Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic FC 2-3 Maitland FC
Newcastle Olympic coach Michael Bolch believes his side will take some vital lessons from their heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Maitland FC at Darling Street Oval on Saturday evening.
The opening passages of the match saw the hosts attempt to launch long-range attacks and try to catch Maitland in the back third, but the Magpies held out well, using the width to turn the tide as the match approached the half-hour mark.
With the game coming down to who took their chances, an Olympic tackle on James Thompson in the box gave the visitors the first goal, with prolific striker Braedyn Crowley making no mistakes from the spot.
The hosts looked to have equalised in the 34th minute if not for an offside call but continued to pepper Magpies goalkeeper Taylor Pate.
The visitors pulled further ahead through a second goal to Crowley in the 43rd minute, going into the break with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, Olympic striker Will Southcombe made himself busy in the front third, with the rest of his side upping the pressure.
Their efforts were rewarded in the 59th minute, with a Ben Hay cross finding a Southcombe header to pull one back for the hosts.
The score galvanised Olympic, as five minutes later, a cross from Nathan Toby found defender Kierry James, who buried it in the back of the net.
As the clock ran into injury time, a corner at the other end of the field saw James Thompson complete a long return from injury and a big day in defence with a critical goal to hand his side their second win of the season.
Bolch believes that while his side picked up some vital lessons that they will take forward, their shortcomings against Maitland in the first half ultimately proved their undoing.
“I thought we did enough to get something out of the game, especially with our effort in the second half,” Bolch said.
“Having said that, we were second best in the first half. We probably showed them a bit too much respect and stood off them in the first half, I thought we rectified that in the second half.
“They do move the ball very well. They've got good rotations.
“[When] we pressed hard on them, a lot of pressure on the ball, I think we play our best football like that, so you'll probably see a bit more of that from us moving forward.
“You've got to take the positives out of every game, and I think the second half showed myself and the team what football we need to be playing moving forward.
“We've done a lot of work on defensive structures, and they've been a little bit shackled, probably the best word for it.
“All you can do is go out and chase the game, and I thought we played ourselves really well in the second half.”
Maitland captain Braedyn Crowley was impressed that his team dug deep and pulled out a win after a disrupted week of preparation, with players sidelined by illness.
“It's been a bit of a difficult week,” Crowley said.
“Sometimes in games you need a bit of mongrel in you. After last week's result against Valentine, it was good to score a winner and show that if you keep working, you can come away with the result.
“You've got to be switched on at all times in 90 minutes. In games this year, we've been one of the more dominant teams, but then we have lapses and concede one or two goals. It's tough to take sometimes.
“[Olympic] came out and put a bit of pressure on us. We're a fairly young team, [we’ve] got to learn that if we concede a goal, just keep playing the brand of football that we want to play.”
Maitland will return home to welcome Kahibah FC to Cooks Square Park on Saturday, while Olympic will travel up the road to face Cooks Hill United FC at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field the same day.
Charlestown Azzurri FC 1-0 Kahibah FC
Charlestown Azzurri FC’s assistant coach Scott McCarter believes the Blues need to keep working hard and respect every opponent they face, as his young outfit continued a strong start to the season with a well-fought 1-0 win over Kahibah FC on Sunday.
From the start, it was a tight contest, with both sides using their attacking weapons to create chances, only to be repeatedly frustrated by well-organized defences.
It would not be until stoppage time in the first half that the hosts would finally get on the board, as defender Kieran Hayes headed a brilliant corner into the back of the net and sent Charlestown into the break leading 1-0.
Kahibah came out the more disciplined side in the second half, fixing up their defensive lapses and looking to make use of counterattack.
With neither side able to find a second goal, the visitors unloaded their bench in the last 15 minutes, hoping to try and force an equaliser.
The momentum proved effective, with the Rams asking more questions but Blues goalkeeper Samuel Esquilant kept his side in the match, delivering several quality saves.
In the end, after five minutes of stoppage time, the visitors were unable to find that crucial goal, with the win seeing the Blues jump up to third on the ladder.
Despite the strong results in the opening month of the competition, McCarter believes a grounded approach will work best for the young outfit.
“It was a tough game. It was, in a way, what we expected,” McCarter said.
“We could have been a little bit better today in terms of trying to control the game a lot better in the second half, but it has been a focus for us, particularly after the Jaffas game.
“They [Kahibah] made us work extremely hard in the second half. I think there are no easy points in this league. The results over the last couple of weekends have definitely shown that.
“[For Charlestown], everyone's just got to keep working hard. I think we've got to respect every opponent. There's no easy game.
“If you're not on it and you're not focused, anybody can take points off anybody.”
Charlestown will have a tight five-day turnaround as they prepare to welcome Belmont Swansea United FC on Friday, while Kahibah will have a six-day turnaround and face a tough assignment when they face Maitland FC on Saturday night.
Edgeworth Eagles FC 2-1 Valentine FC
Edgeworth Eagles FC have continued their undefeated run but were asked plenty of questions in their 2-1 win over an improving Valentine FC on Friday night.
After a level opening quarter, the Eagles gradually gained the upper hand, forcing Valentine to play deeper and taking six first-half shots on goal compared to just two for the visitors.
It culminated in a goal to Reece McManus in the 43rd minute but the hosts wouldn’t have the lead for long.
Catching the Eagles off guard at the back, Valentine striker Kurtis White lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Ben Conway, with a header securing the goal and seeing the sides head into the sheds locked up 1-1.
The second half saw the action continue in the midfield as the Eagles tried to work themselves back into the game but being well met by a resilient Valentine defence.
As the half went on, the Phoenix began to break out of their half and started asking more questions of the Eagles' defence.
But a 76th-minute free kick proved devastating for the visitors. Aaron Niyonkuru’s strike bounced off goalkeeper Shayne Van As, and midfielder Aden Gardner pounced on the loose ball to give the Eagles a crucial match-winning goal.
The visitors tried for a late surge in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles held on to win.
Valentine will continue on the road next week, enjoying an eight-day turnaround as they prepare to face Lambton Jaffas FC. Edgeworth will travel to face Adamstown Rosebud FC on Friday night.
Weston Bears FC 2-0 Cooks Hill United FC
Weston Bears FC have pulled one point clear at the top of the table, as they overcame a determined Cooks Hill United FC side 2-0 at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium on Saturday.
Fresh off a big win over Belmont Swansea United last week, the Bears picked up where they left off in the fifth minute, with midfielder Chris Hurley delivering a brilliant corner that bounced off the post, Caylan Law capitalising to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The Bears continued to press the advantage, pinning Cookers back in their own half and forcing the visitors to play deeper. But despite 11 shots on goal, the hosts couldn’t find their second, the sides heading into the break with 1-0 lead.
The scoreline didn’t remain that way for long, with Hurley benefiting from a defensive error from Cooks Hill to score a brilliant goal from outside the box in the 50th minute.
Cookers held off the hosts’ relentless attack for the remainder of the half. The Bears managed another 13 shots on goal but were never able to threaten.
Weston will look to solidify their table position when they take on defending champions Broadmeadow Magic FC at home on Sunday, while Cooks Hill will return home to face Newcastle Olympic FC on Saturday.
Broadmeadow Magic FC 2-2 Belmont Swansea United FC
Belmont Swansea United FC have bounced back from back-to-back defeats but were unable to pull off an upset against reigning champions Broadmeadow Magic in a bruising 2-2 draw at Magic Park on Saturday.
The visitors' dangerous counterattack was felt early as a brilliant Andrew McGee through ball in the 10th minute saw Marco Gueli in a one-on-one with Jeremiah Cleur, the striker tying the Magic goalkeeper in knots to score his side’s first.
But the hosts showed why they are the reigning champions, with a well-built-up passage of play seeing Luis Lara Delgado return fire in the 18th minute.
The scoreline would remain 1-1 at half-time, with a frenetic second quarter seeing both sides try to outmuscle each other.
The second half saw the contest grow only more intense, with both sides trading shots on goal.
But it would be BelSwans who would break the deadlock, with McGee delivering a skidding strike into the bottom left corner in the 51st minute.
Magic equalised almost immediately, with Jack Simmons capping off a busy afternoon in the midfield with a contender for goal of the year off a free kick.
The physical contest culminated in a tackle between BelSwans’ Ethan Hall and Magic’s Ezra Palombini in the 73rd minute, seeing both players promptly shown red cards.
Despite efforts from both sides, neither could be separated after five minutes of stoppage time, seeing the sides leave Magic Park with a point each.
Magic face a tough assignment when they head to Weston to face the Bears on Sunday, while BelSwans will have a six-day turnaround before travelling to face Charlestown Azzurri FC on Friday night.
Adamstown Rosebud FC v Lambton Jaffas FC
This match was abandoned due to floodlight failure.