
Toronto Awaba coach Jarrad Hiles admits his side struggled during their 4-2 defeat to West Wallsend SFC at Johnston Park in the first leg of the promotion/relegation play-off final.
It took West Wallsend just eight minutes to open the scoring for the night when a long throw-in made its way to the feet of Luke Willard, who wasted no time slicing the ball under Toronto’s goalkeeper Drew Olsen.
The Stags equalised in the 25th minute when Tyrell Paulson found the end of a deflected corner and launched the ball from the top of the box over goalkeeper Blake Redman and into the back of the net.
West Wallsend were determined to take the upper hand into half-time, and the moment came in the 36th minute.
Willard volleyed the ball over the Toronto defence and onto the run of Josh Carroll, who found himself one-on-one with Olsen and sliced the ball into the bottom right corner.
The Stags Damon Green fought to equalise for his side in the 54th minute when he unleashed a powerful free-kick towards the goal but was easily caught by Redman.
The Bluebells further extended their lead when Toronto’s Sam Maxwell tackled Carroll in what the referee determined to be inside the box.
Carroll stepped up and converted the goal in the 58th minute.
West Wallsend netted their fourth of the evening in the 71st minute when James Lowe found the end of a miscalculated Connor Fitzpatrick pass and an empty goal.
Olsen attempted to run from the byline to block Lowe’s shot, but the ball chipped him and landed in the back of the net.
Toronto’s Luke Callan clawed one back for his side in the 77th minute and sliced the ball from the left of the box into the bottom right corner.
Despite their best efforts, Toronto were unable to lessen the deficit and walked away with a 4-2 defeat.
“I’m a little bit disappointed in a way. We conceded a few goals, but as I said to the boys, it's not over yet,” Hiles said.
“It's a two-goal advantage to Westy at the moment, but we won't throw in the towel. We'll come out fighting and we'll have a crack next week.
“We struggled all night, really, with those first and then the second balls. Westy was much better at that.
“We just need to get a bit more switched on and just need to compete in those aerial battles. If we can't win the first one, we have to make sure we get numbers around the second ball.
“That's something we'll talk about and have a look at during the week.”
West Wallsend will go into the second leg with a two-goal advantage but Hiles believes anything could happen for his side.
“Two nil is a tricky score line. If we can score first and early and get a bit of momentum, anything could happen,” Hiles said.
“It's a lot of work to do because Westy is a good team and works really hard all over the paddock. But we're not throwing the towel in.”
The two sides will meet again at Lyall Peacock Oval on Friday night as they both fight for a spot in the promotion/relegation play-off final.
Singleton Strikers 0-0 Valentine FC
Singleton Strikers and Valentine FC could not be separated when they went head-to-head at Howe Park on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides entered the match looking to take the upper hand into the second leg but the 0-0 draw meant it’s all left for the final weekend.
Valentine came out of the gates firing when Liam Ryan found himself one-on-one with Striker’s goalkeeper Stuart Plant in the first minute but was denied.
The Phoenix looked to take the lead in the 37th minute after a scramble in the box but Cooper Fitchett's lacklustre shot was easily saved by Plant.
Singleton’s moment appeared to come in the 48th minute when Jake Barner weaved his way around Valentine’s Hiroumi Ikeda and was brought down just outside the box. But they were unable to convert the free kick.
The Strikers continued to push for a goal when captain Hayden Nicol launched the ball from the top of the box in the 75th minute but it went over the crossbar.
Tensions came to a head when Singleton’s Lachlan Nicol brought down Nick Martinelli who then accidentally took out his captain Harry Lane in the 83rd minute.
As pushing and shoving happened in the background where Nicol was shown a yellow card, Lane clutched his ankle in pain.
Lane was then stretchered off the field with a potential broken ankle.
The score remained 0-0 when the final whistle blew despite both sides' best efforts.
They will now face each other in the second leg at Croudace Bay Complex on Saturday afternoon.
