Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic v Charlestown Azzurri
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Sunday 7pm
Broadmeadow Magic coach Nima Nikfarjam said his side must win in this Sunday’s clash against Charlestown Azzurri if they are to keep their premiership hopes alive.
The two sides will meet at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility this weekend, each with a point to prove and vital points on the line for the fight to secure third position on the table.
Magic enters the clash off the back of two disappointing defeats against New Lambton FC (6-0) and Maitland FC (3-0).
They sit third on the table with 29 points, seven points behind league leaders Newcastle Olympic but just one ahead of Sunday’s opponents Azzurri.
Nikfarjam said his side needed to secure three points against the Blues to keep them in touch with the top two sides.
“In order for us to keep our slight premiership hopes alive, we need to go there and get the three points,” Nikfarjam said.
“We know it is going to be a hard battle against a hard side.
“So far this year we are our own worst enemy. Whenever we are terrible, we get punished.
“So first we have to be ourselves and take responsibility for our own performance and the result will come.”
In another blow for Magic, the loss of defender Alice Munro has left the side without a right back, which meant striker Chelsea Lucas had to fill the position against Maitland last weekend.
Nikfarjam said it will continue to be a challenge for him to decide if his side plays more attacking or defensive with the lack of numbers in their squad but he believed his side will be up for the challenge
“Alice left so I don’t have a right back to play,” Nikfarjam said.
“I have to balance it in the coming weeks and decide whether we go with defensive football or attacking.
“We just need to focus on ourselves and on each of our roles as well as being accountable and then we worry about who we have on the day.”
But Magic’s coach has rotated his goalkeepers Mia Wallace and Stella Morgan in and out of the squad and said that they would each have an equal chance of starting on Sunday.
“Both goalkeepers have an equal chance to play on the weekend. But in saying that I was pretty happy with Stella against Maitland,” Nikfarjam said.
“She (Morgan) played calmly.”
Charlestown coach Heath Whyte will also be after a response from his side after they suffered one of their worst losses of the season last time they met Magic with a 6-2 loss.
“We will have to be a completely different squad this time against Magic,” Whyte said.
“We have to be better, that was the worst I have seen them play.
“We are basically coming in as the underdogs.
Azzurri have hit their stride in recent weeks with four wins in their last five matches. They are fourth on the table but are still in the premiership race, eight points behind league leaders Newcastle Olympic with four matches in hand.
Whyte was pleased with the progress of his squad and was hopeful that they could continue their momentum for the home stretch of the season.
“We are seemingly starting to come out of our mid-season slump. The attitude amongst the girls has been good and positive,” Whyte said.
“They are enjoying their football and if we continue to do that coming into some pretty challenging matches with Broadmeadow and then Maitland 48 hours later we can get some results.
“We will approach this game like we do any other.”
Warners Bay FC v Maitland FC
John Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Maitland FC coach Keelan Hamilton said his side will not be overlooking Warners Bay FC this weekend when the two sides go head-to-head at John Street Oval on Sunday.
The Magpies continue to fly high in the competition as they sit second on the table three points behind match leaders Newcastle Olympic but have three matches in hand up their sleeve to reclaim the top spot.
They will arrive at John Street Oval off the back of a 3-0 win over Broadmeadow Magic to take their streak to three wins on the trot.
Maitland and Warners Bay have faced each other twice in the competition already with the Magpies securing 9-0 and 14-0 victories.
But Hamilton said this weekend’s fixture against the struggling Panthers will be business as usual for his side.
“It’s the same process for us. We approach this match with the same respect as every fixture and we won’t overlook anyone in the competition,” Hamilton said.
One factor that the Magpies coach said they have started to take into consideration is the impact goal difference could make on their position on the table when the season comes down to crunch time.
“It is something that we look at and have looked at already this season,” Hamilton said.
“We don’t want to lose focus of our processes but we know that goal difference could potentially make a difference at the end of the season.”
Warners Bay will enter the competition with some newfound confidence after they secured their second win of the season against Mid Coast with a 6-1 victory away from home.
Ryan Swinkels’ side will be well rested after their round 16 match against New Lambton last weekend was postponed due to wet weather.
They are seventh on the table with six points and will be eager to close the gap with the rest of the competition and secure an upset over the Magpies.
New Lambton FC v Newcastle Olympic
Alder Park, Saturday 4pm
New Lambton FC will be desperate to keep their finals hopes alive when they host Newcastle Olympic at Alder Park on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles have struggled to take full flight this season but have picked up recent form after the injection of key A-League players Cass Davis, Lauren Allan and Tessa Tamplin.
They sit fifth on the table with 16 points but are 12 points outside of the top four sides, behind Charlestown Azzurri in fourth position.
The uphill battle is one that Aaron Stedman has prepared his side to tackle but will need to bring out all the stops to cause an upset to the league leaders on Saturday to stay in the fight for a finals position.
Olympic has won New Lambton on both occasions in the competition this season, but the Golden Eagles hope to settle the score.
Olympic remains at the top of the table with a three-point lead over Maitland FC.
But Craig Atkins will not want his side to get too comfortable at the top as the Magpies have two games in hand on them.
Jemma House continues to lead the golden boot race with 27 goals from 15 competition matches this season and will be hungry for more on Saturday.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Mid Coast FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Sunday 3pm
Two sides will be desperate to return to winning ways when Adamstown Rosebud JFC hosts Mid Coast FC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Sunday afternoon.
Rosebuds will be eager to snap their four-match losing streak and work their way back up the table.
Attacker Tori Johnson has continued to stay in the golden boot race with 12 goals to her name in the competition this season. Johnson will hope that she can net a few more against Middies in front of a home crowd.
They sit in sixth position, one point behind New Lambton in fifth which will add extra motivation to Martin Slade’s side to get the job done this weekend and secure a crucial three points.
Adamstown holds the bragging rights after the side's last meeting in the competition after a 5-0 win.
Mid Coast’s season has not gone the way they had hoped so far with disruptions on and off the field impacting the side.
They are at the bottom of the table with three points and are three points behind Warners Bay FC in seventh position.
Brett Walker’s side will hope that they can end their poor run of results and cause an upset against Adamstown.