By Mat Fox

Lambton Jaffas FC v Newcastle Jets Youth
Sat 24 May 2:45PM, Arthur Edden Oval
#JAFvNEW 

Lambton Jaffas welcomes Newcastle Jets Youth to Arthur Edden Oval on Saturday.

The Jaffas will take delight in their 5-0 win last week which saw them claim another clean sheet after some poor defensive performances had let them down during the opening few rounds of the competition. 

Against Hamilton Olympic they were at their best despite playing a man down and being plagued by injuries and were solid away to Edgeworth Eagles the following week again despite missing key players.  

They only managed a point however from both of those previous matches and David Tanchevski said they will want to start taking points of the top teams. 

“We have had some really good performances but not the results, now we’ve done that (against Adamstown) we want to build on that this week and we have to take points from the hard games to stay in the top five.”  

It shapes up to be a massive game with many former Newcastle Jets Youth players now lining up for Lambton Jaffas in Kale Bradbery, Luke Remington and Dino Fajkovic and a good test for the home side to see how their form has shaped up now almost at the half way point in the competition. 

A big test to see what Newcastle Jets Youth is made of also after some impressive results early on as they face Hamilton Olympic and Edgeworth Eagles in the following weeks.

Hamilton Olympic FC v Adamstown Rosebud FC
Sun 25 May 2:45PM, Darling Street Oval
#OLYvBUD

Hamilton Olympic is still undefeated at Darling Street Oval with a recent impressive win in the local derby against Broadmeadow Magic in their last home outing. 

The 0-0 draw against Edgeworth Eagles prior saw them stay in third spot but drift four points behind Newcastle Jets Youth who they will face the following week so they know the three points with be vital this weekend before that clash. 

Olympic had to battle for a hard fought draw against Lambton Jaffas in round 5 to keep their undefeated home record intact and have shown they have the ability to fight until the end in close battles. 

Hamilton Olympic Michael Bolch has praised his sides work rate and determination shown so far this season and you would expect them to show much of the same this weekend. 

Adamstown Rosebud suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Lambton Jaffas last week and a 4-1 loss midweek to Charlestown City Blues and will look to bounce back against strong opposition away from home, but it will be difficult. 

Adamstown Rosebud Coach Anthony Richards had been happy with his side’s confidence after consecutive wins against South Cardiff and Lake Macquarie and then battling Broadmeadow Magic to the wire, but took a setback last week with the defeat to Lambton. 

Richards will know the task ahead of his side facing one of the most difficult away fixtures in the competition after facing Charlestown City Blues at Lisle Carr Oval on Wednesday also.

Edgeworth FC v Broadmeadow Magic FC
Sun 25 May 2:45PM, Jack McLaughlan Oval
#EFCvMGC 

Edgeworth hosts Broadmeadow Magic at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Sunday in what is expected to be a big game.  

Edgeworth has gone three games without a win after draws against Hamilton Olympic, Lambton Jaffas and Lake Macquarie City which has seen them pick up just three points out of a possible nine. 

Prior to that the Eagles recorded impressive wins over Newcastle Jets Youth, Charlestown City Blues and Weston Workers where they scored 11 goals without response, including a 0-0 draw against South Cardiff in between them.  

Still sitting in second position but now three points behind leaders Newcastle Jets Youth, they will want to return with a win but know they face tough opposition in Magic. 

Broadmeadow Magic claimed their second win of the season last week with an impressive 3-0 win at home over Charlestown City Blues and sit six points behind Edgeworth with a game in hand as well and will know the importance of this weekend’s game. 

Rhys Tippett scored a hat-trick after being moved to striker from defence midway through the first half as an injury replacement and also scored twice as Broadmeadow Magic defeated Edgeworth 2-0 in Wednesday night’s State Cup.

They will take confidence in the 3-0 win last week and also the 2-0 win midweek and if they can produce that same form this weekend it could be a sign that Magic is returning to its old form. 

Peter Haynes is still out for Broadmeadow Magic through injury while Cameron Hughes returns to the heart of Edgeworth’s defence from suspension.  

It’s going to be a fantastic match with plenty of talent on the park and interesting battles across the pitch at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Sunday. 

Lake Macquarie City FC v Charlestown City Blues FC
Sun 25 May 2:45 PM Macquarie Field
#LMCvCCB 

Lake Macquarie City and Charlestown City Blues will meet at Macquarie Field on Sunday with both sides hungry for a win.  

Lake Macquarie City remain the only team without a win after going down to Adamstown in the bottom of the table clash last weekend despite recording impressive draws against the top two teams in Newcastle Jets Youth and Edgeworth Eagles. 

Now five points adrift of second last spot and a growing negative goal difference, Lake Macquarie City will be keen for a result. 

Charlestown City Blues has had a turbulent start to their season so far with impressive wins over Lambton Jaffas and South Cardiff and a good performance in the 0-0 draw against Hamilton Olympic. 

However the Blues also have 7-0 and 3-0 defeats to Edgeworth Eagles and Broadmeadow Magic to their names as well with a narrow loss at home to Newcastle Jets Youth. 

Charlestown bounced back midweek with a 4-1 win over South Cardiff which saw them move to 10 points and move into the top five just one point behind Weston Workers. 

The Blues will want to build on that now they have edged themselves back up the ladder and getting their squad back to full strength.  

Charlestown City Blues won both corresponding fixtures last season with a 4-2 and 4-3 score line with plenty of goals on display in both encounters and it should be another great game this weekend. 

Weston Workers FC v South Cardiff FC
Sun 25 May 2:45 PM Rockwell Automation Park
#WWBvSCG 

Weston Workers and South Cardiff do battle this Sunday at Rockwell Automation Park. 

Weston returns home looking to return to form after suffering a 5-2 loss to Newcastle Jets Youth.  

Weston Workers made a blistering start to the competition with wins over Lake Macquarie City, Lambton Jaffas and Hamilton Olympic along with a dominant performance against Broadmeadow which ended in a draw. 

However the Bears have slumped to defeats to Edgeworth Eagles (2-0) and Newcastle Jets Youth (5-2) and had a 1-1 draw with Adamstown Rosebud and have picked up just the one point in their last three matches. 

In contrast to picking up 10 points from a possible 12 in their opening four matches that consisted of the top three teams on the ladder at the close of season last year. 

Weston will know that a win at home will keep them firmly in the top five as the competition is starting to even out, even more so with rescheduled games being played midweek as well. 

South Cardiff got a vital three points last week to lift them further away from the bottom end of the ladder and now sit equal with a bunch of teams on 7 and 8 points.  

Weston won the first encounter between these sides 2-1 last year whilst both sides played out a 1-1 in the second, with Steve Piggott as the Southy coach then, this weekend’s fixture puts him up against his former club in what has always been a good matchup between Weston and South Cardiff and it should be another good one this weekend.