Match of the Round
Broadmeadow Magic v Newcastle Olympic
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Warners Bay FC 5-8 Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Adamstown Rosebud JFC coach Martin Slade was impressed with the resilience his side showed to come from behind to defeat Warners Bay FC in
It was goals galore for the two sides, as the ball hit the back of the net 13 times throughout a thrilling match.
Adamstown was denied by the post in the 30th second of the match before star attacker Emily Diaz opened the scoring a minute later for the opposition.
Diaz spun around her defender inside the penalty box to strike the ball past Olivia Sneddon.
The Panthers doubled their advantage in the fourth minute after Callie Thomas won the ball inside the centre circle and powered past Adamstown’s defence to hit the ball into the back of the net.
But Adamstown struck back a minute later as Danielle McSeveny received a perfect cut-back ball from Tanya Jones and sliced it past Mia Wallace.
Thomas edged back ahead for Warners Bay in the seventh minute with a strong assist from Diaz. Diaz drew two defenders to her which left Thomas free to receive the ball inside the penalty area and strike the ball towards goal. Thomas’ first attempt was saved by Sneddon before she made no mistake with her second and smashed it into the goal.
Jones made her return to striker from a two-week stint as goalkeeper in style, as she got Rosebud back to even with the Panthers with two goals in the 11th and 14th minute.
A minute later Diaz got her side back out in front with a fantastic individual effort to beat three defenders and curl the ball into the back of the net.
The goals kept coming as Tori Johnson equalised for a second time in the 19th minute after she tapped the ball into an empty goal.
Johnson struck again 10 minutes later as hit the ball on the half-volley off a free kick and launched it past Wallace.
The two sides went into the sheds with the scoreline at 4-5 before Jones extended Rosebud’s lead and secured her first hat trick of the season in the 56th minute.
Jones didn’t take her foot off the gas and netted another two goals to take the score to 8-4 s in the 77th and 87th minute.
Warners Bay clawed one back in stoppage time as Jennifer Reeves hit a wonder goal off a free kick from 40 yards out to secure her spot in contention for goal of the year.
But Rosebuds secured all three points which allowed them to keep in touch with the top four sides.
Slade was pleased with how his side bounced back to secure three points.
“I would say to go down 2-0 down in the first few minutes against a direct rival for us and to actually come back from that shows a lot of resilience,” Slade said.
“I thought the first half was split in two as we didn’t have control in the first 20 minutes and it was end to end.
“After the 20th minute, we had a lot more control and got ourselves back into the game. We got through to half time and I told them to keep doing what they were doing. In the second half, I thought we controlled the game really well.”
Rosebud’s coach was also impressed with the efforts of his striker-turned-goalkeeper Tanya Jones and how she has stepped up for her side in the past few weeks.
“Not many people can say that they have gotten two clean sheets and five goals in three matches,” Slade said.
“She (Jones) has done it all with a smile on her face.
“I don’t think five goals are reflective of her performance. What Tanya did was unbelievable.”
Warners Bay coach Ryan Swinkels was disappointed with the result and that they were unable to shut Rosebud’s attack down.
“We were good for periods of the game, but we can’t put a full 90-plus minutes together,” Swinkels said.
“The intensity of our play could have been better and we need to pressure the ball quicker in the right way.
“It’s good to score goals but when we score five goals in a game, we should be able to achieve a positive result.
The Panthers will hope to turn things around and return to the winner's circle on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Darling Street Oval to face Newcastle Olympic.
Rosebud will look to continue their winning momentum when they return home to Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to host Maitland FC on Saturday night.
New Lambton FC v Maitland FC
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
Mid Coast FC v Charlestown Azzurri
This match was postponed due to wet weather conditions.
