George Tsamouras Football Journey

Lambton Jaffas v Hamilton Olympic
Saturday 12^th May, 2:30 pm at Arthur Edden Oval 

Two sides who have clawed their way back among the winners will each be desperate to make it two in a row, but each for different reasons. 

Jaffas has the upper hand in recent history between these two sides, beating Olympic 2-1 in both legs of their semi-final last season. Lambton also won the regular season clashes in rounds one and twelve, 3-2 on both occasions.

Before Saturday, Lambton hadn’t won since round three. They only lost one match in that time though, and with just two defeats so far this season they sit just a point off the top four.

Round eight was a good one for Lambton, their third win of the season against a tough Jets outfit. Two goals is a comfortable enough margin, and it may have been more if not for some desperate defending at the opposition end.

Home form has been one of Lambton’s strong points this season. From their four fixtures at home, they have ten points – their only stumble was a draw with Adamstown in round five.

Scoring goals haven’t been the issue for Olympic this year but rather conceding them – they’ve let through 16 in seven matches, conceding three goals in a single match on four occasions.

More goals than the opposition is the name of the game though, and Hamilton did just that last time out in a high scoring affair over Lakes. The winning goal, a penalty, was controversial but it won’t matter to Olympic who desperately needed the three points.

It ensured they avoided a slip to the bottom after results were largely positive for those at the bottom of the ladder. Repeat performances from the likes of Simon Mooney, last week’s hat-trick hero, will go a long way in securing three more points this weekend.

What the coaches said
Peter McGuinness (Hamilton)

“I watched Lambton play last week (against Jets Youth) and thought they were very well organised and they have a lot of quality across the park, a lot of experience and they play good football. They know their jobs, they know their roles, and they’re well-coached.

“We’ve got to reshuffle this week a bit, Jacob Bailey will be missing and so will Rhys Cooper, who’s going to Spain for futsal with the Australian side, so a little bit of a reshuffle but we just have to make sure this is a game where we don’t give things away easy and we stay disciplined and play to a good structure, if we do that we’ll do alright.

“Training has been good even though we’ve lost games because the performances have been quite good, the players have felt there’s not a game we’ve played this year where we didn’t think we could win it… the boys have been really good, they seem upbeat and they know they can play good football, it’s just about being a bit more disciplined.”

Lake Macquarie City v Maitland Magpies
Saturday 12^th May, 7 pm at Macquarie Field 

There were defeats for both Lakes and Maitland in round eight, but an evening match on the lake may be just what they each need to jump back among the winners.

It will have only been 12 days since Lakes last played Maitland when the two sides kick off on Saturday evening after their clash in the FFA Cup last Wednesday night. Lakes won that match 2-0, but the Magpies won their two encounters in the league last season.

That midweek win over Maitland and a first clean sheet of the season would have been a big boost to a season for Lakes which has been up and down. A big win over Valentine is in contrast to consecutive league defeats to Jets Youth and Hamilton.

Last weekend’s result, the loss to Hamilton, was a tight one. Lakes were ahead twice early in the first half, but unable to see out that lead as they went down to a Hamilton side which was desperate for a victory.

Three goals in that fixture moved talisman Lakes striker Sam Walker to the top of the goal-scoring charts. He now has seven goals from seven appearances and will be keen to add to his tally this weekend to maintain his place at the top.

A good run for Maitland was brought to an abrupt halt last weekend against Edgeworth. That run, four league games without a loss was enough to ensure they shot into and remain in the top four.

Maitland boasts the equal-first most potent attack in the league, and they’ve managed to do it without any key stand out goal scorer. They have four players on three goals each so far this season – Ryan Clarke, Matt Comerford, James Thompson and Alex Read.

Incredibly, the Magpies have only played two matches away from home this season despite being eight rounds in – one in the league, and one in the cup. They’ve lost both of those, one at Lakes, and will be looking to put an end to bad away form before it can start.

What the coaches said:

Nick Webb (Lakes)

“We expect Maitland to be very strong, they were understrength in the pre-season and we played them understrength in the FFA Cup, we’re expecting them to be reeling from their loss on the weekend and going pretty hard, and we’ve got to stop leaking goals and put in a much more structured performance.

“I don’t think beating them in the FFA Cup gives us an edge, every game is a new game and they were undermanned in that game with about five or six out, we did really well but they certainly didn’t have Matt Thompson on the field and he makes an enormous difference to their squad.

“The loss last weekend won’t fire us up especially, we make sure to discuss all those things at training on Tuesday night and understand that there was a mistake and we move on. It might have been a point missed, but we’ve thrown away nine this year so it’s a bit hard to complain about one when we’ve thrown away nine. We’ve got to dig in and be defensively better.”

Michael Bolch (Maitland)

“Lakes are very good on the counter-attack, they set up well defensively and have a fair bit of pace up front. Sam Walker has been scoring a few goals lately so we’ll have to keep a close eye on him, he’s always a danger… they do very well on the break, (Nick) Webby has them set up very structured with the five-man back line.

“Things will be different from the FFA Cup loss, we rested six starters against them due to injury and fatigue so it’ll be a different game this weekend, three competition points up for grabs, we want to stay in contact with the top four so it’s a game that we want to win.

“We changed a few things up against Edgeworth last week and I thought we did really well for about 60 minutes against them, Matt Comerford back this weekend gives us a bit more of an x-factor in the final third. I think we’ve been a bit off the pace in the front third, we’ve created plenty of opportunities without being clinical so I think we need to improve that side of our game.”

Charlestown City Blues v Valentine Phoenix
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Lisle Carr Oval 

The match before the bye for Charlestown is one which they’ll be desperate to win and mark out some sort of advantage in the top four, but it won’t be an easy task given Valentine has finally snagged their first win of the season and will want to make it two. 

It’s been almost five years since Charlestown has beaten Valentine – a 7-1 victory back in August 2013. Phoenix beat the Blues on both occasions last year, the most recent a 3-1 win in late May.

After a barnstorming run to kick off the season, Charlestown goes into this weekend without a league win since round six. Last weekend’s loss to Adamstown was a shock to the league.

Their place inside the top four is safe no matter the result this weekend, and they’ll be eyeing a return to the top. A big win could do it, and they may be looking for more goals given they’re currently the lowest scoring side in the top four.

Injuries are mounting up at Charlestown with Kane Goodchild, Daniel Minors and now Riley McNaughton sidelined. McNaughton came off in the 17^th minute in last week’s outing with a torn medial ligament.

Valentine has been hit with injury problems of their own, with striker Daniel Ott set to not play a single match for the club. The Achilles injury he suffered in the pre-season looks to have forced him into retirement.

Darren Sills has brought in Matt Paul as an injury replacement and he played his first league match for Valentine this season at the weekend against Weston. That match was their first win in the league this season.

This is the first of a difficult run leading into the bye for Valentine. Charlestown on Sunday, followed by Adamstown and Edgeworth. If they can spring a second upset on Charlestown, it bodes well for Phoenix who now sits bottom of the ladder after Weston’s midweek win.

What the coaches said

Sam Griffin (Valentine assistant)

“Charlestown will be a bit fired up given they’ve probably been below their own expectations the last couple of weeks so we’re expecting a bit of an onslaught I think.

“There will be times where we’ll sit and counter against them, but it’s just about playing what’s in front of us but we’ve turned a bit of a corner now and scored eight goals in two games, so we’ve gone from being really defensive to quite offensive so we’re still trying to find that middle ground, and we’re getting closer.

“There’s no powerful force in football than a win, just look at Adamstown at the moment who have hit a bit of form and they beat Charlestown last week who no one but they would have expected, so they’ve got the belief like we have and there’s no reason why we don’t see ourselves as a massive chance to win this game.” 

Edgeworth Eagles v Adamstown Rosebud
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Jack McLaughlin Oval 

The now league leaders and perennial premiers, Edgeworth will have to be wary of an Adamstown side which finally looks to have clicked if they want to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches.

Back at the top of the heap, it’s where Edgeworth was last year when they did away with Adamstown on two occasions last year – an aggregate score of 9-0 in their two fixtures last season. Rosebud hasn’t beat Edgeworth since July 2015.

Things are clicking for Edgeworth. They extended their unbeaten run to six matches at the weekend with a tight win over Maitland and exhibited the type of defensive performance to which we’re accustomed to seeing from the Eagles.

Daniel McBreen is one playing who seems to be enjoying a new lease on life this season as he scored his fourth goal in three appearances at Maitland on Sunday. His experience, combined with the pace of the players around him could cause Rosebud issues this weekend.

Edgeworth’s record with sides outside the top four so far is stellar this season – maximum points in the three games over Jets Youth, Weston and Hamilton. The Eagles have a recent form on their side, but Adamstown will be full of confidence after a fantastic week.

That fantastic week began with a round seven victory over Weston, followed by an FFA Cup win over Northern League One side Toronto and culminated in a huge upset victory over Charlestown.

Adamstown is likely to set up for this match similarly to how they did against Charlestown last weekend, given the success they had. It’s another well-drilled, experienced opponent this weekend and another big match.

One highlight of their season thus far has been the form of Connor Heydon, who currently has five goals from eight league matches this season. Those five account for more than half of Rosebud’s total of nine this season.

What the coaches said

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff (Adamstown)

“Edgeworth have a lot of experience, they’re well organised with a lot of confidence and we’re expecting a tough game. Our approach will be very similar to Charlestown, a lot of experience in the side so we have to respect that and their position in the league, the quality of the players in their team, we’ve just got to work hard and fingers crossed.

“The boys have taken a lot of confidence from the past three games, some good results but we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve had two good performances from the three results, I don’t think the Weston win was a good performance, but we’ve still got a long way to go, hard work to do and places where we need to learn things.

“Connor (Heydon) is always going to be a threat, so hopefully we can utilise him in the right way and I’m just happy he’s out there enjoying his football, he’s playing with a smile on his face which is great to see.”

Broadmeadow Magic v Newcastle Jets Youth
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Magic Park 

Fresh from a week on the sidelines, Magic will be keen to put the pressure on the top two with a win over a Jets Youth outfit this weekend which could jump into the four with a win.

A stellar record over the Jets will give Magic a little more confidence going into this match. An aggregate 7-1 record across two matches last year is in Magic’s favour, and they’ve not lost to Jets Youth since June 2014.

Magic slipped only one place last weekend with the bye, and are still both inside the top four and within reach of first place. They did play a match in that period though, a 4-1 win over Wallsend in the FFA Cup.

With seven games behind them, Broadmeadow currently boasts the best defence in the league. They’ve conceded just seven goals this season, two less than the next best side, Lambton.

They’ve also got the equal best attack in the league. It’s no surprise though, with the type of attacking firepower they’ve got up front though, which will only be boosted by the huge sign in of Mitch Oxborrow.

Oxborrow returns after a stint with Brisbane Roar and coach Ruben Zadkovich will hope he can have the same type of explosive impact he did for Magic last season. He will be especially important this weekend, given Magic will be without Dino Fajkovic (suspension), along with James Virgili, John Majurovski, Takebe Soma (injury). Kale Bradbury is also in doubt after copping a knock in their FFA Cup win over Wallsend last weekend.

It’s been a yo-yo type of season so far for Jets Youth, who haven’t been able to put two wins together despite three victories so far this season. This will be their third league match in eight days.

The first of that run was last Saturday against Lambton, where they went down 2-0. Misery was compounded on Wednesday night with a 2-1 loss against to a desperate Weston.

Despite the midweek loss, the inclusion of Angus Thurgate at Weston appeared to have a big impact on the side in the final third. They’re the third lowest scoring side in the competition, and they may look to the attacking midfielder to help create more.

What the coaches said

Ruben Zadkovich (Magic)

“I don’t read too much into recent results around the competition, what I do know about the Jets Youth team is they have some handy boys in there, people like Angus Thurgate are quite crafty and potentially some of the younger boys who are in there because they’re good footballers and they’re talented.

“I expect them to be good on the ball, mobile, and we’ll have to defend as a unit… we had four or five days off with the bye after the cup game last weekend, let the boys have time with the family, no football and a bit of a freshen up which was good.

“Mitch Oxborrow will bring hard work to the side. He’s a quality talent, he’s everything we want at Magic, he’s a good quality asset and he’s happy to play whatever role we give him, he wants to be there for the boys and having a player of his talent and his attitude is awesome. He trained with us Wednesday night.”

Weston has the bye

source: http://northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic 4 (Mooney 7’, 21’, 39’, Pettit PEN 63’) def. Lake Macquarie City 3 (Sichalwe 3’, Walker PEN 13’, 58’)
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Darling Street Oval

Nothing but a win would have done for Hamilton on Sunday, who were fighting hard for a positive result after losing by slim margins time and time again so far this season.

It took a controversial penalty to get them over the line, but Olympic wouldn’t have cared as they edged out Lakes in a seven-goal thriller.

It was a match that was tit-for-tat almost the entire way through, Lakes getting things started through Paul Sichalwe in just the third minute. Their brand of counter-attacking football on full show looked to have opened up a chance, but it was when things broke down that the chance opened up.

Attempting to play their way out of trouble, Olympic’s Reece Papas was caught on the ball just outside the box. It sat up nicely for Sichalwe, and he made no mistake from the edge of the 18 to make it 0-1.

Keen to level things, the home side did just that in the seventh minute. Simon Mooney rose from a corner and headed home to square it up at 1-1.

Lakes was ahead just five minutes later after Tom Davies slid in to make a tackle inside the area and handballed. Davies wasn’t too pleased with the decision, but Sam Walker stepped up regardless and scored his sixth goal in four matches to make it 1-2.

Hamilton got level once again in the 21^st minute as they were keen not to rest on their laurels. A floated ball in from Cody Lucas just beat the head of Lakes’ defender Corey Fletcher, and Mooney was there again to square things up.

Hamilton went ahead for the first time in this match just minutes from half-time, Mooney the beneficiary of another great ball, this time from the opposite side. A good touch from Mooney brought it under his control, a measured chip beat Lakes’ keeper Stuart Plant and made it 3-2.

In the 58^th minute, Walker shot his way to the top of the competition goal-scoring charts after firing home from outside the area. His shot took a deflection on the way, and Lakes was level.

The key moment in this match would come in the 62^nd minute when Tom Sparre dove in on Scott Pettit and looked to have won the ball. A penalty was awarded however and Pettit converted the penalty which he won to send his side ahead 4-3.

Despite more chances at both ends, 4-3 is how it’d stay. Hamilton claiming their first home win in the league this season, while Lakes left searching after conceding nine goals in their last two outings.

Speaking to BarTV Sports after the match, Hamilton coach Peter McGuinness called it a ‘relief’ to have claimed a first league win since round two.

“The group can play good football, week in week out we tend to find ourselves chasing games whether it be through individual mistakes, switching off or whatever reason and it happened again today,” said McGuinness.

“I thought we could have scored in the first minute, we had another opportunity and then we were down again which was the frustrating part… today was about getting a win, getting some points.

“I know they can play football, I know we can develop them further as footballers and as a team but without that key ingredient of winning games, it’s hard to build momentum and get confidence.

“Hopefully we take that into a good week of training and go up against Jaffas next week, a little bit of confidence, we know we can score it’s just about keeping the other end tidy.”

Under 20s – Olympic won 4-1
Under 18s – Lakes won 0-1

NPL Youth
Olympic vs Valentine
Under 16s Olympic won 3-1
Under 15s Valentine won 3-4
Under 14s postponed
Under 13s drew 4-4

Zone League 2
Olympic vs Nelson Bay
1st Grade Olympic won 4-3
2nd Grade Nelson Bay won 2-3

Community Juniors
Under 16a Olympic 4-3 South Wallsend
Under 14a Olympic 2-1 West Lakes
Under 13a Olympic 2-1 Cessnock
Under 12a Olympic 1-6 Magic

Thursday night
Under 16a Olympic 5-1 Lambton

Valentine Phoenix 4 (Pettit 6’, 58’, Willard 44’, Niyonkuru 86’) def. Weston Bears 3 (Barner 1’, Buswell 79’, 88’)
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at CB Complex

Sunday at CB Complex was a to-and-fro contest between two sides desperate to propel themselves back into the winners’ circle – Weston for the first time since round four, Valentine for the first time this season.

The home side didn’t do it the easy way but managed to do just enough to see out the Bears and grind their way out of last on the ladder.

It didn’t look like things were going to go their way after Jake Barner opened the scoring for Weston after just 35 seconds. New signing Kamon Bol sent a floating ball over to the back post, which Barner headed in.

Valentine was straight on the front foot, and it didn’t take them long for a response. Reece Pettit was the beneficiary of a deep free kick, the captain in the mixer and making no mistake with his header from inside the six-yard box to make it 1-all.

Tega Adjeke went close in the 29^th minute after breaking away from a number of defenders and fired off a wicked shot which dipped too late over the crossbar.

A game of pinball ensued inside the penalty area in the 36^th minute after Valentine was awarded an indirect free kick for a pass back from Kamon Bol which was picked up by Kane Runge.

Joel Wood’s effort after the free kick that was touched to him was saved, the ball fell to Josh Carroll who saw his shot fly back off the post before Christian Kershaw’s shot went wide into a Bears player. It fell back to Matt Paul, and his shot deflected out for a corner and Weston got away by the skin of their teeth.

Valentine would go ahead just before halftime, and it was another free kick. Floated in from the right-hand side, it was knocked down in the area to Luke Willard who poked home to put his side ahead 2-1.

Wood had an extraordinary chance to double the home side’s advantage just moments after half-time, but he was denied by a low Kane Runge save.

Valentine did double their lead nearly fifteen minutes into the half after they took full advantage of yet another set piece. It was the captain again, Pettit, who rose and headed home to make it 3-1.

Jackson Burtson had a good opportunity in the 71^st minute but didn’t get enough power into the shot, before Shinji Shozu forced another good save from Runge down to the keeper’s left in the 76^th.

Weston got themselves back in with a shout in the 79^th minute after Cooper Buswell rose for the header after a deep Nathan Morris free kick and scored his first goal of the season.

Any hope of a Weston comeback was virtually snuffed out after substitute Aaron Nikonyuru started and finished a move, the goal a precise curling shot into the near post to make the score 4-2.

The visitors may have had their hopes up slightly once again in the 88^th minute after Cooper Buswell rose yet again, this time from a Jordan Jackson cross, and headed home to bring the Bears within a goal. Valentine proved too strong at the end, holding out their opponents for a priceless victory.

Valentine coach Darren Sills was ‘happy and relieved’ to have picked up his side’s first win of the campaign.

“It’s good for the club, we got all three grades up,” said Sills.

“We had a blatant penalty disallowed, we hit the post, one-on-one chance with Joel Wood and we should have been more than 3-1 up… Weston had a couple of chances, but we had enough to put them to bed plenty of times over.

“We still scored four goals, but defensively it was lacking at set pieces, in particular, that’s something we have to work harder on… when you score four goals you should win comfortably, not conceding three off set pieces.

“Utilised more of an impact role for Aaron (Niyonkuru) and Shinji (Shozu), pleased within particular Aaron, he did well and Shinji is still a work in progress but he’s doing okay.”

Newcastle Jets Youth 0 def. by Lambton Jaffas 2 (Crowley 34’)
Saturday 5^th May, 2:30 pm at Arthur Edden Oval

Without a league win since round three, but a huge cup win just days prior, Lambton desperately needed all three points to keep touch with the top on Saturday.

In the shadow of McDonald Jones Stadium and the impending Hyundai A-League grand final, a champion side chock-full of former Newcastle Jets players did the job against the next generation and kept Lambton’s second clean sheet of the season.

Jaffas broke through in the first half, the goal coming after a Bren Hammel free-kick forced a good, high save from Noah James. The ensuing corner from Joel Griffiths was met in the middle by Braedyn Crowley, who scored his first league goal in Lambton colours.

The home side nearly had two just a minute later, after breaking quickly down the pitch and finding Joel Griffiths. He put a foot on it inside the six-yard box for the onrushing Ryan Griffiths, but he was caught perhaps unaware and managed to dribble his shot into the arms of James.

Not long after the break, Jaffas had two. Crowley had a big hand in this one too, squaring the ball to Ben Hay from the left-hand side. Hay slipped through Tom Waller, who finished strongly to make it 0-2.

Jets Youth nearly had one back in the 71^st minute, after a Kent Harrison cross was put narrowly wide by Jaffas defender Michael Sessions. In the end, neither side was able to add to the score-line and Lambton jump the Jets to move into fifth place.

Adamstown Rosebud 3 (Carias-Cox 19’, Heydon 30’, def. Charlestown City Blues 2 (Tull 3’, Lewis 66’)
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Adamstown Oval

Going into last weekend’s clash with Weston, Adamstown was in all sorts of trouble after six league matches without a win and more than twenty goals conceded in those fixtures.

After full-time yesterday, Rosebud now finds themselves with three wins (two in the league, one in the cup) on the trot and can count themselves as only the second side to have got the job done against Charlestown this season.

It looked like Adamstown may have been in for another long afternoon when Charlestown captain Matt Tull poked home from a corner in just the third minute to put the visitors, and league leaders, ahead.

The home side would find a way back in shortly after though, with a corner from the same side the catalyst. The ball found Tom Carias-Cox at the near post, and his glancing header found the back of the net and made it 1-1.

On the half-hour mark, Adamstown was ahead. A ball across from the left off the boot of Judd Duncan found Connor Heydon, who met it superbly on the volley and steered it home past Danny Ireland.

It was a superb individual effort from Cal Lewis which levelled the scores in the 66^th minute. He received the ball on the right-hand side, beat two defenders and fired home into the top of the net past Benn Kelly to make the score 2-all.

Charlestown nearly had a third in the 67^th minute, when a curling Scott Smith effort was deflected just over the bar.

A quick counter-attack would eventually prove the difference between the two sides in the 78^th minute. Adamstown streaked away down the pitch, and it was Connor Heydon who was the beneficiary of a Chris Berlin ball in. His shot made its way in with the help of the inside of the far post.

Adamstown thought they had a fourth in the 83^rd minute when a Turki Alwesaidy free kick on the edge of the area found Chris Berlin, and his effort was poked home by Connor Heydon – but he was offside.

Charlestown nearly pinched a point in the 94^th minute after a free kick was let through the legs of Riley McNaughton and nearly caught Kelly off guard in goal, but it wasn’t to be as Adamstown celebrated a huge win.

Maitland Magpies 1 (Clarke 28’) def. by Edgeworth Eagles 2 (McBreen 21’, Bower 78’)
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

With both sides level on points and first place potentially up for grabs, Maitland and Edgeworth were coming into a difficult clash on the hill at Cooks Square Park.

Edgeworth is looking like the competition has come to know again, as they claimed a priceless victory to extend their unbeaten run to six matches and shoot up to the top of the heap.

It was Daniel McBreen who opened the scoring for Edgeworth with his fourth goal in his past three matches. It was scrappy, McBreen was the beneficiary of a loose ball inside the area after a corner, but he wouldn’t have cared as Edgeworth went ahead 0-1.

Only seven minutes later, Maitland was level. A nice one-two between Ryan Clarke and Chris Fayers saw the former emerge with the ball, and was allowed to run on goal before pulling up and curling in a nice effort from outside the 18-yard box to make it 1-1.

The Eagles nearly went ahead in the 59^th minute after a free kick in from Tyson Jackson was met by the head of Josh Evans, but came back off the crossbar.

It has so often been the late show for Edgeworth this season, and it was so once again on Sunday. Substitute Will Bower found himself free inside the area after beating Liam Thornton and cutting back onto his left foot.

Bower unleashed a curling shot, which left Matt Trott with little he could do as it rippled the back of the net and put Edgeworth ahead.

1-2 is how the score would stay, Maitland missing their chance to go the top of the ladder and slipping to fourth with their second loss of the season.

Edgeworth coach Damien Zane said he believed his side ‘deserved’ the win.

“The way that we played, we had to be patient and we were and it’s good, the depth in our squad showed and the effort from the boys off the bench helped us get over the line,” said Zane.

“It was a decent performance, I thought we defended pretty well and didn’t give up much apart from their goal which was a pretty decent strike.”

Despite shooting from fourth to first with the win, the Eagles aren’t getting ahead of themselves just yet.

“It’s early days yet, we hope we can maintain it, we’ve been pretty lucky so far to avoid injuries but it’s a long season and there’s a long way to go so we’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” said Zane.

“The goal we had was semi-finals, that’s our first step and as it gets closer we’ll start thinking about premierships.

“Josh Rose was fantastic, he had a big night on Saturday as one of the retiring players but he was full of energy and you could see his quality,” said Zane.

“The way we trained on Friday when he was there, there was a spring in the boys’ step and he’s added to us already, he’ll be a great fit.”

source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic v Lake Macquarie City
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Darling Street Oval

Despite scoring five goals between them in last week’s matches, both Olympic and Lakes come into Sunday’s match off the back of losses.

Runners-up in 2017, Hamilton has a slight edge over Lakes in terms of recent history with a 4-0 victory and 1-all draw in rounds 21 and 10 respectively.

It’s been a case of so close, yet so far for Hamilton in all three league games since they played the bye in round four. A tight 2-1 defeat to Jets Youth in round five, with misery compounded by last-gasp defeats to the hands of Edgeworth and Maitland in the ensuing weeks.

Results have been poor, but performances not so and Hamilton desperately need to convert good play into three points. Doing so this weekend could propel them as high as seventh in the ladder, from their current place in tenth.

Lakes had their own midweek FFA Cup clash, emerging 2-0 victors over fellow NPL side Maitland with just their second clean sheet of the season so far. It’s a far cry from last Sunday’s result, wherein they went down 5-3 to Jets Youth.

Individual errors at the back were perhaps the Roosters’ biggest problem against Jets Youth, and the signing of Stuart Plant from Charlestown will give them depth between the sticks. His experience with Singleton in the Northern League One last season, and Charlestown in the early stages of this season will serve Lakes well.

One of Lakes’ biggest strengths this season has been their lethality in front of goal. With 14 goals so far, they’re the fourth most potent side in the league. Sam Walker has been their best in front of goal with five, Mitch Hunter is close on his tail with four.

What the coaches said:

Nick Webb (Lakes)

“As we proved on Wednesday night (against Maitland), if we just play to our structures without really concentrating on where to break opposition down essentially, we’re quite confident in creating chances in our front third but it’s a matter of taking them, and keeping things tight in the back line and the clean sheet on Wednesday was an improvement on last weekend.  

“That win over Maitland has given us a boost, they were weakened there’s no doubt but our biggest focus in that game was a clean sheet… it was a good debut by Stuart Plant, he gave us some real leadership at the back and he’s been a great addition already.

“He brings that leadership at the back, the other boys are great competitors but they’re just not mature as yet like you need in a ‘keeper and Stuey give us that extra bit of confidence.”

First Grade: 2:30pm
U/20s: 12:30pm
U/18s: 10:45am

NPL  YOUTH ROUND 9:

Valentine vs Hamilton Olympic at Cahill Oval

U13s kick off at 10am

U15s kick off at 11.30am

U16s kick off at 1pm

Valentine Phoenix v Weston Bears
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at CB Complex

Anchored to the bottom and desperate for a first league win of the season, Valentine has it all to play for when they host Weston this Sunday afternoon.

Weston turned heads with a win against Broadmeadow back in round four but after three losses on the trot, they’re in desperate need of a shot in the arm themselves.

History may be on the side of the hosts though, who haven’t lost to Weston since they were promoted back to the top flight in 2016. A 3-0 Valentine victory in August was the last time these two sides met.

With Adamstown’s win last weekend, Valentine is now the only side without a league win so far this season. Their 4-3 triumph over Zone League side Dudley in the FFA Cup will have given the side some confidence.

In a loss for Valentine, it’s been confirmed with the opening of the NPL transfer period that they’re now without midfielder Aden Gardner, who made his debut for new club Charlestown in the FFA Cup on Wednesday night.

The lowest scoring side in the competition, it’s evident the loss of Jalon Brown is hurting Valentine immensely. The singing of former NPL NSW striker Daniel Ott was expected to go some way in filling his absence, but Ott is yet to play for Valentine this season due to injury.

Their low scoring record has only been exacerbated by a pair of misses from front-man Joel Wood in the past fortnight. After a pair of clinical finishes against Hamilton in round three, Wood has been missing that solid finish in past weeks. Reclaiming it may be the difference on Sunday.

Despite last weekend’s defeat, Weston didn’t lose their position on the ladder and remain in eighth. It’s an improvement on last season but it’s still a tenuous position; if results go against them this weekend, they could end up in the last place come Sunday evening.

It was a finally clinical Adamstown outfit which got away with Weston last weekend, the Bears unable to find a breakthrough to take at least a point. They weren’t able to create many clear-cut chances in the final half hour despite dominance in the front third, and a glaring Tega Marcus miss in the final minutes topped off a bad day for Weston.

In a blow for the Bears, young winger Regan Lundy looks to be out for an extended period after suffering a serious leg injury midway through the second half on Saturday afternoon. The full extent of that injury will be clearer when he goes for scans later in the month.

Sunday shapes as an opportunity for Weston to shake off their malaise away from home. They’ve not taken any points from four matches on the road so far this season and conceded at an average of three goals a game. A good result this weekend leading into the bye could make all the difference to the Bears’ bigger picture.

What the coaches said

Sam Griffin (Valentine assistant)

“There’s no particular area where we think we can target Weston, a bit of a change of fortunes from last year when they were at the bottom and we were doing well. They’ve certainly lifted their game, especially that game against Broadmeadow (2-1 win in round 4) and they’re a force to be reckoned with.

“They’ve got experience back in the there with Nathan Morris and that’s helped out their backline a lot, they’ve got players that can hurt us… the FFA Cup win has given us confidence we can score, and confidence has a lot to do with goal scoring, you’ve just got to expect goals will come but we haven’t been playing well enough or been clinical enough.

“It’s not just our finishing but it’s our passing to get into those areas, but that win last night (against Dudley) will give us confidence that we can get the ball into those areas and we can score. Wilson Edwards sat out against Dudley but he’ll back for Sunday, and Scott Carter is likely still out.”

Newcastle Jets Youth v Lambton Jaffas
Saturday 5^th May, 2:30 pm at Arthur Edden Oval

It’s fifth versus sixth, and eight rounds in these are positions the punters expected neither of these sides to occupy at this stage this season.

Despite recent form, Jets Youth has a solid track record against Lambton with two wins against Jaffas in the past two seasons. The most recent encounter between the two saw Lambton emerge with a 4-2 win, in August last year.

With this match set to act as somewhat of a curtain raiser to the A-League grand final across the road just hours later, both coaches will have to work to ensure their troops have their mind firmly on the job.

None more so than Lawrie McKinna and Labinot Haliti, who have the task of preparing their young Jets for their quest to win back-to-back for the first time since July last year.

They were clinical last weekend, scoring five goals with three of those coming directly from Lakes’ mistakes – but make no mistake, they weren’t the easiest of finishes.

A string of good results so far this season has Jets Youth sitting in the fifth spot on the ladder. They could jump into the top four if results work in their favour, but make no mistake Jets Youth are not the easy beats they were for much of 2017.

That type of level-headedness will be absolutely necessary once again this weekend, as they face a side which has been one of the competition’s best for a number of years and boasts their share of ex-Jets.

That side, Lambton, come into this one without a league win since round three. A midweek rout of South Cardiff may have helped boost confidence amongst the group, however, the 11-0 win including a hat-trick for Luke Remington.

The big news during Lambton’s week off was their signing of former Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City man Brayden Crowley. He’ll offer something different to their stack of talented front men, and James Pascoe will hope he can help kick Jaffas into gear this week.

Adamstown Rosebud v Charlestown City Blues
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Adamstown Oval

Two wins from two games after a poor start to the year will have Rosebud bouncing this week, but with both eyes firmly on what is a monumental task this weekend.

Charlestown comes into this one with a history largely on their side – they’ve lost only twice to Adamstown in their last 11 matches in a run which stretches back to the two team’s time in the Northern League One.

Last weekend was a happy one for Adamstown, who managed to grind out a 2-1 win away to Weston and jump out of the last spot on the ladder.

It will be their third match against sides currently in the top four at this stage of the season and with the aggregate score in the previous two matches at 13-1 against Adamstown, they’ll have to dig deep to find a result.

The combination between Chris Berlin and Connor Heydon up front seemed to finally come together last weekend and spark plenty of chances. If they can find that again this weekend, and finish chances as they come, they may be able to rock the boat.

Rosebud made it back-to-back wins with a victory over Toronto Awaba in the FFA Cup on Wednesday night. There were four different goal scorers for Rosebud in the 4-1 win.

There have been comings and goings for Charlestown with the short opening of the transfer window this week, with Valentine’s Aden Gardner linking up with the club while reserve goalkeeper Stuart Plant has gone to Lakes.

They’re likely not to cause too much disruption to the league leaders, who boast the equal best defence in the league which was penetrated only once by Edgeworth last weekend in their 1-all draw.

Kane Goodchild’s return to the side was delayed last weekend thanks to an aggravation of his hamstring injury at training throughout the week, which has pushed his return back to around round 11. Daniel Minors is out this weekend and is looking at a similar timeframe for his return.

Charlestown didn’t miss him too much midweek though, as they romped home to a huge win over Zone League rivals Hamilton Azzurri. The huge 10-0 win included two goals for debutant Aden Gardner.

What the coaches said

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff (Adamstown)

“I haven’t made my mind up about our approach to Charlestown, but they’re leaders and we’ll respect that and we will have a game plan to try and stop them play their game, they’re a good side.

“Every win is great, especially with young boys in the team because it’s big for their confidence and helps them on the right way but importantly it shows we’re going in the right direction and they’re taking on board what we’re talking about in training, and last night (4-1 win over Toronto in the FFA Cup) was a good run out, especially for the young boys.

“I think we played better against Broadmeadow than we did against Weston, but we lost 4-0. Against Weston, I didn’t think we played particularly well but we got a result so I’m more concentrating on the FFA Cup performance and get the boys playing along those lines.”

David Tanchevski (Charlestown)

“I don’t look too much at what the other teams are doing, I focus on what my team needs to do and we approach every game as they come and we don’t look further than the week ahead, Adamstown has a couple of good results and can beat us on the day.

“This competition is like that, anyone can beat anyone on their day if you don’t turn up and we’ve seen that with Lambton drawing to Adamstown and Valentine, so we have to focus on this weekend and there will be a reshuffle due to an injury to Daniel Minors.

“The FFA Cup match hasn’t had too much of an effect, we probably cruised through a little bit too with one eye on the weekend so we were able to play a few of the younger boys and rest some key players… Jarrod Purcell impressed with a goal and played well, but we won’t change a team which is doing well but there will be opportunities with injuries and suspensions.”

Maitland Magpies v Edgeworth Eagles
Sunday 6^th May, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

Third plays fourth this weekend as both look to take all three points and keep up the pressure on Charlestown at the top.

There have been some thrilling games between these two sides in the past years, with the two-leg semi-final clashes back in 2016 evidence of the type of entertaining football these sides can produce.

Both teams come into this match off the back of late goals which rescued points. In Maitland’s case, it was an Alex Read goal in the 89^th minute which secured their fourth win of the season.

They lead 2-0 before allowing Hamilton back in to score twice and level things up, but it’s the first time they’ve surrendered a lead so far this season.

That win means Maitland also boasts a near perfect home record this season (the only blip a 1-all draw with Valentine), which will be tested this weekend.

Maitland did go down midweek in the FFA Cup, losing 2-0 to a near full-strength Lakes side. There may be some tired legs on Sunday, but coach Michael Bolch did rest a number of players in the Wednesday night game.

While the Magpies’ home record is good, Edgeworth’s away record is nearly as good with two wins and a single defeat in three matches on the road this season.

The move to a 4-4-2 against Charlestown last weekend was an interesting one, prompted perhaps by a desire from coach Damien Zane to have Jamie Byrnes and the returning Daniel McBreen work together.

So strong was their squad last weekend, talented youngsters Tyson Jackson and Adam Cawley were pushed to the bench. With Aaron McLoughlin on the mend also, they have some tremendous depth and will look to take advantage of that this weekend.

The big signing news for Edgeworth during the week was former Central Coast Mariner Josh Rose has joined. The defender retired from A-League football just last month, and coach Damien Zane expects him to have an ‘immediate impact’. His signing and McLoughlin’s return will give Edgeworth improved depth throughout their defence.

Damien Zane used Wednesday night’s FFA Cup clash against Northern League One outfit Singleton as an opportunity to try new combinations, and they appear to have worked as they emerged 4-0 victors. Daniel McBreen was dangerous, involved in a number of goals on the night.

What the coaches said:

Damien Zane (Edgeworth)

“Maitland is always a place where you need to compete and you have to defend well, and make sure you compete every loose ball, the pitch there looks good so hopefully with no wind, we can play a bit of football. They’re a very competitive team and have some quality up front, so a good defensive performance is probably going to be key.

“We used Wednesday night to get some more game time into guys who were behind, Dylan Holz is back from injury and Aaron McLoughlin got sixty minutes so in that sense it was good. Jett White is back (from loan to Weston) and did quite well, and Macca (Daniel McBreen) was able to get another run under his belt.

“Rose in and McLoughlin back gives us the option of moving guys like Pat Wheeler and Dom Bizzarri into the midfield, so it just opens up heaps of options… with these cup games, a couple of teams have picked up an injury or two but we’ve had a good cup run as well as the league every year and if you don’t have a squad that’s deep enough, you just can’t do it.”

Broadmeadow Magic has the bye

source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Full time at Kahibah Sportsground with the Hamilton Olympic running out 5-1 winners and qualifying for round 5 of the FFA Cup

Goal scorers: Jake McGuinness 2, Rhys Cooper 2, Sean Pratt 1

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Hamilton Olympic’s campaign kicks off this Thursday night away to Kahibah Football Club.

Kick off is 7pm at Kahibah Sportsground.

Source: Tom Tsamouras

Rhys Cooper, scorer of the 2nd Olympic goal

Maitland Magpies 3 (Thornton 42’, Thompson 64’, Read 89’) def. Hamilton Olympic 2 (Pettit 66’, Cooper 75’)
Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

A valiant Hamilton fightback from two goals down wasn’t enough to another one of Alex Read’s last-gasp goal’s that snatched all three points for the Magpies.

It was a different defender who opened the scoring, with Liam Thornton seizing on a loose ball in the area after a corner and firing home in the 42^nd minute.

The home side doubled their advantage after half-time, in a move started from a Matt Trott goal kick. The ball found its way out to Ryan Clarke, who set off down the line and managed to square it to a reaching James Thompson. He turned home and made it 2-0.

Just two minutes later, Hamilton was back in with a shout. Jarryd Sutherland beat his man and managed to dink a nice little chip across the face of the goal, which was headed in by Scott Pettit.

They levelled things nearly ten minutes later. Pettit started the move down the right-hand side and sent the ball in, which was helped on by Jake McGuinness and finished by Rhys Cooper across Trott to make the score 2-all.

Hamilton thought they’d done enough to secure their fifth point at the season, but Alex Read would have the final say.

The centre-back charged forward and got on the end of an Andrew Swan cross, and fired home a thundering volley to send the Magpies into third on the ladder.

U/20s: 2-2
U/18s Olympic won 5-1

NPL Youth
Olympic vs Charlestown

Under 16s drew 2-2
Under 15s Olympic won 7-1
Under 14s Olympic won 2-1
Under 13s Olympic won 8-0

Community Juniors
Under 16A Olympic 2-3 Adamstown
Under 14A Olympic 5-5 Magic
Under 13A Olympic 4-1 Magic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Zzw_6_I6NBk

Weston Bears 1 (Burtson 50’) def. by Adamstown Rosebud 2 (Berlin 28’, Heydon 39’)
Saturday 28^th April, 2:30 pm at Rockwell Automation Park

Each side would have come into this one confident of taking three points from the other, with Adamstown on the hunt for their first win of the season.

In the end, it was the visitors who managed to edge out Weston and propel themselves out of the last spot with their first three points of the season.

Rosebud scored the opening goal just prior to the half-hour mark after Turki Alwesaidy seized on a slip from Weston midfielder Max Foster.

He played a deft little ball through the line to Chris Berlin, who caught Kane Runge wrong-footed and put the visitors ahead.

Alwesaidy had a big hand in the next goal again, which put Adamstown two ahead. He received a long ball over the top from Judd Duncan and set on his way toward the goal.

His square up to Connor Heydon wasn’t met with the most convincing of touches, which sent everyone the wrong way as the ball dribbled into the far corner and made the score 2-0.

Just four minutes into the second half, Weston had one back. A ball in from the right-hand side was met by Jackson Burtson, whose side-footed volley was a good one and whistled into the back of the net recording his fourth goal of the year.

Weston lost a man in the 60^th minute after a strong challenge from Oliver Davies caught Regan Lundy. He went down writhing in pain and was eventually taken away in an ambulance with a serious leg injury.

The Bears had a penalty shout waved away in the 77^th minute after a Tega Marcus cross appeared to strike the arm of Ben Higgins, and shortly after Adamstown’s Harrison Frendo was stretched off after a strong coming together with Max Foster.

Adamstown had a chance to put the game to bed when in the 82^nd minute, Berlin was 1 on 1 with Kane Runge but couldn’t turn home. On the follow-up, Cooper Buswell managed to stand in goal and keep out Connor Heydon.

Weston peppered the home goal with shots in the closing ten minutes. Marcus had the best chance in the 95^th minute but was prevented by an onrushing Benn Kelly, but in the end, it was Adamstown who claimed their first win of the season.

Broadmeadow Magic 2 (Carrol 5’, Fajkovic 14’) def. Valentine Phoenix 0
Saturday 28^th April, 7 pm at Magic Park

Broadmeadow was made to fight, and fight hard in what was captain Josh Piddington’s 300^th first grade game in Magic colours.

Despite playing almost half of the match a man down, they managed to edge out Valentine and jump into second on the ladder.

Cody Carrol got the goals started in the fifth minute, with a stunning free kick for the second week running. His effort from just outside the area left Valentine keeper Perry Budden stranded and put the home side ahead 1-0.

A thundering strike from Dino Fajkovic shortly after doubled Magic’s advantage. He received the ball on the edge of the area and fired toward goal, the power behind the shot giving Budden little time to react as the ball rippled in the back of the net.

An off-the-ball incident in the 44^th minute would put Broadmeadow firmly on the back foot, as Fajkovic took exception to Zac Sneddon and lashed out. After some consultation with the linesman, Fajkovic was shown a red card.

Valentine started the second half brightly, with much of the possession in the attacking half without anything to show for it. It was a trend which continued throughout the half, and they were almost down by three in the 71^st minute when a square ball was just out of the reach of Magic’s John Majurovski.

Joel Wood had an absolutely golden chance for Valentine in the 86^th minute, free at the back post after a corner but only able to turn his shot into the arms of Paul Bitz.

Phoenix’s Wilson Edwards put a header over the bar in the 95^th minute, but it would have proved consolation only as the whistle blew for Magic’s fourth win of the season seconds later.

Newcastle Jets Youth 5 (Thurgate 9’, Tipaldo 58’, Harrison 64’, 90’, OG 66’) def. Lake Macquarie City 3 (Walker 7’, 56’)
Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Macquarie Field

It was a match in which Lakes actually lead twice, and the scores were locked at 1-all when the two sides went to the sheds at half-time.

An incredible second half seen six goals scored, and Jets Youth running away with their third win of the year.

It was Sam Walker who opened the scoring, and he did it in incredible fashion. His goal came directly from the corner and had his side ahead in just the seventh minute.

Within minutes the Jets Youth were level. A deft little one-two between Angus Thurgate and Cai Tipaldo saw the former fire on goal and beat Kye Abrahams to level things at 1-all.

It was an end-to-end match, with both keepers kept on their toes by relentless attacks from both sides.

It took until the second half for another goal however and it came from Lakes’ striker Walker again, who was perfectly placed to seize on a loose ball in the box and fire home.

Once again though, their lead only lasted two minutes. Abrahams came for a ball out wide but wasn’t able to collect, and this time Thurgate turned provider and set up Tipaldo for a precise finish into the top corner to make it 2-all.

Kent Harrison was perfectly placed soon after to put Jets Youth into the lead for the first time. A ball in from Josh Cairelli wasn’t dealt with by Abrahams and fell nicely for Harrison to make the score 3-2.

Things got worse for Lakes just two minutes later, after a Kaleb Cox’s shot was deflected in by a Lakes defender to make the score 4-2.

In what was already a tit-for-tat battle, Lakes nearly had one back after another two minutes when Morgan Okeno was through on goal but had his shot deflected wide for a corner.

The game was put to bed in the 90^th minute after Abrahams came for another ball and failed to collect. He was rounded by Kent Harrison, who finished well for his second of the afternoon and the Jets’ fifth.

Walker would turn provider soon after this and provided Mitch Hunter with a good pass which allowed his volley to sizzle into the top of the net. It would prove only a consolation as Jets Youth emerged 5-3 victors.

Edgeworth Eagles 1 (McBreen 81’) drew Charlestown City Blues 1 (McNaughton 76’)
Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Jack McLaughlan Oval

Looking to knock the Eagles off their perch, Charlestown came to Jack McLaughlan Oval on Sunday afternoon in search of a win which would have put them five points ahead of the pack.

Open at times, tight at times, and entertaining at all times is exactly how this one went as two of the league’s best fought it out and left it late to disturb the back of the net.

It was Edgeworth who perhaps started the better of the two sides, and a Dylan Holz shot from distance in the 22^nd minute forced a low save out of Danny Ireland in the Blues goal.

Their best effort of the half came just a minute later when Liam Spurway set Daniel McBreen off. His first-time cross found Jamie Byrnes, with the striker unable to beat Ireland at the near post.

Charlestown had the best of their chances shortly after half-time, as they edged possession and position but were unable to get free on goal and test Nate Cavaliere in a meaningful manner.

Edgeworth thought they’d made the breakthrough in the 68^th minute when a strong run from Daniel McBreen helped the ball find it’s way out to Josh Evans.

His cross found Dom Bizzari, whose miscued shot was turned in by Jamie Byrnes. However, Byrnes was adjudged to be offside.

It was the visitors who’d find the first goal of the afternoon in the 76^th minute. A ball from the deep found the head of Riley McNaughton, whose attempt was palmed onto the bar by Cavaliere. The rebound found McNaughton again, and this time there was nothing the Edgy ‘keeper could do as he fired home to put Charlestown ahead.

Their lead didn’t last long though, as the Late Show starring Daniel McBreen came through once again. In a move started out wide by substitute Tyson Jackson, the ball through to Adam Cawley was squared to McBreen who glanced his shot into the far post to level the scores.

1-all was how this one would finish, and it leaves Charlestown ahead by three points at the top of the ladder. Hot on their tails are Magic, Edgeworth and Maitland – all on 13 points.

source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Maitland Magpies v Hamilton Olympic

Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

 This Sunday will mark the first time that Maitland coach Michael Bolch has faced Hamilton from the opposition dugout since the 2009 grand final.

He and the rest of the Maitland squad will be looking to keep their place in the top four as the current Hamilton contingent battle to work themselves into the winner’s circle.

The points were shared the last time these two sides met, a 2-all draw in June last year. In fact, Maitland hasn’t beat Hamilton at home since the former was promoted to the NPL NNSW back in 2015.

Bolch’s side has taken seven points from an available nine in their last three outings, and last weekend’s assignment was one of their slimmest victories this season.

The 1-0 win in the final stages of the match was a hard-fought victory and means Maitland has now won three of their four home games this season. They’ll be without Josh Dutton-Black for this one, who is away at a wedding this weekend.

Their defence is one of the best in the league, with six goals conceded in five matches so far tied second only to Charlestown who has conceded the same amount but played one game more.

Results and performances just don’t seem to be aligning themselves for Hamilton so far this season, who put in another solid showing against Edgeworth last weekend but came away with nothing to show for it.

Olympic’s third loss of the campaign means they currently sit in ninth place on four points, and this weekend’s opposition boasts one of the most experienced squads in the competition.

What may provide Peter McGuinness’ men with a small boost is their solitary win came from their only match on the road so far this season. Three points on Sunday could shoot them right up the table.

What the coaches said:

Michael Bolch (Maitland)

“We’ve got to concentrate on our game and what we’re doing well, Hamilton have been playing good football and have some dangers in the front third with the likes of Rhys Cooper and Simon Mooney so we need to be on our toes.”

“There’s been a couple of games now, where there have been opportunities for us to score more goals and we haven’t but having said that Noah James (Jets Youth goalkeeper) was the difference last weekend, it wasn’t like we were missing the target, he was very good last weekend.”

“It’s just another game, I had eight good years at Olympic and now it’s a new venture and I’m concentrating on Maitland now.”

The commemorations for Anzac Day continue this weekend for the Match of the Round. Maitland Football Club will be holding a traditional ceremony to show their respects to our soldiers prior to kick off.

 NPL YOUTH:

Round 8 Hamilton Olympic vs Charlestown City at Darling St Oval

U13s kick off at 10.00 am

U14s kick off at 11:30 am

U15s kick off at  1:00 pm

U16s kick off at  2:30 pm

Weston Bears v Adamstown Rosebud

Saturday 28^th April, 2:30 pm at Rockwell Automation Park

 There were losses for each of these sides last weekend against some of the league’s best, and that may set the stage for an open match this weekend.

The last time the pair faced off was in the Heritage Cup final the weekend before the league kicked off, and it was Weston who prevailed on penalties in what was a scoreless draw after regular time.

In the league, it was Rosebud who had the better of the results last season with a win and a draw against Weston.

The Bears battled hard last weekend but were ultimately unable to take points away from a Charlestown side which finished with ten men.

Their general play was encouraging, which perhaps would make the fact their two goals came from two mistakes in defence all the more frustrating.

Nathan Morris was a notable absentee for Weston due to work commitments but returns this weekend. Jett White, who set up Weston’s goal last weekend, has returned to Edgeworth after his six-week loan concluded.

Rosebud’s defensive woes continued last weekend as they collapsed late and let the score-line blow out to 4-0, albeit to an impressive Magic offence.

21 goals have gone through Adamstown in just six games so far this season, with 13 of those in the second half and four as a result of conceded penalties.

It’s a slew of defensive holes which won’t make happy reading for Rosebud coach Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, who will be on the hunt for his first clean sheet and win of the season.

Broadmeadow Magic v Valentine Phoenix

Saturday 28^th April, 2:30 pm at Magic Park

 The Magic machine will look to roll on when they host Valentine this weekend, who come into this one hoping to build on some solid form.

There were two wins from two for Magic in the league last season, with a 3-2 victory early on backed up by a 3-1 away win in round 14 in the midst of that glorious run at the back end of last season.

An FFA Cup win was squeezed in between those victories for Magic also, who haven’t lost at home to Phoenix since 2010.

Injuries to James Virgili and Jeremy Wilson in last weekend’s outing will be of concern, with Virgili set to miss this weekend while Wilson looks set to be the third player on the long-term injury list for Magic.

That outing, a 4-0 win over Adamstown was a show of clinical finishing and a desire to see out the full ninety minutes rather than take a foot off the pedal after sixty minutes and a two-goal lead.

From three games at Magic Park this season, Broadmeadow has won one, drawn one and lost one. They’ll be hoping they can string two wins in a row at home together, and look to turn their home ground into something of a fortress.

Last weekend’s scoreless draw with Lambton was the first match of the season to end in such a manner and is a testament to the way Valentine bounced back from defeat to Lakes the previous week.

That defensive mindset may need to carry on this weekend, given Broadmeadow is the most proficient team in attack and come into this one on the back of a four-goal victory.

If Phoenix does set up to play the match on the back foot, then they’ll have to be clinical in the front third. Joel Wood missed a golden opportunity at the back end of last weekend’s match, the likes of which Valentine need to bury in order to get the three points.

What the coaches said:

Sam Griffin (Valentine assistant)

“The approach has to be similar to the Lambton match, we achieved what we needed to last week by bouncing back and getting a clean sheet which is obviously ideal, but we have to at some stage go on the front foot a bit more… a clean sheet is a priority, but we have to show some more intent.”

“We know we’ll get some opportunities, no one goes the whole game without getting any, it’s just being clinical and taking the chances that will come to us. Broadmeadow is a very attacking side, they will commit numbers forward and hopefully, they’ll leave themselves a bit skinny at some stage, especially if we can build the pressure and keep them scoreless for long periods of the game.”

Edgeworth Eagles v Charlestown City Blues

Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Jack McLaughlan Oval

 The perennial premiers host the contenders this weekend, as Charlestown hope to push their lead at the top out even further.

Two wins from two attempts for Edgeworth in clashes against these two sides helped extend their winning run to six matches on the trot against Charlestown.

In fact, Charlestown hasn’t managed a win at Jack McLaughlan Oval since their promotion to the top flight back in 2012. The last time they won over Edgeworth at all was in August 2014.

Traditionally one of the best defensive sides in the competition under boss Damien Zane, Edgeworth has let in nine goals in their five matches so far this season – the worst record of sides currently in the top four.

At the other end, however, things do look good for Edgeworth who come into this match off the back of a last-gasp 3-2 win over Hamilton. Daniel McBreen chipped in with his first two of the season in that one, and the Eagles have scored 14 goals from five matches so far.

Aaron McLoughlin, Daniel McBreen and Dylan Holz have returned to full fitness and will play likely play a part this weekend. Aaron Oppedisano will make his way back through the under 20s as he continues his recovery from a broken nose.

From Edgeworth’s two games at home this year, they’ve only let in a solitary goal. They’ll face a big test against a strong Charlestown squad, who may welcome back a former Golden Boot winner this weekend.

That man, Kane Goodchild, is set to at least grace the bench this weekend after spending the past three weeks out with a torn hamstring.

His inclusion may spur on his side to be more clinical in the final third. Charlestown has scored at a rate of nearly two goals a game this season, but have the lowest output of sides currently in the top five.

The Blues will be without Masaya Sakamoto this weekend, after his straight red card for kicking out at a Weston player in last weekend’s 2-1 win.

What the coaches said:
Damien Zane (Edgeworth)

“It’s a big match in the sense that it’s currently first v second, but we won’t be treating it any bigger than the grand final rematch, or the rivalries with Broadmeadow and Hamilton. It is a chance to put a big of a gap on teams in the race for the semis which is our first goal for the year.”

“To be honest, four wins out of five is something we didn’t expect, we thought the last two weeks were massive games to get ahead of the pack to a degree but now we’re not playing under too much pressure… we’re at the point where the boys are pretty relaxed, and it’s a massive opportunity to make a statement.”

Lake Macquarie City v Newcastle Jets Youth

Sunday 29^th April, 2:30 pm at Macquarie Field

 Fresh off the bye, Lakes will look to kick on with things after their drubbing of Valentine the last time they played.

For Jets Youth, they still have the chance to jump into the top four if they can get themselves back into the winner’s circle.

A 5-0 Jets Youth battering was the score last time these two sides met in round 20 last season, which coincided with Lawrie McKinna and Labinot Haliti’s first game in charge.

An incident away from the pitch has left Lakes a defender down after Cameron Holzheimer was the victim of a one-punch attack which has left him with a fractured skull.

The frightening situation, described by coach Nick Webb as ‘touch-and-go’ in the Newcastle Herald this week, is far from ideal for a side which is looking to build some momentum after a 6-1 defeat of Valentine in their last outing.

Sandwiched in between that match and this weekend was the bye for Lakes, who will be looking for their second clean sheet at home this season on Sunday.

Clean sheets are at something of a premium for Jets Youth also, who haven’t managed to keep one – only a late Alex Read goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat.

By all accounts last weekend’s result was so slim thanks largely to the work of Noah James in the Jets’ goal, the custodian making a number of key saves to ensure his side still had a shot right until the end.

The defeat was only the Jets’ second so far this season, and they currently sit sixth on the ladder. A victory here today could theoretically take them as high as third, but with goal difference factored in it’d more likely to help them keep pace with the four.

What the coaches said:

Nick Webb (Lakes)

“We’ll play to our strengths and our systems, look to create chances and score goals, we’ve done quite well over the last couple of games so hopefully they bye doesn’t hurt us and we can continue that. We lightened the load the first week off, had a bit of a run last Saturday, and we’ve been back into this week.”

“We’re always working on structures of other teams, but as much as we watch the other team and know their strengths and weaknesses, we’ll also play to our strengths, we’ll set up to stop them playing as much and look to play on the counter-attack like we do.”

“Cameron (Holzheimer) is showing signs of improvement, but is still in ICU and it’s a very scary proposition for him and his family… not the best of weeks for his family, and he’s our only one missing this weekend, which is big because he’s one of our better players but I’m sure the boys will come together and do well for him.”

source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic 2 (Bertos 9’, Mooney 48’) def. by Edgeworth Eagles 3 (Bizzarri 20’, McBreen 66’, 90’)
Saturday 21^st April, 6 pm at Darling Street Oval

It was a tit-for-tat battle in which Edgeworth didn’t take the lead until the 90^th minute, but it was the only lead which counted as the Eagles snuck home over an unfortunate Hamilton Olympic.

The home side began strong and capitalised on their positive start just nine minutes in. A free kick into the box from Reece Papas deflected off the wall, and somehow found it’s way in courtesy of Leo Bertos to give Olympic a 1-0 lead.

Edgeworth attempted to get into their groove and control the ball slightly better – but it was a cheeky chip from a long way out which levelled things up in the 20^th minute, and it was a rare goal for Dom Bizzarri.

The visitors had the first opportunity of the second half with a chance created by Bizzarri turned wide, but it was Hamilton who would take the lead yet again.

A move which started inside their own half, Olympic moved the ball from left to right and a precise ball into the box from Bertos met the head of Simon Mooney who made no mistake from three yards out.

Olympic was controlling possession well and making good ground immediately after the goal, but Edgeworth slowly began to claw their way on top and created a few chances including one for Tyson Jackson who forced a corner in the 62^nd minute.

They would find the breakthrough shortly after thanks to substitute, Daniel McBreen. A quick counter caught a number of Olympic players upfield and seen the ball end up with Jamie Byrnes. He cut it back across the area to an unmarked McBreen at the back post, who finished levelling the scores once again.

The away side wrestled their way on top, and they’d find the all-important breakthrough in the 90^th minute through that man again – McBreen.

A move which he helped start from the halfway line, the ball was eventually whipped in by Tyson Jackson and somehow fell to McBreen at the back of the box. The striker was able to turn his shot in and break Olympic hearts.

A Blake Green ball across the box could have proved an equaliser in the 91^st minute, but Simon Mooney wasn’t able to reach it. Ultimately, it’d finish with Edgeworth’s fourth win on the trot.

Edgeworth coach Damien Zane was pleased with the win – but no so much with the defending.

The performance of substitute Daniel McBreen was another highlight for Zane.

“I think that shows why we’ve had success, he’s been there and done it, he’s been out and doesn’t expect to walk in the team,” Zane said.

“Some players, when they get named on the bench get in the wrong frame of mind and come on and give you nothing, but when our subs come on they give us everything they’ve got and influenced the game, and Macca was no different.

“There was one instance where he chased a guy 40, 50 yards down and won the ball, and when you see a 40-year-old doing that, for your young boys in the squad it shows them if he can do it, there’s no reason you can’t do it.”

Under 20s Olympic won 1-0
Under 18s Olympic won 5-0

Newcastle Jets Youth 0 def. by Maitland Magpies 1 (Read 87’)
Saturday 21^st April, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

It wasn’t pretty, but Maitland managed to wrestle their way back into the winners’ circle with a victory which sees them maintain their position inside the top four.

Matt Thompson was missing for Maitland on Saturday, with Chris Fayers stepping into the starting side in his place. Thomas’ Beecham and Curran were absent for Jets Youth, so Kaleb Cox started.

Both sides struggled to find openings in a fairly even first half, with a Ryan Clarke shot in the 26^th minute forcing a save from Tristan Esquilant in the Jets goal.

Just three minutes later Jets Youth went close themselves, with captain Solomon Vaiika cutting in onto his right foot and firing toward the goal. It only missed courtesy of a Maitland deflection.

In the end, it took a corner for Maitland to find the breakthrough late into the second half.

Lifted in by substitute Josh Dutton-Black, the first header was turned onto the crossbar. The afters fell to Alex Read, the defender making no mistake from mere metres to secure the three points.

The defeat means Jets Youth miss the chance to go into the top four, but sit just three points outside the finals spots. For Maitland, it sees them keep their place despite being leapfrogged by Magic, who went into third.

Adamstown Rosebud 0 def. by Broadmeadow Magic 4 (Carrol 15’, Bradbury 61’, 82’, Majurovski 85’)
Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at Adamstown Oval

Magic is a side bursting with quality, and it shone through in spite of a resilient Adamstown side as the visitors stormed home to a big win in stark contrast to last season’s Anzac Day fixture.

That match, a dour nil-all draw was left firmly in the rear-view mirror as Magic hit home four goals – but were left to count their wounded after a number of injuries.

In a game preceded by an impeccably observed Anzac Day ceremony, things got off to a fiery start with Adamstown’s Chris Berlin shown a yellow card inside 30 seconds for a tough tackle on Cody Carroll.

The first of the casualties came early for Broadmeadow after James Virgili was clattered in a rough tackle from Rosebud’s Luke Rutledge. He suffered a dislocated shoulder and was taken to John Hunter Hospital to have it popped back in.

Shortly after, another Rutledge foul brought down John Majurovski just outside the Adamstown area and handed Magic a free kick. Cody Carrol stepped up and fired home direct from the free kick for his first Magic goal.

Broadmeadow’s injury troubles got worse not long before half-time after Jeremy Wilson and Rosebud’s Judd Duncan came together in the middle of the park, with the former coming off much worse. He was stretchered off in what looked to be some considerable pain.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Broadmeadow struck again as Adamstown gave away their fourth penalty in six games. A Dino Fajkovic shot from outside the area rattled the crossbar, and the ball fell to Majurovski – who was brought down from behind by Ben Higgins.

A penalty was awarded and Kale Bradbury made no mistake from the spot to double their advantage.

The home side almost had one back in the ensuing minutes. Matt Sokulsky put Connor Heydon through but he was unable to finish, and a Tim Davies strike in the 71^st minute took a wicked deflection and had Paul Bitz beat – but hit the crossbar.

With just over ten minutes to go, Magic would put the game out of reach as Bradbury doubled his tally. He played a nice one-two with Majurovski and finished for his fifth goal of the season. For Majurovski, it was the third goal of the afternoon in which he was directly involved.

He’d find himself involved in another just three minutes later. A ball over from Luke Virgili took a deflection off Ollie Davies, which sent it straight into the path of Majurovski. He topped off his spectacular afternoon with a goal for himself.

Things went from bad to worse for Adamstown in the 87^th minute, when substitute Gocha Abshilava was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball push in the back on Magic’s Takebe Soma. In the end, it finished Magic claiming a 4-0 victory.

Speaking to BarTV Sports after the match, Magic man Majurovski said a tough pre-season paved the way for his top performance on Sunday.

“Ruben’s [Zadkovich] made me run and run and run, and I feel good out there, I’m 35 but I don’t feel 35, I’m enjoying it and I think that’s the main thing,” Maj said.

“We changed [to three at the back] last week against Charlestown and it worked, we created a lot of chances, I don’t know if we’ll keep it all season but it’s working so why change a winning formula?”

Charlestown City Blues 2 (Smith 17’, Lewis 28’) def. Weston Bears 1 (Burston 87’)
Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at Lisle Carr Oval

It wasn’t their prettiest victory of the season, but a ten-man Charlestown managed to edge out the visiting Bears on Sunday afternoon.

Both teams started brightly, and it was Weston who threatened first with right-back Callum Bower getting forward and forcing a save out of Danny Ireland.

It was the home side who would open the scoring shortly after against the run of play. A mistake from Bears’ Jordan Jackson created a chance for the Blues, who found Scott Smith and went ahead 1-0 in the 17^th minute.

They doubled their advantage shortly after, with Kane Runge spilling a free kick straight into the path of Cal Lewis. The number 15 made no mistake in putting away Charlestown’s second.

Weston wasn’t lying down however and continued to push forward. Jackson Burston had a good shot on goal in the 37^th minute, but the visitors weren’t able to find a way through before the break.

Shortly after half-time, Charlestown had a good shout for a penalty waved away. The game began to peter out as Weston chased, and Jackson Burston fired a shot high and wide in the 68^th minute.

Charlestown nearly finished things off in the 82^nd minute after a Riley McNaughton ball met the head of Smith, who just steered his header wide.

Just four minutes later, things really kicked off. After conceding a foul, Charlestown substitute Masaya Sakamoto kicked out at Weston’s Jake Barner which sparked handbags from all sides. When the dust settled, Sakamoto was shown a straight red card.

In the immediate aftermath, Weston scored. A bursting run down the left-hand side from substitute Jett White seen him manage to whip a ball in, which Burston managed to steer a diving header into the back of the net and the Bears were back in it.

Despite Weston pushing forward, Charlestown was able to wind the clock down and see out their fifth win of the season.

Blues boss David Tanchevski was pleased with how his side capitalised on two Weston mistakes to go to victory.

“I was happy; it was a tight contest and Weston actually played well, there wasn’t much space out there because they played the ball really well,” Tanchevski said.

“We pressed really well and created some errors in the Weston defence, there were probably a couple of times where we didn’t capitalise and I wanted us to capitalise, so a few opportunities and a penalty which was probably the clearest one I’ve seen which we didn’t get, that would’ve put the game at 3-0 and it would’ve been game over.”

Charlestown had to hang in the last ten minutes after a late red card, a decision which Tanchevski agreed with.

“There wasn’t a lot of contact from Masaya but the intent was there and it’s a clear red card, I’m not sure what’s happened because he’s a quiet kid and he’s just had a brain snap after the guy from Weston stood on him while he was on the ground.”

“According to Masaya, there was a clear stamp… but the red card was justified, we didn’t panic and we spoke about not sitting back and inviting pressure on and we hit them on the break a couple of times towards the end, but the boys hung on and did well with ten men and I was happy with how they did.”

Valentine Phoenix 0 drew Lambton Jaffas 0
Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at CB Complex

After copping a caning at the hands of Lakes last weekend, Valentine needed a response and they got that as they managed to share the points with last years champions.

There were returns from injury for both sides with Jobe Wheelhouse starting his first match since last season’s grand final. Valentine’s Zac Sneddon continued his return from injury, building on 45 minutes off the bench last weekend.

It was Phoenix’s second match at new home CB Complex, however, it was Lambton who started slightly better in terms of field position and possession. Luke Remington saw an early long shot go wide.

Ryan Griffiths almost found the breakthrough not long after, but his header was acrobatically tipped over by Perry Budden in the Valentine goal.

Valentine was under the pump for much of the second half as the visitors looked to control the match and did so for large swathes of the match.

The home side did have a golden opportunity to win it late on though – Joel Wood was set free with only Brad Swancott to beat, but he turned his shot wide.

In the end, the two sides shared the points. For Valentine, their third stalemate of the season and still without a win. For Lambton, it’s their second draw in as many weeks and not the ideal result heading into the bye next weekend.

Valentine assistant Sam Griffin regarded it a much-improved performance, compared to the previous weekend’s result.

“You’re never happy with a point only, but to keep Jaffas to nil and a clean sheet is an achievement in itself and after the performance the week before against Lakes it probably wasn’t expected, so at the moment you have to take a point and be happy with it,” Griffin said.

“We were under the pump, but we set up that way because knew Lambton would have a lot of the ball and we’d spend a lot of time without it, we had a game plan executed pretty well and I think Sillsy got it right.

“There’ll be plenty of sore, tired boys there from both sides… it was very physical which was good, you’re not going to play pretty against Lambton because you’re not going to outdo them that way, both sides gave as good as they got.”

Source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic ace Leo Bertos

Hamilton Olympic v Edgeworth Eagles
Saturday 21^st April, 6 pm at Darling Street Oval

 These are two sides who have pushed each other right to the limit in past NPL NNSW season’s.

Edgeworth and Hamilton even contested a grand final as recently as 2015 and only three points separated the pair at the conclusion of last season.

It’s under rather different circumstances that these two meet on Saturday night. Hamilton is at the wrong end of the ladder with only one win from four matches, while Edgeworth sits third with three wins.

The home side comes into this match off the back of a disappointing defeat to Jets Youth. The 2-1 loss is their second of the campaign and follows the bye in round four.

It was a match in which they created a plethora of chances but failed to execute on all but one occasion. If things improve this weekend, they may be good for a result.

Hamilton has played three of their four matches at home this season, and are yet to win. If they fail to get a win on Saturday night, it will mean they won’t have won in their past eight 6 pm kick-offs at Darling Street Oval.

They missed experienced duo Stuart Musalik and Jacob Bailey last due to injury, and Musalik remains out this weekend again. Bailey is a chance to play from the bench, while Jed Hornery will also miss out.

Edgeworth managed a better result last weekend; a 4-1 win over Weston sent them up the table into second place, and they’ll be keen to stay into this nice little patch of form they’ve worked themselves into.

After a loss to Lambton and the bye in the opening two rounds, Edgeworth has won their last three and conceded only three goals on the way.

Jamie Byrnes looks an inspired pick-up just four games into the Eagles campaign, with four goals to his name. His output this weekend may be the difference.

What the coaches said:

Peter McGuinness (Hamilton)

“We’re playing the best team, best quality club of the last four or five years and it’ll be tough but we haven’t been far away from winning and it’s just a matter of taking opportunities, and if we can do that and be tight at our end then I think we have a chance but we’re expecting a pretty tough game.

“Unfortunately for us, what we’ve done is the goals we’ve conceded have been very defendable and the goals that we haven’t scored have been well-created passages of plays where we haven’t finished things at the business end, and I look at the weekend’s game (against Jets Youth) and if we take one of the six or seven chances we created in the first fifteen to twenty minutes the game’s completely different.”

1st Grade kick off 6.00pm
Under 20s kick off 4.00pm
Under 18s kick off 2.15pm

Newcastle Jets Youth v Maitland Magpies
Saturday 21^st April, 2:30 pm at Cooks Square Park

 It’s safe to say Jets Youth didn’t fare especially well against the Magpies last season.

They lost both games at Cooks Square Park, going down 10-3 on aggregate across the two matches. The second was a 6-1 flogging in round 14.

Some time has passed since their last encounter, however, and given Jets Youth are in some good form, they may a potential upset for Maitland.

The bye for the Magpies last weekend came at a good time, as they were dealt a series of injury blows last time out against Valentine.

Ryan Clarke went down during the warm-up, Matt Thompson and Matt Comerford struggled through the 1-all draw with injury while Mat Swan came off with a groin injury.

The bye will have given Maitland time for some much needed R&R and given they currently sit inside the top four, a good result this weekend will be key to ensuring they can kickstart some momentum.

Fast football is the hallmark of Jets Youth’s game and it was played to devastating effect last Saturday night as they overcame Hamilton 2-1.

Cai Tipaldo and Jack Simmons were perhaps the standouts in what was a good all-around team performance, and the two men up front will be key once again this weekend.

The week off for the senior squad won’t see the inclusion of the likes of Angus Thurgate and Kosta Petratos due to an intra-club trial on Friday. Centre-half Tom Beecham is set to miss around four weeks with injury.

What the coaches said:
Lawrie McKinna (Jets Youth)

“We need to keep up the quality of the play which we showed against Hamilton, and we know these teams are more experienced than us but we’ll show them that respect, we’re not just going to bomb on, we’re going to be cautious and the big thing about us this year is being ruthless.

“That’s in defence, that’s in taking chances and in the past I think we’ve overplayed things so we want to play to win games.”

Valentine Phoenix v Lambton Jaffas
Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at CB Complex

 Round five brought disappointing results for each of these sides, but for vastly different reasons.

Valentine went down 6-1 to in the Macquarie derby thanks to a first-half demolition derby from Lakes last weekend.

Lambton went into their Saturday clash with Adamstown as heavy favourites, but drew 1-all and missed their chance to go within two points of first place.

Despite their grand final heroics last season, Jaffas actually went down to Valentine on both occasions the two sides met in the league in 2017.

It’s only early doors, but Phoenix currently sits second last on the ladder with only two points from their four games so far.

Crucially, they’re without a win so far and it will require a huge effort if Lambton is to be overcome.

The return of Zac Sneddon, who played 45 minutes last weekend will be of some comfort to Darren Sills’ who’s without first-choice goalkeeper Scott Carter for the second week running.

Lambton’s slip up against Adamstown at the weekend meant they maintained their place at outright third on the ladder. The chance to go within two points of Charlestown was there for the taking, but Lambton couldn’t finish Rosebud off.

Likely a blip on the radar rather than indicative of any larger issues at Lambton, who will need to be much more clinical this weekend if three points against Valentine are to be forthcoming.

Jobe Wheelhouse playing his first minutes of the season last weekend will be a massive boost for a side already chock full of quality midfielders. Expect that competition for places to bring out the best in Lambton.

What the coaches said:

Darren Sills (Valentine)

“This weekend we’ve got to turn up at the races for a start, we’ve got to be better at all aspects of football than we were last weekend and that comes from the training paddock, trained okay Tuesday night and we have no excuses for last week other than we trained poorly and that played out on the park.

“We need to improve everywhere… attitude, Lakes caned us and they played very well, but we were so poor, the poorest I’ve been associated with at the club, at the end of the day they (the players) know where they went wrong… big game against the champions and you’ve got to get up for that.”

Charlestown City Blues v Weston Bears
Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at Lisle Carr Oval

 Last season was a dreary one for Weston with the exception of their solitary win in the league – a 3-0 drubbing of Charlestown in round ten.

Things couldn’t be more different nearly twelve months on though. Charlestown sits top of the table, stinging after their first loss of the season while Weston is in the midst of the mid-table logjam.

Experience at the back is something both sides have injected this season, with Ljubo Milicevic at Charlestown while Nathan Morris and Kew Jaliens are at Weston. The latter is yet to play, however.

Charlestown’s experience at the back wasn’t enough to take anything away from Magic Park last weekend, but results elsewhere mean they maintained their three-point buffer at the top of the table.

Sunday was the first time Charlestown has failed to score this season, but they won’t be dwelling on it.

Former Cooks Hill man Cal Lewis has started in place of the injured Kane Goodchild two weeks running, and will be hoping to score his maiden Blues goal his weekend.

Scott Smith was one player who struggled with last weekend’s loss to Magic, with coach David Tanchevski revealing he was vomiting pre-match. His return to full fitness may spell trouble for the Bears.

Things at the other end are tight, Charlestown conceding only five goals which is the equal competition best. Only one clean sheet from five may give Weston confidence, though.

Three set-pieces brought the Bears undone last week and blew the scoreline out to one which perhaps didn’t reflect the otherwise good defensive job they’ve done this season.

Despite their rather compact approach though, Weston has conceded four goals twice this year in only five outings. Things will need to be tight if they’re to keep out Charlestown.

Jordan Jackson is unlikely to slot into that defence this weekend due to injury, while Kew Jaliens remains sidelined indefinitely.

Goals scored are perhaps the biggest improvement in Weston’s side so far this campaign. They’ve scored in their last five matches – a feat they didn’t achieve once last season.

What the coaches said:

David Tanchevski (Charlestown):

“Weston are a dangerous team, they beat Magic and Maitland struggled to beat them, they had a lead against Edgeworth so we know we’re in for a tough game but for us it’s just more and more of the same, we’ve just got to make sure we’re switched on from the start.

“We’ve been pretty solid in defence, so hopefully this weekend we can take our chances… we probably create enough chances in both games, last weekend was probably the first we didn’t create enough to win, so we’ll just work on the same things. Scott Smith back to full fitness this week, so him and Cal (Lewis) playing together hopefully can bring a few opportunities.”

Steve Piggott (Weston):

“The big thing for us is trying to find a little bit of consistency each week… last weekend was controlled the first half of the match and then fell away, so it was chalk and cheese compared to the weekend before against Magic. If we turn up for a change, it’s like we weren’t at the races last week, so if we’ll try to get a bit of that energy and intensity that we had against Magic and see how we go.

“Set pieces haven’t been a thing which have hurt us in the past but they certainly hurt us last weekend, people facing the wrong way and not tracking their runners, body shape, there’s a lot of things that went wrong and we’ve addressed it and we’ll go through in on Friday and look at all those things.”

Adamstown Rosebud v Broadmeadow Magic

Sunday 22^nd April, 2:30 pm at Adamstown Oval

 So close to being giant-killers last week, Adamstown will be looking to go one better against a Magic side back on the up.

1-all at Lambton last weekend was perhaps Adamstown’s best result of a dour year so far.

At Magic Park, Broadmeadow managed their first win since round one and did it the hard way against a resilient Charlestown side.

It was perhaps the most unlikely of points for Adamstown last weekend, who was widely expected to lose against Lambton on Saturday.

Connor Heydon scored his second goal of the year to help his side to a draw, and it’s more of the same Adamstown need this weekend. With only four goals from five games so far this year, they have the lowest output of any side in the league.

Worryingly, things at the other end are just as bad with 17 goals having gone through in five matches. Even if the nine from Maitland is taken out of the equation, Rosebud has still leaked goals at an average of two a game.

One player who will be fired up against his former club is Adamstown captain Ben Higgins, who made the switch in the off-season. Magic keeper Paul Bitz went in the opposite direction and will hope he can make it three clean sheets on Sunday.

Broadmeadow will be without Shane Paul this weekend, who was sent off for a second bookable offence late in last weekend’s win.

One of the most potent attacks in the league on paper, Magic will be confident of goals this weekend despite scoring only once per game in their past two.

They boast the league-leading goal scorer in James Virgili but will hope they can get the likes of Kale Bradbury and John Majurovski firing again this weekend. The latter scored the winner early against Charlestown last Sunday.

 source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic 1 (Bertos 72’) def. by Newcastle Jets Youth 2 (Tipaldo 8’, Simmons 58’)
Saturday 14^th April, 6 pm at Darling Street Oval

Just five rounds in and with a bye in the rearview mirror, the Jets Youth have already claimed nearly half of last season’s points tally.

They managed their second win of the season with a dominating win over Hamilton Olympic on Saturday evening.

Jets Youth kicked off the scoring in the 8^th minute, with a Jack Simmons corner floating into the head of Cai Tipaldo, who rose and finished strongly to put the Jets Youth ahead.

They made it two in the 58^th minute after some brilliant lead up work – this time it was Tiapldo teeing up Simmons. A ball in was headed on by Tipaldo, and Jack Simmons went from provider to scorer, poking home to give the Jets a two-goal buffer.

The home side managed to pinch one back in the 72^nd minute, a ball in from Reece Papas finding Leo Bertos who turned it in and halved the deficit.

Ryan Goodhew went close to pushing the Jets’ lead back out to two with a blistering shot from outside the area in the 76^th minute, but it whizzed over the bar.

Hamilton was unable to find their way back into the match though, and they slipped to their second defeat of the season and currently sit in ninth spot.

The Jets on the other hand now sit sixth but are level on points with fourth and only five behind Charlestown in first place.

Olympic vs Newcastle Jets Youth

1st Grade Jets Youth won 1-2
Under 20s Jets Youth won 0-3
Under 18s Olympic won 2-1

NPL Youth
Maitland vs Olympic
Under 16s Olympic won 1-0
Under 15s Olympic won 8-1
Under 14s Olympic won 3-1
Under 13s Olympic won 9-1

Broadmeadow Magic 1 (Majurovski 6’) def Charlestown City Blues 0
Sunday 15^th April, 2:30 pm at Magic Park

After two defeats on the trot, Ruben Zadkovich’s desperately needed a reaction from his side in touch with the top at this early stage.

Against the league leaders, a reaction is exactly what he got – his ten-man side inflicting Charlestown’s first loss of the season.

An early John Majurovski goal did the damage for the home side. He was teed up nicely by Kale Bradbury in the 6^th minute but still had to twist his body skilfully to turn in the half-volley.

In blustery conditions, chances were hard to come by. Bradbury had the best of Magic’s chances after the goal, but his shot was turned away by Danny Ireland.

Tensions were running high in the second half and Magic’s Shane Paul was shown a second yellow, and subsequent red card after diving in from behind in the 73^rd minute.

Just minutes later, they threatened to boil over after a penalty shout from Ljubo Milicevic was waved away. On his return to the halfway line, an off-the-ball incident seen Magic youngster Jeremy Wilson on the ground clutching at his face and Milicevic showed a yellow card.

Wilson was again in the firing line in the dying minutes, after Charlestown’s Zac Lloyd came in hard and the pair had words but ultimately it was Magic that had the last laugh with their first win since round one.

The win takes Magic to seven points for the season, having taken four points from a possible nine away from the top three so far this year.

Charlestown remain at the top of the ladder, but their lead has been cut by two points – Edgeworth is coming up close, only three points behind.

Lambton Jaffas 1 (Hay 30’) drew Adamstown Rosebud 1 (Heydon 4’)
Saturday 14^th April, 2:30 pm at Arthur Edden Oval

With just one point and sixteen goals conceded from four matches so far in the league, Adamstown’s task on Saturday looked like one of their most challenging yet.

In one of the weekend’s shock results, Rosebud managed to upset the scales and take a point away from Lambton for only the second time in eleven matches between the two sides.

The away side took the lead in just the fourth minute of this one, a Connor Heydon header putting Adamstown in front for the first time in any league match this season.

It wasn’t a lead which Adamstown held for too long, with Ben Hay scoring his second long-range goal in as many weeks to level things up in the 30^th minute.

The second-half brought with it an onslaught from Lambton, but they were met with a determined Benn Kelly who made a plethora of key saves throughout the half.

Jaffas’ best chance came in the 77^th minute when a long ball from the returning Jobe Wheelhouse found Joel Griffiths. He teed up Pat Brown, but a slight deflection off an Adamstown player on the way meant he couldn’t get his shot away.

Ultimately, both sides would have to settle for a share of the points. It keeps Adamstown in touch with the rest of the league – level at the bottom with Valentine, but only two off Hamilton in ninth.

Lambton missed the chance to go into outright second, which a win would have seen them do. Instead, they remain in third just four points off leaders Charlestown.

Edgeworth Eagles 4 (Bower 40’, Byrnes 51’, 70’, Hurley OG 63’) def. Weston Workers Bears 1 (Burston 27’)
Saturday 14^th April, 5:30 pm at Jack McLaughlan Oval

A big result for Edgeworth puts them right back in the mixer, but it wasn’t without a struggle after they came from behind to put four unanswered goals on the Bears.

It was Weston who opened the scoring, a short corner in the 27^th minute finding it’s way to Jackson Burston on the corner of the six-yard box. He curled a nice shot over the arms of Nate Cavaliere in the Edgeworth goal to put the away side ahead.

A corner at the other end helped Edgeworth square things not long before the half-time break. The ball in from Adam Cawley found it’s way to an unmarked Will Bower at the far post, who turned in for his first goal of the season.

Set pieces were the flavour of the month at Jack McLaughlan Oval, and Tyson Jackson got in on the act just after half-time as his free-kick teed up Jamie Byrnes to put the Eagles ahead for the first time.

Jackson would whip in a near identical free-kick twelve minutes later to double Edgeworth’s advantage. This time it was Weston Chris Hurley who turned it in, rising for the header but unable to put it anywhere but his own net.

Byrnes would grab his second and the first in the match that didn’t arise from a set-piece situation in the 70^th minute. A mazy run and delicate ball from Adam Cawley found the striker, and he made it 4-1.

Edgeworth coach Damien Zane was delighted with the way his battered and bruised team pulled together.

“On the day Macca pulled out, Dylan Holz pulled out of the starting team twenty minutes before kick-off and Aaron McLaughlin went down with an injury after six minutes, so we’d used our only fresh sub after six minutes… it was a massive effort,” Zane said.

“Happy with the performance, the first half was good and the second half, we improved a few things and probably our best performance all year.”

There were three goals from set-piece situations for the Eagles on Saturday night, and it was something Edgeworth had talked about a little before the match.

“Generally we don’t score from many set pieces, it’s something we thought we could exploit them with and our delivery was spot on and we had guys attacking the ball,” Zane said.

“We knew they’d set up pretty compact, and we’d said it might be a set piece which wins it for us today and sometimes it’s tough to break down a compact side and the way you do that might be a free kick.”

The 4-1 win is Edgeworth’s biggest since round 21 last season, and Zane was happy with a number of players.

“Second half we made a bit of a change and pushed Tyson Jackson out to the right, Adam Cawley to the 10 and he (Jackson) had a really exceptional second half especially,” Zane said.

“Great team effort is generally what you get out of Edgeworth, but Pat (Wheeler) and Tyson were probably standouts in a good team.”

Lake Macquarie City 6 (Okeno 2’, Sichalwe 30’, 35’, Hunter 45’, Walker 74’, PEN 90+1’) def. Valentine Phoenix 1 (Niyonkuru 4’)
Sunday 15^th April, 2:30 pm at Macquarie Field

It was the scoreline which no-one saw coming – Lakes, off the back of their first win this season over struggling Adamstown smashing six past Valentine.

Valentine came to Macquarie Field in search of their first win of the campaign, but will ultimately have to go away and lick their wounds in search of a solution.

The scoring was opened extremely early after Morgan Okeno was set on his way by a probing long ball, and scored in just the second minute. Valentine would strike back just moments later though – a fourth-minute bicycle kick from Aaron Niyonkuru levelling the scores.

A quickfire Paul Sichalwe double set Lakes on their way not long before half-time. The first was on the half-hour mark and seen the former Magic man finish high into the net. The second was a similar finish – hard and high, but from slightly further out.

Already two goals to the good before half-time, Lakes weren’t done yet. A Corey Fletcher free kick in the 45^th minute found the head of Mitch Hunter, whose header was too strong for Perry Budden and the score was 4-1 as the two sides went in at half-time.

It took half an hour into the second half for Lakes to build on their lead, and it came through talisman striker Sam Walker. A free kick on the edge of the area was fired in low and hard around the wall and found its way in off the post to make the score 5-1.

The misery wasn’t over for Valentine though, and a run into the box from Lakes’ Harry Lane attracted a foul and a penalty. Sam Walker stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to make the score 6-1.

Speaking with BarTV Sports after the match, Lakes’ midfielder Tom Walker said he’s enjoying his own shift to the backline.

“It’s a little bit different, just allows me to sit back and watch it without the pressure of people coming around,” Walker said.

“It’s making a difference our backline, Cam (Holzheimer) that was in the centre there is a midfielder so he’s a ballplayer too, which helps us get forward really quick… we’ve got all the young fellas that are coming through, doing the running and attacking up the front now.”

“(The bye next weekend) doesn’t come at a good time, just when we’re building some momentum so it would’ve been good to keep on playing, I guess we’ll just have a rest, look where we’re at, and come back fresh the week after.”

Source:northernnswfootball.com.au