Match of the Round
Adamstown Rosebud FC 0-0 Edgeworth Eagles FC
Edgeworth Eagles coach Peter McGuinness has acknowledged his side's struggles in front of goal, as his outfit was unable to penetrate a determined Adamstown defence in a tense 0-0 draw at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Friday night.
The Eagles flew out of the blocks in the opening 15 minutes, pinning the Buds back in their own half and getting plenty of opportunities on goal. But the Buds’ defensive line and strong efforts from goalkeeper George Scorer kept them in the game.
Aaron Niyonkuru continued to show why he is one of the most dangerous players in the league from set pieces, producing the best attempt of the night early with a spiralling free kick that struck the corner of the crossbar.
The Buds finally got their first attempt on goal in the 25th minute, with Edgeworth goalkeeper Ben Conway proving up to the task with an athletic save, but the hosts continued to grow in confidence, both sides heading into the break locked up 0-0.
The second half saw both sides continue to trade chances, with the Buds producing their best attempt of the night from a Dino Fajkovic free kick, but Conway proved up to the task to deny the effort.
Eagles’ striker Flynn Goodman had three chances late to put the game away, making several brilliant individual runs to stretch the Buds' defence.
But in the end, despite 20 shots on goal and 11 corners, the Eagles couldn’t find a way through, the full-time whistle blowing after five minutes of stoppage time.
Despite going into the Easter break still undefeated after six rounds, McGuinness believes his side will have to work hard on their attack if they are to push deep into the competition.
“The first half, I thought we were really, really good without getting anything. First 45 was the best performance we've had this year,” McGuinness said.
“And look, they turned it up a bit with their fight in the second half, and they fought hard.
“We got nothing out of it. We want to take these opportunities, and we're not. We're still not. We've got to fix it fast.
“Games like that, when you have so much dominance, especially in the first half, the game should be over. Goals change matches.
“We've got to get a bit more cutthroat at the top. We've got to score goals. You can't go through winning 1-0 all year and win the league.”
Adamstown coach Chris Moylan expected a tough clash but believes the resilience his side has shown over the last few weeks against Broadmeadow Magic, Lambton Jaffas and the Eagles has the potential to set up the Buds well as they prepare for several catch-up games.
“It was tough for both teams. They're used to playing on a much bigger field, which helped us,” Moylan said.
“We got exactly what we thought we were going to get. They moved the ball around quickly. Their player movement's good. Their ball movement's good. But we scrambled, and we defended well.
“What we're looking to do is weather that storm in the first 15 minutes. We knew they would come out and press, and that's exactly what they did.
“At the start of the season, we would have been happy to have a point against both those two [Magic, Edgeworth] teams. So, we're pretty happy with that.
“We know what we've got to do, and it's just a matter of executing each game.”
After the Easter break, the Eagles will travel south to face Belmont Swansea United, while Adamstown will have a catch-up game on Wednesday night against Olympic, before round seven will see them return home to face Maitland.
Weston Bears 1-2 Broadmeadow Magic
Weston Bears coach Damian Zane believes the intensity of his side’s clash with Broadmeadow Magic was comparable to a semi-final, and that his outfit will be better for the experience despite a 2-1 defeat at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium on Sunday.
The Bears started well out of the blocks, with Caylan Law continuing his strong start to the season up front with a goal in the 15th minute giving the hosts an early lead.
But the defending champions weathered the attack well, building into the match and finding the consistency head coach Jim Cresnar has been searching for in 2026.
The visitors eventually struck back through midfielder Keanu Moore on the stroke of half-time, the sides going into the sheds locked at 1-1.
Magic continued to build quickly, with Moore netting his second in the 49th minute off the back of a defensive lapse, stunning the hosts.
The score galvanised Weston, who continued to press their attacking advantage. However, their efforts were repeatedly thwarted by Broadmeadow’s strong defence, limiting them to just four shots on target from 14 attempts.
Matching the Bears in the midfield, Broadmeadow turned to their bench in the 72nd minute, hoping the last push of fresh legs would be enough to get them over the line.
The result proved effective, and despite the Bears' last-ditch attempts in stoppage time, the hosts could not find the crucial equaliser, being handed their second loss of the year.
Despite the result, Weston’s strong start to the season will see the side go into the Easter break on top of the table, with Zane seeing the chance to rest and reset coming at a perfect time for his side.
The side will also be set to welcome back Blake Archbold, Chris Hatfield and Musa Kamara after Easter, which will serve as a valuable boost.
“I think that's probably the most intense game we've played [this year],” Zane said.
“They're [Broadmeadow] strong all over the park. I know them pretty well. It was a good battle end-to-end.
“The boys were disappointed, which is a good thing. We had a good talk, we looked at the goals that we've conceded, and we can do better than that in the second round [of games].
“The week off is coming at a good time for us because I've come in so late, I've put a lot on the boys, both physically and tactically.
“I'm pretty proud of how they've adjusted to a different style, and to be able to get results and be on top of the table whilst you're making mistakes and learning from them, that's not a bad effort from this group.
“We'll be back.”
The Bears will travel to face Lambton Jaffas after the Easter break, while Broadmeadow will travel to Darling Street Oval to face Newcastle Olympic.
Belmont Swansea United 2-0 Charlestown Azzurri
Belmont Swansea United have capped off a strong start to their season with a statement 2-0 win over big improvers Charlestown Azzurri at Blacksmiths Oval on Friday night.
The hosts pressed early with three corners inside the first five minutes, with cold blustery conditions proving difficult for both sides to navigate.
BelSwans’ early pressure was rewarded in the 15th minute despite the Blues managing several shots on goal, with striker Marco Gueli continuing his strong season up front to get his side on the board.
The hosts continued to press, with strikers Andrew McGee and Joe Kable continuing to threaten in the first half hour, and BelSwans amassing 10 corners before half time.
But athletic saves from Blues goalkeeper Samuel Esquilant kept his side in the game, the visitors going into the break 1-0 down.
The visitors came out in the second half looking to press the advantage, pinning BelSwans back on their goal line for the first ten minutes of the second half.
But they were unable to find an equaliser, with Kable netting BelSwans’ second in the 65th minute after threatening several times across the match, benefitting from a great run from Dean Pettit.
The goal proved a knockout blow for the Blues, with the hosts restoring parity on defence and holding out the visitors to see goalkeeper Nathan Archbold finish with a clean sheet.
BelSwans will stay at home and welcome Edgeworth on the Saturday after the Easter break, while Charlestown will return home to face Cooks Hill United FC the same day.
Lambton Jaffas 0-1 Valentine FC
After threatening several sides across the opening six rounds of the competition, Valentine FC have finally notched their first win, climbing off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 result against Lambton Jaffas on Saturday afternoon.
On a balmy afternoon at Arthur Edden Oval, both sides eased into the match, trading ventures and shots on goal in the opening quarter.
It proved a busy opening half for the midfield, with Valentine finding success on the flanks while Jaffas had the upper hand in the centre of the pitch, winning the physical battle for the ball.
When the half-time whistle blew, both sides headed to the sheds with a nearly identical number of shots on target and opportunities from set piece, the score 0-0.
But the script flipped in the second half, with both sides looking to up their physical dominance to apply pressure.
As the game crossed the hour mark and substitutes started to make their presence felt, Jaffas’ experience started to come through, the side generating more shots on target and asking more questions of Valentine’s defence.
The Phoenix held firm with frustrations starting to boil over as the match ticked into the final quarter.
Their resilience in the back third was finally rewarded when a brilliant free kick from Jake De Marigny bounced off Jaffas Riley McNaughton’s head and into the goal in the 81st minute.
Despite a late push by Jaffas, which saw Valentine concede three yellow cards in the final ten minutes, the visitors held on through five minutes of stoppage time to come away with a valuable victory.
Valentine will travel down to Gateshead to take on Kahibah FC after the Easter break, while Lambton will stay at home when they take on league leaders Weston Bears.
Cooks Hill United 1-1 Newcastle Olympic
Despite an entertaining arm wrestle between Cooks Hill United and Newcastle Olympic, neither side could be separated with a 1-1 draw at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field on Saturday evening.
Olympic started the game strong, pressing in the opening 10 minutes and giving the hosts plenty to think about.
But after weathering the early pressure, Cookers bounced back when Daniel Yaxley produced a piece of individual brilliance to score in the 24th minute and give the hosts the lead.
Olympic continued to threaten, but despite four corners and eight attempts on goal across the first half, the visitors could not find a way through, going into the break down 1-0.
Cookers started the second half strong, but Olympic regathered quickly, with Kierry James threatening on the left flank and Kale Bradbery starting to open up the midfield, priming the visitors for counterattacking opportunities.
Olympic finally secured their equaliser in the 62nd minute, a brilliant Bradbery through ball setting up substitute striker Jared Muller, who made no mistake from a difficult angle.
As the final quarter arrived, both sides turned to their benches, with Olympic getting more opportunities on goal but struggled with their radar thanks to a determined Cookers defence, with Cooks Hill proving more accurate with fewer opportunities.
In the end, despite both sides’ best efforts, neither could be separated, with full time seeing the scores all locked up 1-1.
Olympic will have a quick turnaround before the break, taking on Adamstown Rosebud FC in a catch-up game next Wednesday at home, before facing Broadmeadow Magic at home after the break. Cooks Hill, meanwhile, will travel to face Charlestown Azzurri the same day.
Maitland FC 1-2 Kahibah FC
After landing their first win in NPL NNSW history a few weeks ago against Adamstown Rosebud FC, Kahibah FC have put the rest of the competition on notice with a 2-1 win over Maitland FC at Cooks Square Park on Saturday night.
As dusk settled over Maitland, the hosts started the game weathering early pressure from the Rams, with both sides looking to quick counterattack to generate opportunities.
As the half-hour ticked over, however, it would be a patient build-up that would lead to the hosts taking the lead in the 32nd minute, with Rams goalkeeper Issac Quinn producing several good saves, only for a Braedyn Crowley header to make it into the back of the net.
But the lead would barely last five minutes, as a brilliant Daniel Byrne strike saw the sides back level in the 37th minute, going into the break at 1-1.
Both sides continued to prove evenly matched in the first 20 minutes of the second half, turning to their benches after the hour mark clicked over to find a crucial second goal.
Finally, in the 75th minute, it would be that ever-threatening counterattack that proved Magpies’ undoing, as Jackson Burston set up Bryne brilliantly, the Rams’ striker netting his second of the night, and ultimately, the match-winner.
The Rams will come back from the Easter break looking to once again achieve a historic maiden home win in both the NPL and at their re-developed home at Fred Wright Oval when they welcome Valentine FC.
Maitland, meanwhile, will look to bounce back after the break when they travel to face the Buds at Adamstown Oval.