Match of the Round
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC
Adamstown Oval, Sunday 4pm
Maitland FC coach Keelan Hamilton said they won’t be overlooking anything this Sunday when they fight for the premiership when they travel to Adamstown Oval to face Adamstown Rosebud JFC.
Adamstown will play at Adamstown Oval for the first time this year in the last game of the NPL Women’s NNSW regular season with what will be their biggest test to deny Maitland the premiership.
The Magpies thought their premiership hopes were all but lost as they suffered back-to-back losses to New Lambton FC in the last two weeks.
But the second-placed Olympic failed to leapfrog them into top spot after they went down to Broadmeadow Magic on Tuesday night.
Now Maitland is back in the driver’s seat to secure the silverware for the first time in the club’s history but they will need to win against Adamstown and hope Olympic does not catch them on goal difference.
The Magpies have beaten Rosebuds in their last two competition hitouts 3-0 and 4-1 and will hope to do the same this weekend and finish the season on top of the table.
But Hamilton said that they will not be taking any chances on Sunday and are focusing solely on putting on a good performance rather than the pressures of the premiership race.
“We are obviously coming into the game after two losses in a row,” Hamilton said.
“We want to finish the regular season well and bounce back.
“For the players, we are just mainly focusing on putting on a good performance. “We are looking forward to it.
“We aren’t turning up just focused on the premiership, we know we have a difficult job to do first before we worry about that.
“We won’t be overlooking Adamstown or Olympic and what they can do this weekend to hurt us.
“Adamstown are well coached, so we know this isn’t an easy fixture.”
The Magpies have conceded due to individual mistakes in recent weeks, which is something Hamilton said they will hope to correct this weekend.
“We have performed quite well in recent weeks in portions but have made uncharacteristic mistakes. Every time we have made a mistake, the ball has gone into the back of the net,” Hamilton said.
“It is something that we really have to focus on.
“There has been a lot of learnings for our younger players in recent weeks.
“My main message for Sunday will be that what will be will be. We have had a largely good season. If things don’t go great, the sun will still come up tomorrow. We won’t be making it bigger than it needs to be.”
Hamilton said that it would be a massive achievement for the team and the club if they do enough to win the premiership.
“I think I value the premiership the biggest trophy that you can win it is hard to talk about it before it happens,” Hamilton said.
“It is the most important and biggest trophy to win in my opinion.
“We would be really happy and it would be a fantastic achievement.
“We would be thrilled if we can do it.
Maitland will hope that defender Alesha Clifford will be cleared to return after sitting out last week with a delayed concussion.
Adamstown’s season has not gone entirely to plan, sitting sixth on the table, eight points behind New Lambton in fifth.
But Rosebud’s coach Martin Slade said that his side will be looking to finish the 2024 season on a positive but look to set their foundations up for 2025.
“This weekend will be another opportunity to finish the season on a positive note,” Slade said.
“This isn’t about this season anymore, it is about next year.
“We knocked off one of the top four sides, which was a big goal for us but we know we can’t reach our aim of finishing fifth.
“This weekend will be about next season and our players committing to go again next season.
“We are in recruitment time now. We need to keep putting on good performances and show clubs that we are a destination for players to come to and that we can give them a good environment to play football in.”
Rosbuds will be without four of their key starting players in their final hit out of the season with Leah O'Hagan, Sophie Cook (overseas), Courtney Anderson and Tori Johnson (away) all unavailable to play.
The Rosebud’s coach believed that it would be a difficult challenge to go up against the league leaders without a core part of their team but said that they would go out there to win a game of football.
“We have four players away this weekend, which makes it really difficult,” Slade said.
“Leah [O’Hagan] and Sophie [Cook] have been two of our most consistent players this season and will be big misses.
“It will be good to play a game of football to finish the season after the break last week. Every player wants to play.
“We are realistic and know that they [Maitland] will be out there to prove themselves with the hope of being crowned as premiers at full time.
“My fur coat it is going to be a tough weekend ahead.”
Newcastle Olympic v Warners Bay FC
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins said that his side will need to score ‘lots of goals’ in order to secure the premiership when they take on Warners Bay FC this Sunday.
Olympic will arrive home from Darling Street Oval this weekend looking to bounce back in the hope to lift the premiership trophy at full time still.
Second-placed Olympic had the chance to move clear into first position on the table above Maitland FC on Tuesday night when they faced Broadmeadow Magic but went down 5-2.
Olympic sit on equal points with Maitland and would need to not only win against the Panthers on Sunday but also make up their deficit in goal difference to be crowned premiers.
At this stage, Atkins’ side will need to score more than 14 goals to overtake the Magpies on goal difference, which is something their coach is confident they can do their best to achieve.
“We do need to score lots of goals, but we can’t get carried away with that either because you can go away from the style and quality of football we play,” Atkins said.
“We will set ourselves a goal target and do our absolute best to achieve that.
“We have a range of goal scorers across the park so let's hope that they can get on the scoresheet this weekend.
“We want to be playing at semi-final intensity this Sunday as we know we have a big match ahead of us next week.
“I know the girls will be up for the challenge."
In addition to the defeat on Tuesday night, Olympic also lost their third goalkeeper this season to a serious injury.
17-year-old shot-stopper Tallon Convery broke her leg in a tackle with Magic striker Chelsea Lucas right before the half-time break.
Atkins said that his side were shaken by Convery’s injury and was disappointed to go down to Broadmeadow the way they did.
“We were disappointed not to get the result we wanted against Magic. They were well and truly up for the game and we couldn’t match their intensity,” Atkins said.
“Tallon going down with a broken leg impacted the girls a lot. 2024 has not been the year for goalkeepers at Olympic.
“We have got to move forward and can’t dwell on things too much.
“We are still in the running, it just might be more difficult now.”
With first-choice goalkeeper Isabella Whitton still a week or so away from her return from a hand injury, Atkins said it would be likely an outfield player would be called up to put on the gloves this Sunday.
Outfield player Emily Frost has now featured in goals for the side in two matches and could be the likely choice to do so again this weekend.
Olympic will also be without Jorjia Hogg (knee) but hoped that Evie Horgan could feature in the match after being sidelined with a knee injury.
For Warners Bay, they will just hope to get through the match unscathed and finish their season in a positive light.
The Panthers have struggled to pick up any form this season, with two wins and 18 losses in the competition.
Sunday will be all about shutting down Olympic’s attack and spoiling their premiership hopes by not letting them net 14 or more goals.
They will end the club’s tenure in the NPL Women’s NNSW competition seventh on the table before handing the baton over to Lake Macquarie City FC for 2025.
Charlestown Azzurri FC v New Lambton FC
Lisle Carr Oval, Sunday 4pm
New Lambton FC coach Aaron Stedman said his side will be focusing on what they can control when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday to take on Charlestown Azzurri FC.
The Golden Eagles looked like they would be the underdogs of the competition and would crack their way into the finals after back-to-back wins against league leaders Maitland FC.
But Broadmeadow Magic quickly reclaimed fourth position on Tuesday night to put themselves in the driver's seat to snap up the last finals spot.
New Lambton sits one point behind Magic and would need them to lose or draw to Mid Coast FC this weekend on top of getting a win against the Blues away from home to qualify for finals football.
Stedman said that their recent results will give his side a lot of confidence heading into this weekend’s clash.
“Our results against Maitland will be a big positive going into the Charlestown game,” Stedman said.
“We knew that we couldn’t worry about other results as we have no control over them.
“We will turn up and do our best to get the win.
“The girls will be raring to get themselves onto the field.”
Azzurri also enters the clash high on confidence after consecutive dominant defeats over Mid Coast (9-1, 10-0) to cement their spot in third on the table.
The Blues have the upper hand in the contest already defeating the Golden Eagles 4-1 in round seven and 6-4 in round 14.
Coach Heath Whyte will hope that his side can continue their momentum into the final week of the regular season and set themselves up for a successful finals campaign.
Broadmeadow Magic v Mid Coast FC
Magic Park, Sunday 4pm
Broadmeadow Magic will look to keep the good times rolling when they host Mid Coast FC at Magic Park on Sunday afternoon.
After a difficult period on and off the field, with a poor run of results and their coach Nima Nikfarjam stepping down, Magic bounced back in a big way to put them back in the top four.
They defeated Newcastle Olympic 5-2 in their round 13 rescheduled game on Tuesday night to get themselves in the driver's seat to secure a spot in the finals.
They sit fourth on the table, with 36 points, one point ahead of New Lambton FC.
In a shock return, defender Alice Munro came off the bench against Olympic after leaving earlier in the season.
Interim head coach Jason Konjarski will hope that his team can use their new-found confidence and make it two from two at home.
The last two times these sides have gone head-to-head, Magic secured a 6-0 and 9-0 victory.
Mid Coast will hope to finish their disappointing season on a positive note. Their young squad was up against it from the get-go but the side showed considerable improvement as the competition progressed.
Their 2024 campaign was disrupted with injuries and a change in coach but the Middies have continued to show up each week and put on a brave performance.
Brett Walker will hope that his side can give it their all in their final match of the season.