Match of the Round
Weston Workers FC 6-1 Lake Macquarie City FC
Lake Macquarie City FC coach Pete Preston said Weston Workers FC were ruthless in a 6-1 thumping on Sunday afternoon.
The Roosters had a chance to open the scoring in the seventh minute, but it was the Bears who hit the back of the net first in 23rd minute.
Christopher Hatfield used his pace to catch Lakes on the break and steam down the field before he smashed the ball into the goal.
The Bears doubled their advantage two minutes later as Hatfield ran towards the goal and crossed it to Blake Archbold who made no mistake and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Isaac Nyman.
The Roosters clawed one back in the 40th minute from Tapuwanashe Goora to get his side back in the match. Shukurani Sunzu turned the Weston defenders inside out before he took a strike on goal that was saved by Gerard Roebuck. But the ball fell into Goora who chested the ball into the back of the net.
But two quick goals before half time gave Weston a 4-1 advantage as the sides headed into the break.
Hatfield netted his second after he curled the ball into the top left corner of the goal before Aaron Niyonkuru opened his account for the afternoon.
Niyonkuru struck again in the 51st minute after he was given space at the top of the penalty area and struck the ball straight past Nyman.
The number 10 secured a hat trick in the 91st minute with an almost identical goal as his second. Niyonkuru was able to drive the ball towards the goal before he hit it from the edge of the penalty area straight into the back of the net.
Preston was disappointed with the result and admitted that his side were outclassed in the end.
“Credit to Weston, they were ruthless,” Preston said.
“We were naïve and we just didn’t stay with them long enough and they got away in the end which is really disappointing.
“We had a really good chance early to go 1-0 but then the next play they (Weston) scored and then scored again off the kick-off. It was madness.
“We were going with them for the first 20 minutes and it was pretty even, but we just conceded two goals.”
But Lakes’ coach did take away some positives from the performance and said they must start to pick up results to stay in the competition.
“The fact that we kept trying to play our way was positive. What we are trying to do is get the players to believe,” Preston said.
“They are ticking small boxes and getting better and better every week.
“The young players are building resilience but now it has to get to the point where even though we are the youngest team in the competition, we can’t keep using that as an excuse. They are getting a lot of games under their belt, but we need to start picking up points.
“We move on to next week and go again.”
Weston coach Kew Jaliens was thrilled for his side to secure their first back-to-back wins of the season and hoped his side can build on the momentum.
“Back-to-back wins are always good but now we are aiming for a longer run of wins,” Jaliens said.
“We need to get more wins in to be a threat to the teams at the top of the table.
‘Wins will boost the confidence and that’s where it all starts.”
Jaliens was pleased with the efforts of his side to stick to their game plan and get the job done in a convincing fashion.
“I had a good feeling about the game. We kept the simple things simple and moved the ball well,” Jaliens said.
“Execution of the game plan and the effectiveness and amount of chances we converted into goals.”
The Bears will look to make it three from three when they welcome Cooks Hill United to Rockwell Automation Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Roosters will be desperate to bounce back and respond with a result when they return home to Macquarie Field to host Newcastle Olympic.
Cooks Hill United FC 0-2 Edgeworth FC
Edgeworth coach Peter McGuinness was thrilled to pick up three points in a 2-0 victory over Cooks Hill United on Saturday afternoon.
It was a match of two halves, but the Eagles clung on to secure their fourth straight win at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field to move their way up to fifth on the table with 14 points and one match in hand.
Seth Clark opened the scoring for Edgeworth in the 11th minute with a strike from within the penalty area that curled past the fingertips of goalkeeper Daniel Eisenhauer and into the back of the net.
The game was stopped for several minutes after the centre referee Charlie O’Brien went to the ground in the 13th minute with a broken leg. He was forced from the field which saw Lewis Rooney step in and take over.
The Eagles extended their lead in the 21st minute of the match with a powerful shot from Flynn Goodman that deflected off a Cooks Hill player and into the goal.
Cooks Hill kept the Eagles scoreless in the second half and created multiple chances but was unable to capitalise.
The home side had the opportunity to claw one back late in the game when they were awarded a penalty but Cody Nancarrow was unable to capitalise, which left his side scoreless at the final whistle.
McGuinness was very pleased to be one of only three NPL Men’s NNSW matches that were played over the weekend due to the wet weather and was even happier with the result.
“All wins are important, so we are really pleased to get the three points,” McGuinness said.
‘We are really thankful that we managed to get to play on Saturday.
“I thought we started the game well and scored two good goals by our wide players Seth and Flynn.
“The momentum of the game changed as the half went on and Cooks Hill really came at us.
“In the second half, we showed good character to defend our lead with some resilient defending which was pleasing.”
The Eagles will hope to keep flying high when they return home to Jack McLaughlan Oval to host Maitland FC.
Cooks Hill will look to regroup and go again when they travel to Rockwell Automation Park next Sunday to face Weston Workers FC.
Valentine FC 2-4 Broadmeadow Magic
Broadmeadow Magic returned to the winners’ circle after a 4-2 victory over Valentine FC on Saturday afternoon.
James Cresnar opened the scoring for Magic in the 33rd minute with a powerful strike. Riley Smith sprinted with the ball down the pitch and crossed it to Crensar who was unmarked inside the penalty area where he made no mistake and hit the back of the net.
Magic doubled their advantage in the 43rd minute after Nicholas Kacev headed the ball past goalkeeper Brodie Volkienein from a corner kick.
Valentine got one back before half time after Nicholas King nodded the ball into the back of the net off a pinpoint free kick that curled into the penalty area.
Crensar extended Broadmeadow’s advantage again in the 60th minute after a corner kick rolled down the attacker's body and into the goal.
The Phoenix shortened the scoreline again in the 75th minute from another corner kick. Isaac Preston-Poole headed the ball into the back of the net amongst a crowded penalty area to take the score to 2-3.
But Magic put the nail in the coffin four minutes later with an own goal after Valentine was unable to clear the ball out of the penalty area.
Phoenix remains in fourth with 16 points and will hope to respond from back-to-back defeats when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to face Charlestown Azzurri.
Broadmeadow sits second on the table and will hope that they build back some momentum as they return home to host New Lambton FC next Friday.
New Lambton FC v Lambton Jaffas
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Newcastle Olympic v Adamstown Rosebud
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Maitland FC v Charlestown Azzurri FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.