Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic 1-1 Cooks Hill United
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 2:30pm
Newcastle Olympic co-coach Paul De Vitis was content with a 1-1 result against Cooks Hill United at Darling Street Oval on Sunday afternoon.
There was nothing to separate the two sides despite Olympic coming in with the advantage after a 1-0 win against Cooks Hill in the Australia Cup on Wednesday night.
Brock Beveridge opened Cooks Hill’s account in the 20th minute with a solid low and hard strike from the penalty area that sliced past Olympic’s defence and into the back of the net.
Olympic struck eight minutes later after goalkeeper Samuel Esquilant spilled a save from Lachlan Griffiths to the feet of Nathan Toby who cut the ball back to Griffiths who made no mistake with his second attempt on goal and smashed the ball into the goal.
After a busy schedule of matches and tough playing conditions, De Vitis was happy his team secured a valuable point on Sunday.
“We are content with the result, would have preferred the three points but we will take it,” De Vitis said.
“A point isn’t the worst result a very tough game they were better than they were in the Australia Cup and made it quite hard for us.”
“If we can pick up points when we aren’t playing well then that’s a positive. Any point is important having looked at how tight the table is.
“A draw was probably a fair result.
“It was good to keep the momentum going with three competition matches without a loss.
Olympic’s coach credited his players for their ability to come back from behind and grind out a result.
“To come back from 1-0 down was important so credit to the boys,” De Vitis said.
“We conceded on the counterattack, but we worked our way back into it.
“It was a very difficult game overall.
“We were very slow off the blocks in the second half. The two sides were forced to share the points after a hotly contested battle.
“I think we should take some confidence away from the game. We didn’t play pout best but we still walked away with a point.
Olympic sits seventh on the table with 14 points and will prepare for a big match-up against Valentine FC on Wednesday night in their round eight rescheduled fixture.
De Vitis and Neil Owens will then turn their side’s attention to next Saturday when they travel to Jack McLaughlan Oval to face Edgeworth FC.
Cooks Hill remains in ninth position on the table but has closed the gap between them and the teams ahead of them and has also extended their lead from New Lambton FC who now sit four points below them.
They will be eager to continue their unbeaten run and make it three competition games without a loss next week. But Chris Zoricich and his side will face a tough test when they return home to host league leaders Lambton Jaffas.
Lambton Jaffas 4-0 Lake Macquarie City FC
Arthur Edden Oval, Saturday 2:30pm
Lake Macquarie City FC coach Pete Preston was pleased with his side’s performance despite a 4-0 loss to Lambton Jaffas at Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Roosters suffered their fourth straight defeat to the league leaders who were dominant in all areas across the pitch.
James Oates opened the scoring for the home side in the seventh minute after he headed the ball into the back of the net after a corner kick.
Jaffas doubled their lead after Lakes’ Baden Rees nodded in an own goal in the 14th minute.
The home side took the score to 3-0 in the 65th minute after Lakes’ goalkeeper Isaac Nyman missed the ball at the edge of the box, allowing Matthew Buettner to whip it into an empty goal.
Kale Bradbery sealed the deal for the league leaders and extended his lead at the top of the golden boot race to score his 12th goal of the season in the 73rd minute.
Preston was impressed with his side’s efforts against the top side in the competition.
“I am really happy with how we performed,” Preston said.
“I think we performed better on Saturday than what we did against Jaffas in the first round.
“We know we are ticking some small boxes, our season won’t be defined by teams like Jaffas or Magic. We just need to make sure that we are up for the fight when we play teams around us.
“The boy's confidence continues to grow and the trust in what we are doing. We are trying to do things the right way and putting in the work rate and effort.”
But the Roosters’ coach remains realistic about where his team stands in the competition.
“The future is looking good, but we still have a long way to go,” Preston said.
“We are getting closer, but we are still a bit away from where we need to be.”
In a blow for the Roosters, new signing Jordan Lennon has already parted ways with the club on Friday after he moved across from Edgeworth in the transfer window last week.
Lakes remain 11th on the table and will look to secure some vital points when they travel to Magic Park to face Broadmeadow Magic on Friday night.
Jaffas continue their unbeaten streak and their six-point lead at the top of the table. They will hope to continue their phenomenal run when they travel to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field to face Cooks Hill United next Saturday.
Adamstown Rosebud 2-8 Broadmeadow Magic
Adamstown Oval, Saturday 2:30pm
Broadmeadow Magic made it three from three after a dominant 8-2 victory over Adamstown Rosebud at Adamstown Oval on Saturday.
Magic’s men opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a spectacular shot that curled into the back of the net from Jarred Baker.
Baker doubled his side’s lead after they were awarded a penalty in the 13th minute which he calmly converted from the spot.
Rosebud got themselves on the scoreboard in the 24th minute with a strong strike from Dylan Bozinovski.
But Magic extended their lead again in the 33rd minute through Bailey Wells before Riley Smith took the score to 4-1 one minute later.
Adamstown thought they were back in the game when they hit the back of the net in the 41st minute but the goal was ruled offside and then in another blow, Wells struck again before halftime for the visitors.
Dino Fajkovic clawed one back for the Rosebuds in the 50th minute but Magic’s Jayden Stewardson hit the back of the net once again for Magic minutes later.
Broadmeadow put the nails in the coffin for Adamstown when Dominik Brymora and William Ingram scored in the 79th and 89th minute to take the final score to 8-2. Jim Cresnar’s side remains in second position on the table, six points below league leaders Lambton Jaffas and have Charlestown Azzurri hot on their trail three points behind them.
Magic will hope to build on their run of form when they return home to Magic Park to host Maitland FC on Tuesday night in their round eight rescheduled fixture before they face Lake Macquarie City FC on Friday.
Adamstown continues to sit at the bottom of the table with two points. Daniel Dawkins and his side will continue to search for their first win of the season when they face Charlestown Azzurri next weekend.
Valentine FC 2-4 Maitland FC
Croudace Bay Complex, Saturday 5pm
Maitland FC returns to the winners’ circle after a 2-4 victory over Valentine FC at Croudace Bay Complex on Saturday.
The Magpies got off to a flying start as Braedyn Crowley hit the back of the net in the sixth minute.
James Thompson doubled Maitland’s advantage in the 30th minute after he ran onto a through ball to go one-on-one with goalkeeper Brodie Volkiene to slot it into the back of the net.
Crowley struck again in the 52nd minute with an open header into goal before he provided an assist for Thompson as he slotted his second of the night six minutes later.
But the Phoenix managed to claw back two goals in the 74th and 80th minute through Zachariah Waddell to reduce the deficit of the final score to 4-2.
The Magpies have flown up into sixth position on the table after the win and will hope to stay in full flight when they face Broadmeadow Magic in their round eight catch-up match on Tuesday before they host Weston Workers FC on Saturday.
The loss was the Phoenix’s fourth straight defeat and they have slipped down to fifth position on the table. Adam Hughes and his side will hope to turn their momentum around when they face Newcastle Olympic on Wednesday in their round eight rescheduled fixture before they host New Lambton next Saturday.
Weston Workers FC 0-2 Edgeworth FC
Rockwell Automation Park, Sunday 2:30pm
Weston Workers FC suffered back-to-back losses at home after they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Edgeworth FC at Rockwell Automation Park on Sunday.
Flynn Goodman opened the scoring for Edgeworth in the 16th minute with a strong header at the back post. Seth Clarke launched the ball into a congested penalty area to hit the head of Goodman who made no mistake and nodded it into the back of the net.
Clarke provided the assist again when the Eagles struck again in the 83rd minute. He used his pace to sprint towards goal with the ball before he unleashed a powerful strike at the goal. The ball deflected off a defender and allowed Ryan Feutz to tap the ball into the goal.
The win has moved Edgeworth up into fourth position on the table with 17 points. They will be eager to continue their run of form when they return home to Jack McLaughlan Oval to host Newcastle Olympic, who sit two points behind.
The Bears will be desperate to return to turn things around and return to the winners’ circle next weekend when they travel to Cooks Square Park to face Maitland FC.
New Lambton FC 0-1 Charlestown Azzurri
Alder Park, Sunday 2:30pm
Charlestown Azzurri made it three from three after a 1-0 victory over New Lambton FC at Alder Park on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides had their chances of goal-scoring opportunities, but it was a 64th-minute goal from the Blues that separated them in the end.
Cameron Joice snuck behind the New Lambton defensive line to receive a chipped ball from Luke Callen and tap into the back of the net.
In another positive for Azzurri, Taylor Regan returned to the side after he was sidelined with a hip injury.
The Blues continue to sit third on the table with 24 points and remain three points behind Broadmeadow Magic and nine behind league leaders Lambton Jaffas.
James Pascoe and his side will look to keep their momentum going when they return home to Lisle Carr Oval to host Adamstown Rosebud FC next week.
New Lambton remains tenth on the table with four points and trails Cooks Hill United in ninth by five points. Shane Pryce will be desperate to pick up points next week when they travel to face Valentine FC.