Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic v Charlestown Azzurri
Magic Park, Friday 8pm
Charlestown Azzurri head coach Alicia Ferguson says she expects a “grudge” match when her side travels to Magic Park to face a diminished Broadmeadow Magic side on Friday night.
Azzurri enter the clash after two weeks without matches, but importantly, they come off their first victory of the season.
The Blues downed Lake Macquarie City FC 3-0 in round five, building on the grit shown in their 2-2 draw with Adamstown Rosebud JFC the previous round.
But Ferguson believes the break came at the perfect time for her squad and looks to build on their win from almost three weeks ago.
“I'm really looking forward to the clash with Magic. Obviously, they're familiar with some of the players that have been at Azzurri and have gone over there, so I think it'll be a bit of a grudge match,” Ferguson said.
“The two weeks off have been brilliant. I think from getting to a stage where we were starting to pick up a few little niggly injuries, the break and just being able to train and work on some tactical stuff has been really beneficial.
“That first win was just a huge boost after what was a really tough start to the season.
“I think it proved to the players that we can actually be competitive in this league and after a few heavy losses that was really tough to try and keep everyone's spirits high and try to keep the belief going that we can be competitive.
“It was a nice little reward for all the hard work.”
Azzurri have conceded 17 goals this season, with 10 coming from round one but since then the side tightened their back third.
Ferguson now looks to see her side create more chances in the front third while maintaining their improved defensive structure.
“First and foremost, you've got to have a solid defensive structure and then just really work on making the most of those transition moments,” Ferguson said.
“Creating more goal scoring opportunities and then being clinical with those goal scoring opportunities is something that we're focussing on.
“I think we've done some really good work about our defensive structure, but now it's about how we're creating chances and how we're finishing those chances.”
Charlestown will be without goalkeeper Danielle Bartels, as she is serving as goalkeeper coach for Northern NSW Football at the Emerging Matildas Championships.
Broadmeadow Magic will take the field under assistant coach Dean Cook after head coach Jason Konjarski was handed an eight-match suspension for his red card against Maitland FC, along with an additional two-match suspension for a separate red card he received as a player.
The red card was one of three the side received in their 4-2 loss to Maitland, along with captain Megan Janikowski (two-matches) and Jessica Wallace (one-match).
But despite the disruption Cook believes the side is ready to put out a strong performance and lock in their second win of the season.
“We are feeling confident and excited. The girls have been training extremely well, and we are looking forward to Friday night,” Cook said.
“The girls have freshened up well over the Easter break and have trained strongly since.
“They are very motivated for a big game.”
It is not Cook’s first time leading the squad having done so in the side’s first win of the season when they beat Newcastle Olympic 3-1.
“That was a very determined team performance [against Newcastle Olympic]. Every player had a very positive impact on the result,” Cook said.
“We will be looking for the same type of performance against [Charlestown] Azzurri.
“But we are looking forward to Friday. Three points is our focus right now and a win at home would be very satisfying.”
New Lambton FC v Newcastle Olympic
Alder Park, Saturday 4.30pm
New Lambton FC coach Craig Atkins says he hopes his side can replicate their round six performance when they welcome Newcastle Olympic to Alder Park on Saturday afternoon.
The side defeated Lake Macquarie City FC 4-0 in round six, recording their second clean sheet and fourth win of the season.
Atkins could not fault his side’s performance against the Roosters particularly noting the squads improved communication out on the park.
“I was very happy with our last performance against Lakes. So, we’re looking to reiterate a similar performance and just keep improving on what we're doing,” Atkins said.
“I have definitely seen that improvement in the side, and everyone's had a freshen up with the week off, so the girls are pretty keen and ready to go again, which is great.
“Every game in this competition is important and it's tough. You've got to be mentally switched on and fully focussed for 90 odd minutes.
“I was very happy with the way that the girls trained last night, they've come back keen and are looking to improve again.
“It's very important to try and pick up another three points this weekend.
“Our communication was great to see against lakes as well, so if we can continue that and keep our structures nice and tight and keep the talk up hopefully that'll limit Olympics opportunities.”
New Lambton will be without leading goalscorer Tara Andrews, as she is coaching the Northern NSW Football under-15 girls’ squad at the Emerging Matildas Championships, but Atkins is confident he has the depth for someone to step into her spot.
“I'm very confident in the ability of all the girls that I have, so whoever steps into her shoes this weekend will do a great job,” Atkins said.
“We've seen before that we've got a number of goal scorers, all across the park, we're not lacking in that area. But it's a really good opportunity for some of the other girls to really step up and put their best foot forward this weekend.”
Newcastle Olympic will be hopeful that the Easter break did not affect the momentum gained from their second victory of the season in round six.
Olympic downed Adamstown Rosebud JFC 3-2 before the break, bouncing back from a 9-1 thrashing by Maitland FC.
The win saw them jump to fourth on the table, but with third and seventh separated by just five points, it is vital for Olympic to secure all three points to remain there.
But with the side conceding 18 goals this season, the most of any team, coach Neil Owens will need his side to tighten their defence while remaining brave in attack to find the back of the net.
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC
Adamstown Oval, Sunday 4pm
Adamstown Rosebud JFC will look to pick up their first win of the season when they welcome league leaders Maitland FC to Adamstown Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Adamstown enters the match following a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle Olympic, their third loss of the season. They sit bottom of the table with two points after draws with Broadmeadow Magic and Charlestown Azzurri.
The Buds are yet to open the scoring across the five matches they have played, and they will be hopeful they can come out of the gates firing and avoid falling behind.
A victory for the Buds this weekend is vital to get their season on track and reduce the gap between them and Olympic in fourth.
Adamstown will be led by assistant coach Shane Lewis, as head coach Martin Slade is away.
Maitland sit at the other end of the table, leading the competition having not dropped a point this season.
Across five matches, they have conceded just four goals, with two coming in their round six 4-2 win over Broadmeadow Magic.
They have been strong all over the park, also finding the back of the net 27 times.
The Magpies will be eager to secure their sixth victory of the season, and if they do, they will have defeated every opponent in the competition.
But they will need to reduce small errors, as Adamstown will look to pounce on any opportunity to cause an upset.
Bye - Lake Macquarie City FC