Match of the Round
Lambton Jaffas FC 1-1 Charlestown Azzurri FC
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski believes both sides would have been disappointed to have let two points slip after his men contested a 1-1 draw against Charlestown Azzurri at Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts created the better of the chances in the opening half-hour, but Charlestown hit the lead in the 38th minute when substitute Reece McManus turned the tide in his side’s favour.
McManus replaced the injured Harry Frendo in the 36th minute and nearly scored seconds after entering the field after getting one-on-one with Ben Kennedy and forcing a brilliant diving save out of the Jaffas’ keeper.
The loose ball was cleared away for a throw-in, and McManus then sent a long throw into the box for Lundy to head home.
Azzurri nearly doubled their lead seconds after Lambton had kicked off when Nikolai Topor-Stanley was dispossessed by Tyran Cousins, who then stormed into the box and squared a pass to Rene Ferguson.
But the striker’s touch was heavy and allowed Joey Langlois to clear the ball off the line.
The score remained 1-0 until the 89th minute when Topor-Stanley knocked a long ball upfield and Jimmy Oates headed it on into the path of Carter Smith, who buried his strike from a tight angle to earn his side a point.
Tanchevski described the result as bittersweet and thought his side were on top for the majority of the match.
“When you score in the last minute, you’re always happy with a point. Looking back, they probably could be disappointed they didn’t get the win, and we’re disappointed we didn’t get the win as well,” Tanchevski said.
“I thought we had the majority of the play in the second half, and first half we were on top until we conceded. Before that moment, we were very solid.
“It was bittersweet. We wanted the three points, and we were going for the win, but at the end of the day, we could have come away with no points, so we’re happy to get the draw in the end.
“Luck just isn’t going our way so far. We make a mistake and teams punish us, and we can’t do that at the opposite end.
“So, until we turn that around, we’re going to keep finding ourselves in battles.”
The Jaffas are still sixth but can climb into the top five when they return home on Tuesday night to host Broadmeadow Magic in a rescheduled round 13 clash.
Azzurri are still three points ahead of Lambton in fourth place.
They are in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Alder Park to challenge New Lambton FC in their rescheduled round 13 clash.
Broadmeadow Magic FC 2-0 Belmont Swansea United FC
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jim Cresnar thought his side were second best at times but commended their attitude after they defeated Belmont Swansea United 2-0 at Magic Park on Friday night.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Will Ingram curled in a corner from the right and defender Thomas Beecham headed home his second goal in as many games.
After two defenders combined for the first goal, another set up the second as Sam Kamper lashed a cross into the path of Jack Simmons, who couldn’t miss from less than a metre out into an empty net.
Kamper made an incisive run into the box to storm onto a perfect Ryan Ensor pass before cutting it across for Simmons to double their lead.
Belmont Swansea pushed hard to get themselves back in the match and ended up finishing with more shots and corners than Broadmeadow, but the hosts showed why they are one of the teams to beat this year as they prevailed 2-0.
Cresnar admitted it was not the most convincing of wins but thought his players stood up and won their individual battles to help secure the result.
“We got there, just. We’re marching on after being lucky enough to get the result,” Cresnar said.
“They outplayed us at times but we got the outcome. As a team effort though, it was a solid performance.
“I thought we competed really well in the individual battles that we needed to win, and that really helped us.
“Happy with the clean sheet. We’ve been working on improving our defensive structure, not just individually but as a team. That’s been our focus over the past three or four weeks, which at times has been very good.”
Broadmeadow temporarily moved to the top of the table but ended the weekend in second place after Edgeworth Eagles won on Sunday to reclaim first place.
Magic have another chance to overtake Edgeworth when they travel to Arthur Edden Oval to challenge Lambton Jaffas in a rescheduled round 13 clash on Tuesday night.
BelSwans will meet the Eagles at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Wednesday night in their rescheduled round 13 battle.
Weston Bears FC 5-0 New Lambton FC
Five goals were netted by five different goal-scorers as Weston Bears showed their class in a 5-0 victory over New Lambton FC on Saturday afternoon at Rockwell Automation Park.
The Bears led 4-0 after 26 minutes on home soil after Cooper Buswell opened the scoring in the ninth minute, Brock Beveridge doubled their lead in the 14th, Dogen Gyoja tripled it in the 17th, and Burke Fahling added the fourth in the 26th.
Fahling’s was the pick of the bunch as he launched a volley from way out that dipped over New Lambton’s goalkeeper Samuel Esquilant and just under the crossbar.
The Bears still led by four until the 80th minute when Aaron Niyonkuru put the icing on the cake with the side’s fifth and final goal.
Paul Sichalwe set up the goal after winning possession in the middle third with a strong tackle and charging upfield before passing to Niyonkuru in the box, who buried his strike into the bottom-right corner.
The 5-0 victory meant Weston maintained pace with the two sides ahead of them on the table, Edgeworth Eagles and Broadmeadow Magic, who also won across the weekend.
The Bears were scheduled to play a round 13 catch-up game at home against Newcastle Olympic on Wednesday night, but that fixture has been postponed, leaving them with five matches to make up.
They now turn their attention to a round 17 clash against Lambton Jaffas at Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday.
New Lambton are still anchored to the bottom of the table and are now seven points adrift of 11th place.
They will host Charlestown Azzurri in a rescheduled round 13 fixture at Alder Park on Tuesday night.
Valentine FC 1-0 Cooks Hill United FC
Valentine FC were the only team to climb the table this week as a 1-0 win against Cooks Hill United on Saturday night at Croudace Bay Complex propelled them out of the relegation zone for the first time since April.
A 78th-minute Nicholas Martinelli strike was the difference as Cas Wright’s men climbed above Adamstown Rosebud into 10th and got themselves within two wins of the top five.
Martinelli’s first goal of the season was a volley from point blank range after Dean Pettit had received a pass out wide on the left.
Pettit charged into the box after skinning a defender before squaring it up and putting it on a plate for his teammate.
Cooks Hill ended the match having had more shots and more corners, but the hosts made the most of one of their few chances to score their third win of the campaign.
Valentine are now level on 12 points with ninth-placed Cooks Hill and can overtake them on Wednesday night if they get a result in a rescheduled round 13 clash on home soil against Adamstown.
A loss in that game would see them drop back to 11th.
Cooks Hill were scheduled to play against Maitland on Wednesday night, but that clash has been postponed.
Their next game is now also against Adamstown when they host them at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field in round 17 on Saturday afternoon.
Edgeworth Eagles 2-1 Adamstown Rosebud FC
Edgeworth Eagles reclaimed their spot at the top of the table in front of a home crowd when they defeated Adamstown Rosebud 2-1 at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break after Flynn Goodman produced a clinical strike in the 36th minute to open the scoring.
The goal was impressively created by Jaylen Rodwell, who picked up the ball in the middle third and charged past four defenders and into the box before cutting a pass back to Goodman, who did the rest.
The competition’s leading goal-scorer Ryan Feutz doubled the Eagles’ lead in the 76th minute as he extended his impressive scoring streak to nine matches.
The frontman received a pass out on the right sideline and beat four defenders before slotting a one-on-one finish into the bottom-right corner.
Adamstown’s skipper Dino Fajkovic pulled one back for his side with a screamer from distance into the top-right corner just 15 seconds after the visitors had kicked off, and they pushed hard in the final 12 minutes plus injury time for an equaliser.
Peter McGuinness’ men were too classy in the end though as the Eagles held on to win 2-1 and go back into first place after Broadmeadow Magic had overtaken them on Friday.
Edgeworth will be back at home on Wednesday night when they host Belmont Swansea United in a rescheduled round 13 clash.
Adamstown’s coach Chris Moylan said he was proud of his team’s effort against the league leaders, and said they should be able to pick up points if they play that way against Valentine FC at Croudace Bay Complex on Wednesday night in their rescheduled round 13 match.
Newcastle Olympic FC 1-1 Maitland FC
Newcastle Olympic were held to their fourth draw at Darling Street Oval in as many matches when their match against Maitland FC to wrap up round 16 on Sunday night ended 1-1.
Olympic took the lead in front of a home crowd in the 17th minute when Maitland failed to clear a long throw and Jared Muller headed the ball into the path of Roy O’Donovan, who finished from a metre out.
The hosts still led at the break after Maitland’s Braedyn Crowley had a goal ruled out for offside in the 40th minute, but there was no denying the Magpies’ leading goal-scorer on the hour-mark when he pounced on a loose ball in the box and calmly buried the equaliser.
Olympic thought they had found a winner in the 72nd minute when Maitland’s keeper Taylor Pate was stranded on the turf after denying O’Donovan, but Kale Bradbery’s strike was cleared off the line by a lunging Jordan Lennon.
The home side were forced to play the final five minutes and injury time with 10 men after O’Donovan was sent off late for a dangerous tackle, but Maitland was unable to capitalise on the advantage as the score remained 1-1 when the full-time whistle sounded.
Olympic are still fifth but are now six games without a win. They will be looking to snap that streak when they host Broadmeadow Magic at Darling Street Oval in the match of the round on Sunday afternoon.
Maitland remained in eighth place following the draw and will travel to Alder Park on Saturday afternoon to challenge New Lambton.
Olympic and Maitland were both scheduled to play round 13 catch-up games on Wednesday, which have since been postponed.
