Match of the Round
Maitland FC 2-2 Newcastle Olympic
Maitland FC coach Keelan Hamilton couldn’t be prouder of his side’s efforts to come from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Newcastle Olympic at Cooks Square Park on Sunday.
The Magpies were forced to overcome an early red card to their goalkeeper Annabella Thornton to stay in the top-of-the-table clash.
The game got off to a dramatic start when the Magpies were reduced to 10 players in the fifth minute after Thornton was given a straight red card when she collected Jemma House outside of the penalty area.
Midfielder Sophie Jones was sacrificed as reserve grade goalkeeper Alexandra Tagaroulias entered the field.
Olympic made the most of the free kick from the foul on House, with Elodie Dagg able to whip the ball over the sea of players and into the back of the net to give her side the early lead.
The away side continued to create opportunities to double their advantage but was unable to capatlise, as the score remained 1-0 at the half-time break.
The Magpies equalised through the individual brilliance of the competition’s golden boot leader Bronte Peel.
The striker bolted with the ball down the pitch before she ducked and weaved her way through Olympic’s defence and pulled the trigger to launch the ball into the top corner of the net.
Olympic responded three minutes later after House curled the ball in from the edge of the penalty area past Tagaroulias and into the goal.
But Maitland struck back in the 60th minute with a spectacular goal from Paige Kingston-Hogg. The midfielder received a long ball from the defensive line that found her inside the penalty area. She struck the ball on the volley and it soared into the back of the net to take the score to two apiece.
The Magpies were determined to push for a winner as they created chances but the scoreline remained 2-2 at the full-time whistle.
Hamilton was delighted with the effort from his side to come from behind with 10 players but thought they were unlucky not to walk away with all three points.
“I am very proud of the girls,” Hamilton said.
“We showed everything that we have been working on about how resilient we are. We don’t know when we are beaten
“The belief in the group is high and there is a lot of confidence in the group that we want to keep pushing no matter what.
“From our points of view, I think we played really good football considering we were a player down for a large part of the game.
“I think in the end we were the better side and I think we finished the stronger of the two teams.
“We scored two fantastic goals and were a bit unlucky to concede the second goal.
“We are super happy with a point but disappointed not to get the win.”
The Magpies coach said it was a tough decision to bring Sophie Jones off after Thorton was dismissed.
“I have never had to do that in my coaching career. It was tough and a yuck situation, as you have to sacrifice someone when your keeper gets sent,” Hamilton said.
“Sophie [Jones] took it like the champion she is.
“We felt like we were going to need defensive solidarity in the midfield but also needed the legs of Soph [Stapleford] and Georgia [Amess] to stretch Olympic out and Bronte [Peel] to control in the middle.”
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins was pleased to secure a point but was disappointed that his side weren’t able to kill the game off in the first half.
“I thought we started the game really well. I thought we had a number of chances to get ourselves further ahead in the first half but we didn’t,” Atkins said.
“Not going into the break more than a goal up was not where we wanted to be during the break.
“We weren’t able to manage the second half as well but full credit to Maitland, they lifted and never gave up.
“We were unable to do the tactical things that we spoke about and let them [Maitland] get back into the game.
“It is still good to get a point out of the game. We walk away with the draw and we move forward.”
Atkins said the point from the match will be crucial to keep their premiership dreams alive in the back end of the season.
“The point puts us level with Maitland and we now know that anything can happen at this stage in the season,” Atkins said.
“There are still a lot of minutes left and points up for grabs.
“Some of the girls have already watched the game back and analyzed it which is great as to reflect and get ready to go again next week.”
Olympic will hope to return to the winner’s circle when they return home to Darling Street Oval to face Charlestown Azzurri on Sunday.
The Magpies will be eager to maintain their position at the top of the table when they take on Azzurri at Lisle Carr Oval on Tuesday night in their round 15 rescheduled match before they return home to welcome Mid Coast FC on Saturday.
Charlestown Azzurri 21-0 Warners Bay FC
Charlestown Azzurri pulled off the biggest upset of the year after they thrashed Warners Bay FC 21-0 at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday.
The Blues were in control of the match and dominated the Panthers from start to finish.
Azzurri opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a tap-in from Jayna Fraser before Jessie Gentle doubled their advantage three minutes later.
Fraser struck again before Melina Ayres put her name on the scoresheet twice in the 14th and 17th minutes.
The scoreline became 7-0 after 26 minutes when Fraser and Ayres each secured hat-tricks before Jorja Brown hit the back of the net in the 30th minute.
Ayres made the score 8-0 shortly before Gentle netted her second of the afternoon in the 38th minute.
The Blues snuck two more goals in before half-time as Aryes and Fraser each added another one to their tally.
Azzurri went into the sheds 12-0 up at half-time but did not take their foot off the gas in the second 45 minutes, as they put nine more past the Panthers.
Substitute Ella Joyce opened her account in the 48th minute before Gentle secured her hat-trick.
Chloe Cattley took the scoreline to 15-0 in the 63rd minute before Joyce netted three more by the 72nd minute.
Gentle added to her tally once again in the 76th minute and Joyce put two more nails in the coffin for Warners Bay, to take the final score to 21-0.
The Panthers will be desperate to regroup and respond when they return home to John Street Oval to face New Lambton on Wednesday night in their round 16 rescheduled match before they prepare to take on Broadmeadow Magic on Sunday.
The win has moved Charlestown up into third position on the table, five points behind league leaders Maitland FC and Newcastle Olympic in second.
Heath Whyte will hope their confidence will remain when they face the top two sides this week as they host the Magpies in their round 15 rescheduled match and then will travel to Darling Street Oval to take on Olympic on Sunday.
Broadmeadow Magic FC 0-1 Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Adamstown Rosebud JFC caused an upset away from home over Broadmeadow Magic after a 1-0 win at Magic Park on Friday night.
Magic had an early opportunity to go ahead with a strike from Keziah White in the first few minutes, but the shot was smothered by goalkeeper Olivia Sneddon.
Rosebud broke the deadlock in the ninth minute through their top goal scorer Tori Johnson. Jenna Doyle launched a perfect long ball over from the backline and onto the run of Johnston, who made no mistake and slotted her shot into the back of the net.
White had a chance to level the score for Magic with a long-range strike, but the ball failed to dip in time and hit the crossbar.
Sneddon made an impressive save to keep her side in the lead, as she gathered an awkward strike from Mercedes McNabb.
Adamstown continued to dominate and wanted to extend their advantage but the scoreline remained 1-0 at the final whistle.
Despite the win, Adamstown has fallen down into sixth place on the table. They will be eager to make it three from three when they take on New Lambton next Saturday.
The loss is Magic’s fourth game straight without a win and they have slipped down to fourth position on the table with 30 points. They will be desperate to bounce back when they travel to John Street Oval to face Warners Bay FC.
Mid Coast FC 1-14 New Lambton FC
New Lambton FC showcased their dominance over Mid Coast FC after a 14-1 victory at Taree Zone Field on Sunday afternoon.
The two sides played each other for the second time in three days after they faced off in their round 11 rescheduled fixture at Alder Park that saw the Golden Eagles secure a 12-0 victory.
Cass Davis opened the scoring in the eighth minute for the Golden Eagles after the side was awarded a penalty kick.
Lauren Allan doubled New Lambton’s advantage in the 11th minute before Davis added to the tally.
The scoreline progressed to 5-0 in the 25th minute after two strong strikes from Allan, to complete her hat-trick.
Nyah Bradley put her name on the scoresheet in the 35th minute before Davis secured her hat-trick.
Tessa Tamplin netted two more against Mid Coast before half-time to take the score to 9-0 at the break.
Things went from bad to worse in the second half for Middies after Ceara Walker was sent off for match-official abuse.
But the home side clawed one back against the odds through Grace Davies.
New Lambton put their foot back on the gas to kill the game off with five goals from Davis (64th and 78th), Bradley (68th) and Allan (76th and 88th).
The win has moved the Golden Eagles up into fifth position on the table, eight points behind the top four teams. They will be desperate to keep their slim finals chances alive when they take on Warners Bay FC on Wednesday night before they face Adamstown Rosebud JFC on Saturday.
Mid Coast will hope to bounce back next Saturday when they travel to Cooks Square Park to face league leaders Maitland FC.