Match of the Round
Belmont Swansea United FC 5-2 Adamstown Rosebud FC
Belmont Swansea United coach Mick Stafford was thrilled to mark the club’s first match in the top division since 1999 with an emphatic 5-2 win against Adamstown Rosebud.
The team song bellowed all around the ground as the club’s players, officials, and supporters young and old celebrated a momentous night.
The hosts found themselves behind 2-1 late in the game after the score was locked at 1-1 at half-time, but BelSwans were fitter, faster and hungrier in the final 15 minutes as they piled on a four-goal flurry.
Adamstown skipper Dino Fajkovic found the back of the net in the ninth minute when he broke through BelSwans’ defensive line and sliced the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
But the home side leveled the score through Matt Hall to make the score 1-1 at half-time with a clinical 35th-minute strike.
Fajkovic netted his second of the night in the 65th minute to give his side the lead again.
But Reece Newtown’s goal-of-the-season contender and the introduction of some exciting players off BelSwans’ bench sparked a late charge that led the home side to a memorable victory.
Newton smashed home a long-range left-footed volley to make it 2-2 in the 75th minute.
An own goal created by a swift counterattack and a threatening Kane Woolston cross less than 60 seconds after Newton’s equaliser gave BelSwans their first lead of the match.
Woolston then made sure of the win when he fired the ball into an empty net a minute into stoppage time.
Substitute Shuku Sunzu set up that goal after rounding the keeper and squaring the ball to his striker, and the entertaining attacker created his side’s fifth a few minutes later when he won a penalty that Newton converted.
Stafford could not have been prouder at full-time, commending both the playing group and their supporters for their efforts on the night.
“Seeing as we didn’t get a grand final last year, I think a lot of leftover emotion came out of everyone in the changeroom,” Stafford said.
“It was good to see the whole community behind us and I hope they enjoyed the game. It was a great game by both teams.
“I thought we started very nervous and on the back foot and that was to be expected.
“Adamstown was full of beans and deserved to be up, but I’m glad they scored early because it gave us time to get back in the game.
“I really liked the way that at 3-2 up we didn’t just sit in. We kept going. I think the crowd played a big part in that; they really drove us on.
“Our bench was great and had a huge impact. The guys in the first half did all the dirty work and the subs came on and were the heroes. Our mentality is we’re all in it together.”
For Adamstown, Fajkovic’s partnership up front with new signing Taj Buck looks promising and for 74 minutes they looked as though they had turned a page following last season’s promotion/relegation battle.
But defensive issues that plagued the Buds in 2024 reared their ugly head late in the contest, which coach Chris Moylan said was disappointing.
“I’m just so disappointed in our performance,” Moylan said.
“Nothing through pre-season indicated that was going to happen on the night.
“We played really well in patches and poorly in others, and I think a few boys let the occasion and nerves get the better of them.
“BelSwans stuck to their game plan and we didn’t.
“It wasn’t fitness. Their substitutions made a massive impact on the game and ours didn’t but it wasn’t a fitness thing. We were just pulled out of shape and we didn’t have the discipline to stay in shape.”
BelSwans will be back at home in round two when they host Edgeworth FC on Saturday night. Adamstown kicks off the round at home against Valentine FC at Adamstown Oval on Friday night.
Maitland FC 3-3 Valentine FC
Valentine’s coach Kallum Garbett praised his side’s resilience to come from behind twice to secure a 3-3 draw against Maitland FC on Saturday afternoon.
The Magpies got off to a flying start at Cooks Square Park when Tyrell Paulson slotted home a loose ball from close range in the 16th minute before Aden Raftery smashed home a ferocious strike from outside the penalty area in the 25th.
But Valentine struck first in the second stanza when Carter Smith blasted a volley into the back of the net in the 53rd minute.
The Phoenix locked the score up at 2-2 in the 67th minute when Toby Jensen intercepted a back pass and slotted his one-on-one strike.
The visitors pushed hard to add a third and go in front, but it was Maitland who went ahead in the 83rd minute when Braedyn Crowley converted from the penalty spot.
Campbell Ross impressed during his Valentine debut and was rewarded for his hard work in the 88th minute when he charged into the box onto a Liam Ryan pass and scored from a tight angle after his initial strike was saved by Matt Trott.
The two sides pushed hard to find a winner but were forced to share a point as it remained 3-3.
Garbett was impressed with his side’s resilience and thought their efforts throughout the pre-season were evident, especially late on.
“The boys showed a lot of character to come from behind twice,” Garbett said.
“Once we tactically adjusted after the first half, we started to get a bit more success going forward, and once we got that first goal back, the boys got a second wind.
“The pre-season and the hard work the boys put in really paid off.
“It was a good result, considering we were down 2-0 early.”
Valentine are away again in round two when they travel to Adamstown Oval on Friday night to challenge the Adamstown Rosebud.
Maitland are also away as they meet Cooks Hill United at Number 2 Sportsground on Saturday.
Edgeworth FC 1-0 Broadmeadow Magic FC
Reigning golden boot winner Ryan Feutz went from hero to zero in a matter of seconds at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Friday night as the Edgeworth Eagles kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win over Broadmeadow Magic.
Feutz had made several sublime runs in behind throughout the evening, with the decisive one coming a minute into stoppage time when he charged onto a pass and calmly rounded Magic keeper Lewis Alvarez before slotting the ball into an empty net to earn his side the three points.
He then received a second yellow card that saw him sent from the field after whipping off his shirt during the ensuing celebrations.
Edgeworth managed to survive the following two minutes with 10 men to start their season with a victory in the grand final rematch against their fierce rivals.
It was the perfect start for the Eagles after they went winless in their opening five games of the 2024 campaign and coach Peter McGuinness was most pleased with the fact that they held a Broadmeadow side that netted 84 goals in 24 games last year to a clean sheet.
Goalkeeper Ben Conway had a huge hand in keeping Magic at bay with several key stops and producing the first penalty save of the season to deny Jayden Stewardson from the spot in the 54th minute.
Edgeworth will hit the road for their first away game in round two when they challenge fellow winners Belmont Swansea United at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday night, and Broadmeadow will be at home when they host Lambton Jaffas in Sunday afternoon’s Match of the Round at Magic Park.
Newcastle Olympic FC 4-2 Cooks Hill United
A new-look Newcastle Olympic made their mark at Darling Street Oval on Saturday night as new signings Roy O’Donovan, Kale Bradbery and Jared Muller got on the scoresheet in a 4-2 victory against Cooks Hill United.
New midfield maestros Ben Hay and Adam Zervas also contributed to the victory with stellar performances and three assists between them.
Muller brought a loud and proud Old Boys Day crowd to its feet in the fifth minute when he found the back of the net in his first game back in blue and white but he was ruled offside and the score remained 0-0.
There was no denying the hosts in the 16th minute when an in-swinging Zervas corner was turned in by an attempted Cooks Hill headed clearance.
Olympic took their 1-0 lead into half-time and doubled their advantage in the 57th minute when Muller charged onto a lobbed O’Donovan pass in behind and volleyed home from a tight angle.
A 64th-minute Cody Nancarrow screamer from distance brought Cooks Hill back into the contest but O’Donovan netted his first of the campaign in the 74th minute.
Alex Gillespie's header from close range secured Cooks Hill’s second goal of the night in the 81st minute but the visitors’ comeback attempts were quashed in the 86th minute when Bradbery charged into the box onto a Zervas pass and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from a tight angle into the back of the net.
That made the score 4-2, which was the way it remained at full-time.
Olympic are back at home in round two when they host Weston Bears on Sunday evening after Cooks Hill welcome Maitland to Number 2 Sportsground on Saturday.
Charlestown Azzurri 3-1 Weston Bears
Charlestown Azzurri ensured lightning did not strike three times on Sunday evening when they kicked off their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Weston Bears at Lisle Carr Oval.
James Pascoe’s men started the 2023 season with a six-game winning streak and then won their first five in 2024 but those runs ended with home losses against the Bears.
They got a chance to challenge Weston in round one and they ended the losing hoodoo as they led from the ninth minute until the full-time whistle in the 94th.
Jarryd Sutherland opened the scoring after storming onto a Harrison Frendo pass in behind and showing composure as he buried his one-on-one chance into the bottom-left corner. But Sutherland suffered an injury in the process that forced him from the field.
That didn’t slow the hosts down though and they went up 2-0 in the 31st minute when Tyran Cousins blasted home a penalty.
The Bears hit back three minutes later as Blake Archbold volleyed home from a tight angle.
But Cousins restored the two-goal lead in the 67th minute when he received a crafty Frendo pass and buried his one-on-one chance.
That was the only goal scored in the second stanza as the hosts prevailed 3-1.
Azzurri are back at home in round two when they host New Lambton on Saturday afternoon.
Weston are away again when they meet Newcastle Olympic at Darling Street Oval on Sunday evening.
Lambton Jaffas FC 2-0 New Lambton FC
The opening round wrapped up at Arthur Edden Oval on Sunday night where the Lambton Jaffas prevailed 2-0 against local rivals New Lambton FC.
It was former Golden Eagle Riley Taylor who struck first for the Jaffas when he pounced on a Nikolai Topor Stanley long ball into the penalty box and outfoxed Caleb Reed before slotting his shot past goalkeeper Sam Esquilant.
Another ball in behind undid New Lambton in the 34th minute and this time it was Yuhei Sato who played it into the path of Shusuke Kirihara before the Japanese striker showed great composure to double Lambton’s lead.
New Lambton almost pulled one back with less than four minutes left in regulation time. But a spectacular strike from well outside the penalty area from former Jaffa Jagger Wholert cannoned away off the crossbar and it remained 2-0 when the final whistle sounded.
Lambton’s coach David Tanchevski admitted the Jaffas did not play as well as they expected to and he thought they should have put away two or three more of their chances.
Tanchevski commended New Lambton, who he said showed plenty of energy and made things tough for the hosts in the derby.
Lambton are away in round two when they meet Broadmeadow in the match of the round at Magic Park on Sunday afternoon.
New Lambton will be on the road again when they meet Charlestown Azzurri at Lisle Car Oval on Saturday afternoon.