By Mat Fox

Newcastle Jets Youth v Adamstown Rosebud FC
Saturday 12th April, 2:45pm
Adamstown Oval
#NEWvBUD

Newcastle Jets Youth and Adamstown Rosebud will be eager to get underway at Adamstown Oval on Saturday after seeing limited game time in the opening round.

Newcastle Jets Youth played an encouraging opening forty five minutes against Edgeworth last week before  their match was abandoned at half time due to wet weather, while Adamstown Rosebud are yet to take to the field after their opening match was postponed prior to kick off.

These sides are yet to meet in the competition with Adamstown Rosebud promoted over the off season which puts them up against the youngest team in the competition.

Newcastle Jets Youth looked mobile away to Edgeworth last week and controlled the midfield for much of the first half.  Michael Kantarovski and Andrew Pawiak impressed in the middle of the park and will be hoping to see Michael Finlayson and Brandon Lundy with more open looks on goal.

Despite the Jets Youth holding much of the field play it was Edgeworth who created the clearer chances and goalkeeper John Solari provided two brilliant one on one saves to keep his side in the contest and will be looking for another big game this weekend.

It will be interesting to see if Adamstown has the depth of quality around the pitch with the experience of Sean Matthew and Scott Carter along with young talent Abe Wheelhouse and Matthew Comerford and all eyes will be on how the prestigious club will fair on the park with a new look side.

Coach Anthony Richards has been encouraged with what he has seen from his side in the off season and is excited to get things underway.

Adamstown Rosebud has another chance to welcome the home crowd and staff back to the top flight this weekend and it is sure to be a great day at Adamstown Oval and with the only NPL match being played on Saturday all the more reason to go and watch.  

 

Lake Macquarie City FC v Lambton Jaffas
Sunday 13th April, 2:45pm
Macquarie Field
#LMCvJAF

Lake Macquarie City and Lambton Jaffas will look to bounce back when they meet at Macquarie Field on Sunday after succumbing to opening round defeats.

Lake Macquarie went down 3-1 to Weston Workers but will be encouraged by a spirited second forty five minutes after being two goals down at the break.

Lambton Jaffas went down by the same score line to Charlestown City Blues with the scores locked at a goal a piece with only ten minutes remaining.

Lake Macquarie City Coach Gary Rowe is expecting a better performance from his side and said “They’ve seen enough from their performance in the second half last week going into the next game to motivate them to come out strong.”

While Lambton Jaffas Coach David Tanchevski said “we’ve got a lot of improvement in us” and added “we’ll see who’s going to be available with a few injuries sustained last week and try and pick ourselves up.”

Both sides knew it would take a bit of time for their respective sides to hit form in the competition and probably both saw the out workings of that in their opening round losses last week.

Lambton Jaffas will be expecting Jobe Wheelhouse to return to the line up although will miss Alex Palozzi through suspension.

Lake Macquarie City claimed a point the last time these sides met and despite having a disappointing season they still managed to push the grand finalists last year and will know they are in with a chance on the weekend.

It should be a great match and both sides will be hungry for the win to avoid two opening losses.

 

Charlestown City Blues v Hamilton Olympic
Sunday 13th April, 2:45pm
Lisle Carr Oval
#CCBvOLY

Watch live here

Charlestown City Blues and Hamilton Olympic go head to head at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday after recording impressive wins last week.

Our match of the round and eagerly anticipated match up with both sides in good form and scoring plenty of goals, again this match will feature via live streaming from BARTV.

Charlestown opened their account defeating Lambton Jaffas 3-1 with two late goals whilst Hamilton Olympic accounted for South Cardiff by the same two goal margin defeating them 4-2.

Last season the sides notched up twelve goals in their two encounters including a 4-4 draw, with both sides scoring three goals and four respectively in their opening round wins there is always potential to see goals with these two sides on contention.

Scott Smith and Kane Goodchild looked in impressive form against the Jaffas while James Monie impressed on debut for Hamilton Olympic alongside David Hodgson.

A big match up will be the defensive pairings to limit the quality looks at goal. Both sides have quality from set pieces and the marksman upfront to finish chances.

Hamilton Olympic Coach Michael Bolch will look for a more polished performance from his side after losing concentration in moments against South Cardiff but still showed more than enough promising signs with the way they played in their opening match.

With both sides having the chance to go top of the table in a massive match up it’s sure to be a great game of football either at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday or via live streaming.

 

South Cardiff FC v Edgeworth FC
Sunday 13th April, 2:45pm
Ulinga Oval
#SCGvEFC

South Cardiff welcomes Edgeworth to Ulinga Oval on Sunday with both sides looking for their first three points of the season.

The Gunners went down 3-1 to Weston Workers last week while Edgeworth saw their opening round fixture abandoned at half time with the scores still locked at 0-0.

Edgeworth showed some positive moments in the opening forty five minutes against Newcastle Jets Youth creating two great scoring opportunities in front of goal but was unable to convert.

They will be looking for a sharper effort this week after some final deliveries let them down in the midfield area and will hoping import Hector Mendez will add some class in the number 10 role this weekend after missing the opening round through injury.

The Eagles held their defensive shape very in their opening match which will be a test for the Gunners who struggled to break down their opposition last week.

There were question marks over the Gunners defence particularly from set pieces after conceding two goals from corners as they still adjust to the loss of Phil Bures in the middle of defence.

South Cardiff Coach Greg Asquith was disappointed with his sides defensive efforts against Olympic last week and said “we let in too many soft goals and you can do that at this level and get a result.”

Edgeworth won both fixtures last season by a two goal margin and will be looking to put all of the pieces together on Sunday while South Cardiff will also be looking for the first win under Greg Asquith and will battle hard in front of their home crowd.

 

Broadmeadow Magic FC v Weston Workers FC
Sunday 13th April, 2:45pm
Magic Park
#MGCvWWB

Broadmeadow Magic host Weston Workers at Magic Park on Sunday in their opening match after being washed out last week.

The home side will be eager to start the contest as they welcome tough opposition in Weston Workers to Magic Park.

Weston come into the contest after a 3-1 win over Lake Macquarie City last week and have retained much of the squad that shared the spoils with the premiers last season in their two regular season games.

The Bears will be looking to a similar start to the season as they were undefeated in their opening three matches last season defeating Broadmeadow 2-1 in the process after holding a two goal lead.

In their next encounter Broadmeadow overcame a one goal deficit to defeat Weston with the same 2-1 score line.

Expect a tough encounter between two highly competitive sides that always provide 90 minutes of hard fought football with little separating the sides on the score sheet.

Broadmeadow Magic Coach Glen Chapman knows the effort his side will need to put in to maintain the clubs recent success and particularly against tough opposition this weekend.

Weston Workers Coach Steve Piggott was pleased with his sides opening performance but knows they need to lift again this weekend.

Piggot said “They have been the champs three years in a row; we would have to improve some of our percentages from last week to have a chance against them.”

The midfield battle is always eagerly awaited in these match ups despite Weston losing the presence of Rob MacBeth and both sides have a lot of fire power up front with several players able to change the game with a stroke of class.

It’s sure to be a great game and a close contest at Magic Park on Sunday.