West Wallsend SFC 0-1 Adamstown Rosebud FC
Adamstown Rosebud FC coach Chris Moylan thought his side was nowhere near their best in their 1-0 victory over West Wallsend SFC in their first leg of the promotion/relegation play of series.
Rosebuds secured an important win away from home at Johnston Park on Saturday.
A 44th-minute Dino Fajkovic strike was the difference as the Rosebud skipper stormed into the box, got onto the end of a Zac Griffen cross and produced a powerful header that Westy’s goalkeeper Blake Redman was no chance of saving.
Adamstown still led 1-0 deep into the second stanza but their chances of retaining that advantage were dealt a blow in the 76th minute when Jacob Dundas was red carded for kicking out at Westy’s Spencer Clarke as the duo were tangled up on the ground following a tackle.
The Bluebells should have equalised two minutes later, but the crossbar denied Josh Carroll as he got onto the end of a Luke Willard cross and was unable to find the back of the net from two metres out.
The home side were unable to pull a goal back and the visitors were unable to extend their lead, so the score remained 1-0 in Adamstown’s favour when the full-time whistle sounded.
Moylan thought that his side were in control of the contest but were nowhere near their best on the day.
“We got the result we wanted, but it’s no secret, the boys know, I don’t think we played our best,” Moylan said.
“You’ve got to give West Wallsend some credit for that, but we didn’t convert our chances. We created a number of chances in both halves and didn’t convert.
“It was tough out there but it was what we expected with how they played.
“I don’t know the reason why, but we just didn’t play at our best. Certainly the energy and effort and enthusiasm were there. Even when we went down to 10 men, we still kept fighting on.
“They picked up after that with the extra man advantage, but the boys hung in there.
“We stopped them from creating too many chances, although they did have a few. For the most part I thought we controlled the game.”
West Wallsend’s coach Bailey Cox thought that his side did enough to at least earn a draw but admitted that once again the Bluebells rued missed opportunities.
“We weren’t bad, but in the first half I think we gave them a bit too much respect,” Cox said.
“We were too worried about defence and not conceding than going forward.
“In the second half, the tide changed. Even before the red card I thought we were on top.
“I reckon we at least minimum deserved a draw out of that game, but we didn’t take our chances.
“I don’t think they had many clear-cut chances a part from their goal. Reddo didn’t have to make any cracking saves. Everything went straight to him from outside the box or from out on wide angles.”
The second leg will be played at Adamstown Oval under lights this Friday night.
Toronto Awaba FC 2-0 Kahibah FC
Toronto Awaba coach Jarred Hiles thought his side deserved their win against Kahibah FC in the first leg of their promotion/relegation play-off finals series semi-final at Lyall Peacock Oval on Sunday.
The Stags will take a two-goal advantage into the second leg of the play-off series next weekend.
Toronto was the better side from start to finish, and the only real criticism that could be directed at them is that they were unable to win the contest by more.
The hosts almost opened the scoring in the sixth minute but a curling Jarrod Purcell free kick from just outside the box rebounded away off the right post.
The Stags managed to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute when Damon Green finished off a classy team play from seven yards out after charging onto a Clancy Muddle cross from the right.
Muddle had been slipped in behind by Purcell after an interchange of passes between Bailey Snowden, Peter McPherson and Flynn Fittler, with Nick Roberts also involved as he let the ball roll through his legs after the cross to help create the chance for Green.
Kahibah pushed hard to find an equaliser before half-time but the Stags’ defence and goalkeeper Drew Olsen rose to the occasion to keep them out as the score remained 1-0 at half-time.
Toronto Awaba doubled their lead 12 minutes into the second stanza and it was their top goal-scorer, Purcell, who found the back of the net.
Roberts created the chance after receiving a pass from McPherson and being given too much time and space, which he took full advantage of as he turned and played the ball into the path of Purcell before watching on as his strike partner charged into the box and placed a left-footed strike across Kahibah goalkeeper Jacob Zissis and into the bottom right corner to make the score 2-0.
Frustrations boiled over in the 67th minute when Riley Ferguson received a straight red card for referee abuse, forcing Kahibah to play the final 23 minutes plus stoppage time with 10 men.
The Stags were unable to take advantage of having the extra man, but they ensured they did not concede either as the score remained 2-0 when the final whistle sounded.
Hiles described the victory as a well-deserved one for his side.
“I thought we dominated the first half. For 75 minutes I thought we were really good, but the last 10-15 minutes was a bit scrappy,” Hiles said.
“The boys were great. They played some good football and deserved the win.
“We kept it simple. We were aggressive when we didn’t have the ball. I thought our energy and effort off the ball were great. There was plenty of quick ball movement and simple passes too, and we had people hungry for the ball.”
The second leg will be played at Kahibah Oval on Sunday afternoon.