Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic v Maitland FC
Magic Park, Friday 8pm
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jason Konjarski says he looks to cause havoc when they welcome league leaders Maitland FC to Magic Park on Friday.
Broadmeadow opened the scoring in their match with Adamstown Rosebud JFC in round 16 but went down 4-1.
It was their 12th loss of the season as they remained at the bottom of the table with four points, six behind Lake Macquarie City FC in sixth.
“We are super confident we can get some sort of a result,” Konjarski said.
“We have done well against Maitland in two halves of football this season beating them once and drawing another half against them which is a big positive for us.
“We want to finish this season off the bottom of the table and the only way we can do that is by winning some games and it starts this Friday.”
Magic have been unable to beat Maitland this season with a 5-1 and 4-0 loss but led 1-0 going into half-time in their first clash.
Konjarski knows his side will need to have full focus to replicate that performance.
“For me Maitland are by far the best team in the competition,” Konjarski said.
“Them and Adamstown look to play a proper brand of football, so it’s going to be a good battle against them, but we have to be switched on for the full 90-minutes or they will simply punish us.
“They have been killing off better teams than us, but the girls will be ready for this game, and we will be ready to cause a bit of havoc.”
Broadmeadow have been held scoreless in seven of their competition matches and have scored just three goals in their past five matches.
But Konjarski believed their goal scoring issues have been fixed ahead of this weekend.
“Our attackers have been starved of opportunities due to players in those creative positions having the wrong attitude and not the right work ethic,” Konjarski said.
“We have hopefully fixed that and we should see more free flowing football going forward.”
Broadmeadow will be without Emily Wicks.
Maitland will enter the contest full of confidence after they defeated New Lambton FC 3-1 in round 16.
The win increased the gap between them in first and Charlestown Azzurri in second by five points.
But coach Joe Wright is taking the season week by week and expects to face a tough opponent against Broadmeadow
“Credit to Magic they’re improving every week and they’re a difficult opponent to play against,” Wright said.
“They’re very well organised under Jason so for us it’s making sure that we control things that we can control, which is what we do. Making sure that we play to our principles and we execute our game plan effectively.
“We’re just taking it one week at a time at the moment so we’re looking forward to the game against Magic and that’s our sole focus for now.
“For us it’s about putting on a good performance. Majority of the time if you perform well, you’ll get what you deserve from that performance.
“So, if the performance is good, we’ve given ourselves the best chance to get a positive outcome.”
The Magpies have conceded nine goals this season, the fewest of any team and Wright credits his side's defence for their ongoing scoring ability.
“For us we take great pride in the way that we defend so it’s about making sure that we are defensively solid,” Wright said.
“I feel as though when we defend well it gives us confidence with the ball going forward.
“If we defend properly, I believe that the attacking side of things will come along with that.”
Wright confirmed everyone is available for round 17.
Charlestown Azzurri v Lake Macquarie City FC
Lisle Carr Oval, Saturday 4pm
Charlestown Azzurri coach Heath Whyte says he will focus on the process when they go head-to-head with Lake Macquarie City FC at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday.
Charlestown served the bye in round 16 but had a 3-3 draw with New Lambton FC in round 15.
Azzurri came from behind in the final 10 minutes and netted back-to-back goals to secure a point.
The result pushed Azzurri off the top of the table and sat five points behind after the bye. But Whyte is not fussed on his side’s position on the table.
“I don't focus on the result. I focus on the process,” Whyte said.
“My plan is to just play good football, plan well, have a strategy, execute the strategy. If you do that, the results will follow.
“My goal has always been just to focus on the football. If you focus on the result, you lose your vision and that's where I think teams can lose their way.
“So, we're just going to focus on our football and investing into our training in the lead up to it, and that's the best thing that we can do for ourselves in ensuring we pull some more points over these last five rounds.”
Whyte credits his side’s ability to bounce back in matches to the attitude of his players.
“We've come from a couple of goals behind on a few occasions this year and that's probably something that we haven't had over the last few years, that ability to come back,” Whyte said.
“I was saying to the girls after that game against New Lambton if it was last year, they probably would have put five on us.
“But we were quite resilient in that game and the girls fought back, and it was just through focussing on playing good football.
“It's nice to have Madi Gallegos out there. She's a real warrior. She keeps the girls pumped up, but across the squad, they're all very supportive of each other, and it's a good, positive attitude that they take out on the pitch.
“I think that's certainly helped in those couple of games that we've come from behind.”
Azzurri will be without Gema Simon.
Lake Macquarie City will enter the match full of hunger for three points after a 3-3 draw with Newcastle Olympic in round 16.
The Roosters have been unable to defeat Azzurri this season with 4-1 and 4-2 losses, but coach Gabrielle Blanch is determined to cause upsets in her side’s final four matches.
They have found the back of the net 24 times this season, the third lowest of any team but would have built confidence after taking the lead twice against Olympic.
Lake Macquarie sit in sixth on the table, but a win this weekend would boost them to fifth and eight points away from fourth.
Newcastle Olympic v Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Darling Street Oval, Saturday 4pm
Adamstown Rosebud JFC will look for back-to-back wins when they travel to Darling Street Oval to face Newcastle Olympic on Saturday.
Adamstown took the field under assistant coach Ben Horgan in round 16 and defeated Broadmeadow Magic 4-1.
The win boosted them to fifth on the table and nine points outside of the top four.
As five rounds remain including round 17 the Buds could make finals if they secure minimum three wins and other results go in their favour.
Coach Martin Slade will be confident going into the weekend after his side had four different goal scorers against Broadmeadow.
Adamstown have been unable to beat Olympic this season, with a 0-0 draw and a 3-2 loss.
They will be eager to secure all three points for the first time and continue to build their finals run.
Newcastle Olympic enter the match after a 3-3 draw with Lake Macquarie City FC in round 16.
Olympic opened the scoring in the third minute but fell behind twice in the match.
They will need to build defensive pressure on Adamstown to prevent a confident front third.
Olympic remain fourth on the table, but a win this weekend would boost them to third.
New Lambton FC - Bye
