Match of the Round
Charlestown Azzurri v Newcastle Olympic
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC 0-6 New Lambton FC
New Lambton FC coach Aaron Stedman was impressed with his side’s mentality in their 6-0 win over Adamstown Rosebud JFC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Friday night.
The Golden Eagles’ A-League stars took no time to put their mark on the competition with Lauren Allan, Libby Copus-Brown and Cass Davis all getting themselves on the scoresheet.
Allan opened the scoring in the third minute of the match. Caitlin Pickett threaded the ball through to Tara Andrews, who sliced it across the face of goal and onto the run of Allan, who tapped it into the back of the net.
Buds refused to back down and almost equalised before the break when a strike from Marion Dunbabin ricocheted off goalkeeper Claire Coehlo and behind her. But the ball was not ruled to go over the line and the Buds went into the sheds at half-time 1-0 down.
But New Lambton turned up the heat in the second half to secure their fourth win of the season.
A long-range wonder strike from Copus-Brown doubled the visitors’ lead in the 48th minute.
Adamstown thought they had gotten themselves back in the contest when a powerful strike from Georgia Cook was saved by the fingertips of goalkeeper Claire Coehlo, onto the crossbar and down but the ball was not ruled to not go over the line.
New Lambton extended their lead again in the 56th minute when Pickett got onto the end of a cross from Allan and sliced the ball into the back of the net.
Three minutes later golden boot leader Tara Andrews netted her 19th of the season when she pinched the ball of defender Tanya Jones, saw goalkeeper Sneddon off her line and launched the ball into the empty net from distance.
Davis gave her side a 5-0 lead in the 87th minute after she broke through Adamstown’s defence and chipped the ball over Sneddon and into the goal.
Copus-Brown put the final nail in the coffin with a tap in off a deflection in stoppage time to take the final score to 6-0.
Stedman was thrilled with his side’s determination to secure an important three points for their season.
“It ended up being a good score, I think the second half was more the dominant area for us. But considering we haven’t played for about four weeks and had new players coming into the team, I am really happy with it,” Stedman said.
“The first half was different to the second. I thought Adamstown was definitely the better side in a couple of points in the first half. They transitioned well and overloaded us in our final third which made it really difficult.
“But we made a few changes at half-time and they worked. I am proud of the fact that we didn’t quit and kept going. We had some moments of really nice football where the ball went from one side to the other and Adamstown didn’t touch it at all.
“To walk away with three points was big. It is important to keep that gap between the bottom teams, keep that fourth spot and keep in touch with Olympic and Charlestown above us.”
New Lambton’s coach praised his A-League recruits for their seamless entrance into the competition.
“It was the first night where we had our strengthened side. We had those new players coming in and it doesn’t matter what kind of player they are elite or not, when you are playing with a team you haven’t been playing in regularly it takes time to understand the passes others make and when others make runs,” Stedman said.
“It does take a little bit of time and I could see it coming together as the match went on.
“Cass [Davis], Libby [Copus-Brown] and Lauren [Allan] are brilliant players and helped direct players. It is fantastic to have them as a part of the team.”
New Lambton remains in fourth position but have extended their gap ahead of the bottom teams by seven points and are now only four points off Olympic in third.
They will hope to keep the pressure on the top teams when they face Lake Macquarie City FC at LMRFF in their round 11 rescheduled match on Wednesday night before they face Broadmeadow Magic at Magic Park on Sunday afternoon.
Adamstown remains sixth on the table with five points. They will hope to turn things around when they face Magic in a bottom-of-the-table rescheduled round nine clash at Magic Park on Wednesday before they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to take on Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday.
Lake Macquarie City FC 2-2 Broadmeadow Magic
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jason Konjarski said that their 2-2 draw with Lake Macquarie City FC on Friday night was a step in the right direction.
The two sides were forced to share the points after a tight contest at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
Magic opened the scoring in the 33rd minute after Tori Johnson’s corner kick curled over the sea of players and into the back of the net.
The away side went into the sheds at half-time with the one-goal advantage and new goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa pulled out some top-shelf saves to keep her side in front.
But Lakes didn’t wait long until they clawed their way back into the contest early in the second half.
Captain Brooke Summers levelled the score when she arrived at the back post and headed Keziah White’s corner kick into the goal.
The Roosters edged ahead for the first time in the match when Kimberly Trappett scored almost an identical header from another corner kick delivered by White in the 70th minute.
But Magic responded six minutes later to take the score to 2-2.
A long-range free-kick from Johnson sailed over the reach of goalkeeper Elyse Vella, who had sprinted out off her line and onto the head of Alexis Andrews, who nodded it into the empty goal.
The score remained locked up at 2-2 at the final whistle.
Konjarski said that there was a lot of positives to take from his side’s performance.
“I think it was a bit more of a complete performance without getting the win,” Konjarski said.
“But conceding off corners have been killing us.
“It’s some good steps in the right direction. The new recruits did well, and I thought Callie [Thomas] and Jen [Reeves] battled well in the midfield. It was LJ’s [Babic] best game of the season so far.
“Everyone did their job and I would give every player at least an eight out of 10. They all did their role and did it well.
“It is very positive around Broadmeadow Magic’s senior women’s space at the moment. So it is about capitalising on that.
“Loosing to Lakes 8-1 last time they would have gone in confident that they could get the win so to have a strong performance and be in the game was a positive. To claw it back showed good character from the group.”
Broadmeadow remains at the bottom of the table but have moved within one point of sixth-placed Adamstown Rosebud JFC.
They would hope that they can continue to build on their performance and secure their second win of the season when they take on Adamstown in their rescheduled round nine fixture at Magic Park on Wednesday night. Magic will then face New Lambton FC on Sunday afternoon.
The Roosters continue to sit fifth with six points, seven points adrift of the top four. They will look to go one better when they face New Lambton in their round 11 rescheduled fixture at LMRFF on Wednesday night before they serve the bye in round 13.
Maitland FC – Bye
