Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic v New Lambton FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Charlestown Azzurri 2-6 Broadmeadow Magic
Broadmeadow Magic coach Nima Nikfarjam was pleased with the response from his side to secure a dominant 6-2 victory over Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday.
Magic returned to the winners’ circle after a 5-1 loss to Maitland last week and a 3-3 draw to New Lambton in their mid-week round eight catch up match.
Mercedes McNabb opened the scoring for Broadmeadow in the seventh minute. The away side was awarded a free kick from outside the penalty box which allowed McNabb to kick the ball low and hard past the sea of players into the back of the net.
Central defender Madi Gallegos doubled Magic’s lead four minutes later after she received the ball at halfway and ran it up the field before launching a wonder strike from outside the penalty area.
Azzurri got their name on the scoresheet in the 12th minute after Jessie Gentle and Ella Joyce linked up. Joyce sliced a perfect pass in behind Magic’s defence for Gentle to run onto and drove the ball towards the goal. Gentle crossed the ball across to Joyce who was unmarked inside the penalty area before the striker made no mistake and smashed the ball into the back of the net.
But Magic extended their lead once again minutes later after McNabb used her pace and precision to sprint into a dangerous area and strike the ball past goalkeeper Taylah Gray.
Lilly-Jane Babic took the scoreline to 4-1 in the 58th minute after she received a long ball over the top of the Blue’s defensive line and powered the ball into the goal.
Babic struck again in the 86th minute after the ball flew under Gray and into the back of the net.
McNabb secured a hat-trick in the 93rd minute after she found herself with space outside the penalty area and struck the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
Azzurri clawed one back a minute later through Sarah Halvorsen to take the final scoreline to 6-2.
Nikfarjam was impressed with how his side bounced back and put on strong performance against a hungry Azzurri side.
“The last two games were not good outcomes for us,” Nikfarjam said
“We had a poor performance against Maitland and then to top that off against New Lambton we could not put our shots away.
“I needed a response from my players, which they did well and capitalised on the chances we had.
“I was pleased with the player’s reactions from our poor performances and how they wanted to change the way they played last weekend to show the competition how good they are.”
On the other end of the scale, Azzurri’s coach Health Whyte was bitterly disappointed with his side's efforts on Saturday.
“We just weren’t checked into the game,” Whyte said.
“I was most disappointed in two things; the lack of desire to defend and our inability to retain the ball.
“The reality is that it was a fairly poor performance across the board and we just need to be engaged and have that desire to contest on the weekend. That wasn’t there on the weekend.”
But Whyte believed that his squad could grow stronger from the loss and use it as motivation to go again next weekend.
“I am happy to get that boogie game off our back and now we have the opportunity to reassess and look forward to the next match,” Whyte said.
“Those games happen, we can’t dwell on it.”
The Blues will hope to turn things around when they travel to John Street Oval to face Warners Bay FC on Sunday afternoon.
Magic will look to build on their momentum when they travel to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday to take on Adamstown Rosebud JFC.
Maitland FC v Warners Bay FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Mid Coast FC v Adamstown Rosebud JFC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
