Match of the Round
Valentine FC 3-0 Lake Macquarie City
Valentine closed to within two points of the top five with a 3-0 victory over Lake Macquarie City on Saturday.
Liam Thornton gave Valentine the lead after 10 minutes at Hunter Sports Centre, as his corner flew over Lakes goalkeeper Isaac Nyman’s head and into the goal.
It was 2-0 just before the half hour mark when Nicholas Martinelli headed home following a fantastic turn and cross from Tom Parkes.
It took until the final 10 minutes for Valentine to seal the result which they did in some style, with Martinelli firing a free kick from distance that left Nyman little chance.
The win saw Valentine remain seventh but they are now just two points behind fifth-placed Newcastle Olympic.
Lakes remain last, with just one point from their opening eight matches.
Lambton Jaffas 1-1 Cooks Hill United
Lambton lost touch with leaders Charlestown Azzurri after Cooks Hill United held them to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Matthew Berrigan put Cooks Hill in front with a goal in the 11th minute at Arthur Edden Oval after he did well to challenge Pat Bond for a long ball before turning inside Josh Piddington and rolling the ball past Ben Kennedy.
Lambton thought they had an equaliser 10 minutes later only for Scott Pettit’s close range header to be ruled out for offside after Daniel Eisenhauer had fumbled a tame Kale Bradbery shot.
Jaffas went close just past the hour mark when a Sam Webb effort hit the bar but had to wait until 10 minutes from the end to draw level, as Bradbery tapped home.
But just when Lambton looked like they might go on and find a winner, Riley McNaughton was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for a foul on Campbell Ross.
Neither side could find a winner with Lambton slipping to third, four points behind Charlestown at the top.
Cooks Hill remain eighth.
Adamstown Rosebud 2-3 Edgeworth FC
Edgeworth came from behind twice to down Adamstown Rosebud 3-2 on Saturday.
The hosts took the lead on the half hour mark at Adamstown Oval, with Murray Peart producing a fine solo run before finishing past Nate Cavaliere.
The Eagles drew level on the stroke of half-time with an outstanding team goal which started with Edgeworth in possession deep inside their own penalty area.
A number of passes ended with Jarryd Sutherland cutting the ball back for Sascha Montefiore to slot past Nicholas Hartnett.
Rosebud regained the lead three minutes into the second half with a brilliant counter attack. Adamstown won the ball deep in their own half before transitioning quickly, with Peart eventually tapping home after Cavaliere could only parry Dino Fajkovic’s fierce effort.
But the lead lasted a matter of minutes, with Adamstown’s Zac Griffin adjudged to have fouled Sutherland, who picked himself up to despatch the penalty past Hartnett and make it 2-2.
And it was to be heartbreak for Rosebud, with an own goal four minutes from full-time handing Edgeworth the three points.
The win saw the Eagles climb to fourth, while Adamstown are 10th. Rosebud will turn their attention to their Australia Cup fifth preliminary round clash with Maitland on Wednesday night.
Weston Workers FC 5-3 New Lambton FC
Weston climbed to second with a 5-3 win over New Lambton in a seesawing clash on Sunday.
Five of the eight goals came in the first half, with the Bears taking a 3-2 lead to the break at Rockwell Automation Park.
Riley Taylor gave New Lambton the lead after 13 minutes following a scramble from a corner only for the hosts to equalise two minutes later when Aaron Niyonkuru tapped home.
The Bears took the lead on 20 minutes when New Lambton failed to deal with a Chris Hurley cross, with Yuta Konagaya eventually finishing from close range.
Weston made it 3-1 just past the half hour mark again from inside the six yard box, this time thanks to Ben Clouten prodding home.
The Golden Eagles halved the deficit right on half-time when a Fletcher Davis free kick was deflected fortuitously over Ethan Gunther.
New Lambton then drew level at 3-3 five minutes into the second half thanks to Kai Bradley’s fine first time strike from outside the penalty area.
But having worked so hard to get themselves back in the game, New Lambton gifted the advantage back to Weston on 64 minutes.
Clouten intercepted a back pass and rounded Alex Bozinovski to calmly finish and put the Bears back in front.
And Clouten sealed the result and completed his hat-trick with eight minutes to play after Bozinovski failed to deal with a free kick, with Clouten nodding the ball home.
Bozinovski then gave away a penalty deep into stoppage time as he brought down Dieuseul Kandundaho. But he made amends when he saved Alessandro Ouwerkerk’s penalty.
The victory saw the Bears move to second, four points behind leaders Charlestown. While New Lambton are 11th.
Broadmeadow Magic 1-3 Charlestown Azzurri
Charlestown Azzurri extended its lead at the top of the table with a 3-1 victory over Broadmeadow on Sunday.
Jarred Baker gave Broadmeadow the lead from the penalty spot after 35 minutes at Magic Park, only for Rene Ferguson to equalise on half-time.
Ferguson scored his second midway through the second half to give the visitors the lead before Kyle Munns sealed the result for Charlestown late on.
Azzurri are now four points clear at the top of the table ahead of Weston and Lambton, while Broadmeadow slipped to sixth, two points outside the top five.
Newcastle Olympic 3-2 Maitland FC
Newcastle Olympic moved into the top five with a 3-2 victory over Maitland on Sunday.
Jared Muller gave Olympic the lead inside the opening minute at Darling Street with a fine strike into the far corner.
The reigning premiers hit back on 14 minutes through Braeyden Crowley, only for Muller to complete a first half hat-trick to give Olympic a 3-1 lead at the break.
Maitland pulled a goal back when Crowley scored his second midway through the second half but they were unable to find another equaliser as Olympic held on for a valuable three points.
Olympic are now fifth, two points clear of Broadmeadow and Valentine. While Maitland’s premiership defence continues to stutter, with the Magpies ninth and seven points outside of the finals places.
