Match of the Round
Wallsend FC v South Cardiff FC
The match was postponed due to wet weather.
Cessnock City Hornets FC 4-3 Belmont Swansea United FC
Cessnock City Hornets secured all three points with a spectacular 4-3 comeback to end Belmont Swansea United unbeaten run at Turner Park on Saturday night.
It looked set to be another cruisy day at the office for the league leaders, who entered the weekend with seven from seven wins and were up by three goals after 32 minutes.
BelSwans opened the scoring in the eighth minute through the competition’s leading goal-scorer Kane Woolston.
Matt Hall doubled the visitors’ lead in the 21st minute before Woolston doubled his tally for the game in the 32nd minute to make the score 3-0.
But Cessnock’s skipper Blake Roy pulled one back almost immediately when he pinched the ball off BelSwans’ goalkeeper Joel Perrin and slotted it into the back of the net to get the Hornets’ comeback underway.
It became 3-2 when Cessnock’s leading goal-scorer Zac Kronholm netted his fourth goal of the season on the stroke of half-time as the visitors went into the break with a one-goal advantage.
Hornets coach Brad Miles made some changes midway through the second half which worked wonders as the hosts equalised in the 79th minute when one of the substitutes, Curtis Johnston, charged onto a Roy through ball and slotted his one-on-one chance.
Cessnock then forced a BelSwans own goal in the 83rd minute to complete the comeback. It was another substitute who made an impact after a Drew Dodgson cross deflected off the knee of opposition centre back Sam Kirk and into the back of net.
The Hornets held on and managed to keep the visitors scoreless for the remainder of the match to secure their second win of the year and become the team to finally end the BelSwans winning streak.
Miles was proud of his team and declared that it was not a surprising result for his side who believe in their ability as individuals and as a group.
“It was a really good feeling and everyone was buzzing in the changerooms,” Miles said.
“It was well-deserved, it’s been coming for a long time. It all came together.
“They’re a resilient group. We’ve had a lot of bad luck but they keep turning up. We were 3-0 down and it takes a big effort to come back and beat a team like that.
“The boys believed in themselves and their ability, and at half-time we knew it could be done if we stuck to our process, and they did that and it come off.
“I thought we were really good. We need to play 90 minutes like that every week and we’ll get a lot more results.”
BelSwans’ coach Mick Stafford thought his side were brilliant early on but clocked off after they scored their third and were taught a tough lesson.
“We played for 32 minutes, got to 3-0 up and then stopped,” Stafford said.
“I base it on a bit of flatness from having had two weeks off, a bit of complacency and not showing enough respect for the opposition at a real tough place to play, especially considering the conditions.
“I think the complacency was based on our past results when we’ve rolled through teams, but we didn’t do enough against Cessnock, we didn’t roll our sleeves up enough.
“Credit to Cessnock. They worked harder, fought harder and really deserved to win that game I thought.
“I thought our three goals were good, quality goals, which was pleasing, but that’s not enough to win football games in this division. You have to roll your sleeves up, get in the grind and manage games better. I think it’s a massive lesson some of the players will learn from, and hopefully it makes us better in weeks to come.”
Cessnock remains eighth on the table after Saturday’s victory but has moved three points clear of last-placed side Wallsend and they are now just two wins outside the top four.
The Hornets are two points behind the seventh-placed Singleton Strikers, who they will meet this Wednesday night away from home at Howe Park in round 11.
BelSwans still sit at the top of the table and are still out in front by nine points on the table. They will look to bounce back from their first loss of the campaign on Wednesday night when they host Kahibah in a top-of-the-table clash at Blacksmiths Oval.
Singleton Strikers FC 1-3 West Wallsend SFC
West Wallsend FC secured their third win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Singleton Strikers at Howe Park on Saturday.
The Strikers took the lead in the 32nd minute when Jake Barner scored his second goal of the campaign,
But the score quickly changed to 1-1 when Westy won a penalty in the 43rd minute. Bailey Jensen calmly converted from the spot to equalise for his side.
The score was locked at a goal each at the half-time break before the Bluebells struck in the 53rd minute after Jake Bower put the visitors ahead for the first time in the match.
Spencer Clarke then put the icing on the cake in stoppage time when he found the back of the net to make the final score 3-1.
The victory saw the Bluebells climb to fifth place on the table after entering the weekend seventh. They are now just two points outside the top four and will enter the promotion zone if they beat the Thornton Redbacks at Metford Recreation Reserve in round 11 on Wednesday night.
Singleton dropped from sixth to seventh after the loss and remain four points outside the top four. They are also in action during this Wednesday’s mid-week round and will look to get their campaign on track when they host Cessnock City Hornets at Howe Park.
Thornton Redbacks FC v Toronto Awaba FC
The match was postponed due to wet weather.
Kahibah FC had the bye.
