By Blake Jarrett

Adamstown Rosebud FC 5 def. Lake Macquarie City FC 2

Saturday July 12, 2.45pm
Adamstown Oval

In the opening fixture of Round 14 of the National Premier League Adamstown Rosebud hosted Lake Macquarie City in the Match of the Round.

Rosebud entered their 125th Anniversary celebration match in eighth position. Ironically on their 100th anniversary they took on Lake Macquarie and were defeated 1-0. Even more ironically the scorer of that goal was now Adamstown head coach, Anthony Richards.

This was a must win match for the Roosters who was anchored at the bottom of the competition table, trailing South Cardiff by five points.

The match was initially an extremely scrappy affair. Neither side could retain possession as they both constantly turned over the ball.

In the twenty first minute, Rosebud keeper Scott Carter was forced into a superb save, denying a well-hit Tom Walker free kick.

A minute later the Roosters took the lead. Joe Holt won the ball for his side in a 50/50 challenge and scooped the ball over the Adamstown defence. Dan Clements got to it first and volleyed home with his left foot to make the score 1-0.

The Rosebud equalised just five minutes later as Steve Rospigliosi smashed a shot past Roosters keeper Nathan Archbold.

In the thirty-fifth minute, John Dineen-Griffin put the home side ahead. Matt Comerford produced an exquisite back heel to Dineen-Griffin who turned a defender on the edge of the area and fired home a shot into the bottom right hand corner.

The sides went into the half time break with the Rosebud ahead 2-1.

Seven minutes after the break Scott Carter launched a counter attack that saw the ball travel the length of the field via quality Adamstown passing and movement. Dineen-Griffin had a shot blocked, but the ball fell only to the feet of Comerford who drove it into the bottom left hand corner to make the score 3-1.

In the sixty-eighth minute Rosebud youngster, George Bland, produced a back-pass he would love to forget. Tom Walker intercepted the ball before it arrived to Carter, and slotted the ball around the advancing keeper into the bottom right hand corner to give the Roosters some hope of salvaging a point, or even gaining all three points.

In the eighty-eighth minute Chris Dale beat two Lake Macquarie defenders and produced a stinging shot from twenty-five metres out, but Archbold was up to the task, forcing it out for a corner. The resulting cross fell to the feet of Dineen-Griffin inside the area who volleyed past Archbold into the back of the net to make the score 4-2.

Dean Holt put the icing on the cake in stoppage time, running onto a slick through ball by Dale, driving the ball into the top left hand corner to complete the game’s scoring; Adamstown winning the match 5-2.

Adamstown coach Anthony Richards suggested his side played well.

‘I’m happy with the result, it was an important win for us on our 125 year anniversary’.

Lake Macquarie coach Gary Rowe described his side’s performance as the worst of their season and completely unacceptable at NPL level, but thought that the team was in the match until Ash Illfield got stretchered off in the eighty-second minute.

The result sees both sides remain in the same positions in which they entered Round 14.

Next week Lake Macquarie faces a huge task in the Newcastle Jets Youth, and the Rosebud is at home again, hosting Weston.

 

Lambton Jaffas FC 4 def. Hamilton Olympic FC 0
Saturday July 12, 2.45pm
Arthur Edden Oval

The second match of Round 14 was arguably one of the biggest matches of the season as Lambton Jaffas hosted Hamilton Olympic at Arthur Edden Oval.

The third place Jaffas had the chance to go temporarily into second with a win, and the fourth placed Olympic knew a win would see them overtake the Jaffas and finish the round in third.

In the opening five minutes both sides had squandered perfect opportunities to go ahead.

The scores remained 0-0 deep into the first half. Ten minutes before half time Riley McNaughton struck a shot on goal which was parried by Olympic keeper Brad Swancott. Alex Palozzi pounced on the loose ball, finding the back of the net to make the score 1-0.

The score line remained 1-0 at half time, and the match remained wide open.

Ten minutes into the second stanza Dino Fajkovic ran onto a through ball, clear of the Hamilton defence. He found himself one-on-one with Swancott, and slotted the ball past him to make the score 2-0.

Michael Sessions then tripled the Jaffas lead, securing the three points for the side. He played a one-two with Kale Bradbury before finding himself away on goal. His shot was saved by Swancott, however the ball fell back to his feet and he made no mistake with the second chance.

Bradbury then finished off the game in style capitalising on a Cody Higgs mistake and slotted home a one-on-one chance to complete the scoring for the match, the Jaffas running away with a 4-0 lead.

Lambton coach David Tanchevski was happy with his side’s second half dominance after a first half that could have gone either way.

‘It was a very even first half, both sides had a few chances,’ he said.

‘We came on top in the second half. Danny Ireland made a number of good saves and the boys were the most clinical in front of goal they have been in a while.’

Tanchevski suggested that the developing combination between Fajkovic and Bradbury has really begun to benefit the side.

The win temporarily took them to second, and Edgeworth’s loss to Weston the next day saw them finish the round as the only side to trail the Jets Youth. 
Hamilton fall all the way from fourth to sixth, after Weston and Charlestown both recorded wins.

In Round 15 action Lambton travel to Jack McLaughlan Oval to take on Edgeworth in a blockbuster match and Hamilton is also away from home, challenging Broadmeadow at Magic Park.  

 

Charlestown City Blues FC 5 def. Newcastle Jets Youth 0
Saturday July 12, 2.45pm 
Lisle Carr Oval

The last of the three Saturday afternoon matches took place at Lisle Carr Oval as Charlestown City Blues and the Newcastle Jets Youth faced off.

The first placed Jets had a chance to move nine points clear of second placed Edgeworth with a win, however the sixth placed Blues knew a spot in the top  five was on the line.

The sides went into the half time break locked at 0-0 and it seemed that the match would play out to be a very tight affair.

It was anything but in the second half however. Scott Smith and Kane Goodchild both recorded braces, and Rene Ferguson added one off his own to complete a whopping 5-0 win for the Blues.

Newcastle Jets Youth coach James Pascoe remained positive despite the loss. 

When describing his side’s performance he suggested ‘we were ok’.

He went on to suggest the side’s downfall was ‘a crazy twenty minutes after halftime where Goodchild and Smith were outstanding and everything they touched in our eighteen yard box went in’.

‘We never gave up at any stage’.

Pascoe also commended the fighting attitudes of key midfielders Michael Finlayson, Michael Kantarovski and Andrew Pawiak, who were affected by a virus during the week but played on anyway.

The result has no major effect on the Jets Youth who remain five points clear at the top of the table after Edgeworth was defeated by Weston yesterday.

For the Blues it is a completely different story. The win sees them march on into fourth position, and with just four rounds remaining things are looking positive for them.

Next week Charlestown travel to Ulinga Oval to take on South Cardiff Gunners on Sunday, whereas the Jets play on Saturday at Macquarie Field against the last placed Roosters.

 

Weston Workers FC 3 def. Edgeworth FC 2
Sunday July 12, 2.45pm
Rockwell Automation Park

In the first of the two Sunday fixtures, Weston welcomed Edgeworth Eagles to Rockwell Automation Park to compete in what was set to be the most physical of the Round 14 matches.

With Hamilton losing to Lambton the day before Weston was aware that a win would see them finish the round in fifth position. Edgeworth also would benefit with a win however. The Jets loss the day before meant three points would take them to within three points of first position.

It was the Bears who made the initial breakthrough. Mid-way through first half Carl Thornton made the score 1-0, finishing a pin-point cross from Brock Oakley.

Ten minutes later Dylan Holz volleyed home a cracking strike to send the sides into the break locked at 1-1.

Not long after the break Alex Johnson-Young put Edgeworth into the lead for the first time in the match, finding the bottom left hand corner with a clinical strike.

Liam Thornton then leveled the scores, capitalising on a Jim Fogarty fumble, knocking the ball in from four yards out.

With just ten minutes remaining, the scores locked at 2-2, Nathan Morris stepped up for a free kick twenty-five metres out. He celebrated his two hundredth game in style, curling a free kick into the goal off the left post.

His strike turned out to be the winner, Weston holding out for a 3-2 lead.

Weston coach Darren Sills applauded his side’s victory considering that they changed their shape for the match.

‘We changed our formation to four-four-two to get numbers behind the ball,’ he said.

‘We did pretty well despite the limited preparations’.

‘It was an extremely physical game but we executed the game plan well and deserved the three points’.

Sills identified midfielders Connor Evans and Garry McDermott as the two most influential players in the match.

The win takes the Bears to fifth place. They have the chance to continue this momentum next Sunday at Adamstown Oval where they take on the Rosebud.

Edgeworth was overtaken by Lambton the day before and the result leaves them in third place at the end of Round 14. This sets up a huge clash in Round 15 as Edgeworth host the Jaffas in a match where the winner will finish the round in second place, and the loser could drop to fifth.

 

South Cardiff FC 1 drew Broadmeadow Magic FC 1
Sunday July 13, 2.45pm
Ulinga Oval

In the final match of Round 14 the South Cardiff Gunners welcomed Broadmeadow Magic to Ulinga Oval to contest a practice run for Wednesday night’s State Cup Final, but at the same time a must-win NPL clash.

The sides entered the match at the wrong end of the table: South Cardiff in ninth and Broadmeadow in eighth.

The Gunners was boosted by the return of key midfielder Lee Ashton who has successfully recovered from a leg injury sustained in the State Cup quarter-final in Coffs Harbour.

In the sixth minute the Gunners won a free kick in a promising area after Alex  Kantarovski fouled James Byrnes. A well-practiced routine between Chris Gazzard and the Johnson brothers saw Daniel Johnson hit a driven shot safely over Chris Bowling’s crossbar.

The rain started to come down in the tenth minute, and two minutes later Magic nearly opened the scoring, only for Daniel Johnson to block a cracking Scott Pettit volley. 

Matt Hoole made a good run into the box in the eighteenth minute, but young South Cardiff right back Nathan Stevens produced a solid tackle to dispossess Hoole and win possession for his side.

Two minutes later Jarryd Johnson met a Gazzard long throw on the back stick but couldn’t get enough power on his header to trouble Bowling.

Magic opened the scoring in the twenty-seventh minute. Jarryd Johnson gave away a free kick on half way and picked up a yellow card from the challenge. Magic restarted immediately and the ball found its way to Matt Hoole on the left sideline that skipped past Stevens and drove a low cross in behind the Gunners defence into the path of Chris Berlin. Berlin flicked the ball into the bottom right hand corner, making the score 1-0.

Five minutes later Gazzard intercepted a Daniel Casciaroli pass deep into his own half and launched a stinging counter-attack, carrying all thirty yards. He then threaded a through ball into the path of Byrnes who drove into the box and was brought down by Casciaroli and awarded a penalty. Daniel Johnson stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball calmly into the bottom right hand corner to make the score 1-1.

Byrnes could not return to the field after treatment and was substituted for Dean Kelley.

Both teams attempted to press for a second in the final ten minutes of the half. The best of the chances was a Peter Haynes volley on the back stick, however neither side could find a breakthrough and they went into the half time break locked at one apiece.

Four minutes after the break South Cardiff had a good chance to go ahead as Bowling made a mess of a clearance and was caught outside his eighteen yard box, however Jarryd Johnson could not control the ball to get a shot away.

In the fifty-second minute Haynes met a Pettit corner from the right hand side with a powerful header but Gunners keeper Michael Stafford was up to the task producing a fine save to his left.

Stafford was forced into another good save a few minutes later, denying a ferocious Hoole strike from twenty yards out.

On the hour mark, the enthusiastic Matthew Wilesmith was introduced into South Cardiff’s midfield at the expense of Ashley Balcomb.

Two minutes later Ashton nearly put his side in the lead, striking the crossbar  from outside the eighteen yard box after turning several Magic defenders.

Between the sixty-sixth and seventieth minutes the Gunners recorded several stinging attacks, bringing the crowd to life, but they just could not find the back of Bowling’s net.

In the eighty-eighth minute Chris Bowling punched a Gazzard free kick clear, but only to the feet of Nathan Stevens who drove a cracking strike from thirty  yards out just wide of the goal.

Dean Kelley had the best chance of the match in stoppage time as he ran onto a though ball and was one-on-one with Bowling. His outside of the foot shot went straight into the hands of Bowling, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

Kelley had another chance with thirty seconds remaining but again drove his shot straight at Bowling. That was the final chance of the game, the match ending 1-1.

Gunners coach Greg Asquith thought that his side produced one of their best performances in weeks and believed they deserved at least the point.

He went on to say that the side performed well as a group, and he was content with their attitude and effort.

The result leaves both sides struggling with just four rounds left. The Gunners are ninth, on fourteen points, eight outside the top five, and Magic are seventh on seventeen points, five outside the top five.

They both face must win matches in Round 15 if they are a chance of salvaging a finals spot. The Gunners return to Ulinga Oval to host Charlestown, and Broadmeadow is at home in a huge derby against Hamilton.