Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic 0-2 Newcastle Olympic
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins says that their 2-0 win over Broadmeadow Magic at Magic Park on Saturday night was a positive step forward for the group after a ‘slump’.
Olympic finally broke their four-game winless drought and further cemented their position in finals football.
A noticeable absence from the Olympic lineup for a second week was former Matildas and A-League attacker Rhali Dobson, who Atkins confirmed has left the club.
It was a disjointed start to the match from each side, as they struggled to find their rhythm.
Olympic looked the more likely to open the scoring and finally broke the deadlock moments before half-time through Elodie Dagg.
Laura Hall tracked down a loose ball and beat her defender to charge back into the penalty area before she cut the ball back onto the run of Dagg, who sliced it into the back of the net in stoppage time.
It looked like Magic had a golden opportunity to equalise early in the second half when Alexis Andrews was brought down inside the penalty area by Jess Evans.
But a free kick was given at the edge of the box as the referee stated the first foul was committed outside the penalty area.
Tori Johnson was unable to capatlise on the free kick and the score remained 1-0 to Olympic.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 73rd minute after substitute Maddy Howard received the ball after a run in behind Magic’s defence, turned and struck the ball with power into the bottom corner of the goal.
Magic pushed to get themselves back into the game and injected Lilly-Jane Babic but were unable to make the most of their chances and conceded their 11th loss of the season.
Atkins was pleased for his side to secure the three points and get their season back on track.
“I thought the girls played well,” Atkins said.
“The pitch was quite bumpy and difficult to play our style. But full credit to the girls, I thought they handled it well and were patient.
“Laura [Hall] was really patient in the box and got a well-deserved assist to a clinical strike from Elodie [Dagg] right before half-time.
“At half-time we had to change things a little bit and were quite solid in the second half. We could have had another couple of goals, but the clean sheet and the overall performance was good.
“We are still creating a lot, but we are still not where we want to be. But to score two and not concede any was a really good step forward.
“We were in a bit of a slump, were unlucky to not take anything from the New Lambton game but knew it wasn’t far away so it’s a positive step forward.
“Hopefully we can build on this momentum. I am happy with how things are looking.”
Magic coach Jason Konjarski believed that key moments impacted the outcome of the game.
“We could have had a goal, but we were denied a penalty. Getting goals for us will be a big thing,” Konjarski said.
“The referee was good and explained the decision for the free kick and said that the linesman said the foul happened outside of the box.
“I think if it went to 1-1, we would have won the game.”
But despite the result, Konjarski was pleased with what he saw from his side.
“I thought we were in the contest for the full 90 minutes,” Konjarski said.
“I thought we were good. We had identified the dangerous players from Olympic and did a good job on them. But unfortunately, just before half-time, one of those dangerous players Elodie [Dagg] popped up and scored.
“They [Olympic] had two chances and they scored both.
“I thought the performance was one of our better ones this season. We were happy with the performance but not getting the result was frustrating.
“That is the type of performance that we want to have every week. I still think we can pull together some results.”
Magic remain at the bottom of the table, five points behind Lake Macquarie City FC in fifth and Adamstown Rosebud JFC in sixth.
Broadmeadow will be eager to bounce back when they travel to Adamstown Oval to take on the Buds on Sunday afternoon.
Olympic are still in fourth position, but the win has helped to keep the pressure on the top three and further cement their spot in finals football.
They will hope to continue their winning ways when they travel to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to face Lake Macquarie City FC on Friday night.
Charlestown Azzurri FC 3-3 New Lambton FC
New Lambton FC has knocked Charlestown Azzurri FC off the top of the table after a hard-fought 3-3 draw at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides could not be separated at the final whistle after a thrilling end-to-end battle for the full 90 minutes.
The Blues opened the scoring in the 18th minute after Morgan Witz picked a perfect pass to Madi Gallegos who got in behind New Lambton’s defence and forced goalkeeper Isabella White to come out off her line.
Gallegos chipped white with a high curling strike that landed into the back of the empty net.
The Golden Eagles responded in the 30th minute after Lauren Allan sliced a pass through Charlestown’s defence and onto the run of Caitlin Pickett, who smashed the ball past goalkeeper Danielle Bartels to level the score.
The two sides went into the break locked up at 1-1, with all to play for in the second half.
Some fantastic team build-up from New Lambton saw them take the lead for the first time in the contest in the 60th minute when Libby Copus-Brown found herself one-on-one with Bartels, who she dribbled around and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
The visitors extended their lead to 3-1 in the 79th minute through Cass Davis.
The Blues were unable to clear the ball from the penalty area, as it ping-ponged around the box and bounced out to Davis, who drilled the ball into the bottom right corner.
But Charlestown clawed their way back into the contest one minute later with a superb strike over the sea of players and into the back of the net.
The home side levelled the score in the 88th minute when Witz got onto the end of a high miskicked clearance from New Lambton and volleyed it home.
This lifted the Blues in the final minutes as they looked to find a winner, but the score remained locked at 3-3 at the full-time whistle.
The draw knocked Azzurri off the top of the table as Maitland FC secured a win over Lake Macquarie City FC and now trail the new league leaders by two points.
Heath Whyte and his side will be determined to close the gap and stay in the premiership race when they return in round 17 to take on Lakes after they serve the bye in round 16.
New Lambton have maintained their position in third with 23 points and will be eager to continue their momentum into the back end of the season when they travel to Cooks Square Park on Saturday to face the Magpies.
Lake Macquarie City FC 0-1 Maitland FC
Maitland FC returned to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over Lake Macquarie City FC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday afternoon.
A second-half goal was all that could separate the two sides in what was a scrappy contest from start to finish.
Neither side could find the back of the net in the first half and went into the sheds at half-time locked up at 0-0.
Each team continued to struggle to break through as the second half ticked on before Maitland broke the deadlock in the 75th minute.
A corner kick from Sophie Nevadovic curled into the penalty area and onto the head of Tahlia Gossner, who headed the ball towards the face of the goal.
The ball hit Lakes’ defender Maddison Dunlop, who was standing on the goal line and bounced into the back of the net to give Maitland the lead.
The score remained that way until the final whistle to see Maitland bounce back to the top of the table after Charlestown Azzurri had a 3-3 draw with New Lambton FC on Sunday.
The Magpies will be eager to continue their momentum and stay in front of the premiership race when they welcome New Lambton to Cooks Square Park on Saturday.
Lakes remain in fifth position on the table but are now 11 points adrift of the top four teams.
They will be eager to turn things around when they face Newcastle Olympic at home on Friday night.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC – Bye
