George Tsamouras Football Journey

Hamilton Olympic 2 (Mooney 54′, Pettit 62′) def. by Broadmeadow Magic 4 (Virgili 30′, 61′, Bradbury 46′, 77′)
Sunday 20th May, 2:30pm at Darling Street Oval

A crucial match for each team at what’s nearly the midway point of this NNSW NPL season, it was a chance for Magic to go top and for Olympic to make a charge on the top four.

Hamilton without Rhys Cooper and Broadmeadow without Mitch Oxborrow, it was the visitors who dealt with that absence best as they triumphed – but it wasn’t easy going.

Magic did open the scoring from the penalty spot just prior to the half-hour mark when James Virgili was brought down inside the penalty area by Tyler Warren. Initially awarded a free kick outside the area, the referee changed his mind after consultation with his linesman.

Virgili sent Warren the wrong way when he finally stepped up and converted the penalty which he won.

It took just forty seconds into the second half for Magic to double their lead, and it came from a long ball over the top from ‘keeper Paul Bitz. Dino Fajkovic brought it down and held off some attention, and played in Kale Bradbury who buried his seventh goal of the season.

Ten minutes later, and Olympic were back in with a shout. Jarryd Sutherland created the goal, carrying the ball quite a way and playing in a nice little cross. Simon Mooney got airborne, and acrobatically firing home to make it 2-1.

A goal from nothing restored Magic’s two-goal advantage in the 61st minute. Matt Hoole played a ball into Dino Fajkovic, whose first-time pass found James Virgili in behind. He finished well for his second of the day, and Magic’s third.

Not 60 seconds later, Olympic had clawed one back. Virtually from the kick-off, a long ball was played to Scott Pettit on the right-hand side. The former Magic man took it first time, chipping the onrushing Paul Bitz and grabbed his fourth in as many league matches.

The game was decided by Bradbury’s second goal in the 77th minute, but it wasn’t without controversy. A long ball through the lines found its way to Virgili and allowed him to square up Bradbury, who finished for his eighth league goal of the season.

Hamilton was filthy with the goal however as centre-back Kyle Hodges had stopped and waited alongside a downed Dino Fajkovic. It looked as if the Olympic defence expected Magic to stop and put the ball out but instead, they played on and scored the goal to shoot them to the top of the ladder.

Speaking to BarTV Sports after the win, goal scorer Kale Bradbury said it was a massive win for his Magic side.

“It keeps the roll going, I think that’s eight in a row including the FFA Cup so look, it’s extra special today obviously beating the Greeks [Olympic] at their home ground, so move on to next week and hopefully keeping the roll going on,” said Bradbury.

“The tactic before the game was press really hard early, and we did and it sort of opened up in the second half and towards the end of the first half, so credit to Rubes [Zadkovich], his tactics worked.

“The last eight games I don’t think we’ve had a bad player on the park, everyone’s contributing so that’s a big reason for why we’re going so well, it’s just extra special today.”

Under 20s Olympic won 2-1
Under 18s Olympic won 10-1

NPL Youth
Olympic vs Mid North Coast
Under 16s Mid Nth Cst won 2-3
Under 15s Olympic 3-0
Under 14s Olympic 5-0
Under 13s drew 2-2

Zone League 2
Olympic vs Charlestown
1st Grade Charlestown won 2-3
2nd Grade Olympic won 1-0

Community Juniors
Under 12s Olympic 3-3 Charlestown
Under 13s Olympic 1-0 Valentine
Under 14s Olympic 1-0 Charlestown
Under 16s Olympic 3-1 Maitland

Lake Macquarie City 0 def. by Edgeworth Eagles 2 (Bizzarri 22′, Byrnes 55′)
Saturday 19th May, 2:30pm at Macquarie Field

Edgeworth momentarily fought their way back to the top of the ladder with a smash and grab victory over a struggling Lakes on Saturday.

After Sunday’s results though, Edgeworth sit in second while Lakes remain off the bottom thanks to Adamstown’s win at Valentine.

Dom Bizzarri opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with his second goal of the season. It was a move which was started from back at the goalkeeper, but Jamie Byrnes was the man who dug something out.

He received a long ball and fought with Lakes’ Tom Walker for possession, winning out and running into the box. A petite cut back found Bizzarri, and he made it 1-0 Edgeworth.

The visitors could have had a second in the 32nd minute when Adam Cawley sent Lakes’ Corey Fletcher one way, then the other, got him and found himself one-on-one with ‘keeper’ Stuart Plant – but couldn’t beat him.

Lakes had a chance of their own up the other end just two minutes later, but Sam Walker was unable to beat Josh Low in the Edgeworth goal.

Edgeworth doubled their advantage shortly after half-time, with a goal which was somewhat controversial. A long goal kick found its way to Jamie Byrnes at the point of the attack, and he touched around Josh Low and headed toward goal.

The ball took a deflection off the post and bounced around the goalmouth, and didn’t hit the net but was adjudged to have crossed the line. A decision which some on the Lakes side didn’t agree with, but Jamie Byrnes had his fifth goal of the year and Edgeworth’s second of the day.

The home side had a good chance to get back in it in the 75th minute after Mitch Hunter put Sam Walker in front of goal, but he could only drill his shot into the palms of an impenetrable Low.

Walker would hit the post in the 77th minute too, although he might not have known so much about the header which was palmed onto his head as Edgeworth dealt with a dangerous cross into the area.

Despite a lot of possession and some good field position, Lakes were ultimately unable to find a way through a stoic Edgeworth defence. The defending premiers shooting momentarily back to the top, the Roosters remaining just shy of last.

Lakes boss Nick Webb said his side were ‘desperately unlucky’ not to come away with at least a point on Saturday.

“We didn’t play well enough first half, but second half we certainly put them under enormous pressure but didn’t score,” said Webb.

“There were numerous chances to score which was great, but the result didn’t go our way again… a bit of a rev-up at half-time, (talking about) sticking to the structures instead of not playing to the game plan and once we stuck to the game plan, we did super well.

“There were just a couple of super costly errors from long balls which cost us the game, they weren’t well-constructed goals.”

Lake Macquarie is now without a win in the league since the 6-1 drubbing of Valentine, but Webb says the confidence is still there.

“We’re not scared of any team, we’ve certainly tested most teams and after we got those couple of wins I thought we were on the right track, it’s just poor mistakes that have cost us goals and unfortunately, at the end of the day, that’s why we are where we are.”

Edgeworth coach Damien Zane was ‘pretty happy’ to get the three points.

“I’ve just had a look at it actually, when we got to 2-0 I thought we fatigued a bit and went a little bit soft but overall we were in control and it was good to bounce back,” said Zane.

“That was what it was all about, bouncing back from the loss and we did that so we were happy.”

“I thought he worrying about goals a bit too much, as strikers do, and we told him to concentrate on what he’s doing and the goals will come and he got one, and probably should have had another one or two,” said Zane.

“We told him not to go away from what you’re doing, and focus on yourself and stick to what the team’s doing, and I thought it was a really positive game for him.

After the dust settled on round ten, Edgeworth (goal difference of +7) sit second – level on points with Broadmeadow (GD of +15) above them, and Charlestown (GD of +6) below them.

Despite that logjam and the arm wrestle underway for top spot, Zane isn’t having his players focus on the premiership just yet.

“It’s one match at a time, our first focus is semi-finals football, we lost six players and were probably counted out by most people,” said Zane.

“We’ve given ourselves a good shot at being there in the semi-finals, and as it gets closer if there’s anything else we need to refocus we’ll do it but at the moment, at the middle part of the year it’s just week by week, grinding out wins.”

Valentine Phoenix 1 (Kershaw 5′) def. by Adamstown Rosebud 2 (Vallone 10′, 23′)
Sunday 20th May, 2:30pm at CB Complex

An absolute howitzer from American import Christian Kershaw had Valentine ahead early and momentarily off the bottom of the ladder on Sunday.

Adamstown looks unstoppable at the moment though, and a first-half fight-back was enough to secure their fourth league win in as many attempts.

That first goal was created and finished by Kershaw. He started his run from inside his own half out on the right hand side, firing in what looked like a mishit cross. A bullet, it somehow beat Benn Kelly at the near post and hit the underside of the crossbar and found its way in for Kershaw’s first goal in Phoenix colours.

The hero at Edgeworth last weekend, Luke Vallone stepped up again just five minutes later to get Adamstown level. He was the beneficiary of a nice ball in behind from Chris Berlin and cut back nicely onto his right foot to slide a finish past Scott Carter and make it 1-1.

In the 22nd minute, Vallone had his third goal in two games. Backtracking and under considerable pressure, Shinji Shozu attempted to play a ball back to his keeper. Vallone swooped on it and angled a nice finish with his right foot inside the far post to make it 2-1.

Valentine almost had one back in the 51st minute, when a Josh Carroll free kick just whizzed past the post. Carroll had another good chance in the 64th minute when he made his way in behind however fired over the crossbar.

The visitors were put on the back foot for much of the second half but managed to keep their lead intact. They had a big shout for a penalty turned down in the 76th minute when Connor Heydon looked to have been pulled down inside the area, but the referee said nothing doing.

Phoenix controlled much of the ball and the territory but was Adamstown who had one of the best chances in the late stages of the match after a breakaway in the 93rd minute. Connor Heydon found himself with only Scott Carter to beat, and decided to square up to Zane Winslade – but he was offside.

The home side went back up the other end and a ball across the goal fell perfectly to Aaron Niyonkuru, who only had to hit the target to score. His first-time shot went over the bar and with it, Valentine’s hopes of clawing their way off the bottom of the ladder.

Adamstown boss Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was pleased with a win which he described as ‘not a pretty game’.

“It wasn’t good football, attractive football, but three points is three points,” Cansdell-Sherriff.

“We looked tired and a bit sluggish, the pitch didn’t help, it was quite bumpy and you could see that in back passes to the keeper going up and hitting him in the shins, we had a couple of boys off their game a little but we fought hard and defended well.

“Valentine were lucky with their first goal, aiming to cross the ball and it somehow found it’s way in the top corner at the near post but the boys didn’t put their heads down, got two goals back quite quickly.”

Six wins on the trot now have Adamstown flying ahead of the bye next weekend, but Cansdell-Sheriff believes minds are still firmly on the task ahead.

“The boys are happy, they’re in a good place but they know they’ve worked hard and they have to keep working harder,” said Cansdell-Sherriff.

“Next weekend we have a break, but then it starts again and we have the second half of the season, we’ve got to start how we finished and go on from there.

“We’ll keep going and take it one game at a time, won’t look too far ahead of ourselves and deal what’s in front of us.”

Cansdell-Sherriff also gave his thoughts on his side drawing Broadmeadow Magic in the seventh round of the FFA Cup.

“We played Magic not too long ago and although we lost the game 4-0, it was one of those games where we were in the game for large parts of it,” said Cansdell-Sherriff.

“They’re a big team, good well organised, well structured and some good players in there so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Maitland Magpies 2 (Comerford 57′, Thompson 80′) def. by Lambton Jaffas 3 (Crowley 21′, 45′, Griffiths 40′)
Sunday 20th May, 2:30pm at Cooks Square Park

Perhaps the most crucial match for Jaffas so far this season, they needed three points here today. A win would take them to within one point of the top four, a loss would have left them potentially seven points adrift.

They faced an injury-hit Maitland side which started without Alex Read, Grant Brown, Ryan Clarke and Mat Swan. Things got worse though just twenty seconds into the match for Maitland as they lost Josh Dutton-Black after he fell awkwardly.

Worryingly for Maitland in the fifth minute, Dutton Black’s replacement Louis Townsend went down with an injury. He was able to carry on, but only after some attention from medical staff.

An early goal would have helped calm things down for Lambton, and it was an early goal they got in the 21st minute. Keeping up the pressure after a corner, Bren Hammel floated a ball back into the box which was turned in by the head of Braedyn Crowley.

One before half-time is always a bonus, and Lambton were the beneficiaries of just a goal which was helped in only by the lightning-quick reactions of Ryan Griffiths. The ball in from Ridge Mapu was tricky, the way he beat Liam Thornton in the lead up even more so.

Left to run by the Maitland defence, it fell behind Griffiths but he had no trouble in pulling it out for his fifth goal of the season.

If one just before half-time is good, then two are even better and Crowley grabbed his second in the 45th minute. Played in over the top by Joel Griffiths, Crowley poked his shot past Matt Trott, who did get a hand to it but wasn’t able to keep it out and Lambton went to the sheds three goals to the good.

It was going to take something special for the home side to get back into this match, and inspiration came in the form of Matt Comerford. Charging down the right-hand side, he looked to have worked himself into a prime position to fire in a cross.

Instead, the number seven lashed at it and hit the far corner of the goal to get Maitland back into it.

In a welcome return for Jaffas, Jobe Wheelhouse made his way onto the pitch in the 63rd minute after speculation he may have severely reinjured his troublesome ankle and was set for an extended period on the sideline.

In the 80th minute, Comerford turned provider to give Maitland hope. Played in by Andrew Swan, his cross to the back post was met by the head of Matt Thompson and he made it 3-2.

Another boost for Jaffas came in the 85th minute, as Michael Kantarovski made his way onto the pitch and returned from injury. He helped Lambton keep their defence compact and prevented Maitland having a sight on goal in the final ten minutes, securing all three points for the visitors.

Weston Bears beat Newcastle Jets Youth 2-1 on June 9.

Source: northernnswfootball.com.au

Hamilton Olympic FC are  holding their  ANNUAL Winter 5 Day Indoor July Junior  Coaching Clinic in the first week of the July  School holidays at Genesis Fitness, Cooks Hill.  from Monday, 9^th July  until Friday, 13^th July, 2018,  inclusive.

It’s indoor, so guaranteed to be on!

All registered players from ages 5 years to 14 years from all clubs are welcome.

Please follow the link for further information on how to enrol.

http://hamiltonolympic.com.au/c5/index.php/winter-coaching-clinic

source:Tom Tsamouras

Hamilton Olympic v Broadmeadow Magic

Sunday 20^th May, 2:30pm at Darling Street Oval

It’s one of the biggest battles in Northern NSW football given the history between two of the local heavyweights, and this weekend’s clash is especially vital for both sides.

Magic could go top and Hamilton could go within touching distance of the top four with a win, but the history between the two sides won’t offer any clear favourite. In the 27 encounters since 2008, Hamilton has won 13 and Broadmeadow 11.

Hamilton hasn’t enjoyed the best start to the season and currently sit six points off the top four. With two league wins on the trot though, they’re back in form and looking for another scalp on Sunday.

Last Saturday was a tight, gritty 2-1 win over a quality filled Lambton side while Wednesday night they had a 2-0 win in the FFA Cup against fellow NPL side Weston, and their fourth win in as many matches.

If Hamilton can manage to keep a clean sheet this weekend, it may be the difference. They’ve kept just two in all competitions this season, but given Broadmeadow has scored on every outing this season, it may be a big ask.

The back end of last season saw Magic go on a magnificent run of victories and just miss out on a shot at championship glory, and now after six wins on the trot, things are looking up once more out at Magic Park.

Sunday is a chance for Broadmeadow to jump into top spot, given they have a higher goal difference and are just three points behind league leaders Charlestown who has the bye this weekend. That goal difference carries with it some of the best records in the league – they’ve scored the most and conceded the least.

Mitch Oxborrow was the key man on his second debut for Broadmeadow last weekend, and he’ll undoubtedly be so once again on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how Magic change their game, which usually places a lot of importance on their wide men, to adapt to the narrow pitch at Darling Street Oval.

Peter McGuinness (Hamilton)

“In patches last night (against Weston) we played quite well, we didn’t execute very well in the front third, we got in a lot of positions to create something and our final delivery wasn’t very good… the intensity was quite good, in the second half we got the goal we probably deserved, got a second late but the performance itself was quite good, happy to get through to the next round.

“Magic are a good side, they’ve got the best for and against and have scored more goals than anyone else in the league, they’ve got a lot of attacking threats, obviously they’re an experienced side with Piddo [Josh Piddington] at the back and Jon Griffiths whose very experienced, Luke Virgili, Mitch Oxborrow back gives them a little more attacking flair too.

“It’s one of the biggest games on the calendar, it’s probably the biggest derby and it has been for a number of years, even back to when I was playing they were always big games, and as a player you wanted to be playing in them because generally a good atmosphere, a good rivalry that isn’t over the top, it’s a sporting rivalry and it adds to the colour of the league.

“Our side isn’t young in age, but we’re young as a group and in how much time we’ve had together and the more time we spend together, playing games and training, developing those combinations and understanding how we want to play, that’s when we’ll get better. I’ve always thought our performances have been good but we’ve just not been smart enough to get points out of games, but that’s been getting better.”

 NPL Youth:

Round 11 Football  North Coast vs Hamilton Olympic at Taree Zone on Saturday 19 May.

U13s kick off at 10:00am

U14s kick  off at 11:30am

U15s kick off at 1:00 pm

U16s kick off at 2:30 pm

Lake Macquarie City v Edgeworth Eagles

Saturday 19^th May, 2:30pm at Macquarie Field

Home hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Lakes so far this season, who host an Edgeworth side who have lost just the once on the road in 2018.

Losses for both sides last weekend will spur them on to improved performances on Saturday, but Edgeworth will have history on their side: they haven’t lost to Lakes since 2013.

Just one win in their past five matches for Lakes has them sliding slowly down the ladder. Currently in tenth place, the Roosters have lost their last two matches – 2-0 to Maitland on Saturday, and 3-1 to Charlestown in the FFA Cup.

That loss to Maitland was notable for the absence of Lakes mainstays Tom and Sam Walker, who returned in the loss to Charlestown midweek. As always, those two men will be key this weekend – especially Sam, who only just holds onto his spot at the top in the race for the golden boot.

Home form hasn’t been a strong point for Lakes this season. They’ve won just two of their six matches at home, one of those against a weakened Maitland side in the league. They’re one of the leakiest teams too – 21 goals have gone through in eight league matches.

Top of the league and flying high, unbeaten since Round One was Edgeworth this time last week. A shock 1-0 defeat to Adamstown at home knocked them down to fourth place and was followed by a tight 1-0 win over Valentine in the FFA Cup on Wednesday.

Something which may worry Lakes will be the strength of Edgeworth on the road. They’ve lost just once from four matches away from home this season, but are conceding at a rate of slightly more than two a match.

So, will there be goals? It’s tough to tell. Edgeworth is the leakiest of the teams in the top four with 12 goals conceded but have only let through three in their past five matches.

What the coaches said:
Nick Webb (Lakes)

“Our first-half performance against Charlestown (midweek in the FFA Cup) was really poor by our standards, but the second half we did really well and dominated in the second half but just couldn’t put it in the net, one of those games but the first half performance didn’t allow us to push it as far as we wanted to.

“We rested a few players so we’re right for this week, but all on deck… I expect a tough match, Edgy got beat last weekend so they’ll be fired up and ready to go, they’re coached by the best coach in the league for some years now so it’s going to be a tough game all around, but the boys take on every challenge so if we can just stay in the contest I’m confident we can get away with the three points.

“We’ll set up how we always set up, we have a structure and that’s how we play, look to exploit wide areas and that’s what we’ll be looking to do again, try to block up the midfield and stop the ball getting to McBreen who’s still one of the best players in the league at his ripe old age, which is a testament to him.

“The table doesn’t lie, at the end of the day we are equal last and we’ve just got to make sure we’re better every week… we know where we should be, and it’s in our own hands.”

Valentine Phoenix v Adamstown Rosebud

Sunday 20^th May, 2:30pm at CB Complex

Back at CB Complex where they won their solitary league match of the season, Valentine desperately needs another three points but have it all to do against a red-hot Adamstown.

Rosebud have beat the league leaders two weeks running now and have lost to Valentine only once in recent history which stretches back to an FFA Cup clash in 2015.

Bottom of the ladder with six points, Valentine need a result. A 2-0 defeat to Charlestown in the second half last weekend was their fourth this year in the league.

Coach Darren Sills chose to rotate the squad on Wednesday night for the FFA Cup clash against Edgeworth, and it nearly paid off. A tight 1-0 defeat thanks to a second-half Dom Bizzarri goal denied them the opportunity to go to the quarter-finals.

The stats don’t make pretty reading for Phoenix – they’ve conceded twice as many goals as they’ve scored and hold the unfortunate record of the second worst goal difference in the division. They’ve snagged a win and a draw from their three matches at home – it’s a tough Adamstown they’ll face on Sunday though.

After going six rounds without a win at the start of the season, Adamstown is now one of the form teams of the competition. Five wins from their past five have propelled them from lingering around the bottom to within five points of the top four.

Two of those wins have been over the league leaders – their last triumph in the league was over Edgeworth, courtesy of a lone Luke Vallone goal in the second half. They overcame Raymond Terrace 3-0 in what shaped as a potentially tricky FFA Cup fixture on Wednesday night.

As the fairly new and fairly young cohort at Adamstown spends more time together, the better they seem to be getting. A red-hot run of form has turned heads around the competition however, with the bye next weekend, getting the three points on Sunday may be their most crucial task yet.

What the coaches said:

Darren Sills (Valentine)

“I’m very happy with how the side did on Wednesday night (in the FFA Cup loss to Edgeworth), we brought in some young guys from the 20s …I can’t fault the effort and the commitment of the lads, they did really, really well last night. We had a couple of chances, they had a couple of chances, it was a good game of footy.

“We had three blokes hit with the flu and one of them, Riley Russell, played a full 90 minutes at left back, and he was so crook… hopefully, he’s on the mend now. Chris Brown comes back hopefully after training on Thursday and plays in the 20s, he’s only played 15 minutes this season and his experience will be invaluable for some of the young blokes.

“Adamstown are on a crest of a wave, they’re going to be very very hard to beat, we have had trouble with them in the last two seasons and they’re similar to us, without being disrespectful they don’t have any out-and-out big names, former A-League stars… they’re a club like us, without a budget of some of the bigger clubs.

“What we have to do then is give some young blokes a go, give some people who are fringe players at other clubs a go, Cansdell-Sherriff has done a good job with them and turned their season around and I hope we can do the same.”

Maitland Magpies v Lambton Jaffas

Sunday 20^th May, 2:30pm at Cooks Square Park

Two of the contenders touted by the pundits pre-season, the result at Cooks Square Park on Sunday will have a huge impact on the ladder no matter the winner.

A Jaffas win would close the gap between them and the four to just one point, whereas a Maitland win could potentially stretch it to seven. There’s no big advantage when you look at the history between the two teams – six played since 2015, with two wins for Maitland and three for Jaffas.

A loss to Edgeworth dented their hopes at going top of the ladder at the end of round eight, but given results last weekend a win over Lambton today could see them jump into first place.

All the stats look good for the Magpies so far this season – second-highest scoring side, with the equal second strongest defence in the league. Just the one defeat at home this season will give them confidence ahead of another tough outing on Sunday.

Maitland is the only NPL club playing this weekend which wasn’t involved in midweek FFA Cup action, and this might give them a slight advantage this weekend.

Especially so against a Lambton outfit which is currently struggling for some depth whose task won’t be made any easier on Sunday due to their midweek FFA Cup clash against Northern League One side Cessnock.

The 4-1 win puts them through to the sixth round of the FFA Cup, but coach James Pascoe will have their attention turned firmly back to the league. The season is just ten weeks old, but a loss on Sunday could potentially open up a seven-point gap between Jaffas and the top four.

One player who will be fresh for Sunday’s trip to Maitland is youngster Braedyn Crowley, who was ineligible for Wednesday night’s FFA Cup fixture. Former Jets Youth man Finn Parris has also signed for Lambton and started against Cessnock.

The Round 10 match between Weston and Jets Youth was played on the 9^th of May, due to Jets Youth’s involvement in the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens this weekend. Weston won 2-1.

Charlestown has the bye this weekend

Source:northernnswfootball.com.au

Two goals in the second half by Hornery and Bertos were enough to see Hamilton Olympic progress to round 6 of the FFA Cup !

Source: Tom Tsamouras

This Wednesday night we will travel to Rockwell Automation Park for our round 5 FFA Cup fixture against Weston Workers Bears FC Kick off is 7:00pm!

source: Tom Tsamouras

Lambton Jaffas 1 (Griffiths 8’) def. by Hamilton Olympic 2 (Mooney 13’, Pettit 43’)
Saturday 12^th May, 2:30 pm at Arthur Edden Oval

An early Lambton goal in this one was shaping as crucial for an extremely undermanned side.

Ultimately the eighth minute Ryan Griffiths header wasn’t enough for Lambton as Hamilton roared back into form with their second come-from-behind victory in as many weeks.

Griffiths opened the scoring as he rose highest from a Bren Hammel corner, beating Hamilton keeper Tyler Warren to the ball and put the home side ahead 1-0.

A header inside the box just five minutes later from Hamilton’s Simon Mooney levelled things up. Olympic shifted the ball nicely from left to right, and a cut in and cross from Cody Lucas on the right-hand side found Mooney’s head who steered in a tight header under pressure.

Just minutes before half-time, Hamilton was ahead. Scott Pettit finished off a move which he started from the afters of a corner;  Pettit played a neat little one-two inside the 18-yard box with Jarryd Sutherland and buried the ball into the back of the net.

Pat Brown had a half-chance to get Lambton back on level terms in the 64^th minute, but he wasn’t able to get enough power on his header and steered it wide of the post.

Another header inside the box could have put Lambton level in the 82^nd minute, but Ben Hay’s bullet header from a Griffiths’ free kick went just wide of the post. There was to be no leveller in the end from Lambton, who fell to their second loss of the season.

Hamilton boss Peter McGuinness was pleased for his side to pick up their second win in as many weeks.

“I thought the first half we performed well and led. We responded well after going down and it was a pretty even sort of contest in difficult conditions,” said McGuinness.

“It was very windy at times, the pitch was bumpy and the conditions weren’t conducive to a good style of footy so ultimately I didn’t think it was the high standard of match that it could have been on a good surface on a clear day.

“Simon Mooney was good again, but I thought they all played well, to be honest, and we didn’t have too many players that didn’t dig deep, and the last 15-20 minutes or so we dug deep and looked to counter-attack as Lambton were driving on to get the equaliser, but they didn’t have much luck and we defended well and held on.”

McGuinness was pleased his side finally seemed to be getting their rub of the green, matching good results with good performances.

“We went down to Maitland and Edgeworth in the last minute of play, and this week we held on… our performances have been good.

“You have a little bit of fortune sometimes, and sometimes you don’t but what goes around comes around and it won’t stay away forever, that’s changed a bit.

“I think also, the mindset of the guys on the weekend, they wanted to reward themselves with a win and they fought hard, so that was pleasing.”

Under 20s Olympic won 2-0
Under 18s Olympic won 3-2

Zone League 2
Olympic vs Hunter Simba
1st Grade Olympic won 5-1
2nd Grade Olympic won 3-1

Community Juniors
Under 16s Olympic 1-5 Kotara South
Under 13s Olympic 1-0 New Lambton

Lake Macquarie City 0 def. by Maitland FC 2 (Dutton-Black 61’, Thornton 85’)
Saturday 12^th May, 7 pm at Macquarie Field

After a win over Maitland nearly two weeks ago, Lakes may have been quietly confident despite their opposition personnel somewhat bolstered since that encounter.

Instead, Maitland reversed the FFA Cup result from just ten days previous to maintain their position inside the top four.

The visitors had a plethora of corners but were unable to do anything from them. Their best chance was from the set piece in the 39^th minute, when Liam Thornton rose for the header but wasn’t able to turn it in.

Maitland built more and more pressure as the second half wore on, and in the 61^st minute finally found a breakthrough. They moved the ball down the right-hand side, and a Chris Fayers cutback evaded everyone in the penalty area except Josh Dutton-Black on the far corner of the six-yard box. He had time to take a touch and pick his spot for his second goal of the season.

A loose pass from Alex Read at the back in the 67^th minute nearly gave Lakes a chance to level the scores, but Manoli Papaspiropoulas was only able to find the side netting.

Lakes had the ball in the back of the net in the 78^th minute after a quick transition moved the ball up to Paul Sichalwe, whose neat little dink over the top found Sam Walker. The whistle sounded for offside though, and his shot after the fact didn’t count.

After a number of corners in the first half that Maitland couldn’t make count, one in the dying embers of the second half would. Thornton made a late run into the box and called for the ball, which was duly floated over onto his head.

The strike hit the head of Lakes’ Jayden Saetta and the underside of the crossbar, but Maitland appealed that the ball had crossed the line and the officials agreed and awarded Maitland’s second.

Lakes boss Nick Webb was proud of his side’s effort despite the result.

“We were a couple of troops down with an injury, so we set up to play on the counter-attack and we did quite well for sixty minutes, they got a goal but I was quite proud of the boys,” said Webb.

“We tried a different shape to stop conceding as many goals as we have been, and we did okay but obviously didn’t get the points… the couple of boys out made an enormous difference to the way that we play, our normal attacking style, we did really well for sixty odd minutes and frustrated them.

“If we had have held on for another ten or fifteen minutes we could have gone on the attack and really got after them, but we didn’t get a chance to do that and this week will be a lot different, we’ll go back to our normal style and it’ll be a lot different.

“Tom and Sam Walker were both missing, Tom’s our centre back and Sam runs our midfield, we haven’t got a big first grade squad so it was a big hole to fill, the boys did really well and I’m proud of them, but at the end of the day the style that we played didn’t get us the result.”

Webb indicated there would be some rotation for Wednesday night’s FFA Cup clash at Charlestown.

“The boys are looking forward to it, they’ll be able to get back out and have a little bit of fun with this game, we’ll check what team we put out on the paddock and there’s probably a few boys out there that need a rest at the moment,” said Webb.

“I’ll throw a few of the younger boys in there to give them a crack, and see how we go.”

Maitland coach Michael Bolch described it as a scrappy match.

“You take the conditions, we were playing on the lake and it was pretty windy so it’s hard with ball control, but I was happy with what the boys did,” said Bolch.

“They [Lakes] were very defensively structured, got a lot of numbers behind the ball but did well, they held their structures well and didn’t come out of the line and it took a lot to break them down, the boys were patient and it took us sixty minutes until the opening goal.

“We had quite a few chances before then but I was happy with the patience the boys showed to grind out the win, it’s a tough place to go and Lakes haven’t done too bad this year, only our second clean sheet of the year so the defensive structures we’re putting in place at the moment are working, and it’ll hold us in good stead for the next couple of weeks.”

Bolch was especially pleased with the contribution of captain Carl Thornton on Saturday night.

“He was very good for us, defensively he just marshalled everything and won everything we needed to win, the last twenty minutes when we went one up and they had to come at us a bit, he just shut down everything,” said Bolch.

“Between him and the two Swan boys (Andrew and Mat) in front of him, they did really well.”

The return of Matt Comerford from injury was encouraging for Bolch, who believes there’s much more to come from him.

“He’s very much short of a gallop, he missed a chunk of pre-season then injured his shoulder and only had two training sessions back since that, he gave us a good impact coming off the bench and over the next few weeks as we get more minutes into his legs, he’s only going to improve,” said Bolch.

“We’ll get a lot better in the front third, he’s one of the best-attacking players in the competition and he’s probably only played 120 minutes so far this year so once we get some minutes back into his legs and get him playing 90, he’ll improve our side dramatically.”

Charlestown City Blues 2 (Smith 58’, 66’) def. Valentine Phoenix 0
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Lisle Carr Oval

It was a shock defeat for Charlestown last time out, and with only one win in their last four league matches, they desperately needed a boost before the bye next weekend.

They got just that, a Scott Smith double doing enough to propel Charlestown back to the top of the table.

Charlestown thought they’d scored in the 33^rd minute when Kevin Davidson dispossessed Joel Wood on the halfway line. He played a one-two with Cal Lewis and charged on, getting it back and firing in a shot (or cross) which Lewis got to first and buried it home.

The sides had returned to the half-way line and were ready to go, but discussions ensued between the referee and linesman on the near side and eventually the goal was disallowed as Valentine keeper Scott Carter had come out of his goal as one of his defenders rushed in behind.

This made Carter the last defender rather than the outfield player, and Lewis was adjudged to be beyond the last defender when Davidson’s cross was fired in. A decision which wasn’t entirely agreed upon by all, with Charlestown protesting in vain.

An absolute rocket from Scott Smith in the 58^th minute put Charlestown ahead properly for the first time. His free kick from around 30 yards out took a deflection on the way in which helped wrong-foot Carter in the Valentine goal and put the Blues ahead 1-0.

Another set-piece would wrap up the three points for Charlestown just eight minutes later when a Reece Pettit handball inside the Valentine box earned the Blues a penalty. Smith stepped up and buried his second of the day.

Rene Ferguson nearly scored a nice little flick in the 70^th minute from a Smith free-kick and forced a good diving save from Carter in the 72^nd minute. He wasn’t able to score though, but it didn’t matter for his team in the end as they returned to the top of the table.

Valentine assistant coach Sam Griffin was disappointed not to take anything away from Lisle Carr Oval.

“I think going in nil-all at half-time, after setting out to be in that position or even better gave us a chance to go on with it, but we didn’t really execute the way we would’ve liked in the second half,” Griffin said.

“I think we showed a bit too much respect to the other side, Charlestown are at the top somewhere but once you’re on the field it doesn’t matter where you are and you’ve just got to play what’s in front of you.

“I think we were a bit sheepish when we really should have taken the game to them, in the end, that’s what they did to us and that was the difference.”

Griffin was pleased with Valentine goalkeeper Scott Carter’s return to fitness following a shoulder dislocation.

“He was terrific, he pulled up okay which is good for us, you’ve never 100% sure how they’re going to come back.

“It probably helped that he was a bit fresher than others, but he did really well.”

Edgeworth Eagles 0 def. by Adamstown Rosebud 1 (Vallone 63’)
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Jack McLaughlan Oval

A win over Charlestown last weekend was a fantastic result for Adamstown, their third win in a row after a troublesome start to the season.

Doing their best to show that it wasn’t just a stroke of luck, Rosebud struck once again this Sunday and knocked a different side off top spot with a massively important win over Edgeworth.

Adamstown nearly opened the scoring in the 7^th minute from a corner, when Connor Heydon flicked on a header from further out and forced a reflex save from Nate Cavaliere in the Edgeworth goal.

A glancing header from Pat Wheeler off a corner in the first-half injury time was perhaps Edgeworth’s best chance of the half, and it forced a good save from Adamstown keeper Benn Kelly.

The visitors took the lead in the 63^rd minute. From the goal kick, Chris Berlin clipped on the ball to Luke Vallone who set off in behind the defence. A deft little chip from him cleared Nate Cavaliere, and the chasing defenders could only follow the ball into the back of the net as Adamstown went ahead.

Edgeworth’s best chance to level things up came late in the afternoon when they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the area in second-half injury time. Tyson Jackson stepped up but put his effort just wide.

The loss moved Edgeworth off the top of the table all the way down to fourth and was the first time they’ve been kept scoreless this season. Adamstown shot up to sixth on the ladder and are remarkably just two wins outside the top four.

Adamstown boss Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was pleased with the way his side pinched a goal, and then hung on to the lead.

“Great win, great effort, it was a hard and well fought-battle,” said Cansdell-Sherriff.

“It was 50-50, both had our fair share of chances and we knew at half-time that we had a fair chance of getting something out of the game, we battled on and managed to get a goal on the break which caught them out.

“We defended more in the second half than we did the first half, but we reduced them to shooting from long range and playing long balls which is a sign of a good defence, it’s never going to be a perfect game where we’d dominate such a good and experienced side against them.

“Once they’re down, they’re trying to score so they’re chasing the game a little bit, we’re trying to hold on so they gamble a little bit more and push forward a little bit more, which pushed us back and made us dig in, but a win’s a win, we’ll take the three points and move on.”

The Rosebud men have been handed the underdog tag the past two weeks as they’ve knocked off the top teams in the competition, but Cansdell-Sherriff hasn’t been using it as a motivator.

“I said to the boys from the start that we’ll take it one game at a time, we’re a new side and we’ve got to have realistic expectations and when I say that I don’t have the bar way above our heads, but we’re not quite there as a team yet.

“We’re a team that’s been developing from the start, a lot of new faces and young boys, I think we’ve had eight boys debut in the league and they’ve done very very well… let’s keep working at it, learn about ourselves as individuals and as a team and let’s build slowly.

“We needed a little bit of luck to fall our way and once it fell we knew we’d get results, we’ve had it lately and picked up results but the boys are working really hard, they give 100% every training session and I’m getting everyone at every session, which makes my job easier because I get to coach the whole side but difficult because it raises questions over who I pick at the weekend.

“When you get that, it breeds confidence and that mentality and we want to keep driving forward… we’ve worked hard for it.”

Broadmeadow Magic 4 (O’Connor OG 17’, Oxborrow 19’, Broadley 43’) def. Newcastle Jets Youth 2 (Harrison 33’,
Sunday 13^th May, 2:30 pm at Magic Park

The big news throughout the week was the return of former Jets and Magic man Mitchell Oxborrow to Broadmeadow.

Oxborrow continued to steal the headlines on Sunday too, with two goals in a resounding Broadmeadow Magic victory which kept them in touch with the top spot.

The scoring was opened in the 17^th minute after Oxborrow played a ball in from the left-hand side. It fell to Joseph O’Connor to clear, but his shanked attempt cleared Noah James and put Magic ahead.

A corner from the opposite side just two minutes later doubled the lead for Magic. It was Oxborrow on the end of it once again, and he managed to score directly from the corner for his first goal back in Magic colours.

Jets Youth clawed their way back into the match in the 33^rd minute, and it was Kent Harrison with his second goal in a week. Ryan Goodhew played in the ball from the midfield, and Harrison unleashed a vicious shot from outside the penalty box and found the back of the net to make it 2-1.

Kale Bradbury was the architect of Magic’s third, which put them back ahead by two goals just before halftime. He cut in from the left-hand side and laid it back to Justin Broadley on the top of the box. Broadley took a touch and fired home with his right foot, his first goal in Magic colours.

Broadmeadow virtually put the game out of sight in the 59^th minute, after two former Newcastle Jets combined to make it four.

James Virgili collected the ball after a goal kick and struggled to beat his man, but a sliding tackle on him sent the ball through to Oxborrow. One-on-one with James, he made no mistake for his second of the afternoon.

Jets Youth would pull back a goal late in the match, but it proved only a consolation. It was a good strike though, Kent Harrison involved as he laid off a ball to Cai Tipaldo. His strike was good from outside the area and made the final score 4-2.

Source: northernnswfootball.com.au

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