Match of the Round
Lake Macquarie City FC 3-3 Newcastle Olympic
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins says there were plenty of positives to take away from his side's 3-3 draw with Lake Macquarie City FC on Friday night at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
It did not take long for Olympic to open the scoring after Jemma House found the back of the net in the third minute.
A Lakes defensive error saw goalkeeper Morgan Ross send the ball to House as she charged into the box, beating defender Sara Casey before she launched the ball into the goal as it bounced off the inside of the post and buried into the back of the net.
The Roosters responded five minutes later when Ani Jensen ran the ball down from the middle of the park, sending the ball into the box and on the run of Brooke Summers, who half-volleyed the ball into the top left corner.
Lakes took the lead for the first time in the match in the 31st minute.
Summers intercepted the ball just outside of the box and stormed into the goal mouth side-by-side with Olympics’ Sarah King before she struck the ball past Ross off her line.
It looked like the Roosters would go into the sheds at half-time leading 2-1, but a 45th minute goal for Olympic locked the sides up.
Laura Hall passed the ball past three Lakes defenders as she found House charging into the top of the box who sliced it into the back of the net.
The Roosters gained the lead for the second time of the evening when Jensen launched the ball from just outside of the box and into the bottom left corner in the 77th minute.
Olympic would not stay behind for long, finding an equaliser in the 78th minute.
Elodie Dagg unleashed the ball from the top of the box and into the top right corner, locking the sides up 3-3 where the score would remain as the final whistle blew.
“It was a tight contest between both sides, but it was really encouraging to score some goals, and I thought they were well constructed goals as well, so that’s always nice to see,” Atkins said.
“There’s lots of positives to take out of it and credit to the girls when Lakes scored a late goal they bounced back and grabbed an equaliser a couple of minutes later.
“Those are really positive signs and that fight is there. I thought we had a few other opportunities to possibly win the game, but we’ll take the point and move on to next week.”
Atkins was pleased with his side’s ability to open the scoring early in the match but acknowledged there’s still defensive work to do.
“I thought it was a brilliant start and I’ve been talking to Jemma throughout the week, and she was in a really good frame of mind,” Atkins said.
“We’ve been trying for a number of weeks to get that early goal and it happened last night. You could see by the reactions of the girls that was a big lift for them.
“They were always positive throughout the game, so I felt we were going to get something out of it and the fight was really good.
“We scored three goals, but we felt we could have put a little bit more pressure on the defensive line of the opposition last night.
“Whether that’s through a little bit of creativity or getting those early balls in and challenging the keeper and backline there.
“So that’s something we’ll have a look at training and work on this week and hopefully score some more goals next week as well.”
Despite the result Lake Macquarie City coach Gabrielle Blanch was pleased with her side’s performance.
“I am feeling equal parts disappointed for the girls, equal parts really happy for the girls,” Blanch said.
“I think the biggest positive for me is the performance that the girls put on.
“It was once again just a momentous improvement on where we’ve come from, so it was a bit disappointing to not take the three.
“I think we did enough to be able to but Olympic are a good side and they’ve got a lot of quality across the pitch, so a point is still a positive for us.”
Lake Macquarie fell to sixth position, two points behind Adamstown Rosebud JFC in fifth.
They will be eager to take all three points when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to face Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday afternoon.
Olympic remain in fourth position and will look to overtake New Lambton FC on the table when they go head-to-head with Adamstown Rosebud at Darling Street Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Maitland FC 3-1 New Lambton FC
Maitland FC coach Joe Wright says sticking to individual assignments made the difference in their 3-1 victory over New Lambton FC at Cooks Square Park on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides could not be separated for the opening minutes, but it was Maitland who opened the scoring in the 31st minute.
Maitland’s Willow Neal launched the ball from the right of the park into the box finding Renee Pountney who wasted no time and struck the ball into the back of the net.
New Lambton equalised in the 42nd minute when Brianna Trappett beat two Maitland defenders off the ball before sending it into the box.
Tara Andrews chased the ball down and struck the ball past goalkeeper Annabella Thornton and into the bottom right corner.
The two sides went into the sheds locked up 1-1 at half-time but it didn’t take the Magpies long to regain the lead.
Georgia Amess sliced the ball past the Golden Eagles backline as Josie Morley chased it down into the box and sent it towards goalkeeper Isabella White who deflected it back to Morely who struck the ball into the back of the net in the 47th minute.
Maitland extended their lead in the 78th minute when Sophie Stapleford passed the ball onto the run of Amess who chipped White and secured the Magpies third goal of the evening.
The Golden Eagles could not add to their tally despite persistent efforts and walked away suffering a 3-1 defeat.
“I’m pleased with the result, and I think it was a good performance from the girls as well. They worked very hard to get that result against a good side,” Wright said.
“I think it’s important obviously coming off the back of Charlestown [Azzurri] where we dropped a few points for us to get a few positive performances which I think we did.
“We had a chat about making sure we were sticking to our assignments and making it difficult because I think we allowed only a few chances in the first half, which one of them they capitalised on and that’s going to happen when you have the quality of Tara Andrews in the form that she’s in.”
Maitland extended their lead at the top of the table, sat five points ahead of Charlestown Azzurri FC in second.
They will look to keep the good times rolling when they travel to Magic Park to go head-to-head with Broadmeadow Magic on Friday night.
New Lambton sit in third on the table, two points ahead of Newcastle Olympic in fourth but seven behind Charlestown.
The Golden Eagles serve the bye in round 17.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC 4-1 Broadmeadow Magic
Adamstown Rosebud JFC returned to winning ways when they downed Broadmeadow Magic 4-1 at Adamstown Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Broadmeadow’s Alexis Andrews opened the scoring for the afternoon when she struck a low and powerful shot past Adamstown goalkeeper Olivia Sneddon who had come to the top of the box and into the bottom left corner in the 13th minute.
Adamstown equalised in the 27th minute after an end-to-end contest pursued.
Leah O’Hagen crossed the ball into the box to Marion Dunbabin who headed the ball to the ground and bounced into the goal.
The Buds doubled their lead two minutes before half-time when Sophie Cook tapped the ball past goalkeeper Ayano Kurosawa and into the bottom left corner.
Adamstown locked in their third goal of the afternoon after Jenna Doyle launched a free kick from outside the box to Tanya Jones who volleyed the ball past Kurosawa and into the back of the net in the 64th minute.
A fourth goal and a fourth goal scorer locked in the victory for the Buds after Jones stormed down the right side of the park, striking the ball towards the goal but Kurosawa was able to get a hand to the ball.
The ball deflected to Ashleigh Vetter who tapped the ball into the bottom right corner.
Magic was unable to claw one back and were sent home with a 4-1 defeat.
Magic remained at the bottom of the table, six points behind Lake Macquarie City FC in sixth.
They will look to secure their second win of the season when they host league leaders Maitland FC at Magic Park on Friday night.
The win saw Adamstown move to fifth on the table and nine points behind Newcastle Olympic in fourth.
They will be eager to continue their winning ways when they travel to Darling Street Oval to face Newcastle Olympic on Saturday afternoon.
Charlestown Azzurri FC - Bye
