Match of the Round
Adamstown Rosebud FC 0-4 Weston Bears FC
One of the most successful and respected NPL NNSW coaches has dubbed Weston Bears as “the real deal” this year as he watched on while they dismantled Adamstown Rosebud 4-0 at Adamstown Oval on Friday afternoon.
Former Edgeworth Eagles and Broadmeadow Magic boss Damian Zane, now with the Newcastle Jets, was in commentary for the Match of the Round Anzac Cup clash and was impressed with the Bears’ performance, highlighting that Weston teams of old were known for dropping points in games like that one.
Zane declared that Kew Jaliens’ side are showing consistency that they haven’t in previous years and he labelled them a premiership and championship threat in 2025.
The Bears buried the Buds with an 11-minute first-half flurry to establish an unassailable lead before striking late from the spot to add a fourth.
Their front three continued to prove they are one of the most dangerous trios in the league as Aaron Niyonkuru provided assists for Blake Archbold in the 22nd minute and Chris Hatfield in the 25th.
Archbold’s strike to open the scoring was a cracker from outside the box before Hatfield charged onto a through ball and clinically buried a one-on-one strike to make it 2-0.
Archbold then set up Weston’s third when he got in behind the Adamstown defence and played a pass across the face off the goal to Cooper Buswell, who fired home from close range.
The Bears took that 3-0 lead into half-time and they almost made it 4-0 on the hour-mark, but a curling Burke Fahling strike was superbly saved by Adamstown goalkeeper George Scorer.
But Scorer was unable to keep Hatfield out in the 86th minute as the Weston striker scored a penalty kick after an Adamstown handball that made the final score 4-0.
The Weston coaching staff were blown away by their side’s performance and assistant coach Nathan Morris commended the way everyone played their part to execute the gameplan.
“We executed our plan going into perfection really,” Morris said.
“We kind of had an idea of how the game would go, as we discussed in the preview, with the physicality and the fitness of Adamstown, and we achieved everything we set out to do.
“We controlled the game with and without the ball and we had the polish in front of goal that we lacked against Broadmeadow.
“It was a good day and everyone did their job.
“Adamstown are a very direct side, so Chris Hurley, Mana (Iwasaki) and the wingbacks had to set their lines correctly and be aware of that direct ball, and the midfielders had to be on the same page to win the second one when it does go direct, which they all did.
“We gave them a few little chances early on, but apart from that it was a good, solid defensive performance.
“The guys up front did really well too. Their combination is good. We probably could have had a few more if we were a little bit more clinical though.”
Adamstown’s coach Chris Moylan said in the lead-up to the match that the Buds would need to be at their best or the result would not go their way, which was the way he thought it played out.
“We didn’t play at our best as a team and we had a few players who individually weren’t near their best,” Moylan said.
“As I said in the lead-up though, Weston are good. They were really good and they made us pay.
“One of the downsides of having a youthful team is we make mistakes that compound and lead to goals. In the first half there we made three mistakes in the space of 11 minutes and they scored three goals.
“It’s hard to come back from that, but the boys dug in and fought. We didn’t give it away completely.”
Next up for Adamstown is another home game on Sunday evening when they host Charlestown Azzurri to wrap up round 10.
Weston are in action on Wednesday night when they welcome Lambton Jaffas to Rockwell Automation Park for a rescheduled round six clash before they travel to Jack McLaughlan Oval to face league leaders Edgeworth Eagles on Saturday.
New Lambton FC 2-2 Belmont Swansea United FC
New Lambton FC boss Shane Pryce declared that his side had earned back some of the respect they lost in their two previous outings when they struck late to earn a 2-2 draw against Belmont Swansea United on Friday night.
The two sides met at Alder Park in an Anzac Day clash and the hosts went into half-time with a 1-0 lead after Tapuwanashe Goora beat the offside trap on the half-hour-mark and showed composure as he slotted a one-on-one strike into the bottom right corner.
BelSwans equalised in the 72nd minute when Reece Newton converted a penalty kick that was won by Ethan Hall.
The visitors went ahead with four minutes left in regulation time when New Lambton failed to clear a corner and Joe Kable drove the loose ball into the back of the net.
But Mick Stafford’s men conceded a late equaliser for the second week in a row and were forced to settle for their fifth draw of the season.
It was Samuel Donohoe who scored New Lambton’s second when he got free in the box in injury time and headed home a Kent Harrison corner kick to rescue a point for the hosts.
Pryce was proud of the character and determination his men showed, after ordinary performances in their round eight loss against Valentine and an Hahn Australia Cup exit at the hands of Zone League Two side Croudace Bay United in recent weeks.
“It was a good response to the last two poor performances and I think we earned a bit of respect back with the way we went about the game,” Pryce said.
“That was important, because in the previous games we weren’t up to the standard or level we need to be at as a group. That’s the first half of the Valentine game and then the cup game.
“I was very proud of the response. We were a bit down as a group and we needed confidence, and the boys went out there and gave it their best shot.
“I’m happy for the boys but still disappointed we didn’t get the three points.”
New Lambton will go searching for their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Darling Street Oval to tackle Newcastle Olympic and BelSwans will kick off round 10 when they host Maitland FC at Blacksmiths Oval on Friday night.
Edgeworth Eagles FC 3-0 Newcastle Olympic FC
The biggest question rising from the weekend was can anyone beat the Edgeworth Eagles as Peter McGuinness’ men earned a comfortable 3-0 victory in front of a home crowd over Newcastle Olympic on Saturday afternoon.
A first-half brace from reigning golden boot winner Ryan Feutz at Jack McLaughlan Oval laid the platform for Edgeworth to extend their unbeaten start to the season to nine games and their active winning streak to six.
The gun striker got in behind the Olympic defence twice in the opening 45 minutes as he showed composure to go around Adam Pearce and fire the ball home into an empty net in the 13th minute before he slotted a strike past the goalkeeper and into the bottom-left corner in the 29th minute.
Feutz almost had a third with the last kick of the half but dragged his shot from a tight angle wide and created a few more chances in the second stanza but was unable to convert.
The Eagles did manage to net one more when Jackson Brady curled in a corner in the 73rd minute that defender Xander Woweries volleyed home at the back stick to make the final score 3-0.
Edgeworth are now first on the table after Broadmeadow Magic’s round nine fixture on Sunday was washed out. The Eagles will get a chance to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches this Saturday evening when they return to Jack McLaughlan Oval to host Weston Bears, while Olympic will look to bounce back when they welcome New Lambton FC to Darling Street Oval earlier that afternoon.
Cooks Hill United 1-0 Charlestown Azzurri
Cooks Hill United showed exactly what they are capable of when they took down Charlestown Azzurri 1-0 at the Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field on Saturday evening.
Liam Wilson’s first goal of the season in the 86th minute helped his side secure the three points after he was given far too much time and space just outside the box by the Azzurri defence and made the most of it as he picked out the bottom-right corner.
Charlestown had chances of their own to open the scoring earlier in the match but were kept out by some excellent work between the sticks by Daniel Eisenhauer.
They pushed hard to find an equaliser in the dying stages but were held scoreless for the first time in 2025 as Cooks Hill clinched a 1-0 victory.
It was the first time that Chris Zoricich’s men have kept a clean sheet this season and their fourth win of the campaign saw them finish the weekend in sixth place, just two points outside the top five.
The loss was Azzurri’s second on the trot and they dropped to fourth on the table. They are away again on Sunday evening when they travel to Adamstown Oval to challenge Adamstown Rosebud.
Valentine FC 0-3 Lambton Jaffas
Lambton Jaffas returned home from Croudace Bay Complex with all three points after cruising to a 3-0 win against Valentine FC on Saturday night.
Lachlan Griffiths, Tom Waller and Jimmy Oates all netted their first goals of the season in the first half and neither side were able to find the back of the net in the second.
Griffiths opened the scoring in the 18th minute and Waller doubled Lambton’s lead in the 21st. Each of the two goals were tap-ins off the back of some classy build-up play by their teammates.
Oates also scored from point-blank range when he headed home off a corner kick in the 33rd minute to make the score 3-0, which was the way the score remained at full-time.
The Jaffas climbed into seventh on the table after scoring more than two goals in a game for the first time this season.
They can go within one point of the top five if they can win a rescheduled round six clash against Weston Bears away from home at Rockwell Automation Park on Wednesday night.
Valentine dropped to 11th after their fifth loss of the campaign and next up is a home clash against Broadmeadow Magic on Saturday evening.
Maitland FC v Broadmeadow Magic
This match was postponed due to wet weather.
