Match of the Round
West Wallsend SFC v Cessnock City Hornets FC
Johnston Park, Saturday 2:30pm
Two sides will go searching for a win in this weekend’s match of the round when West Wallsend welcome Cessnock City Hornets to Johnston Park.
The Bluebells are seventh on the table after two wins, a draw and three losses, while Cessnock are last following one win and five losses.
The two teams have shown plenty of promise so far but have faced their own struggles that they are hoping to shake on Saturday.
While it’s still early days and there is plenty of football to be played, these teams are determined not to let the pack above them get too far away.
West Wallsend looks to end a three-game winless streak that includes two losses and a draw when they host the Hornets on Saturday.
Coach Bailey Cox believes there has been a lot to like from his side so far across the six matches they have played and he is eager for them to start to string some wins together to get themselves back up towards the pointy end of the table.
But Cox is well aware that the three points will not come easy against Cessnock.
“Spud (Josh Maguire) is out there playing and helping with coaching (for Cessnock), so I’m assuming they are going to play pretty good footy,” Cox said.
“They got beaten big by BelSwans early on but they still scored three goals against them and no one else has done that this year.
“Even last year, they did us 3-1 in the first round at our home ground and they played decent footy.
“(Zac) Kronholm is pretty sharp up top for them and they got Jed (Horder) from Singleton, who I really rate too.
“They’ll be pretty gritty, and with Josh there, they won’t be just playing long, they’ll play good footy and they’ll be physical.”
“I think our last game against Toronto was the best we’ve played this year for a full 90 minutes. We played good footy. It was a good battle and we were in it the whole game.
“We’re still struggling to take our chances though, and we’re looking for that day when we can just put them all away and get a good result in.”
West Wallsend will have some added motivation this Saturday as fan favourite Bailey Jensen lines up for a milestone game as he takes the field for the 100th time as a Bluebell.
Cessnock’s second-half woes continued when they hosted Kahibah at Turner Park in a rescheduled round six match and went down 3-1. They led 1-0 at half-time after a Lucas Egge strike in the 31st minute put them ahead, but again they fell apart in the second stanza and let the three points slip.
The Hornets’ coach Brad Miles said he could not fault his players’ efforts, but he challenged them to start putting games away and to maintain their concentration.
“I don’t think the score is any real indication of the game, but we were our own worst enemies again unfortunately,” Miles said.
“We were up 1-0 at half-time and we were playing really well. Half-time is just our nemesis at the moment. Silly mistakes are costing us goals, and pivotal moments where we lack concentration are costing us dearly.
“We’re playing really well and trying really hard, but we’re just not getting the results we need. We just need to keep working hard at training and start to concentrate for the whole game.
“On Saturday we’re out at Johnston Park against the grand final winners, who are a very good team, and I’m not expecting anything to be easy at all. They have strikers all over the park and a very good keeper between the sticks.
“We will have to be right on our game. We need a complete effort and we need to cut out the silly mistakes.”
One positive for the Hornets is the return of Blaydan Laverick, who lined up for his first game in the top grade this year to mark his return from ankle surgery.
Miles said Laverick was sensational at the back and he will line up against West Wallsend on Saturday.
As league leaders Belmont Swansea United have the bye in this round, it is a chance for all sides to narrow the gap and work their way up the table.
Thornton Redbacks FC v South Cardiff FC
Maitland No.1 Sportsground, Saturday 2:30pm
Thornton will challenge South Cardiff on Saturday afternoon but the game will not be the homecoming that the Redbacks were expecting as Thornton Park is unavailable for at least another week.
The match has been moved to No.1 Sportsground due to Council maintenance.
The Redbacks enter round nine after a three-week break as a result of last weekend’s washed-out round and a bye in round seven.
Thornton’s last match was a 4-1 victory over Wallsend in round six, and co-coach Gary Wand has challenged his men to produce a similar performance this Saturday.
“We want to see more of the same; more of what we’ve been doing” Wand said.
“We’ve been making it really hard for opposition teams and banging a few goals in here or there as well.
“We had a rusty training session on Tuesday night because we haven’t played for a couple of weeks and we couldn’t get on the park last Thursday due to wet weather, so we haven’t been able to train a great deal. The boys were keen enough though and they’re in good spirits.
“We can’t fault them. Hopefully, the spell hasn’t killed off our momentum too much.
“I think South Cardiff have found a bit of consistency and they’re in a bit of form, and we’re expecting a tough game from them on Saturday.”
The second-placed Redbacks will be without key defender Ryan Inglis for Saturday’s game but are otherwise at full strength as they look to close the gap between themselves and Belmont Swansea United to seven points.
South Cardiff entered this week in fourth spot on the table but dropped to fifth through the week after catch-up games were played. They were overtaken by Kahibah after Mat Moncrieff’s men scored a 3-1 away win against Cessnock to climb into fourth.
The Gunners are guaranteed to re-enter the top four with a win this weekend and can finish the round as high as second if they are able to earn the three points against Thornton.
Singleton Strikers FC v Toronto Awaba FC
Howe Park, Saturday 7:30pm
Singleton’s long-awaited return home will finally arrive on Saturday night when they host Toronto Awaba under lights at Howe Park.
The Strikers have not yet played a game at the venue in 2024. They were scheduled to meet South Cardiff there in round eight, but the match was washed out and will now be played on Wednesday, May 8, along with the rest of the round eight games.
This Saturday’s match kicks off a run of three consecutive home games at Howe Park for a Singleton side that is sixth on the table.
The Strikers’ coach Doug West hoped that the run could bring some momentum, but all eyes are on this Saturday’s game against a Toronto Awaba team that proved to be one of the top teams in the competition again this season.
“We’re absolutely excited to be back at home. The ground is in immaculate condition, and being a Saturday night game, we’re expecting a good number of supporters out there to see our first home game,” West said.
“You always want to win at home and you expect to win at home. But we all know that doesn’t always happen. We need to put in the hard work and turn up and stick to our structure and plan to get the result.
“I think Toronto has proved that they’re a front-running team when you get them on their day. They have got a very solid squad and I’m expecting a very competitive match. They’ll come out hard and they’ll be expecting to win the game.”
The Strikers have had two wins, a draw and three losses and their last start was a 4-0 defeat away from home against Kahibah in round seven.
Their preparation going into that game was hampered by unavailability and West thought it was their worst performance of the year.
“Player availability has been an issue for us recently. We’ve had guys away on shift work, some out with injury and some playing through injury,” West said.
“The Kahibah game was our worst performance all year, including trial games. We’ve gone into training since then with a very different and adjusted mindset.”
Toronto Awaba is third on the table with 11 points after three wins, two draws and one loss so far this season. They are level with second-placed Thornton and 10 points behind ladder leaders Belmont Swansea.
A win this weekend would see the Stags close the gap between themselves and BelSwans to seven points, and it could also see them climb into second.
Jarrad Hiles’ side will still be without injured skipper Zane Winslade and suspended duo Reece Green and Noah Fittler. They face a tough battle being the first team to meet a hungry Singleton outfit at Howe Park.
Kahibah FC v Wallsend FC
Kahibah Oval, Sunday 2:30pm
Kahibah FC will go head-to-head with Wallsend FC this Sunday at Kahibah Oval.
Kahibah enters round nine in red-hot form on a three-game winning streak after a 3-1 win against Cessnock on Wednesday night. That result saw the Kahibah men finish the night fourth on the table with nine points as they overtook the South Cardiff Gunners on goal difference.
It has been an impressive turnaround for Mat Moncrieff’s men after they sat at the bottom of the table early on after three consecutive losses.
Moncrieff was impressed with the way they played in their mid-week catch-up at Turner Park and was hopeful his side can continue their momentum against a well-coached Wallsend outfit this Sunday.
“Cessnock were 1-0 up at half-time but I still think we played some good football in the first half,” Moncrieff said.
“We weren’t panicking at half-time but we changed our formation to be a bit more attacking, and we pretty much peppered them in the second half, although Cessnock hit the post and created chances too.
“This weekend, we’re up against a smart coach in Gal (Chris Gallagher), so I’ll have the boys on high alert. He knows what his players are capable of and he plays a brand of football that suits his players. They are tough to break down and from what I’ve seen, they’ve been right in their games until late.
“It will be a challenge for us to back up from a Wednesday night and coming up against a team like Wallsend. They’ll be much better than what the table says.
“I think our guys are starting to hit their best football now, so hopefully we can keep rolling on.”
Kahibah will still be without Jason Cowburn (knee) who will return to training next week.
For Wallsend, this match is a chance to get back on track and end the largest losing streak in the competition so far.
The Red Devils were red hot in a 4-0 win against South Cardiff back in round one but have lost six on the trot since by a combined total of five goals to 22.
Chris Gallagher’s men are two wins outside of the top four in eighth place on the table and are better than their record would suggest.
This weekend’s game will give Wallsend a chance to prove that against one of the form teams of the competition.
Belmont Swansea United have the bye.
