Maitland FC 3-6 New Lambton FC
Round 13 Rescheduled Fixture
Maitland FC coach Keelan Hamilton described parts of his side's 6-3 loss to New Lambton as having a bad nightmare.
The Golden Eagles completed their clean sweep of the Magpies this season with a nine-goal thriller at Cooks Square Park on Saturday afternoon.
The match was a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, switching momentum frequently between the two sides.
New Lambton opened the scoring in the ninth minute after a horror mistake from Maitland goalkeeper Annabella Thornton.
A through ball fell to Thornton outside the penalty area for her to chest down and clear but she mistimed her kick, and the ball fell to the feet of striker Tara Andrews.
The A-League veteran made no mistake and launched a perfectly placed long ball that flew into the back of the net.
Andrews was able to double her own and her side’s tally after they were awarded a penalty kick for contact on Cass Davis in the penalty area in the 16th minute.
But the Magpies struck back before half-time with a powerful first-time strike from Georgia Amess from the edge of the penalty area after she ran onto a perfect through ball from Sophie Nenadovic.
Tahlia Gossner brought the scoreline back to even in the 53rd minute after she headed the ball past the reach of goalkeeper Ally Boertje off a corner kick.
Maitland edged into the lead for the first time in the match in the 60th minute when Bronte Peel’s cutback across goal was fumbled by Boertje.
The ball fell loose into the penalty area and to the feet of Sophie Jones, whose strike deflected off defender Hannah Bourke and flew into the goal.
But the Magpies comeback was silenced five minutes later when Lauren Allan equalised for the Golden Eagles with a long-range strike. The ball bounced over Thornton, who had dived to save the shot and went into the back of the net.
New Lambton got themselves back in front in the 78th minute after they capitalised on another mistake from Maitland.
Gossner was unable to clear the ball inside the penalty area, as she and Thornton scrambled to retrieve it. But Andrews beat them to it and launched the ball high into the sky and onto the head of Nyah Bradley, who nodded it into the empty goal.
The visitors put their foot down and took the scoreline to 5-3 in the 83rd minute after Ally Pike got onto the end of a free kick from Davis and tapped the ball into the back of the net.
New Lambton put the game to bed in the final minutes of regulation time with a strong strike from Allan, who was unmarked at the edge of the penalty area.
This is Maitland’s second loss in two weeks and third loss to New Lambton this season.
They remain on the top of the table but with Olympic on equal points and a game in hand, the Magpies' chance of the premiership has slipped.
Hamilton said that his mistakes let his side down on the day but couldn’t fault their efforts to fight until the end.
“It was like having a bad nightmare at times,” Hamilton said.
Unfortunately, we just kept making big mistakes and gift-wrapping goals.
“But I am super proud of our players and their effort and fight.
“We gave away a head start again but to our credit, we clawed our way back with some really good play and 3 excellent goals, but unfortunately couldn’t stop making big mistakes at the other end.
The Magpies will have their final shot at the premiership next Sunday when they travel to Adamstown Oval to take on Adamstown Rosebud JFC in the last round of the regular season.
The win was crucial for New Lambton to keep their finals hopes alive as they leapfrogged Broadmeadow Magic and into finals territory in fourth position.
Coach Aaron Stedman said that he was thrilled with his side's efforts and their belief to come from behind to secure a vital win for their 2024 campaign.
“I went through every emotion in the game,” Stedman said.
“The game changed nearly every ten minutes. The second half dramatically changed from one side to another.
“I am over the moon with the result. I am extremely proud of the girls.
“To go out there, get themselves ahead and then go behind but then dig deep and come back is massive.
“They were mentally strong and stayed positive, which is a very hard thing to do when you fall behind to the top team.
“The girls never changed their attitude all the way through the game. It is something that they have been doing all season. It has been very rare that they have dropped their heads.
“Football is a funny game. It doesn’t matter what the score is or how you are going, it is 90 minutes of football where anything can happen at any time.”
Stedman was pleased that his side executed the gameplan and punished Maitland for their mistakes.
“We had talks about being able to keep going forward and hope to force a mistake,” Stedman said.
“We have usually made mistakes on our end and been punished so to have that role reversed helped us go out there and put pressure on.
“Two of our goals came from mistakes. Against quality teams you don’t know how many chances you will get so you have to punish if they arise.
The Golden Eagles coach thought each player in his side stepped up to the fight and deserved all the glory for the important victory.
“I thought last night everyone played so well,” Stedman said.
“You have great players like Cass and Lauren but there are so many other girls who play well week in and week out.
“Amy [Gosling] was solid, Hannah [Bourke] and Kate [Heap] were fantastic. Ally Pike also had a great game. They all deserve recognition as they played brilliantly and got us over the line.
“It is great to see from the club and my perspective that we aren’t just relying on our [Newcastle] Jets girls.
“Everyone in the group is so positive and wants to play good football. Every week, all the players on the field have just gotten better and better.”
But the final celebrations cannot start yet as the Golden Eagles still need to win their last game of the regular season against Charlestown Azzurri at Lisle Carr Oval and other results go their way to maintain their top-four position.
Newcastle Olympic v Broadmeadow Magic
Round 13 Rescheduled Fixture
This match was rescheduled due to wet weather conditions.
Charlestown Azzurri FC 12-0 Mid Coast FC
Round 13 Rescheduled Fixture
Charlestown Azzurri completed their clean sweep against Mid Coast FC at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday after a 12-0 victory.
Sienna Fraser-Kelly opened the scoring for Azzurri in the second minute after the ball snuck into the back of the net.
The Blues extended their scoreline again when Melina Ayres netted two goals in the 12th and 14th minutes.
Ella Joyce and Gema Simon put their names on the scoresheet in the 21st and 29th minutes before Fraser-Kelly took the scoreline to 6-0 in the 32nd minute.
Aryes secured a hat-trick in the 35th minute before Joyce got her own with goals in the 37th and 41st minute.
Charlestown went into the sheds at half-time with a 9-0 lead but wasn’t done putting Mid Coast to the sword.
Joyce netted her fourth goal in the 67th minute after a powerful strike from outside the penalty area flew into the back of the net.
Substitute Annabel Goodman got herself on the scoresheet in the 75th minute with an unmarked tap-in before Cassie Corder rounded out the scoring and netted the 12th and final goal of the afternoon.
The win has further cemented Azzurri’s position in third on the table as they head into the final round of the regular season. They will take on New Lambton FC at home next Sunday before they prepare for finals football.
Mid Coast continues to sit at the bottom of the table with only one win in 20 matches. They will hope to finish their season on a positive note when they travel to Magic Park to take on Broadmeadow Magic on Sunday.