Match of the Round
Cooks Hill United FC 0-4 Valentine FC
Valentine FC coach Kallum Garbett commended his team’s dominance after they scored a thumping 4-0 win away from home against Cooks Hill United on Saturday.
The Phoenix took down Cooks Hill at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field thanks to two goals either side of half time from Dean Pettit and Hiroumi Ikeda that helped secure their first win of the season.
D.Pettit thought he had opened the scoring in the 17th minute when he found the back of the net, but he was ruled to have been offside.
But there was no denying him in the 37th minute as he charged in behind onto a pass played through by his brother Scott Pettit and buried his one-on-one chance to complete a classy eight-pass play that started at the other end of the field with Valentine’s keeper Brodie Volkiene.
The Phoenix doubled their advantage less than two minutes after play had restarted when Ikeda got onto a curling Dean Pettit corner kick and headed the visitors out to a 2-0 lead.
It remained that way at the break and Ikeda needed just three minutes to complete his brace in the second stanza when D.Pettit whipped in another corner from the left and the defender tapped it in at the back stick.
D.Pettit then completed the scoring with the goal of the game in the 57th minute as he dribbled past four players and picked out the bottom-left corner with a shot from outside the box.
The fact that the visitors held their focus for the full 90 minutes and were able to keep their first clean sheet of the campaign was one of the most impressive aspects of the win for Garbett, who celebrated his first victory as an NPLM NNSW head coach.
“Felt pretty good. It’s always nice to get that first one across the line,” Garbett said.
“The boys are pretty stoked, especially with the way we were able to go on with it.
“We’ve been getting into positions in games where we’ve been leading but let the other team get back into it, so I was really happy that the boys were able to shut the door and go on with it, getting those extra couple of goals after half-time and putting it to bed rather than leaving it in the balance.
“Keeping a clean sheet as well was a real positive.”
For Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich, he was left feeling the most disappointed he can remember since taking over at the club three seasons ago.
“I’ve got to say it’s probably the worst performance from a Cooks Hill team since I’ve been here, to be honest. I wasn’t happy at all,” Zoricich said.
“Result aside, the performance wasn’t anywhere near the standards required of a Cooks Hill player. We’ve set standards since I’ve been here, and in the past two seasons the players have always met those standards even though technically they weren’t quite up to the standard required to be a top four team in this league. They still gave me everything else they had though, and unfortunately (against Valentine) I just didn’t see that.
“For me, that’s a concern because we’ve done it twice now. Weston away was another example.
“I got a response after that game, but we can’t be a team that one week gives it and the next week doesn’t.
“It’s concerning for me as a coach and we have to make that right pretty quickly.”
Zoricich’s men will get a chance to turn things around on Friday night when they host Adamstown Rosebud, who is one spot ahead of them on the table in sixth place.
Valentine is now eighth and is eager to keep climbing when they host Edgeworth Eagles at Croudace Bay Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Charlestown Azzurri 1-1 Lambton Jaffas
Two coaches were proud of their sides’ efforts after Charlestown Azzurri and Lambton Jaffas contested a 1-1 draw at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday.
Azzurri went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead after Harrison Frendo got onto the end of a curling Matt Hoole cross and headed home the opener in the 35th minute.
They could have been further ahead after two other goals were ruled out for offside.
Lambton had not scored in eight consecutive halves of football heading into the second stanza but that all changed in superb fashion in the 66th minute when Pat Bond unleashed a powerful strike from distance that locked the score up at 1-1.
The Jaffas pushed hard to find a winner and produce their second victory of the season, but it was not to be as the two sides shared the points.
For Lambton boss David Tanchevski, it was the performance he had been searching for following several tough injury-affected weeks.
“I thought it was probably our best game of football so far this season to be honest,” Tanchevski said.
“I thought our ball movement was good and I thought we probably had more possession in the game.
“We probably need to tighten up our defence at times though. We got caught on the counterattack too many times and gave them a few too many chances, and we need to be better at transitioning.
“If the boys keep improving with the ball and fixing those little things up, we’ll get to where we need to be.”
For Charlestown’s coach James Pascoe, the way his men battled until the end through a mixture of sickness and injury was impressive, as was the way they stayed calm when key decisions went against them.
“I’m pretty happy with our first half, but we probably didn’t quite manage to take the chances that we created,” Pascoe said.
“We just didn’t quite have enough people right at 100% match intensity and fitness to see out a strong 90, unfortunately.
“The Jaffas’ goal was a world-class goal.”
Charlestown and Lambton are now fourth and 10th on the table, respectively and are each back in action on Saturday when Jaffas travel to Rockwell Automation Park to challenge Weston while Azzurri host Belmont Swansea United.
Adamstown Rosebud FC 0-4 Edgeworth Eagles
Edgeworth Eagles produced their most dominant victory of the season to remain the only unbeaten team in the competition after they scored a 4-0 win away from home against Adamstown Rosebud on Friday night.
The Eagles entered the break ahead 1-0 at Adamstown Oval following Flynn Goodman’s classy individual effort in the 26th minute.
They then doubled their lead 12 minutes into the second stanza when Joe Melmeth netted his first goal of the season with a tap-in after a Ryan Feutz strike deflected into his path.
Feutz made it 3-0 in the 64th minute with a powerful volley from close range before Jose Atayde completed the scoring in the 73rd minute with his first of the season after getting onto the end of a Joe Smith cutback.
Edgeworth’s coach Peter McGuinness was impressed with the way his men competed against an opposition side that he believes is on the rise.
“I think it was a solid performance for 90 minutes,” McGuinness said.
“We had to be pretty disciplined with how we played against a team from Adamstown that is way over and above what they have been in recent years. I have to give credit to them; they are very well-organised, they’re very dangerous on counters and set pieces, and their structures are good.
“They fight to the end as well. Even towards the end of the game they were rushing to get the ball in play to try to get something out of it, which is a credit to their coaching staff.
“For us, it was important we kept a clean sheet, and doing that was a bit of a reward for the boys’ discipline and focus for the full 90 minutes.”
Edgeworth are now second following that win and they will travel to Croudace Bay Complex to challenge Valentine this Sunday.
Adamstown are still sixth following the loss and are now four points outside the top five. They have another Friday night fixture this week when they travel to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field to challenge Cooks Hill United.
Belmont Swansea United 1-2 Broadmeadow Magic
Belmont Swansea United head coach Mick Stafford and his players were heartbroken when the full-time whistle sounded at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday afternoon after conceding two penalties and giving up a late lead in a 2-1 defeat against Broadmeadow Magic.
Each side created several chances in the first half but could not capitalise as the score was locked 0-0 at the break.
It was BelSwans who struck first 30 minutes into the second stanza when Kane Woolston got in behind the Magic defence and onto a long Cameron Lodge throw-in before squaring a pass to Adam Woodbine, who fired the ball into the bottom-left corner.
Broadmeadow’s goalkeeper Lewis Alvarez had made several crucial saves before the opener but was unable to keep the hosts out from close range.
But Alvarez helped create the equaliser in the 78th minute when he caught a corner kick and launched the ball upfield into the path of Jarred Baker, who was brought down in the box by BelSwans’ keeper Kye Abrahams inside the penalty area and then converted the penalty.
Another penalty was awarded to Magic four minutes later when Ben Diamond was judged to have been brought down illegally by Sam Kirk, much to the bewilderment of the home side’s players and bench.
Abrahams dived the right way again but Baker was too good once more as he put his side ahead 2-1.
BelSwans had a late penalty shout of their own in injury time when Woolston hit the deck, but it was waved away and Magic held on to prevail 2-1.
The home side’s coach was proud of his team’s efforts despite the loss.
“To present ourselves so well and compete against the well-respected best team in the division for 90 minutes, I’m very pleased as a coach and I couldn’t ask much more of the players,” Stafford said.
“Two years ago we came second last in Northern League One, and now we have a quality group of boys and we’re backed by a strong committee, and we were able to push a quality opponent all the way.
“It was probably one of the best games we’ve played in two years and we lost. We just have to take positives out of it and move forward quickly.”
BelSwans have now lost two on the trot and have dropped to ninth. They will be looking to bounce back this Saturday when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to challenge Charlestown Azzurri.
Magic is still first on the table and has now turned their attention to a blockbuster derby at Magic Park this Sunday when they welcome Newcastle Olympic to town.
Maitland FC 3-5 Newcastle Olympic FC
It was goals galore at Cooks Square Park on Sunday afternoon as Newcastle Olympic came from behind to defeat Maitland FC 5-3 in the highest-scoring game of the season so far.
It was also another day to forget for the Magpies, who had suffered a 5-1 loss just eight days earlier and thought they had turned a corner as they led 3-1 on the half-hour mark before conceding two more goals either side of the break.
A Nick Cowburn volley from the edge of the area put the hosts ahead in the eighth minute before Daniel McFarlane picked out the bottom-right corner to double their lead in the 16th.
Nathan Toby pulled one back for Olympic less than a minute after play restarted, but McFarlane restored the two-goal advantage for Maitland as he slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner in the 29th minute.
Maitland was determined to not let another 3-1 lead slip at home as they had done against Valentine in round one, but that is exactly what happened as Kale Bradbery set up Toby’s second in the 37th minute and then equalised himself in the 39th to make the half-time score 3-3.
The excitement continued in the second stanza as Adam Zervas gave Olympic their first lead just 30 seconds after play restarted as he intercepted a Maitland pass in the middle third and charged away before blasting the ball in off the left post, and the home side’s keeper Matt Trott was then called into action four times in the following four minutes.
Another Zervas intercept led to Olympic’s next goal in the 68th minute and this time the midfielder provided the assist as he got onto a Jye Rodway pass down the right edge and cut the ball across to Bradbery for his second tap-in of the game.
That made the score 5-1 and it remained that way when the full-time whistle sounded to complete a successful return to Cooks Square Park for former Magpies boss and current Olympic co-coach Mick Bolch.
Maitland dropped to 11th after the loss and will return home this Saturday for a bottom-of-the-table clash against 12th-placed New Lambton.
Olympic are now fifth and will challenge first-placed Broadmeadow away at Magic Park this Sunday.
New Lambton FC 1-5 Weston Bears
Chris Hatfield netted the first hat-trick of the 2025 campaign to lead the Weston Bears to a 5-1 victory over New Lambton FC at Alder Park on Sunday afternoon.
A match that only produced one goal in the opening hour of play exploded to life in the 65th minute when Kent Harrison equalised for the hosts with a bullet free-kick.
Weston’s Aaron Niyonkuru had opened the scoring three minutes from half-time with a sensational free-kick of his own to give his side a 1-0 lead at the break, but Harrison got his side level 20 minutes into the second stanza with a powerful strike from a similar spot that cannoned off the crossbar and in.
A Dylan Christoffersen foul inches outside the area at the other end just 40 seconds after play had restarted gifted Weston another free kick in a dangerous area.
The Golden Eagles were reduced to 10 men when Giles Harrison received his marching orders for a second bookable offence before it could be taken.
Burke Fahling then rubbed salt into the wounds as he picked out the bottom-right corner with a stunning curling free kick to put Weston ahead 2-1.
The in-form Bears then pounced on the wounded Golden Eagles outfit as Hatfield scored from close range in the 77th and 87th minutes following classy build-up work from teammates.
The competition’s leading scorer then put an exclamation mark on the victory with his third goal, which was a long-range rocket almost two minutes into injury time as the Bears ran away with their second 5-1 win on the trot.
Weston climbed into third place on the table off the back of their third straight victory and they will be looking to extend that streak to four when they host Lambton Jaffas at Rockwell Automation Park this Saturday.
New Lambton are still last without a point and will travel to Cooks Square Park to challenge Maitland FC on Saturday.