NPL Men’s NNSW Round 22 Preview: Olympic, Magpies battle to maintain finals places
Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic v Maitland FC
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 2pm
Newcastle Olympic will look to return to winning ways and maintain their place in the top five when they welcome table-toppers Maitland to Darling Street on Sunday afternoon.
Newcastle Olympic are locked in a three-way battle for fifth spot on the table, with Valentine level on 28 points with Olympic and Edgeworth close behind on 26, though the Eagles have a match in hand.
Olympic are fresh from a thrilling draw against reigning premiers Lambton Jaffas last weekend, with substitute Vince Unie salvaging a point with an injury-time goal to see his side cling to fifth for another week.
Maitland, like Olympic, played out a nail-biting epic against Broadmeadow Magic last weekend. Star striker James Thompson helped his side come away with all three points with an injury-time winner to secure the top spot on the table.
The Magpies now have their sights set on the premiership and will have the opportunity to skip four points clear of second-placed Broadmeadow Magic who have the bye.
A first half hat-trick from talisman Braedyn Crowley helped Maitland to a 4-2 victory when the Magpies last met Newcastle Olympic in round 11.
Maitland assistant coach Gav Wolfe said he had plenty of respect for Newcastle Olympic and their results this season.
“[Olympic] have had some reasonable results these last few weeks,” Wolfe said.
“I even refer to the [Australia Cup] game against Melbourne City. Joel Griffiths’ boys did a great job against Melbourne City, particularly in the second half where they played really strong. We expect them to be reasonably confident despite the fact they got beat in the [NPL Men’s NNSW against Adamstown Rosebud two weeks ago].
“We expect Olympic to bounce back and be strong. What we do know from Joel Griffiths is that his team is very young and very mobile. They have Jarred Muller and Kent Harrison up top and they are incredibly dangerous. We are going to need to be on our toes to get the points from Olympic.”
Cooks Hill United v Edgeworth FC
Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field, Saturday 6.30pm
Cooks Hill United will look to deliver what could be a fatal blow to Edgeworth's finals aspirations when they meet on Saturday night.
Cooks Hill have developed into an exciting attacking force in the league as they approach the conclusion of their first year in the top flight NPL Men’s NNSW.
While a finals berth is out of their grasp for this season Cooks Hill have registered 30 goals to highlight the firepower the team possesses.
Dave Tanchevski’s men have firmly left their poor start to the season behind them and have now collected four victories to move them to ninth on the table.
Edgeworth are still alive in the race for a spot in the finals, with Peter McGuiness’ side sitting in seventh place on 26 points, two points behind fifth-placed Newcastle Olympic.
The Eagles are part of the three-team log jam fighting for fifth spot on the table and have a match in hand but will need to regularly collect three points in their final fixtures to keep pace with Valentine and Newcastle Olympic.
Edgeworth will be without strike forward Sascha Montefiore due to suspension while Archie Finn will also be absent due to an ankle injury. Exciting young gun Jarryd Sutherland’s season is over after he suffered a broken kneecap.
Edgeworth’s Will Bower helped his side to a commanding 3-1 victory courtesy of a first-half brace when they last met Cooks Hill in round 11.
McGuiness said his side were preparing for a big three weeks as they search for a spot in the finals.
“The boys enjoyed the weekend off to freshen up. It’s going to be a big three weeks,” McGuiness said.
“It starts this weekend against Cooks Hill. Cooks Hill has played well and got good results lately, so we will need to be on top of our game if we are to come away with the three points.
“I have a lot of confidence in our group at the moment as they are training and playing with great intent. This weekend, we will be ready to play.”
Lambton Jaffas v Adamstown Rosebud
Arthur Edden Oval, Sunday 2pm
Lambton Jaffas coach Shane Pryce says his side will be wary of a rejuvenated Adamstown Rosebud outfit when they meet on Sunday.
Lambton will rue the result that got away following their draw against Newcastle Olympic last weekend. Olympic’s last gasp equaliser prevented the Jaffas from moving to second place on the table, missing the chance to draw level with leaders Maitland.
Despite sharing the points at Darling Street Oval last weekend Jaffas are still well and truly on the hunt for back-to-back premierships and will see this weekend as a big opportunity to leapfrog second-placed Broadmeadow Magic who have the bye.
Adamstown Rosebud finally bucked the trend to secure their first victory of the season against Lake Macquarie in round 20 and then followed that result with a gutsy 2-1 victory over Newcastle Olympic.
The consecutive victories lifted Rosebud from the bottom of the table into 10th spot and they will be looking to keep it that way when they meet the reigning premiers at Arthur Edden Oval.
Jaffas were lucky to escape with three points when they last met Rosebud in round 11, with the reigning premiers grinding out a 2-1 victory at Adamstown Oval.
Pryce said his team still had eyes on this year's premiership but the 10th-placed Adamstown Rosebud would not be an easy task.
“It’s always a goal for the players and club [to win the premiership],” Pryce said.
“Adamstown beat Olympic [two weeks ago] and we had a draw against Olympic last week, so you have to turn up. You have to respect the opposition. You can get found out pretty quickly if you believe in yourself or pump yourself up too much.
“We have to turn up because they have a job to do and just see if you can win on the day, that’s how it is.”
Charlestown Azzurri v Valentine FC
Lisle Carr Oval, Sunday 2pm
Charlestown Azzurri will look to find the form which saw them go on a 14-game unbeaten streak earlier in the season when they welcome Valentine to Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday.
Azzurri had occupied the top spot on the table for the majority of the season before enduring a month of tough results which yielded just one victory and saw them slip to fourth.
Azzurri coach Graham Law conceded following their loss to Broadmeadow Magic last outing that their aspirations for this year's premiership may be out of reach but instead have set their sights on taking home the championship.
Valentine steadied the ship after consecutive losses with a come-from-behind victory against Weston last weekend. The victory saw Adam Hughes’ men move to 28 competition points, level with fifth-placed Newcastle Olympic.
In a boost for Valentine, Hughes will welcome back Nick Cowburn, Nicholas Martinelli and Joey Cacic to their squad for Sunday’s match. While Azzurri will be without mid-season recruit Taylor Regan due to suspension.
Charlestown Azzurri ran out convincing winners when they last met Valentine in round 11, coming away with three points following a 4-0 victory.
Law said despite his side suffering a slight slump in form of late he was confident they could return to winning ways this weekend.
“Our spirits are up and we have been able to concentrate on a few things,” Law said.
“We have had the opportunity to get some good training sessions as of late and we have been able to focus on what we have been doing well and what we need to work on. The boys have been light-hearted and looking forward to this weekend.
“We are aware that everything is still on the table for us. We know we went through a little dip in form but you look at the table and every team has had a dip in form this year.
“Unfortunately we had ours at the later end of the season. The benefit is we have got games to get things right for the finals.”
Weston Workers FC v Lake Macquarie City
Rockwell Automation Park, Sunday 2pm
Weston coach Anthony Richards says his players will be looking to impress in their final games of the season as they look to return to winning ways against Lake Macquarie on Sunday.
Weston will not feature in this year's finals series, with their loss to Valentine last weekend all but sealing their fate. The Bears will instead use the remaining games of the season to launch into the new era under new coach Kew Jaliens next year.
Lakes have sunk to the bottom of the table following Adamstown’s consecutive victories, with Keelan Hamilton's men sitting on seven competition points with two wins.
It has been a tough season for Lakes due to injuries and rain-affected fixtures. Lakes have played 11-midweek games this season due to the persistent rainfall, majorly disrupting their training sessions.
Lakes have welcomed back some much-needed reinforcements recently and will be expecting stalwart Michael Bru, Luke Callen and Riley Tydd to feature on Sunday.
Weston and Lakes played out a seven-goal extravaganza in their last meeting in round 11, with the Bears prevailing 5-2 to take home the three points from Macquarie Field.
Weston coach Anthony Richards said his players still had much to prove.
“If the boys want to continue at Weston next season they will want to perform for the last couple of games,” Richards said.
“We realise Olympic is in the semi-final race but this weekend [against Lakes] will be a tough game as well. Like I said, our players still have to perform and try to get a spot for next year.
“I think Kew Jaliens will be looking at players for next year, so they will have to perform to impress the new coach.”