Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic v Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 12:30pm
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins is looking for some more consistency from his side when they host Adamstown Rosebud JFC this Sunday.
The side will take to Darling Street Oval after a rocky few weeks in the competition with one win and two losses.
Olympic suffered back-to-back defeats to Maitland FC (2-1) and Charlestown Azzurri (2-0) before they bounced back to a dominant 10-0 defeat over Warners Bay last weekend.
Atkins praised his side’s efforts to turn things around and hoped that they could build some momentum in the next few rounds.
“It was a rough couple of weeks, but it was good for the girls to turn it around, score lots of goals and keep a clean sheet,” Atkins said.
“You can’t dwell too much on it. Then you need to work on what you need to work on. The girls were good enough to watch some videos and we have done a thorough analysis of the games that we weren’t too happy about and the players have been really reflective.
“Sometimes you have lapses, but they are always able to turn it around.
“Now we are looking for consistency.”
Olympic sit one position ahead of Adamstown on the table in fourth and are separated by three points which makes a win for them crucial.
Atkins was positive that his side had the ability to get the job done this Sunday but is prepared for a hard battle.
“I have 100% confidence in these girls,” Atkins said.
“Adamstown is a team that never gives up and we know that we will have to be on our toes every second.
“We won’t be taking them lightly and know that it will be a strong contest.”
Olympic will be without defender Jorjia Hogg as she is away.
Adamstown has also had some mixed results at the start of their 2024 campaign after three wins and four losses.
The last time these two sides met in round one Rosebud suffered a 9-0 loss which is their biggest defeat of the season.
But Adamstown has continued to build with each performance and is fifth on the table with nine points.
The young side held their own against Maitland FC last weekend to keep them to a 3-0 loss, which coach Martin Slade saw as a big improvement.
Slade was pleased with the efforts from his side so far this season and believes they can compete with the top four sides in the competition.
“I hope my side realise that they played against a top-four team (Maitland FC) and wasn’t blown away,” Slade said.
“We are trending upwards.
“We are a far better team than we think but we are also still learning.”
Slade was confident that they could hold their own against a strong Olympic outfit on Sunday.
“Up until last weekend we know Olympic went through a rough patch but they will take a lot of confidence from a big win against Warners Bay,” Slade said.
“We have to be on our toes and will go out there and play our football.
“Last time we faced Olympic we went 4-0 down in the first 20 minutes. We aren’t conceding in those patches against the top four sides at the moment.
“If we can go out there and put on a performance, fingers crossed anything can happen.”
Rosebud can move up to equal points with Olympic if they can secure a win this weekend, which will add fire to the belly of Slade’s young side.
New Lambton FC v Broadmeadow Magic
Alder Park, Saturday 4pm
Aaron Stedman is looking forward to New Lambton FC’s battle with league leaders Broadmeadow Magic this Saturday.
The home side returns to Alder Park off the back of three straight defeats and sits sixth on the table with three points.
New Lambton has struggled to take flight this season after only one win in their 2024 campaign and will be desperate to turn things around to keep in touch with the top four sides.
Broadmeadow Magic secured the three points in the two occasions these sides have met already this year after a 3-2 victory in round one and a 5-2 win over the Golden Eagles in the Women's League Cup.
But Stedman looked forward to the opportunity to go head-to-head with Magic once again and is ready for a high-level game.
“So far we have had a really good battle with Magic,” Stedman said.
“We play really good football against them.”
New Lambton’s coach was confident that his side had the ability to turn things around and get their season back on track.
“We need to stay focused and get back to the positive side of things and get back to what we are doing well,” Stedman said.
“We have been playing really good patches of football. We just need to be more clinical in front of goal.”
Magic have had a dream start to their season with five wins and one draw that has launched them to the top of the table with 16 points.
The loss of striker Adrianna Konjarski has not slowed Broadmeadow down in attack, as Lily-Jane Babic, Mercedes McNabb and Tahlor Thackray have stepped up and netted 13 goals between them.
Magic have only conceded five goals so far this season and will want to continue to be tight in defence against the likes of Tara Andrews and Jessica Terry up top for New Lambton.
They will want to continue their three-match winning streak this weekend and retain their position at the top of the table.
Mid Coast FC v Warners Bay FC
Taree Zone Field, Saturday 4pm
Mid Coast FC and Warners Bay FC will be desperate for points when they go head-to-head in a bottom-of-the-table clash on Sunday afternoon.
The last time these two sides met, Warners Bay secured an 8-1 win on home soil and will travel to Taree Zone Field in the hope of repeating their round one success against the Middies after six straight losses.
The Panthers sit seventh on the table with three points equal with New Lambton FC but have a higher goal difference.
Warners Bay has proven that they can hit the back of the net unlike last season when they scored 18 goals but have also leaked in defence as they conceded 50 goals in seven matches.
Ryan Swinkels will hope that his side can tighten things up at the back to turn things around to move their way up the table and keep in touch with the top four sides.
Mid Coast has been unable to jumpstart their season after five from five heavy defeats and sits at the bottom of the table with zero points.
Mandy Langlar’s side has scored just one goal so far against the Panthers but in five matches has conceded 46 goals in total.
It will be important for Mid Coast’s young squad to continue to build and improve on their efforts to try and net some more goals with Evie Gill leading them in attack.
Maitland FC v Charlestown Azzurri
This fixture has been postponed.
