Match of the Round
Valentine FC 1-3 Newcastle Olympic FC
Newcastle Olympic coach Paul DeVitis was thrilled with his side’s ability to bounce back with a 3-1 victory over Valentine FC at Croudace Bay Complex on Saturday.
Olympic returned to winning ways and climbed back into the top five as they set the tone early on laid the platform for the positive performance against the Phoenix.
The visitors were forced to come from behind after Valentine opened the scoring in the 19th minute when a long ball upfield from Brodie Volkiene was not dealt with by the Olympic defence and allowed Campbell Ross to get one-on-one with Adam Pearce.
But Olympic responded just five minutes later when Jared Muller played a pass into the path of Ben Hay just outside the 18-yard box and the midfielder produced a cracking strike that left Volkiene with no chance.
The two sides were still locked at 1-1 at the half-time break and it remained that way until the hour-mark before Kale Bradbery got in behind the Valentine defence and onto a Hay pass before picking out the bottom-right corner.
Valentine pushed hard to find an equaliser but the task at hand got much trickier in the 77th minute when Carl Thornton was sent off for bringing down Muller as he charged away towards goal.
The hosts were still up for the battle with 10 men and they played some of their best football after the red card, but Olympic killed the game off in the 89th minute when Muller headed home a miscued Bradbery volley to make the final score 3-1.
For DeVitis, his side’s start to the contest was their best so far this season.
“I thought we played really well in the first half with good tempo and high energy early,” DeVitis said.
“I wanted a faster start and I’m very happy with the way the boys responded.
“We created probably a dozen good chances inside the 18 that we didn’t capitalise on before they sucker-punched us with what was a terrible goal to concede.
“To the boys’ credit though, a goal down after dominating, we stuck to the plan and got our reward through a great goal from Benny Hay.
“At half-time, we spoke about the need to keep pushing the intensity because it looked like that was working quite well for us.
“Once we got the second goal, our game management probably wasn’t good enough. They got a player sent off, and to be fair to them, the last 20 minutes they pushed really hard and played probably the best they did all game.
“It was a bit nervy at times in that last 10 minutes until we got that third goal.
“Overall, it was a good performance that we can build on for the next game.”
The victory was Olympic’s second of the season and they are now fourth on the table after four rounds, two points behind Broadmeadow and Charlestown who lead the way with nine, while Valentine is still winless and ranked 11th.
With this weekend being a designated washout weekend, neither club will be in action.
The two sides will each be away from home the following weekend in round five when Valentine travel to No.2 Sportsground to challenge Cooks Hill United on Saturday, March 22, before Olympic line up against Maitland at Cooks Square Park the following day.
Broadmeadow Magic 3-2 Charlestown Azzurri
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jim Cresnar thought his side stood strong in an entertaining 3-2 win over Charlestown Azzurri at Magic Park on Sunday.
The 2024 double winners not only ended Azzurri’s undefeated start to the campaign but also replaced them at the top of the table as they stretched their winning run to three matches.
The visitors only had one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes and they put it away to lead 1-0 at the break.
Regan Lundy tapped the ball into an empty net on the half-hour mark after he intercepted a Jarred Baker pass on halfway and played the ball in behind the Magic defence into the path of Harrison Frendo before Frendo squared it back to him in the box for the simplest of finishes.
Magic created eight shots in the first half but were unable to find the back of the net.
But they only needed four minutes in the second stanza to get on the scoresheet as Will Ingram brought them back level with a clinical finish through traffic in the box into the bottom-right corner.
Baker set that goal up with a cross and he continued to make amends for his first half mistake with a quickfire double in the 70th and 74th minutes to make the score 3-1.
A Matt Hoole left-footed screamer into the top-left corner from just outside the box gave Azzurri a chance of stealing a point, but Magic held them out to win 3-2.
Cresnar thought his side were solid in what was an entertaining contest.
“There are areas that we need to work on, but overall, it was a solid performance,” Cresnar said.
“I think the game was entertaining for the spectators. Plenty of goals and opportunities.
“They dominated parts of the game as well but we were good enough to get the result.”
Magic and Azzurri both have this weekend off and will be back in action on Saturday, March 22, when Charlestown host Lambton at Lisle Carr Oval and Broadmeadow travel to Blacksmiths Oval to challenge Belmont Swansea United.
Belmont Swansea United 1-3 Cooks Hill United
Cooks Hill United coach Chris Zoricich got what he was looking for from his men as they kicked off the round with a 3-1 victory away from home against Belmont Swansea on Friday night.
After being thumped 4-0 by Weston a week earlier, Zoricich had demanded an improved performance and was delighted with the manner in which side responded at Blacksmiths Oval.
Cody Nancarrow put the visitors in front in the ninth minute when he controlled a Liam Wilson inside the box before spinning and driving his shot into the top-left corner.
Half an hour later Nancarrow made it 2-0 when he charged onto a Kai Bradley pass in behind and calmly slotted his one-on-one chance.
Cooks Hill entered half-time with a two-goal advantage and they tripled their lead in the 71st minute when Bradley stormed onto a Nancarrow cutback and blasted his shot into the bottom-left corner.
The hosts refused to go down without a fight and they pulled one back in the 76th minute when Reece Newton scored into an empty net after his initial strike was saved by Kye Abrahams, but 3-1 was the way it remained at full-time.
“It was a positive result, especially after last week,” Zoricich said.
“I asked the boys to step up and show me that the week before was just a bit of a hiccup, and luckily enough we did that at a tough place to go. It was pleasing.”
The two teams both have this weekend off and will host home games in round five on Saturday, March 22. BelSwans will welcome Broadmeadow Magic to town while Cooks Hill meet Valentine at No.2 Sportsground.
New Lambton FC 2-4 Edgeworth Eagles
Edgeworth Eagles coach Peter McGuinness thought his side’s second half performance at Alder Park on Saturday afternoon was the best 45-minute period they had put together so far this year as they outclassed New Lambton FC 4-2.
McGuinness also commended New Lambton, who he said deserved their early lead and probably deserved to be in front at the break.
The Golden Eagles hit the front early for the second week in a row against one of the 2024 grand finalists when Zach Verhoven floated in a cross from the right and Cameron Howard stormed onto it and smashed a volley into the bottom-right corner in the 23rd minute.
But the 2024 golden boot winner Ryan Feutz equalised 11 minutes later with a powerful strike from just inside the box into the bottom-left corner.
Teammate Flynn Goodman curled in a stunning strike from the left edge in the 40th minute to make the score 2-1 as heavy rain fell.
Edgeworth looked set to go into the break with that lead before Verhoven equalised seconds into injury time with a bullet from just outside the box into the bottom-left corner.
The Eagles regained their one-goal advantage on the hour-mark when a Feutz goal-bound header was turned in by New Lambton’s Caleb Reed for an own goal.
The Edgeworth striker completed both his brace and the scoring six minutes later when he charged onto a Goodman pass and calmly slotted his one-on-one strike to make the score 4-2.
Following this weekend’s break, Edgeworth will be back in action when they travel to Adamstown Oval to challenge Adamstown Rosebud and New Lambton will be back at Alder Park when they host Weston Bears.
Lambton Jaffas FC 0-1 Adamstown Rosebud FC
Adamstown Rosebud continued their impressive resurgence with a 1-0 win over Lambton Jaffas at Arthur Edden Oval on Sunday.
The victory was their second in four matches this season, already matching their total wins from the entire 2024 campaign.
Rosebud also secured their first clean sheet since the final round of the 2023 season, marking an impressive turnaround for a side that conceded 11 goals in their first three matches this year and ended the previous campaign being outscored 22-0 across their last six games before narrowly surviving a relegation playoff.
Adamstown opened the scoring on the half-hour mark after one of their 2025 recruits Taj Buck skinned Jaffas' defender Riley McNaughton in the box and left him on the grass before squaring the ball into the middle, only for it to rebound off Zachery McShane into his own net.
The visitors created several chances to kill the game off in the second stanza but the score remained 1-0 when the final whistle sounded as their defence stood tall against a desperate Lambton side who were searching for their first goal since round one.
With two wins in four matches, momentum is building for an Adamstown side that are now fifth on the table. They will face their toughest test so far this season in round five when they host Edgeworth at Adamstown Oval in round five.
Jaffas are now scoreless in three straight matches and are 10th on the table. They will be looking to turn their season around when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to challenge Charlestown Azzurri.
Weston Bears FC v Maitland FC
The match was postponed due to wet weather.