Minor Semi-Final
Edgeworth Eagles FC 1-3 Lambton Jaffas FC
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski thought his team were in control from the outset as they defeated Edgeworth Eagles 3-1 in the minor semi-final at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday.
The Jaffas stunned the Eagles early as Matt Cahill netted an early brace with goals in the 11th and 17th minutes to put his side ahead 2-0, which it remained until the 75th minute when Edgeworth pulled one back off a corner through Tyler Harrison.
The Eagles were pushing hard to find an equaliser and save their season at that stage of the game, but Jordan Gu sealed the win for Lambton with an 87th-minute strike that saw them advance to the preliminary final and end Edgeworth’s 2025 campaign.
It was an impressive performance from the Jaffas, who extended their unbeaten streak to eight games, and their coach was thrilled with the way they played from the opening whistle.
“It’s really good for the boys, that win. I’m really happy with the performance,” Tanchevski said.
“To create six or seven clear-cut opportunities against the team with the best defence in the league this year, I think is a credit to our boys and the way they are attacking. We played with confidence and moved the ball around.
“We’d talked about not getting off to a slow start like we’d done two weeks in a row prior. The rest of our games in both of those had been perfect, but the first 10 minutes two weeks in a row had been ordinary, and we needed to fix that.
“Getting an early goal was the opposite of the last two weeks. I thought we were unlucky not to be three or four up at half-time with the chances we had in the first half, and we had two or three early in the second half that we missed too. I thought that first half was one of our best first halves of football this year.
“We could have been out of sight after 50 or 60 minutes. That’s probably the only disappointing thing for me. We didn’t close the game out when we should have, and that can come back and bite you against the good teams. Edgy did that.
“They got back into it and made it really difficult at 2-1, but the boys were comfortable for 70 to 75 minutes of the game and they got the job done.
“Other than that, 15 minutes where we had run out of steam, I’m really happy with that performance. You can’t dominate a game for a full 90 minutes. I thought in that 15-minute patch where Edgy were on top, the boys defended quite well.
“It was a disappointing way to concede, off a corner, but other than that, I thought we defended quite well as a unit. I can’t fault the boys apart from that goal.”
The Jaffas will meet Weston Bears in this weekend’s preliminary final as they look to book a 2023 grand final rematch against Broadmeadow Magic.
For Edgeworth, their preparations for the 2026 campaign are now underway following what was largely an impressive year.
Coach Peter McGuinness said that he was proud of a large portion of his side’s season and declared that they are looking to go even better next year.
“I’m disappointed in our first half in particular,” McGuinness said.
“In the second half, we were better, but we just weren’t good enough.
“I’m proud of the fact that we went unbeaten such a long period during the season, and that the group did so well for so long, and I’m proud of the fact we finished runners-up in the league.
“It’s disappointing that we fell over in the finals series. It’s a disappointing end to what was looking to be a good effort for a long period of the year.
“Teams get better as the year goes on. That’s proven. We were good from the get-go, and I think the games that we’ve played lately where we’ve been beaten, the opposition have just seemed to have been hungrier than us.
“I think we can go better next year. Edgeworth is a big club, and the expectation is that you’re always in the finals series. That’s a minimum.
“Players will come and go out of the squad, which is normal and happens at every club. We’ll be looking to build as strong a squad as we can and go for it again.”
Major Semi-Final
Broadmeadow Magic FC 2-0 Weston Bears FC
Weston Bears assistant coach Nathan Morris thought his men simply didn’t match what Broadmeadow Magic had to offer as the premiers cruised into the grand final with a 2-0 major semi-final victory at Magic Park on Sunday.
It was a day of celebration for the premiers as they finally got to hold their old boys’ day, congratulated a trio of players on milestone games, and secured a third grand final appearance in as many seasons with the clean sheet victory.
All eyes were on the Broadmeadow men and the effect that a three-week break would have on them as most of their players sat out their round 22 clash before the entire team had the weekend off during week one of the finals.
But that freshen-up clearly benefitted the Magic players, especially Jarred Baker who ran rings around the Weston defence in the first half and created both of his side’s goals.
Just three minutes had been played when Baker stormed onto a Jack Simmons pass and charged into the box before being brought down by Gerard Roebuck to win his side a penalty, which Tom Beecham converted to put the hosts ahead 1-0.
Roebuck escaped with a yellow card after conceding that penalty and he was rounded by Baker again in the 16th minute, but this time wisely opted not to make any contact outside the box.
The Magic striker found himself on too tight of an angle to attempt a shot, and his cross could not find a teammate as it remained 1-0.
He then managed to double the lead in the 26th minute when he won the ball on the halfway line and rounded Chris Hurley before running away to calmly slot a one-on-one finish and make it 2-0.
Magic suffered a blow on the half-hour mark when Ben Diamond was forced from the field with an injury, but his replacement Ryan Ensor partnered Beecham at the back, and the duo were excellent as they helped Broadmeadow secure their 10th clean sheet of the campaign.
Weston managed a handful of shots on target, but Magic’s keeper Lewis Alvarez was up to the task as he held everything that came his way.
While the Bears’ previous two matches against the premiers during the season had been close ones that they well and truly thought they could have won, Morris said his men were below Magic’s level on Sunday.
“We didn’t take the chances we had, but it wasn’t really like the past two encounters against them, I didn’t feel. Magic were good for that one,” Morris said.
“I don’t feel like it was a game that could have gone either way. Broadmeadow were just very clinical. Young Jarred Baker caused us problems and they managed the game really well. They had scoreboard ascendancy, and I thought they played it to perfection.
“We just didn’t put enough pressure on them. We did put pressure on them in patches, but those patches were just far too small.
“I think they did it comfortably in the end, and it was a game that was a let down to me.
“If you were a neutral coming into that ground to watch the premiers play against the team that scored the most number of goals, you’d think you’d be in for a cracker. But it didn’t turn out that way.
“I thought it was boring really, but that’s nothing to do with what Magic did. They took their chances and managed the game really well, and we just didn’t have enough players on the park that were willing to make a game of it.
“It’s never a lack of effort from our boys. Effort is something they always bring. We just needed everyone on board at the one-time to step up and grab that game by the scruff of the neck, and we just didn’t do that.”
The Bears will now regroup this week as they prepare to host Lambton Jaffas in a do-or-die preliminary final showdown in front of a home crowd at Rockwell Automation Park.
Broadmeadow Magic will also be in action as they have opted to use the weekend off to play the rescheduled friendly against the Central Coast Mariners that was washed out during the first weekend of finals.
Magic coach Jim Cresnar agreed with Morris that Sunday’s major semi-final was certainly not the prettiest to watch, but he was proud of his players’ efforts and their ability to get the job done.
“It definitely wasn’t a spectacle, that’s for sure, but we played within the conditions,” Cresnar said.
“We set up to win a game of football, and that’s what we did. We played to our strengths.
“The boys executed the game plan to a tee. It was a great effort again and they controlled the game.
“The backline were solid and Lewis made some crucial saves. Our sixes had jobs to do to pick up the second phase, which they did. It was a good team effort defensively, and I’m very proud of the boys. We’re now off to the grand final.
“It was definitely pretty special for some of our former players there on old boys’ day to celebrate the win to get us to the grand final.”
