Elimination Final
Charlestown Azzurri 0-1 Newcastle Olympic (after extra-time)
Newcastle Olympic eliminated Charlestown Azzurri in an extra-time thriller at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday.
It took 120 minutes to find a winner but Olympic substitute Rhys Cooper would sink the hearts of the parochial Azzurri crowd in the 97th minute with his strike.
Olympic will now march on to the minor semi-final where they will play Lambton Jaffas who were defeated by Broadmeadow Magic in the qualifying final at Magic Park on Sunday.
Despite the frantic finish to the clash, chances were at a premium as neither side could find their foothold in the contest to assert their dominance across the 90 minutes.
Olympic young gun Jared Muller was well-handled for most of the afternoon by Azzurri’s Jethro Elkington. But despite the close attention from the Azzurri defence Muller had the biggest opportunity of the opening half but misfired the golden chance to take the lead.
With both their seasons on the line, Olympic and Azzurri turned up the intensity in the second half in a bid to find the winner and book a clash with Lambton.
Azzurri called upon goalkeeper Nathan Archbold to produce a fantastic save as Olympic’s Vince Unie found a free header in the box in the 82nd minute.
Azzurri’s Rene Ferguson had a chance in the dying minutes to snatch victory as he broke away from the defence but he was unable to control the measured pass from teammate Callum Bower.
Extra time was needed to find a winner and it became evident the victor would need to do something special to seal their progression to the minor semi-final.
The home side thought they had found the breakthrough when young winger Caleb Walz went down in the penalty area, only for the referee to allow play to go on.
Just moments later Olympic’s substitutes provided the spark for the visiting side, as Unie threaded a clever back-heel pass into the penalty area for Cooper to smash home in the 97th minute.
The strike from Cooper was ultimately enough to dispose of Azzurri in their backyard, with Joel Griffiths' men extending their season for at least another week.
The defeat brings a disappointing end to Azzurri’s campaign, with the once-dominant force of this year’s competition bowing out after not being unable to find a single goal in their final five matches.
Qualifying Final
Broadmeadow Magic 2-1 Lambton Jaffas
Lambton Jaffas coach Shane Pryce conceded his side have been far from their best following a tight 2-1 loss to Broadmeadow Magic on Sunday afternoon.
A Jayden Stewardson strike in the 84th minute proved the difference for Broadmeadow Magic as they downed Lambton Jaffas for the first time this season.
The qualifying final at Magic Park gave the winner a chance to progress to the major semi-final and face premiers Maitland next weekend, while the loser would be handed a second chance against Newcastle Olympic.
Lambton had been victorious in their previous two meetings during the regular season against Broadmeadow Magic and were looking to continue that trend after being humbled by Maitland 3-1 last weekend.
Magic Park was filled to the brim with fans for the clash but neither set of supporters had much to cheer about with chances coming at a premium in a cagey opening half.
Lambton’s best chance in the opening half came from former Magic player Mitch Rooke who found himself alone in the penalty area but shanked his opportunity.
The match then sprung to life in the dying minutes of the half when Magic forward Damon Green linked up with young star Bailey Wells, with Wells calmly slotting home the opening goal of the match.
Lambton’s lapse of concentration saw them go into the break a goal behind, while Magic would have been content to have the lead after limited chances.
Jaffas finally found their breakthrough when Rooke atoned for his earlier blunder in the 67th minute, providing the equaliser with a stunning strike from the top of the penalty area that found the top corner.
With the scores locked heading into the final 20 minutes, Magic and Jaffas turned up the intensity in a hard-fought match that threatened to boil over at points.
A victor had to be found at Magic Park and it was a substitute Stewardson for Broadmeadow who scored the winner via a simple tap-in as he reaped the benefit from an incisive run from teammate Keanu Moore.
Jaffas committed their whole team to find an equaliser for the second time in the afternoon and it seemed substitute Finn Parris had found it in the dying minutes but he was denied by a stunning goal-line clearance.
The match finally reached fever pitch in the final minute of injury time when Jaffas’ Bren Hammel and Magic’s Moore came together and a scuffle ensued. Hammel was sent from the field with a red card, while Moore was shown his second yellow card.
Pryce said while the result was not what they were looking for, he knows the side have the quality to re-find their regular season form.
“We are not playing at our best at the moment,” Pryce said.
“I thought the first goal [similar to last weekend], we got punished because we let them in. It’s starting to become a bit of a trend which is not a good one but we fought our way back into the game. But we just weren’t tight enough at the back in defence and in that last goal, three people could have scored it so it’s a bit disappointing.
“Magic was better than us today, I think they were a bit more controlling of the game. They matched us physically and they probably deserved the win in the end. I think our all-around game just hasn’t been where it needs to be lately. To play like that and still create chances shows that we are still a good side and we haven’t played our best football yet.”
Magic coach Damian Zane said he was proud of his side's effort in the victory and made special mention of goalscorer Stewardson.
“We got the result, that’s all that matters,” Zane said.
“It was a pretty brave win from a young group that I challenged to be up for the fight. I couldn’t be happier with the result. We talked about it before the game, the two losses we had against Jaffas, there was nothing in them. They could have easily gone the other way but at the same time if you lose a third time, as players you begin to question that. I said to the group, don’t think you have an extra chance, two wins gets us to the grand final.
“Rotating the squad is something I like to do and players sometimes don’t like to be rotated out but the group has bought into it. Jayden didn’t sulk, he bought into it and was in the right frame of mind and got us the winner. There is pro’s and con’s [to rotating the squad] but the group has bought into it and it’s a testament to the season we have had.”