Match of the Round
Edgeworth FC v Broadmeadow Magic
Jack McLaughlan Oval, Sunday 2.30pm
Riding high from first round victories something must give when Edgeworth ignite their rivalry with Broadmeadow Magic on Sunday afternoon.
Edgeworth coach Peter McGuinness is acutely aware of the history between the two clubs.
"There's always a bit of rivalry between the two clubs. It should be a tough one," McGuinness said.
"I watched them on Friday night, they are very dangerous when they win the ball in transition.
"They have Jared Baker and Bailey Wells who are very good on the ball, very powerful runners on the ball, we have to watch for that.
"We are looking forward to playing at our home ground against our rivals.
"In pre-season we played some pretty attractive football but that's the beauty of pre-season, there's no pressure.
"Come game day, sometimes you have to throw that out the window to get the result, so we'll just make sure that we're up for it.”
Broadmeadow Magic coach John Bennis welcomed the challenge and said he knew what was in store.
"Edgeworth will have their tails up after the first round win. Pete and [assistant coach] Gary [Wilson] will have them firing and we are looking forward to the test,” Bennis said.
"They have always been a tough opponent and are back in front of their home fans which will ensure it will be even tougher.
"We are hoping to have Keanu Moore back from injury this week. It will be the first time he has returned to Edgeworth since he came to Broadmeadow.
"Jake Harris will return after having a wedding commitment last Friday. We are still waiting to get clearance for Ben Diamond but are hoping he will be available for the clash.
"Our group is nursing a few knocks and bruises after some heavy contacts against Weston. We will look to go to Edgeworth with a positive mindset and keep building off our first round result.”
New Lambton FC v Maitland FC
Alder Park, Saturday 2.30pm
For 23 minutes of the opening round Maitland looked like the team who finished premiers last season and the Magpies will look to restamp their authority on the competition against newcomers New Lambton at Alder Park on Saturday.
Two-time reigning Northern League One premiers New Lambton enjoy another Saturday home fixture and will hope their passionate supporters can be the 12th man to help kick-start their season.
For 45 minutes New Lambton held Charlestown Azzurri scoreless. That is their platform to work from.
"We take a lot of confidence from last week's game against Charlestown but we know we have to bring that hard work rate for every game," New Lambton coach Thomas Davies said.
"We are looking forward to the challenge this weekend of hosting last season’s premiers.
"It was fantastic to have men's National Premier League football at Alder Park last week and I hope we see the same support again this weekend.
"We will wait until later in the week to see whether Sam Maxwell and Dom Smith are fit for selection.”
Meanwhile, Maitland’s rescheduled round one match against Lambton Jaffas will be replayed in full, with details to be confirmed this week. The match was abandoned after Lambton defender Luke Remington suffered a horrific broken leg.
Lake Macquarie City FC v Newcastle Olympic
Macquarie Field, Saturday 2.30pm
Lake Macquarie City will look to plug the gaps in defence after conceding five goals against Cooks Hill in the opening round when they host Newcastle Olympic on Saturday.
The boys from Speers Point struggled when defending the long ball over the top against Cooks Hill and will need to plug the gaps.
There were signs of optimism in the last 10 minutes when Lake Macquarie scored two goals and chased the game, showing they did not lack fitness or heart.
Lake Macquarie coach Steve Piggott provided insights from the team's post-mortem.
"We have reviewed our performance as a group and we should see an improvement in a few areas - transition, urgency, pass completions and desperation in back third," Piggott said.
"We have no new players for selection this weekend. I'm not sure if Tim Davies' injury will rule him out. We will assess him on Thursday."
Newcastle Olympic looked strong and fit in their opening fixture against Edgeworth but lacked creativity in the final third.
They will be aiming to remedy last week's goalscoring woes and put three points on the board against the side that ran last in 2022.
Cooks Hill United v Adamstown Rosebud
No 2 Sportsground, Saturday 3pm
Fresh from blasting five goals in round one, Cooks Hill United will look to continue their early season form against Adamstown Rosebud on Saturday afternoon.
Former Kiwi international Chris Zorocich has instilled an attacking brand of football creating chances from every part of the pitch.
"[I’m] looking forward to another home game to hopefully continue the momentum of our opening game win," Zorocich said.
"We are under no illusions that it will be a tough game though. We have a couple of niggles but no real serious injury concerns for the match.”
In a game of fine margins, Adamstown Rosebud were on the wrong end of a narrow 1-0 loss to Valentine FC in round one and will seek to convert their possession into goals.
Cooks Hill and Adamstown Rosebud finished ninth and 10th respectively last year and will both target this as three points for the taking.
Lambton Jaffas v Weston Bears
Rockwell Automation Park, Saturday 6pm
Weston matched last year's runners-up Broadmeadow Magic for large periods in round one and will need to repeat that effort when they take on reigning champions Lambton on Saturday night.
The Bears’ discipline and positional play stifled the Magic attack and restricted them to playing outside the danger areas for long periods.
Former Dutch international and new Bears coach Kew Jaliens is instilling a culture which includes reflection and learning. Conceding two penalties in three minutes was top of the agenda during the week.
"Monday is recovery and a talk with the team and from there, we build on," Jalien said.
“I will recap on the game we played against Broadmeadow and then provide some information on what we need to work on in training.
"And then we're really going to kick off."
Weston have three new players which will bring quality to the spine of the team.
The Bears’ 19-year-old Dutch defender Alessandro Ouwerkerk arrived from Holland last week, 29-year-old Japanese midfielder Yuta Kongaya flew in from Greece where he was playing for Zakynthos and 27-year-old Connor Heydon will add creativity in attack.
Although Weston has added international flair, nobody is guaranteed a starting place.
"[Ouwerkerk, Kongaya and Heydon are] looking good. We're going to test them this week,” Jaliens said.
"See how everybody is but like you saw against the Magic, the other boys are good enough to do the job as well.
"So, in that regard, it won't be the end of the world if they're not playing, there will be good competition in the team.
"It will push us harder, to a higher level, but I reckon with the team we had against Magic, we were good enough to get a win if we are able to play our own game.
"Come Saturday, the new boys will have been with us for two weeks. They will have more conditioning under their belt, so I'm going for a better performance team wise and individual wise for next week."
For 23 minutes of their round one clash with Maitland, Lambton Jaffas looked every inch the team that lifted the championship last year.
But their round one match was abandoned when defender Luke Remington suffered a horrific broken ankle.
The Lambton Jaffas have been rallying around “Remo.”
"Not the ideal preparation with Friday nights round one game. The guys have all been affected pretty badly by Luke's injury," Jaffas coach David Tanchevski said.
"We try to regroup and start again this Saturday against Weston.
"Returning from injury this week we have Kale Bradbury, Riley McNaughton and Scott Pettit. Out through injury is Reece Papas with his hamstring and Luke Remington.
"Luke Remington had surgery on Monday night. The surgeon said he had done a lot of damage to it, so he had to put an extra plate in.
"Luke is still in pretty severe pain after surgery and still in hospital for another couple of days. We are just all trying to rally around him at the moment and keep his spirits high.”
Tanchevski set up a GoFundMe page to help with Remington’s rehabilitation costs.
Lambton will host the match at Weston's Rockwell Automation Park, with the Jaffas' home ground at Arthur Edden Oval unavailable.
Charlestown Azzurri v Valentine FC
Lisle Carr Oval, Sunday 2.30pm
Charlestown Azzurri somehow held onto three points against NPL newcomers New Lambton last weekend, with discipline an aspect they will need to improve when they host Valentine on Sunday.
Taylor Regan was immense in defence with Azzurri reduced to eight players following three send offs in their 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles. Charlestown will welcome back former Newcastle Jets captain Nigel Boogard, who missed the opening round.
Charlestown are dangerous at set pieces with a formidable aerial threat in Rene Ferguson and Boogard.
Valentine will want to prevent giving away needless free kicks and corners.
Valentine coach Adam Hughes was pleased with last week's three points against Adamstown Rosebud, a platform to build on.
"Our group continues to work hard and keep building into the season," Hughes said.
"Charlestown have some talented players which we are looking forward to coming up against and we don't have any injuries."
It has already been a big week for Valentine, with the club one of 32 from across Australia to submit an expression of interest for the men’s National Second Tier competition.
