Match of the Round
New Lambton FC 2-3 Valentine FC
Valentine FC coach Cas Wright was thrilled to get win number one as Valentine FC head coach under her belt on Saturday and was full of praise for the playing group following their come-from-behind 3-2 victory against New Lambton FC at Alder Park.
The Phoenix showed resilience to earn the three points after suffering big losses in back-to-back games either side of losing former coach Kallum Garbett earlier this month, as they netted an 89th-minute equaliser and an injury-time winner.
It was Valentine that struck first as left fullback Josh Winiarczyk made a run upfield and pounced on a loose ball to score from close range in the 44th minute after a Carter Smith strike had rebounded away off the post.
That made the score 1-0 in the visitors’ favour at half-time, but New Lambton equalised in the 63rd minute when Caleb Reed won a penalty that skipper Kent Harrison converted.
Harrison then put the hosts ahead in the 69th minute when he got onto the end of a bullet Zach Verhoven cross from the right edge and headed home at the front stick.
The Golden Eagles were still ahead with three minutes remaining in regulation time as they searched for their first win of the campaign.
But their hopes were dashed in the 88th minute when Jagger Wholert stopped a goal-bound Toby Jensen header with his hand and was sent off after conceding a penalty kick.
Dean Pettit converted from the spot to level up the score at 2-2 and then for the sixth time in eight games this season the Phoenix scored last when Pettit squared a pass for Jensen to blast the winner into an empty net.
Wright was pleased to have gotten her first win as the side’s head coach out of the way and said the result was a well-deserved one for her men.
“It’s special to get the first win and I’ve had a fair few messages, which has been nice to receive that acknowledgment,” Wright said.
“For me though, it’s a collective. It’s not just me; the guys deserve the credit for the hard work they’ve been putting in.
“We still have things to work on, but we’ve talked about that grit and determination in this side and they showed it again.
“We’ve scored in every single game this year, so scoring goals is not a problem for us, we just need to keep working on our defence.
“It was a good outcome after the previous two weeks. We have been rebuilding and solidifying a things, and having a few players come back in also made things a bit easier.
“Cale Graham was back and did a great job as a central defender and Carter (Smith) and Campbell (Ross) were both back as well, which was good.
“We’ve still got more players to come back in too”
Valentine’s victory saw them climb from 10th into eighth as they moved within five points of the top five, while New Lambton are still last on one point heading into the Easter long weekend break.
Broadmeadow Magic FC 2-1 Weston Bears FC
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jim Cresnar could not have been any prouder of his side after they overcame a first-half red card to defeat the Weston Bears 2-1 at Magic Park on Friday night.
The two sides created a few shots each in the opening 45 minutes but none of them really tested either goalkeeper.
They went into half-time locked at 0-0 just seconds after Magic’s leading goal-scorer Jarred Baker was sent off for a second bookable offence, which meant the hosts were forced to play with 10 men for the entire second stanza.
Broadmeadow were well and truly up for the battle and they managed to strike first when right wingback Sam Kamper made an angled run into the box and controlled a pass with one touch before firing a powerful shot across goalkeeper George Stephens and into the bottom left corner.
Cody Nancarrow doubled the home side’s lead two minutes later when Jayden Stewardson flicked on a header into the youngster’s path and he rounded Stephens before calmly slotting his strike over two retreating defenders.
Weston did hit back in the 76th minute when Magic’s keeper Lewis Alvarez pulled off a diving save to deny a Burke Fahling strike and Brock Beveridge scored the follow-up attempt, but Broadmeadow held on to earn a brave 2-1 victory.
For Cresnar, it was a potentially season-defining result.
“I’m very proud of the efforts. There was obviously a lot of resilience and great character from individuals and as a team as well,” Cresnar said.
“At half-time we spoke about keeping our structure and discipline and sticking to the game plan, and it was clear they did that.
“The biggest contributors were the guys who came on off the bench; the likes of (Jayden) Stewardson, Riley (Smith), Cody (Nancarrow), (Nicholas) Kacev and Tommy Parkes. They were very effective and had a big impact.
“It was a real team effort, particularly in that second half against a really good team; probably the best team in the league. They’re definitely one of the strongest teams we’ve played this year, and it was an important three points to put between us and them.”
The result saw Broadmeadow extend their streak to seven consecutive wins and kept them on top of the table heading into the Easter long weekend break, while Weston slipped to fifth following their second loss of the year.
Newcastle Olympic FC 4-0 Adamstown Rosebud FC
Newcastle Olympic rediscovered some form in front of goal when they marked their return to Darling Street Oval with a dominant 4-0 victory over Adamstown Rosebud on Friday night.
Olympic were finally back at home after a run of four consecutive away games.
They entered the half-time break ahead 2-0 after Nathan Toby opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a tidy finish from a tight angle and then won a penalty in the 40th that Kale Bradbery converted.
The hosts tripled their lead in the 60th minute when Jared Muller got onto the end of a Jye Rodway cross from the right and headed home Olympic’s third.
Bradbery put the icing on the cake when he completed his brace in the 86th minute with a powerful left-footed strike across the keeper and into the bottom right corner to make the final score 4-0.
The victory was part of a historic weekend for Olympic as they hosted all 12 NPLM NNSW, NPLW NNSW, PYLG and PYLB matches on home soil across the three days for the first time and won all 12 of them.
Paul DeVitis and Mick Bolch’s men’s win was their fourth in eight matches and they now head into the Easter long weekend break fourth on the table, seven points behind league leaders Broadmeadow Magic.
Adamstown remains sixth after their fifth loss of the campaign and are now four points outside the top five.
Edgeworth Eagles FC 2-0 Cooks Hill United FC
Edgeworth Eagles soared to another victory on Saturday as they outscored Cooks Hill United 2-0 at Jack McLaughlan Oval to extend their unbeaten start to the season to eight matches.
The two sides entered the break locked at 0-0 and it remained that way until the 58th minute when Ryan Feutz got onto the end of a Jackson Brady cross and headed the ball down into the path of Jaylen Rodwell, who netted from close range.
Feutz then fired himself out to the top of the golden boot race after doubling Edgeworth’s lead on the hour-mark.
The Kiwi striker picked up the ball on the halfway line and raced upfield and into the 18-yard box before slotting his one-on-one chance into the bottom-left corner.
That made the score 2-0, which was the way it remained when the full-time whistle sounded as the second-placed Eagles scored their sixth win of the season and their fifth on the trot.
The result saw them restore the one-point gap between themselves and league leaders Broadmeadow Magic heading into the Easter long weekend break.
Cooks Hill remain seventh after their fifth loss of the campaign and they are now four points outside the top five.
Lambton Jaffas FC 1-1 Belmont Swansea FC
Two teams proving hard to beat this season finished all square at Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday night as Lambton Jaffas and Belmont Swansea United contested a 1-1 draw.
The two sides were desperate for a win after being overtaken by Valentine FC earlier in the afternoon.
The visitors almost took the lead in the 11th minute but were denied by the woodwork as a curling Ethan Hall strike from the left edge somehow stayed out after beating Ben Kennedy and striking the inside of the right post.
That was the best chance of the first half as the score remained locked at 0-0 at the break.
It looked set to stay that way until Adam Woodbine broke the deadlock with a 78th-minute volley from close range, 20 minutes after he had been introduced off the bench.
The Jaffas had been held scoreless in four of their previous six games and struggled to convert their chances again on Saturday, but they managed to put one away in the 82nd minute when Shusuke Kirihara volleyed home from a similar position to Woodbine to make the score 1-1.
Lambton finished the stronger of the two sides and created two big chances to snatch their second win of the season, but BelSwans’ goalkeeper Kye Abrahams stood strong to deny Kirihara and Lachlan Griffiths and keep the home side out to earn his side a point as it finished 1-1.
It was the fourth draw of the season for BelSwans and Lambton, who are now sitting 10th and 11th, respectively, despite having lost fewer games than four sides ahead of them.
Charlestown Azzurri FC 1-2 Maitland FC
Maitland FC scored a much-needed victory on Sunday afternoon as they took down Charlestown Azzurri 2-1 at Lisle Carr Oval.
The Magpies got off to a red-hot start when their skipper Braedyn Crowley opened the scoring in the third minute.
But the hosts hit back in the 26th minute when Reece McManus stormed into the box and volleyed a powerful shot past a diving Matt Trott.
Trott made several crucial saves to keep the score at 1-1 before and after the break, and his side capitalised at the other end in the 58th minute when Aden Raftery received a pass out wide on the left and beat his man before picking out Crowley with his cross, whose shot was too powerful for Ben McNamara to handle.
Crowley’s double not only guided his side to their second victory of the campaign but also saw him join Edgeworth Eagles’ Ryan Feutz at the top of the golden boot race.
The win saw Maitland climb from 11th into ninth on the table and they are now just five points outside the top five heading into the Easter long weekend.
Charlestown are still third following their loss but are now seven points behind league leaders Broadmeadow Magic.
