Match of the Round
New Lambton FC 0-1 Edgeworth FC
Alder Park, Saturday 2:30pm
New Lambton coach Shane Pryce believes there is pressure on his position and playing group after a 1-0 defeat against Edgeworth FC on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles were unable to turn things around at Alder Park as they continue to search for their first win of the season after five losses and one draw to start their 2024 campaign.
The score was locked at 0-0 until Edgeworth broke ahead minutes before half time through Seth Clark.
The midfielder twisted and turned New Lambton’s defence inside out before he whipped the ball from outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Shayne Van As and into the back of the net to put the Eagles in front.
The two sides had an equal number of shots on goal but only the Eagles that were able to capatilise and secure an important three points.
Pryce believed that his job and the players’ positions could be in jeopardy if they were unable to turn things around soon.
“I mean look the facts are facts. We have one point from 18 points available.
“Things have got to change soon or they will change personnel.”
Pryce thought that his side deserved something from the game and believed his side showed signs of improvement.
“The response from our last game was more improved and I think we stayed in the game for longer periods,” Pryce said.
“But to concede is something that we still need to work on.
“I think we created some chances to get something out of the game. We should have gotten at least a point.”
“I thought that our attitude and the players were better and the commitment was where it needed to be.
“I was happy with our structure and how we still battled away right until the end.”
Edgeworth coach Peter McGuinness was thrilled to secure the side’s second win of the campaign against and solid New Lambton unit.
“I’m very happy to get the win,” McGuinness said.
“I thought it was a tight contest in warm conditions.
“We always knew that they (New Lambton) would be tough opposition and that proved to be the case.
McGuinness was pleased with the efforts of his players at both ends of the pitch.
“It was a nice individual goal from Seth which decided the match,” McGuinness said.
“I am really happy with the group to keep another clean sheet.”
The win saw Edgeworth jump up into seventh on the table, two points behind Maitland FC and Newcastle Olympic in fifth and sixth position.
McGuinness will hope that his side can continue their momentum into next Saturday’s clash when they return home to Jack McLaughlan Oval to face Adamstown Rosebud FC.
New Lambton are now at the bottom of the table and will need to regroup in order to bounce back when they go head-to-head with Weston Workers FC on Friday night.
Newcastle Olympic 3-1 Charlestown Azzurri
Newcastle Olympic finally turned their luck around to secure a 3-1 victory against Charlestown Azzurri on Sunday afternoon.
The Blues were unable to bounce back and suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season to a hungry Olympic side at Darling Street Oval.
Rhys Cooper opened the scoring for the afternoon in the 11th minute after a perfectly placed ball from Jye Rodway across the goal sped into the path of Copper, who slid the ball into the back of the net.
Azzurri struck back in the 39th minute as Harrison Frendo shook off his defenders to pass the ball off to Jarryd Sutherland, who was free inside the penalty area and smashed the ball past goalkeeper Adam Pearce.
The score was locked at 1-1 into the half time break before Olympic edged ahead again in the 64th minute.
Cooper got himself onto the end of another well-placed ball from teammate Musa Kamara to strike the ball on the half-volley past goalkeeper Ben McNamara and into the goal.
Olympic put the game to bed in the 77th minute as Cooper secured his first hat trick of the season.
Archie Finn brought the ball down the pitch before he offloaded it to Kane Treble, who cut the ball back to an unmarked Cooper inside the penalty area to knock it into the back of the net.
James Pascoe’s men have fallen to fourth on the table, one point behind Valentine FC and three points away from Broadmeadow Magic and Lambton Jaffas.
Azzurri will be desperate to turn things around when they return home to Lisle Carr Oval to host league leaders Charlestown Azzurri next Sunday.
The win moved Olympic up to sixth on the table with 10 points and are eight points behind league leaders Lambton Jaffas.
The side will hope to continue their success when they travel to Croudace Bay Complex to take on Valentine FC next Saturday.
Adamstown Rosebud 1-3 Cooks Hill United
Cooks Hill secured their first win of the season after a 3-1 victory over Adamstown Rosebud on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors came back from behind to return from Adamstown Oval with all three points.
Adamstown’s captain Dino Fajkovic opened the scoring for the afternoon in the 13th minute.
A softly hit pass from Cooks Hill’s goalkeeper Daniel Eisenhauer allowed Rosebud to quickly press and cause a turnover that allowed for Fajkovic to poke the ball straight into the back of the net.
Cooks Hill struck back in the 33rd minute after Adamstown was unable to clear the ball out of their penalty box. The ball fell to Carter Smith who hit the ball on the volley and it flew past Stuart Plant as it deflected off a Rosebud defender.
Striker Cody Nancarrow edged Cooks Hill ahead in the 75th minute with a spectacular strike that curled past Plant’s reach and into the top corner of the net.
Cooks Hill was able to extend their lead after they were awarded a penalty in the 98th minute after Narveen Richardson fouled Nancarrow inside the penalty area.
Nancarrow calmly converted from the spot to put the game to bed and secure Cooks Hill’s first three points of the season.
The win saw Chris Zoricich’s side move off the bottom of the table and into ninth position with four points.
Cooks Hill will look to build on their performance and claim a back-to-back win when they return home to host Lake Macquarie City FC next Saturday.
Adamstown have dropped to 11th on the table and they will hope to pick shift their momentum on Saturday when they travel to Jack McLaughlan Oval to face Edgeworth FC.
Valentine FC 2-0 Weston Workers FC
Valentine FC made their way back into the winner’s circle on Saturday after a 2-0 victory against Weston Workers FC.
Two early goals in the first 11 minutes of the match secured all three points for the Phoenix and kept them in touch with the top two sides.
Valentine started the game strong as they fired four shots in the first few minutes before they hit the back of the net in the ninth.
A defensive header from the Bears landed in the path of Kai Herd who slid in and sliced the ball past Gerald Roebuck to put Valentine ahead.
Two minutes later the Phoenix struck again when Herd switched from scorer to provider for Toby Jensen.
Herd charged the ball towards the goal as he ducked and weaved around Weston’s defence before he cut the ball across goal to Jensen who slotted it into the back of the net. The loss saw Weston slip down to eighth on the table. The Bears will be eager to turn things around when they travel to Alder Park to take on New Lambton on Friday night.
Valentine finished the weekend back up in third position on the table, two points behind the top two sides Lambton Jaffas and Broadmeadow Magic. Adam Hughes will be hopeful that his side can continue their form next Saturday when they host Newcastle Olympic.
Maitland FC 2-0 Lake Macquarie City FC
Maitland FC returned to their winning ways to defeat Lake Macquarie City FC 2-0 on Saturday night.
Regan Lundy opened the scoring in the 20th minute after a brilliant build-up from the Magpies that allowed him to tap the ball into the back of the net.
Six minutes later Lundy struck again after captain Braedyn Crowley sliced the ball in behind Lakes’ defence for Lundy to run onto and the midfielder struck the ball past Isaac Nyman to double the Magpies’ lead.
The Roosters were able to keep the Magpies scoreless in the second half but could not create enough chances to claw their way back into the game.
The loss saw Lakes drop to tenth on the table and they will look to reconsolidate and go again when they travel to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field to face Cooks Hill United next Saturday.
The Magpies flew up to fifth on the table with 10 points and will hope to continue their form next Sunday when they travel to Magic Park to take on Broadmeadow Magic.
Broadmeadow Magic 2-3 Lambton Jaffas FC
Lambton Jaffas come out on top with a 3-2 victory over league leaders Broadmeadow Magic at Magic Park on Sunday afternoon.
Jaffas came from behind and broke Magic’s unbeaten run to leapfrog over them to the top of the table to continue their hot streak, with six from six wins.
Bailey Wells opened Magic’s account in the 11th minute of the match after Alexander Rose cut the ball back to the midfielder who sliced the ball across goal and snuck it into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
Rose got his own name on the scoresheet in the 23rd minute as he ran in behind Jaffas’ defensive line to strike the ball in the exact same spot as Wells and past goalkeeper Ben Kennedy.
Jaffas got themselves back in the game just before half time with a tap-in on the volley that flew past Lewis Alverez.
David Tanchevski’s side was given the opportunity to equalise after they were awarded a penalty kick when Alvez took down James Oates inside the penalty area.
Scott Pettit calmly converted from the spot which took the score to 2-2 with less than five minutes of regulation time to play.
Jaffas scored the winner in the 89th minute with a spectacular strike from Patrick Bond, as he ducked and weaved in between a crowded penalty area to smash the ball into the back of the net.
Magic have dropped down to second on the table and will look to regroup when they host Maitland FC next Sunday.
Jaffas will hope to continue their form when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to face Charlestown Azzurri.
