Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic 2-1 Maitland FC
Newcastle Olympic scored a crucial 2-1 win on home soil as they downed Maitland on Sunday to keep themselves in the hunt for a finals place.
Olympic were desperate to collect three points following Edgeworth's victory the day before to hold onto fifth spot on the table.
Maitland relinquished top spot on the table with the loss, with Lambton Jaffas climbing above them after thrashing Adamstown Rosebud.
Olympic opened the scoring after 10 minutes at Darling Street as the hosts were awarded a penalty for a handball in the penalty area that Jared Muller stepped up and calmly slotted past Maitland goalkeeper Paul Bitz.
Olympic’s lead was threatened multiple times but it was not until the 32nd minute when the visitors found their equaliser, as defender Adam Blunden picked out the bottom right corner after a goalmouth scramble.
Both sides looked threatening when pushing up field but it became obvious that Maitland superstar Braedyn Crowley was playing injured and he struggled to make his usual impact on the game as the score remained 1-1 heading into the break.
Maitland, who had eyes on taking a major step towards sewing up this year's premiership, knew they needed victory to put breathing space between them and Broadmeadow Magic and Lambton Jaffas.
But the task was made greater when Muller beat Will McFarlane to the ball in the Maitland half and cheekily dinked the ball over Bitz for himself to head home comfortably in front of an open goal.
Olympic held onto their 2-1 lead as Maitland struggled to break down the hosts’ defence. McFarlane had a golden opportunity with a free header in the closing stages but was unable to find the mark.
The victory sees Olympic move to 31 competition points and hold onto fifth spot. But Valentine’s victory saw them remain level on points with Edgeworth two points behind, with the Eagles holding a game in hand.
Maitland assistant coach Gav Wolfe said his side still had eyes on the premiership despite the result.
“We were second to the ball all day,” Wolfe said.
“We basically weren’t good enough today. We have had a good couple of weeks against Charlestown and Magic, the boys were full of confidence but unfortunately we just weren't good enough. Credit to Olympic, they took a couple of chances through defences lapses.
“I don’t think we need to change much going into next week. The premiership is still our focus, we have two games and if we win those two games it's ours for the taking so we just have to bounce back next week.
“Credit to Jared Muller, he played really well today and he was a danger up front. We knew how he would be from a planning perspective and he got that second goal with the tough lead up work.”
Cooks Hill United 0-1 Edgeworth FC
Edgeworth kept themselves in touch with the top five thanks to a crucial 1-0 victory over Cooks Hill United on Saturday.
Edgeworth were two points behind sixth-placed Valentine and fifth-placed Newcastle Olympic heading into the weekend, with the Eagles also holding a game in hand.
With finals out of the picture for Cooks Hill the match was about notching as many victories as they can as they approach the end of their first season in the top-flight NPL Men’s NNSW competition.
The first half was a stalemate at Fearnley Dawes but not without chances for either side, with Cooks Hill unable to capitalise despite being awarded seven corners in the first 45 minutes.
Eagles striker Jeremy Brockie was unable to find the target on a breakaway just after the half-hour mark.
It took 53 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, with the Eagles’ Will Bower breaking away down the sideline and producing a tidy finish to give the visitors the lead.
Cooks Hill’s cause was done no favours just minutes later when forward Josh Benson was shown a straight red card for dissent to the referee.
Down to 10 men the hosts faced an uphill battle to try and pinch an equaliser but the Eagles kept the pressure on as they closed in on their ninth win of the season.
The victory keeps Edgeworth well and truly in the race for the finals and coach Peter McGuiness said it was an important result.
“I’m really pleased with the effort the boys put in tonight,” McGuiness said.
“We were under no illusions that we were in for a tough match and it proved to be just that. We knew we had to match them and compete which I thought we did well. Will Bower took his goal well by getting in behind today.
“I thought Jackson Pereira was fantastic in the midfield also today. The result keeps us in amongst the fight for the top five and now we look forward to the Maitland game next week.”
Charlestown Azzurri 0-4 Valentine FC
Valentine secured a massive 4-0 victory over Charlestown on Sunday to continue the rot for Azzurri and remain right in the finals picture.
The defeat was the third on the trot for Charlestown Azzurri as Graham Law’s men now face the almost impossible reality of missing out on the finals if they do not turn their form around in their final outing.
Valentine kept pace with Newcastle Olympic with the victory but remained in sixth spot on the table on goal difference.
Valentine opened the scoring through Ryan Clarke in the opening minute of the game at Lisle Carr Oval as he broke away and rocketed his shot past Azzurri goalkeeper Nathan Archbold.
Valentine doubled their lead just after the half hour mark through Charlie Daniels who collected his maiden goal of the season, giving his side a commanding and deserved 2-0 lead.
The home side's frustration was evident just minutes later when Matt Tull was shown a red card following an entanglement with Valentine captain Harry Lane.
Azzurri entered the second half two goals down and with 10 men on the field, as they desperately looked to avoid their third straight defeat of the season.
But Valentine immediately made Azzurri pay in the opening minute of the second half as Dylan Newbold smashed his shot home to give his side a 3-0 advantage.
Valentine put the result to bed in the 57th minute as Tyrone Mulder got his head to a corner and beat Archbold at his far post.
Valentine coach Adam Hughes said it was an important three points to collect.
“It was a good performance from the players,” Hughes said.
“After weeks of training, you can see what we have been working on and the win keeps us in with a chance for the finals. We just need to continue what we are doing into the last game of the season.
“We just need to keep working hard in these couple of weeks here before our last game and all we can do is go out and win the football match that is in front of us.”
Lambton Jaffas 9-0 Adamstown Rosebud
Lambton Jaffas recorded the largest win in the NPL Men’s NNSW this season, destroying Adamstown Rosebud 9-0 to go top of the table on Sunday.
Jaffas going top of the table made them the fourth team in as many weeks to occupy first spot, showcasing how tight the race for this year's premiership is.
The match also marked the return of inspirational Jaffas defender Josh Piddington, who returned in the second half following a six-week layoff due to a head injury.
The embarrassing loss was Rosebud’s 15th of the season, as they remain in 10th spot on the table, just a point ahead of last-placed Lake Macquarie.
Kale Bradbery opened the scoring in the 10th minute at Arthur Edden Oval as he turned home a low cross from James Virgili. Virgili again turned provider for the second goal as he put Mitch Rooke in the Rosebud penalty area with a clever ball over the top.
Bren Hammel got in the action as he headed home from a corner before Bradbery collected his second goal of the afternoon in the 43rd minute, again courtesy of Virgili.
Jaffas went into the break with a four-goal advantage and Bradbery got the party back underway as he secured his hat-trick in the 54th minute with a sensational strike from outside the penalty area.
Luke Remington made it 6-0 with a great left-footed strike that beat Rosebud keeper Tom Jenkin at his near post before Reece Papas made it 7-0 in the 66th minute.
Virgili would grab one of his own just minutes later before Remington secured his brace in the 74th minute to make it 9-0.
Despite the convincing performance Lambton coach Shane Pryce said his side would not be getting ahead of themselves with the result.
“I’m just pleased that as a team we were focused,” Pryce said.
“We executed what we wanted to do and there was some great combination of play with the boys out there today. They enjoyed their football, when it all comes together it goes really well but when it doesn’t, we struggle. Today was a good day.
“I think we are on the cusp of putting it all together and it was good with two tough games coming up [to get that result]. Everything sort of clicked today and they played some team football but there were some really good individual performances in there as well.”
Weston Workers FC 2-0 Lake Macquarie City
Weston heaped on the misery for Lake Macquarie as the Bears delivered Keelan Hamilton’s side their 15th loss of the season on Sunday.
This match had little impact on the table with Weston not in finals contention and Lakes battling to avoid the wooden spoon.
The Bears are now without marquee off-season signing Moustafa Mohammad after he was released to go back to the Netherlands during the week.
But they did not let the departure of Mohammad dampen their attacking flair, as Aaron Niyonkuru broke the deadlock in the 35th minute with a clever header that beat Lakes goalkeeper Blair Ryan at his far post.
Weston held the one-goal advantage into the half-time break but put the result beyond doubt when Joseph O’Connor scored to double their advantage. The only blemish on the match was an injury to Nathan Morris.
Weston will now enjoy the bye next week before returning for their final match of the season against Newcastle Olympic, while Lakes will turn their attention to a midweek clash against Cooks Hill on Wednesday.
Weston coach Anthony Richards said it was a good victory for the team as they look toward next year.
“Our boys looked better today and they took their chances when they came,” Richards said.
“We played a lot in the last couple of weeks where we have created a lot of chances but we haven’t been able to capitalise on them. We had been switching off at the back but today we did well and put a good consistent game together.
“I thought Ben Clouten was our standout today, he played really well. He played an attacking role on the left side and I thought he looked quite dangerous today and looked good. He started the year for us but then spent most of the year in first grade and he did really well today.”