Match of the Round
Maitland FC v Broadmeadow Magic
Cooks Square Park, Saturday, 4.30 pm
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jim Cresnar is preparing for his side’s “toughest game” when they face Maitland FC at Cooks Square Park on Saturday, a critical fixture in the context of the NPL Men’s NNSW season.
The Magpies are flying at the moment, winning their sixth match on the trot over the weekend after defeating a determined Lambton Jaffas 1-0 at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, the result likely killing off Jaffas’ finals hopes.
Maitland went down in heartbreaking fashion in their Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32 clash with Fremantle City on Wednesday night, with two late goals to the visitors seeing them win 2-1.
But with the date for their catch-up match against Kahibah to be confirmed, the Magpies are set for a busy run over the next month to bounce back.
Top of the list is closing the gap on Broadmeadow Magic, and with head coach Adam Hughes having a full-strength squad to pick from, Maitland will know a victory here is a chance that cannot be missed.
“These are the games that the players want to play in,” Hughes said following his side’s win over the Jaffas.
“I really think the group gets right up for these matches, and it's something that we're excited by, playing this sort of level of game.
“I remember the last game at Broadmeadow. It was one of the better NPL games I've seen in a long time.
“If I look back at it as a spectacle and not from a coach's lens, it was of a high quality. It's something that I'd expect the contest to be of a high quality again.
“They've got various threats within their group, as do we.
“It's something that we'll step out on the pitch to look to try them in the game as well. I'm looking forward to it, as are the group.”
Magic will be coming into the match fresh with their game against Cooks Hill postponed last week due to the rain.
With Weston and Maitland getting up on the weekend and stringing an imposing run of results together, the gap Magic opened up earlier in the season has been closed to four points, giving the defending champions plenty of food for thought.
With Magic close to full strength and facing the two bottom sides in Kahibah and Charlestown, as well as Cooks Hill in the last month of action, Cresnar knows the significance of this weekend - and the message it sends if his side wins.
With the team welcoming Pakistani international striker Haris Zeb over the last few weeks, it only adds to the quality the men in red and yellow have up front.
For Cresnar, a balance of reinforcing expectations in the group and identifying strengths and weaknesses is key to navigating his side into finals.
“It's a combination of both, to be honest,” Cresnar said.
“You've still got to make sure they try to look at their weaknesses as well... I think we were very lucky against Olympic. They outplayed us at times.
“Last time we played Maitland, they outplayed us. We were very lucky to get an outcome with that as well. They're probably the team to beat at the moment. It's going to be probably our toughest game.
“Adam tries to play football… he's staying with his football philosophy; he's got a very good football understanding.
“They outplayed us in lots of areas and we were lucky enough to get a point from that game. They've also strengthened their team as well.
“The main thing is we're going to focus on areas that we need to improve from the last time we played against them.”
Cooks Hill United v Lambton Jaffas
Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field, Saturday 2pm
Lambton Jaffas head coach David Tanchevski is focusing on making sure his side finish the season in style and they have the chance to end Cooks Hill United’s hopes of a maiden final when they face off at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field on Saturday.
For the hosts, the postponement of their match against Broadmeadow Magic would have been bitterly frustrating, especially with the side full of momentum and sitting three points outside the top five.
While they will pick up that game on Friday next week, how the team responds to such a delay makes this weekend’s fixture all the more fascinating, especially with the likes of Nick Curran, Koby Bailey, Kane Woolston and Stanley Manning-Lourey under injury clouds.
With Cooks Hill having never made the NPL finals before, the opportunity to make club history beckons should any of the top five sides slip up. But on the flipside, the current table gives Cooks Hill no margin for error.
Should that points margin extend any larger than three points, then finals hopes likely become a bridge too far and that will be something Jaffas will be aiming to do.
Last year’s runners-up are sitting in seventh place on 22 points, and with no catch-up games and seven points behind fifth-placed Edgeworth, are now a slim chance to make finals and will need to rely on other results to have a shot.
Slim back-to-back losses against Weston and Maitland have proven a summary of their season, with Tanchevski noting the side has had eight fixtures where they’ve conceded a goal in the last 10 minutes.
But what they can control is their run home, with Tanchevski knowing results over the next few weeks will lay a valuable groundwork for next year, especially for the likes of unsung players like youngster Lawson Weeks, who has enjoyed a strong season.
A win this weekend, combined with an Edgeworth victory over Olympic, will likely kill off Cooks Hill’s finals chances, and Tanchevski knows that sort of pressure will prove an invaluable experience for his side if he can muster a win.
“Now, all bar a miracle, we're not playing semis,” Tanchevski said following his side’s loss to Maitland.
“For us, it's just a matter of finishing the season off good. I'm really proud of our players.
“We've had a 17-year-old boy [Weeks] play centre-back every game of the season bar the first game for us. Lawson, he’s had a great season. He's playing with years of maturity. I think the Jets youth have taken interest in him now, and he's doing some training with them.
“We've got Cooks Hill who's just in front of us. That's a good game for us to try and close the gap on them, we want to try and get a result there.”
Weston Bears v Adamstown Rosebud
Hunter City Motor Group Stadium, POSTPONED
This match has been rescheduled due to the Bears’ forthcoming Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against Melbourne City at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium in Weston on Sunday 26 July.
This fixture will now be played on Wednesday 12 August.
Valentine FC v Charlestown Azzurri
Croudace Bay Complex, Saturday 4.30 pm
A sliding doors moment for two teams will play out this weekend at Croudace Bay Complex on Saturday, as Valentine FC welcome Charlestown Azzurri.
The match looms as a significant one for both sides in the context of their campaign, albeit for completely different reasons.
The last time the sides met in round nine, Valentine's 2-1 win proved a similarly defining result, the Phoenix going on to grab wins against Weston, Edgeworth and Kahibah, and draws against Magic, BelSwans and Jaffas.
While the hosts are unlikely to make finals, sitting 10 points behind Edgeworth, securing their sixth victory of the season will likely be enough to secure their NPL position for 2027, giving the young side freedom to start building for next year in their last fixtures.
For Charlestown, if there is any time for them to climb off the bottom of the table, it is now.
That round nine loss to Phoenix, combined with a round eight loss to Edgeworth, kickstarted a tough second half of the season, a draw against Cooks Hill the lone highlight as the Blues suffered nine losses, their defence leaking 21 goals in their last five fixtures.
The slump sees the Blues sitting at the bottom of the table and at serious risk of relegation, equal on points with Kahibah but with a ballooning negative goal difference.
Should they depart Croudace Bay with no points this weekend, the Blues face the toughest run home of any side in the league, with a catch-up game against Edgeworth, and the final fortnight of regular action seeing them face Maitland and Broadmeadow.
Edgeworth Eagles v Newcastle Olympic
Jack McLaughlan Oval, Sunday 1pm
Edgeworth Eagles will look to secure their finals spot for good this Sunday when they welcome Newcastle Olympic to Jack McLaughlan Oval.
Edgeworth will have no excuse to not hit the ground running this weekend having not played a game since 3 July, a 2-1 win over Kahibah FC in a rescheduled round 14 game.
Their last two fixtures, against BelSwans and Charlestown respectively, have been postponed due to the weather but despite that, the Eagles still sit in fifth place on the table, holding a one-game advantage over a chasing Cooks Hill.
Cooks Hill are realistically the only side with a shot at unseating one of the top five on the table but should they go down to Lambton Jaffas on Saturday, it presents Edgeworth with a golden opportunity.
Should they win at home and Cooks Hill lose, the result will see Edgeworth push their competition points margin out to six with a game in hand, likely securing a top five finish.
Standing in their way though is an unpredictable Olympic side, one that came extremely close to defeating Broadmeadow Magic last week away from home before going down 2-1 but roared back into form last night with a stunning 5-2 win over BelSwans.
Olympic have, despite only managing five wins this year, been a side that has been hard to put away, managing six draws across the season to see them sitting seven points clear of relegation.
Their 7-1 win over Charlestown plus their win over BelSwans shows how dangerous they can be on their day and while they are very unlikely to make finals, one more win will likely be enough to secure their NPL spot in 2027.
Given their record, they will be more than a match for the Eagles, with even a draw likely proving a valuable result in the context of their season.
Kahibah FC v Belmont Swansea United
Fred Wright Oval, Sunday 3pm
Kahibah FC will look to find a way out of the relegation zone when they face off against Belmont Swansea United at Fred Wright Oval in the final match of the weekend.
The last time the two sides played was one of the most entertaining fixtures across the entire season with the 6-3 win to BelSwans showcasing some of the best attacking football the competition has to offer.
BelSwans until last night had not played in nearly a month, their matches against Edgeworth and Olympic were both postponed due to the weather.
The side finally returned to the field on Wednesday night, going down 5-2 to a firing Olympic, their performance showing a side with a lot of cobwebs to blow out but given their form all season, BelSwans won’t let that result breeze by them.
The Michael Stafford-coached side will have good reason to be up for this match, with the long gap between games seeing Weston and Maitland climb over them on the table.
Despite sitting second from the bottom in the relegation play-off zone, Kahibah have certainly not been resting on their laurels trying to get out of that position and secure a second year in the NPL.
Despite losing their last four consecutive games, the results against Adamstown, Valentine and Edgeworth have been tight affairs, with the side producing some brilliant football against Weston last week despite going down 5-2 thanks to a dominant first half from the hosts.
Even a draw at this point would be a handy result for the NPL newcomers, as they look to expand a buffer between them and Charlestown, the side also boasting a similarly tough run home with matches against the Magpies, Magic and Cooks Hill following this clash.