Kahibah FC 1-0 Toronto Awaba FC
Toronto Awaba win 2-1 on aggregate
Toronto Awaba FC coach Jarrad Hiles was impressed with his side’s resilience shown to advance to the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off Final over Kahibah FC at Kahibah Oval.
Another fiery clash between Kahibah and Toronto unfolded on Sunday afternoon where the hosts won the battle but the visitors won the war.
Kahibah prevailed 1-0 after 90 minutes, but that result saw the Stags go through to the promotion/relegation play-off series final this Saturday following their 2-0 win in front of a home crowd at Lyall Peacock Oval a week earlier.
There were nine yellow cards and one red card handed out during an entertaining and physical encounter between the two rivals on Sunday.
Kahibah created the first big chance when a Stags mix-up in the 18-yard box gifted Dan Byrne a free strike from the penalty spot, but goalkeeper Drew Olsen was up to the challenge as he produced a brilliant diving save.
The hosts were able to take the lead in the 25th minute when a Liam Whitehead long throw from the right sideline was unsuccessfully headed clear by a Stags defender and found Jonathon Middleby at the back stick, who headed the ball into the bottom left corner to make the score 1-0.
Chaos erupted a minute later when Toronto Awaba were reduced to 10 men after Connor Fitzpatrick was shown a red card for retaliating after being pushed by two different Kahibah players for slapping one of them on the back of the head.
The Stags were dealt another blow on the 30-minute mark when injury forced striker Nick Roberts from the field, but they were able to overcome the adversity they faced and hold Kahibah to one goal for the remainder of the match to win 2-1 on aggregate and advance to the final.
Hiles was pleased with the resilience his men showed on Sunday and thought they were the better side across the two legs.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” Hiles said.
“We knew it would be a battle, especially with the conditions. It was a bumpy pitch and it was very windy.
“It took us a little bit to settle into the game after the send-off, and I thought it was a pretty soft red. But it is what it is. We readjusted in the second half and we had the wind behind us, which helped a little bit, but Kahibah kept pushing on.
“The boys stood up and dug in deep against all odds. We were there to be beaten today, which we were, but over two legs we were the better team.
“It was very ugly today but sometimes you have to do the gritty stuff and win ugly.
“Everyone was happy and relieved after the game and we’re really looking forward to next Saturday.”
Departing Kahibah coach Mat Moncrieff was proud of the fight that his men showed and thought they created enough chances to win the game.
He described the club’s season as a successful one and is confident that a solid benchmark has been left for incoming coach Blair Newham for the 2025 campaign, in which the club will celebrate their 100th anniversary year.
“We were dominant even before the red card and I thought it was just a matter of time before we scored more goals, but it just wouldn’t go in,” Moncrieff said.
“Toronto worked their backsides off though and they deserve to go and have a crack next week.
“We tried everything but the ball just wouldn’t go into the back of the net other than the goal we did score. Their keeper was outstanding too.
“We didn’t die wondering. We had a red-hot crack at it and it just didn’t happen for us. We won the game and we were dominant today, but that’s all part of a two-leg semi.
“We’ve had a good season and our reserve grade guys are in the grand final now. We had three PYL teams win their grand finals (on Saturday) too, so the club’s had a really good year.
“I’m handing over to Blair in really good shape, and hopefully we can go one step further next year.”
Adamstown FC 5-2 West Wallsend SFC
Adamstown win 6-2 on aggregate
Adamstown Rosebud coach Chris Moylan described his side’s 5-2 win over West Wallsend SFC as ‘hectic’.
Buds’ men stood tall following 120 minutes of Friday night finals football as they defeated West Wallsend in a seven-goal thriller at Adamstown Oval to progress to the promotion/relegation play-off series final.
Adamstown took a one-goal advantage into the second leg after beating West Wallsend 1-0 at Johnston Park six days earlier.
But the Bluebells came out firing as they turned the tables to lead 2-1 on aggregate at half-time and still with 10 minutes to go.
Josh Carroll scored both of those goals as he smashed home a volley into an open net from point-blank range in the eighth minute and then brought the crowd to its feet in the 36th minute with a classy lofted left-footed strike from a tight angle.
But Rosebud tied up the aggregate score at 2-2 in the 81st minute when Austin Howard rose highest to meet a corner kick and headed the ball home.
The two sides then pushed hard for a winner, but the full-time score finished 2-1 (2-2 on aggregate) and the game went into extra time.
The hosts struck first when Charlie Naylor scored a header from a 103rd-minute corner kick, and they netted again just before the switching of ends when Kaleb Smith was slipped in behind and held his nerve to finish a one-on-one strike against Blake Redman from a tight angle.
Smith then headed home Adamstown’s fourth of the night just two minutes after play restarted before Adamstown took an unassailable lead in the 113th minute as they caught Westy on the counter and a Dino Fajkovic cross was turned into the back of the net for an own goal by Callum Eardley.
That made the final score 5-2 and the overall aggregate score 6-2 to the Rosebuds.
Moylan thought the goal to send the game into extra time and the eventual comeback victory was a reflection of his playing group’s character.
“It was hectic,” Moylan said.
“When we went into half-time, we were only 2-1 down on aggregate, so we just got the boys to calm down and make sure that we stuck to what we were trying to do. We knew that we would eventually run them down from fitness.
“West Wallsend came out all guns blazing and they scored their two goals, one we gifted them but the other was a pearler. To be fair to them, they just ran out of legs.
“In the second half, they had boys cramping and one with hamstring issues, and I thought ‘if we can get another goal here, momentum will shift’. Sure enough, it did.
“It goes to the character of the group. Since I took over, my main goal has been to try and solidify the group into wanting to fight and wanting to actually compete. Each week we’ve gotten better and better at that, and that game showed we all want to fight for each other and stay in the NPL.
“As I said to the boys after the game, we haven’t done our job yet. As much as we are excited and on a real high, the job’s not done and we have to win next weekend.
“That’s what I tried to get them to refocus on as quickly as I could.”
