Match of the Round
Lake Macquarie City FC v New Lambton FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Saturday 5pm
New Lambton FC coach Aaron Stedman says he is confident that his side can get a positive result when they travel to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to take on Lake Macquarie City FC on Saturday afternoon.
New Lambton have not played an NPL Women’s match since the end of June, having served the bye in Round 17 and participated in the Women’s State Cup last weekend.
They will enter round 18 on the back of two tight matches with a 3-3 draw with Charlestown Azzurri and a 3-1 defeat to Maitland FC.
“I’m confident that we can go there and do a good job, play some good football,” Stedman said.
“It feels like a long time ago we had a game, but coming off Charlestown and Maitland Charlestown was good, Maitland we weren’t at our best.
“We sort of had a really good talk and then at the state cup we played well and tried some new things. So, I’m confident that we can go there and get a good result.
“Obviously, you want games and game time to do those things and then you want players to reset, and a little bit of pressure comes off as well.
“We are feeling confident that the things we did at the state cup, we can bring into the game even stronger.”
Each time these two sides have met this season, it has been a thrilling affair with the Golden Eagles narrowly taking all three points.
New Lambton have defeated Lakes 2-1 and 3-2 this season but have been pushed to the end in both matches.
“Lakes are a good team, I’m surprised that’s where they are at the moment,” Stedman said.
“Last time we played we only just scraped through and found a way to get a win. But it’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be 90 minutes of football, and it’ll be a challenge right across.
“I think it will be whoever can turn up in the right frame of mind players-wise and who’s got the best sort of tactics that are working well. Whoever does that should be able to get the points, but it will be a challenge.”
Stedman is aware of team’s desire to shut down powerhouse leading goal scorer Tara Andrews each week and called for her teammates to step up this weekend.
“There’s been a bit of a challenge with that because Tara is such a great player and teams work around going ‘okay we can shut her down’ and it does play a big part on us, because once Tara is shut down, we lose a bit forward,” Stedman said.
“We’ve got a couple of plans that are coming through and we’ve still got quality there.
“Libby Copus-Brown and Cass [Davis], those sorts of players coming through but then obviously some of the younger ones, we need them to step up and be able to put one or two goals in as well or at least create chances.”
New Lambton will monitor Lauren Allan after she injured her hamstring against Charlestown Azzurri.
Lakes will enter the weekend on a high after they pushed Azzurri until the end in their 1-0 defeat in round 17.
Coach Gabrielle Blanch said her side are eager to continue the momentum they’ve gained in recent weeks.
“I’m feeling quietly positive. We talked a little bit about building some momentum and I feel like we’ve definitely maintained that through our last round coming up against [Charlestown] Azzurri,” Blanch said.
“I thought that the team played well, and we obviously took [Charlestown] Azzurri right to the final couple of minutes before we unfortunately conceded.
“But yeah, I’m feeling like we’re in a good place to once again be competitive.”
In the Roosters' last four matches, only one goal has separated them and their opponents except for their 3-3 draw with Newcastle Olympic.
“I’m not expecting anything too dissimilar from what we’ve been doing. If the group shows up with the fight and the good football that we’ve been bringing the last month or so I can’t deny the girls of having the opportunity to take three points,” Blanch said.
“We focus on us and what we need to do week in, week out and I guess what happens on the pitch in the 90 minutes is the responsibility of the girls. I don’t micromanage those responsibilities.
“I feel like we have a smart enough group to be able to go out there and see the players that need to be dealt with quickly and in this competition more often than not that is happening week in, week out.”
Blanch confirmed Lara Gooch has been cleared to return to play after having surgery at the conclusion of the Ninja A-League season.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Friday 8pm
Adamstown Rosebud JFC will look to defeat league leaders Maitland FC for the first time this season when they welcome them to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Friday night.
Adamstown will be hopeful they can build off their Women’s State Cup performance after they narrowly missed out on featuring in the State Cup final.
The Buds pushed Charlestown Azzurri until the very end in their semi-final going down on penalties after Zoë Horgan equalised for her side in the final moments of the match.
The side will look to continue the momentum and take all three points from Maitland for the first time after a 2-0 defeat in round four and a 2-2 draw in round 11.
They led two times in the round 11 clash before the Magpies were able to claw their way back in the dying moments. Coach Martin Slade will be determined for his side to hold on until the final whistle and walk away with their fourth win of the season.
Maitland FC will look to keep their three-game unbeaten streak alive against the Buds and remain at the top of the table.
The Magpies have only dropped points three times this season with one loss and two draws.
They will be eager to make sure that doesn’t happen again as they go into the final rounds of the competition.
Maitland are sat four points ahead of Charlestown Azzurri in second but still need to serve the bye in round 19.
Coach Joe Wright will hope his side can replicate their dominant 4-0 victory over Broadmeadow Magic in round 17.
Charlestown Azzurri v Broadmeadow Magic
Lisle Carr Oval, Sunday 4pm
Charlestown Azzurri will continue to fight for the top spot when they welcome Broadmeadow Magic to Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Charlestown sit second on the table, four points behind league leaders Maitland FC who need to serve their final bye of the season.
They will be eager to close the gap between them whilst they continue to fight for the premiership by securing all three points in round 18.
Coach Heath Whyte will have confidence in his squad as they defeated Magic 6-0 the last time they met in round 11 with four different goal scorers getting on the scoresheet.
Azzurri will not only be playing for the points this weekend but also for captain Jayna Fraser after she faced season ending injuries in the Women’s State Cup final.
Fraser suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), torn medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) and patella displacement.
Broadmeadow Magic will be looking for just their second victory of the season in round 18 but coach Jason Konjarski is confident his attacking end is ready to unleash their power.
Magic have only netted 12 goals this season and will be hopeful they can add to that tally this weekend.
They will need to tighten defence and shut down a dominant Azzurri front third after conceding 71 goals this season.
Broadmeadow have not picked up a point in their last four matches and will be hoping to put a stop to that run this weekend.
Newcastle Olympic - Bye
