Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic 3-2 Edgeworth Eagles
Broadmeadow Magic head coach Jim Cresnar believes his side will take huge confidence from finally defeating the only side in the league that has bettered them in 2026, as they overcame a determined Edgeworth Eagles 3-2 at Magic Park on Sunday afternoon.
Coming in with a tight head-to-head record with Edgeworth, the early exchanges between the sides quickly became a battle of discipline, with not many chances on goal.
With the Eagles having lost Aaron Niyonkuru and Jarrod McKechnie in the lead-up to the match, along with making several changes following their Hahn Australia Cup victory over Cooks Hill earlier in the week, the hosts quickly built momentum.
The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute when a shot from Luis Lara Delgado was well saved by goalkeeper Ben Conway, only for Adam Sherratt to capitalise on the loose ball and give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Just as Magic looked set to take control, Reece McManus produced a goal out of nowhere six minutes later to bring the Eagles back into the contest.
Despite the score, Edgeworth were struggling to keep pace with Magic’s speed, and when Edgeworth’s Sawyer Tonkin tackled Riley Smith in the box, Magic had the chance to reclaim the lead in the 35th minute.
Delgado stepped up and overcame chat from Conway to deliver a cheeky finish, as Magic went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Magic extended their lead when James Cresnar was rewarded for his strong pressure across the match with a brilliant goal, nicely set up by Delgado in the 52nd minute.
But changes made by Eagles head coach Peter McGuinness quickly paid dividends, with the fresh legs helping turn the game into a brutal end-to-end affair.
In the 61st minute, Kai Herd set up McManus on the counterattack for the Eagles, with the striker unleashing a rocket to cut the margin to one.
Despite both sides creating plenty of chances and maintaining the frantic pace through to the end of stoppage time, Magic held on to emerge victorious 3-2.
It proved a special win for Cresnar, with the head coach agreeing the match was frantic as his side maintained top spot on the table.
“Frantic is probably a good word,” Cresnar said.
“Did we control it? No. At times we did, at times we didn't. They changed a few things and made it hard for us, credit to Peter McGuinness.
“Sometimes you just have to go through the tough period to get a result, which we did. We didn't play well, but the bottom line is three points, which is crucial.
“We're building up confidence. We've been very consistent, but the main thing for us is just keeping momentum.
“The challenge [next week] is [staying] up for those games as well, apart from the bigger games. It’s getting the mindset right.”
Despite being handed their second loss, McGuiness was pleased with the fight shown.
Several young players showed great promise for the Edgeworth coach, which has come at a good time, with Aden Gardner and Stefan Cordwell having injury clouds over them and Tyler Harrison still working back to full fitness, on top of Niyonkuru and McKechnie.
“I thought we were good without being great,” McGuinness said.
“They're a good side, Magic, they're on top of the league for a reason. I thought for parts of it we held our own, for other parts I thought we were better than them.
“At the end of the day, I just think with the players that I've lost through the week, we lost a little bit of creativity.
“Nothing against the players that came in. The closing message was ‘boys, be proud of how you played today’.
“We've made a hell of a lot of changes this week, and in both games, I've seen the Edgy spirit where we fight for things. I thought our fight was good, we can be proud of that.
“Anyone that comes into the group, that's what is expected. The future looks bright for us. We just build on that.”
Both sides will have a six-day turnaround, with Edgeworth returning home to host Lambton Jaffas while Broadmeadow travel to face an improving Valentine FC.
Belmont Swansea United 1-1 Valentine FC
Belmont Swansea United head coach Mick Stafford has been encouraged by his side’s improving defence, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Valentine FC at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
Coming into the match with an imposing home record, BelSwans threatened early as they looked to overwhelm the young Valentine defence, but the visitors, buoyed by the arrivals of Joseph Melmeth and Ethan Vidler from Maitland FC, proved up to the task.
The Phoenix managed to return fire with territory, but their attack struggled, not managing a single shot on goal in the first half.
Inevitably, it would be BelSwans' set piece that would prove the breakthrough in the 29th minute, with captain Reece Newton benefiting from a corner to give his side a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
The hosts looked to press the advantage in the second half to overwhelm Valentine, but it would be the visitors who would return fire, as a challenge from Blair Fitzpatrick in the 49th minute saw the referee point to the penalty spot, Kurtis White calmly converting the penalty to equalise.
The score revved up BelSwans, who put their strong transition pressure to good use to pin Valentine back again, but the visitors' goal gave them confidence, disrupting them well in the box.
Despite both sides generating chances, the defence of both teams proved their most valuable weapons, with the sides unable to be split after four minutes of stoppage time.
The result proved enough to lift Valentine out of the bottom two, with the side continuing to build off several positive results on the road.
Stafford still had plenty of positives to take from the match, particularly defensively, and is eager to head into the second half of the season, during which his side will play seven of their next eight games on the road.
“I think we were really good in the first half. We created enough chances to take the game, but we didn't take them,” Stafford said.
“Credit to Valentine, they never stopped working hard all game and got a penalty, and at the end of the day, as a group, we'll take that point and just keep rolling.
“Defence has been our focus in the past month. We've shuffled a few guys around and worked on a few areas. We were very pleased with our defensive effort yesterday.
“Our attack misfired a bit, we can cop that on the chin because they've been so great every other game. We're creating a lot of chances still.
“I think we're travelling well. We haven't been defeated away from home. I reckon there's more to give in this group, I'm excited to get on the road.”
BelSwans will have an eight-day turnaround before they travel away to face Cooks Hill on Sunday, while Valentine faces a tough assignment at home against Broadmeadow Magic on Saturday.
Maitland FC 1-3 Cooks Hill United
Cooks Hill United have roared back into finals contention, launching themselves up the table with a 3-1 win over Maitland FC at Cooks Square Park on Friday night.
Cooks Hill entered the match on a two-game winning streak, with the visitors determined to hit the ground running after their loss to Edgeworth in the Hahn Australia Cup earlier in the week. Stephen Hoyle gave them the perfect start in the 22nd minute.
Things went downhill quickly for the hosts, as only ten minutes later Kai Bradley caught the Maitland defence under pressure, producing a piece of individual brilliance to double the lead.
Cooks Hill extended the lead six minutes later through Bradley, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead and a mountain for the hosts to climb.
Maitland, after several attempts on goal, finally got on the board on the stroke of half-time through a quick transition that saw Braedyn Crowley catch the defence out of position, but the hosts still had work to do as they went into the break 3-1 behind.
The match opened up in the second half, with both sides locked in a seesawing contest following the injection of fresh legs from the bench.
Ultimately, despite both sides creating plenty of chances, the scores remained unchanged at full-time, giving Cooks Hill their third consecutive win and moving them up to seventh on the table.
Cooks Hill will return home to face Belmont Swansea United on Sunday, while Maitland will travel for the El Clasicoal against Weston Bears on Saturday.
Lambton Jaffas 4-0 Kahibah FC
Lambton Jaffas have handed Kahibah FC their fifth consecutive loss in the NPL, consigning them to the bottom of the table while climbing over Maitland FC into the top five with a 4-0 win at Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday.
The Rams had reason to feel confident coming into the match, having defeated Jaffas 3-1 at the same venue earlier in the week in their Hahn Australia Cup clash.
But Jaffas had other ideas, taking control of the midfield and threatening the goal early, the visitors having to spend much of the first half hour on the back foot in their own territory as the hosts managed 14 shots on target.
The Rams began to return fire with shots of their own after this initial attack, but found themselves behind in the 37th minute, the Jaffas' pressure finally rewarded with a goal from Lucas Sutton, the score proving the difference at half-time.
Kahibah started the second half upping the energy, but they still struggled to get many chances on goal.
Things turned ominous for Kahibah as Pat Bond capped off a strong game in the midfield with a brilliant strike outside the box to double Jaffas’ lead in the 59th minute.
The Rams persisted at the right end of the field, but as Jaffas attempted a transitional counterattack, Justin Houtzager brought down Drew Patterson in the 81st minute and was promptly shown a red card.
The ensuing free kick in the 82nd minute saw Mitchell Rooke nab the hosts’ third to complete a strong return back to the pitch, before nabbing his second off a similar position in the fourth minute of stoppage time to complete a strong afternoon for the hosts.
Jaffas will travel to face Edgeworth FC on Saturday, while Kahibah return home to face the Adamstown Rosebud on Sunday.
Adamstown Rosebud 2-0 Charlestown Azzurri
Adamstown Rosebud had to do it the hard way but have nabbed their second win of the season in a 2-0 win over Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday to climb off the bottom of the table.
The match began as a physical contest, with both sides evenly matched and several yellow cards issued as tensions rose.
Chances came at either end, but neither team could find a breakthrough, with the scores locked at 0–0 at half-time.
Both sides turned to the bench in search of an impact, but the defences held firm until the 76th minute, when a messy corner saw substitute striker Christopher Reay net the Buds’ first goal of the afternoon.
The goal saw the energy of the game suddenly pick up, as the Blues looked to try and find an equaliser while the Buds looked to put the match beyond doubt.
As the final five minutes arrived, it would prove a lapse in the defence that would be the Blues' undoing, as a throw-in saw midfielder Charlie Naylor produce an easy finish to give the visitors a much-needed win.
The Buds will look to maintain their momentum when they head to Fred Wright Oval on Sunday to face Kahibah FC, while Charlestown travel to face Newcastle Olympic on Saturday.
Newcastle Olympic 1-2 Weston Bears
Weston Bears bounced back from a disappointing home loss last week, overcoming Newcastle Olympic 2-1 in a seesawing contest at Darling Street Oval in the final match of the weekend.
Olympic came into the match also coming off a loss last week to Lambton Jaffas and were determined to match the Bears to keep in touch with the top five.
But they found themselves on the back foot in the 26th minute, as Brock Beveridge returned to scoring form with a brilliant long-range strike outside the box to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
It would not last long though, as Weston were caught short on the counterattack in the 30th minute, with Ben Hay swooping in to give Olympic their equaliser.
The sides looked set to go into the break level, until Chris Hatfield caught the Olympic defence out of position in the box in the second minute of stoppage time to give the visitors a 2-1 lead at half-time.
The Bears pushed early in the second half, but Olympic held firm and responded with sustained pressure as they searched for an equaliser.
A strong performance from newly promoted goalkeeper Jack Butler ultimately proved enough to see the visitors home, securing three valuable points and keeping them in touch with top-placed Broadmeadow.
The Bears will return back to Weston to host Maitland FC in the El Clasicoal derby on Saturday, while Olympic will stay at home and take on Charlestown Azzurri the same day.