Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic 4-4 Charlestown Azzurri
Broadmeadow and Charlestown played out one of the games of the season on Sunday night as Magic stole a point with a fortuitous late equaliser to keep them above Azzurri for another week.
It was a breathtaking match at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility as Charlestown looked to climb above Broadmeadow into third place, with Magic a point above Azzurri heading into the clash.
Magic captain Kalista Hunter gave her side the lead in the 24th minute with a fantastic solo run. Hunter dispossessed Azzurri striker Melina Ayres in the middle of the park before continuing her run forward.
Ashlee Brodigan slipped Hunter in with a deft touch, allowing the defender to race toward goal almost unchallenged before coolly finishing past Taylah Gray.
Ayres had the chance to drag Azzurri level on 40 minutes only for Stella Morgan to save her penalty after Magic defender Madison Gallegos was adjudged to have fouled Ayres in the penalty area.
Mercedes McNabb then made Ayres pay, doubling Broadmeadow’s advantage in the 45th minute when Brodigan nipped in to win possession, allowing the talented young attacker to fire the loose ball spectacularly over Gray from 25 yards.
Incredibly there was time for Magic to take a 3-0 lead to the break. Broadmeadow pinched the ball from the kick-off with Keziah White sliding a perfect pass through for McNabb.
McNabb rode a challenge from Gray before rolling the ball home to give Magic a commanding lead.
Azzurri remained trailing 3-0 until 14 minutes from full-time when the comeback got underway through Lori Depczynski.
Depczynski had only been on the pitch for seven minutes when she pulled one back after Gallegos gave the ball away deep inside her own half.
The ball fell kindly for Depczynski to slot past an advancing Morgan.
Azzurri pulled another goal back three minutes later when Ella Joyce fired an incredible free kick past Morgan from almost 30 yards out.
Charlestown then drew level with its third goal in five minutes when Depczynski nodded home a corner from close range.
It was to be her last involvement of the night though, with Depczynski forced off with what looked to be a knee injury sustained in scoring the goal.
Charlestown looked to have completed a miracle comeback in the second minute of stoppage time when Alyssa Togo’s free kick from distance evaded everyone to somehow find its way past Morgan and into the Magic goal.
But Magic kept going and, in the pouring rain, found a dramatic 93rd minute equaliser.
Brodigan was played in down the right, with the ball breaking to Gray. The Azzurri goalkeeper looked to have dealt with the situation, only for the ball to squirm through her legs and into the goal to give Broadmeadow a late lifeline.
Broadmeadow remain third on 30 points, with Azzurri a point back. Though Charlestown have two matches in hand starting with its scheduled clash with Maitland on Tuesday night ahead of next weekend’s Women’s State Cup.
Warners Bay FC 0-12 Maitland FC
Bronte Peel scored five goals as Maitland surged to the top of the table with a 12-0 drubbing of Warners Bay on Sunday night.
The Magpies were a class above the Panthers who lost goalkeeper Jessica Woodbine in the 35th minute when she was sent off for handling the ball outside the penalty area.
Maitland were 3-0 up at that stage, with debutant Willow Neal opening the scoring after seven minutes.
Sophie Jones, Ella McDonald, Paige Kingston-Hogg, Sophie Stapleford and Sophie Nenadovic were all on the scoresheet, with Neal also adding her second.
Maitland assistant coach Joseph Wright said he was pleased with the result having taken the reins for the second match of head coach Keelan Hamilton’s two-game ban.
“The conditions made it difficult. It was a wet surface which made for a challenge for the girls to execute the plan. But there was good improvement through the game,” Wright said.
“It was a positive result and gives us good confidence moving forward.
“The thing I was most pleased about was us trying to stick to our processes and implement what we worked on in training leading up to the game [which was our] combination play. I think in patches we had really good execution.
“No one really stood out to be fair. We had multiple players play a role in securing the points from the starting players to the players who came on. Everyone played a role.
“We rotated pretty well. Paige, Sophie Jones, [Amy Parkinson], [Tahlia Gossner] all started on the bench. And Georgia Amess was out with a knock.
“Willow Neal came in for her starting debut and scored two goals. Yasmin Popovic came in, Ella McDonald, Charli O’Connor, Lana Kearney were all in. Just with the proximity and number of matches we have coming up it made sense to utilise the squad we have.”
The Magpies are scheduled to face Charlestown Azzurri in their rescheduled round 15 clash at Lisle Carr Oval on Tuesday night before turning their attention to retaining the Women’s State Cup this weekend.
New Lambton FC v Newcastle Olympic
Match postponed due to wet weather.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC 8-1 Mid Coast FC
Adamstown Rosebud returned to winning ways in style with a dominant 8-1 win over Mid Coast FC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Sunday afternoon.
Tanya Jones opened the scoring after 20 minutes after she headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner kick.
Leah O’Hagan doubled the home side’s advantage in the 32nd minute before Jones netted her second of the afternoon five minutes later.
Adamstown kept their foot on the gas in the second half when Matilda Seidel secured Rosebud’s fourth goal in the 48th minute.
Mid Coast clawed one back through Evie Gill two minutes later but Adamstown responded as Jones secured her hat-trick just before the hour mark.
Jenna Doyle, Charli Hodgson and Tori Johnson all put their names on the scoresheet to take the final score to 8-1.
The win moved Rosebud back to fifth with 18 points but have New Lambton hot on their heels two points behind and with three games in hand.
Martin Slade will hope that his side can build on their momentum and carry it into the Women’s State Cup that will take place next weekend, with their eyes on the silverware.
Mid Coast remain at the bottom of the table with three points and will look to prove themselves against NPL Women’s NNSW sides and community teams from across the region at the Women’s State Cup next weekend.