Photo: Sproule Sports Focus

Ben Homer

Broadmeadow Magic 1 (Bradbury 37’) drew with Hamilton Olympic 1 (Bird 15’) at Magic Park, Sunday 24^th July, 2.30pm

 Broadmeadow put a dent in Hamilton’s minor premiership ambitions in an enthralling clash at Magic Park in the Match of the Round of the PlayStation® 4 NPL Northern NSW on Sunday. In one of the matches of the season where both sides put everything on the line, a point a piece was the end result from a clash which kept everyone on the ground on the edges of their seats.

Hamilton dominated the opening 20 minutes of the derby and it was Olympic’s Daniel Bird who got the scoring underway in the 15^th minute. Kane Goodchild played a ball to the unmarked winger on the left side of the box who hit a left foot shot across a diving Nick Hartnett and into the bottom right corner. Hartnett would have felt he could have done better as Bird’s shot lacked power, but the shot was well placed.

But, after the opening 25 minutes Olympic sat back and invited pressure from the home side and Broadmeadow pounced with James Virgili finding Kale Bradbury at an acute angle from goal on the right. Bradbury spun and struck his right foot shot across Danny Ireland and into the left side of the Hamilton goal.

Magic had a penalty shout waved away moments before the break when Virgili was collected by Olympic keeper Danny Ireland when he chased a chipped pass into the box. It soon got worse for the home side right on half-time when Virgili fell awkwardly in the box and dislocated his left shoulder. The NPL Northern NSW’s leading scorer when the hospital for an X-ray and didn’t return for the second half.

Hamilton had the better of the chances in the second half, as Kane Goodchild missed two chances he will want to forget. The first from just inside the eighteen-yard box one-on-one with Nick Hartnett and the second when he blazed over the bar when he was unmarked at the back post following a Leo Bertos cross.

Both sides also had claims for a penalty and a red card in the second stanza, first when Olympic’s Grant Brown fouled Kale Bradbury as the last man, and then a minute later Rhys Cooper was brought down on the edge of the eighteen.

Jacob Bailey then hit the bar in the final minutes of regulation time, before Broadmeadow broke and Kale Bradbury thundered his left foot shot into the underside of the crossbar. The rebound fell for Peter Haynes and his shot was brilliantly saved by Danny Ireland who was moving to the left and dove back to the right to tap it over for a corner.

Hamilton coach Mick Bolch thought it was an ‘entertaining match for the crowd’ but believed his side’s finishing could have been more clinical.

“I think we had a few more clear-cut chances than they did. Kane Goodchild had two clear cut chances he would usually bury. You put your house on him scoring one of those two. There were plenty of opportunities and if you don’t take them, you don’t win comps.”

In regards to the minor premiership race, Bolch conceded it is ‘in Edgeworth’s hands now.”

For Broadmeadow, coach Rob Virgili thought ‘both sides had a chance to win it.’

“It was exciting for the crowd at the end, the way the second half panned out. Realistically, I thought we lost a bit of control in the midfield in the first half. But, chances wise both sides had a chance to go 2-1 up, it was just a matter of who was going to take that chance and neither side could do it.”

In round 16, Hamilton host the Jets Youth at Darling Street, while Broadmeadow face a trip to Valentine to meet the Phoenix.

 

Charlestown City Blues 3 (Sullini 10’, Ferguson 27’, Smith 52’) defeated Weston Workers Bears 2 (Barner 19’, 90+4) at Rockwell Automation Park, Sunday 24^th July, 2.30pm

Charlestown kept their faint hopes of a finals birth alive with a 3-2 win against the Bears at Rockwell Automation Park on Sunday afternoon. The Blues now sit four points behind fourth-placed Maitland who have a game in hand against the Jets Youth.

The Blues opened the scoring when Dan Laiman ran down the left edge of the box and played a pass inside to Rene Ferguson who flicked his pass to Cameron Sullini who tapped his shot past Benn Kelly in the Weston goal from the six-yard box.

Weston were quick to reply though when Rob McBeth received a throw inside the box turned and played a pass across goal to Jake Barner who tapped from inside the six-yard box past Nathan Archbold to level up the scores.

It didn’t take long though for Charlestown to hit the lead again, as just eight minutes later Jarryd Johnson played a pinpoint pass from the right side of the field on halfway to a running Rene Ferguson who stepped away from Nathan Morris and headed the ball off the bounce over an onrushing Benn Kelly and into the Weston goal.

Down 2-1 at the break, the Blues were first to score in the second when Scott Smith headed in a cross from Sullini to score his 5^th goal of 2016. Jake Barner then grabbed his second of the afternoon late in stoppage time when Nathan Morris chipped a long pass to Garry McDermott down the right side. McDermott crossed onto the head of Barner who nodded in for his second.

Weston coach Trevor Morris described the match as ‘groundhog day’ once again for the hapless Bears.

“We give them three goals and then fight our way back into the game. It seemed like déjà vu. We invite pressure and when you are down the bottom of the table the opposition takes their chances and we miss our chances. I was very disappointed about the way we conceded but I was happy with the chances we created.”

Morris also praised the performance of Jake Barner who scored two goals for the Bears saying ‘he is doing exceptionally well this year.’

“The young blokes that are coming in are stepping up to the plate and they are doing quite well. It’s refreshing.”

Next weekend the Bears meet Maitland in the Coalfields Derby at Cooks Square Park while Charlestown host Edgeworth at Lisle Carr Oval.

 

Newcastle Jets Youth 4 (Brymora 20’, Parris 23’, Carroll 76’, Joice 78’) defeated Adamstown Rosebud 1 (Lino 33’) at Adamstown Oval, Sunday 24^th July, 2.30pm

The Jets Youth side bounced back from a record defeat in round 15 of the PlayStation 4 NPL Northern NSW to account for the Adamstown Rosebud at Adamstown Oval in round 16. Krisitan Brymora, Finn Paris, Cody Carroll and Cameron Joice all got on the scoresheet for the Young Jets in an impressive performance.

Krisitan Brymora scored his fourth goal against Adamstown in the 20^th minute to open the scoring for the Jets Youth. Tom Waller found him on the edge of the eighteen and Brymora did the rest, dancing his way past a couple of defenders and firing his right foot shot past Paul Bitz’s outstretched glove and into the bottom right corner.

The Jets grabbed their second less than three minutes later when Alex Read passed back to Jordan Harrison who was on the halfway line for the Rosebuds. Harrison slipped over and allowed Finn Parris to race down the left side of the ground to the eighteen-yard box before playing a ball over to the right to Krisitan Brymora. Brymora summed up the situation and crossed back to Parris who tapped in at the back post for a 2-0 lead.

But, Adamstown were soon back in the match in the 33^rd minute though when a Chris Berlin corner fell to an unmarked Thom Lino on the edge of the six-yard box who scrambled it past Pierce Clark in the Jets Youth goal to get the Rosebuds back into the match.

A tight next 40 minute ensued, with the Jets Youth striking the hammer blow 14 minutes from full time when Tom Waller’s cross on his right bottom from the left edge of the box was headed by Brymora onto the crossbar. The ball bounced favourably off the bar to Cody Carroll who headed home from less than a metre out.

The Jets Youth were quick to put in their fourth, when Brymora controlled a cross from the central long pass from the left edge, and played in an unmarked Cameron Joice on the right who calmly slotted his right foot shot across Bitz and into the bottom left corner.

Adamstown coach Graham Law gave full credit to the young Jets.

“Credit to the Jets, they were very energetic. They played very well and moved the ball around.”

Law though was disappointed with his sides ball movement.

“Our ball movement wasn’t good enough. We were too slow on the ball and you know the Jets are going to have energy. But we had three players suspended and three injured which is just not easy.”

The Jets Youth meet Hamilton Olympic in the Match of the Round next weekend while Adamstown play host to the Lambton Jaffas.

 

Maitland 4 (M.Thompson 14’, 41’, 90+1’, C.Thornton 21’) defeated Lambton Jaffas 1 (B.Thompson (OG) 6’) at Arthur Edden Oval, Saturday 23^rd July, 2.30pm

The Lambton Jaffas’ season from hell in the NPL Northern NSW continued on Saturday, as Maitland got their first win against the Jaffas since promotion to the top grade at the end of 2014. The win consolidated Maitland’s place in the top four and it looks likely that the Magpies will be playing finals in just their second year in the NPL.

However, it was the Jaffas who would score first through a gift from Maitland’s defender and Captain Blake Thompson. Lambton’s Ben Hay put a low cross in from the left side and Thompson shanked his right-footed clearance perfectly into the top left corner of Matt Trott’s goal.

Maitland replied quickly though when Matt Thompson headed home from close range to lock things up. Less than five minutes later and the Magpies had the lead, as Carl Thornton went from a weaving run which started inside his own half and ended on the edge of the eighteen when he hit a superb strike into the top right-hand corner of Lambton’s goal.

Lambton’s afternoon got even worse when Ryan Broadley found Matt Thompson at the near post when he whipped in a cross from the left side, as the visitors led 3-1 at the break.

The Jaffas had their chances in the second half, with Matt Trott making two fine saves, the first from a Pat Brown shot which looked destined for the top corner and the second from a John Majurovski penalty where he dove low to his left. Before the Magpies put an exclamation mark on their performance when Matt Thompson chipped Brad Swancott from the left corner of the box to make it 4-1.

Jaffas coach James Pascoe thought his side started the game well and praised the performance of Matt Thompson.

“We started the game quite well and then Matt Thompson took over for the next hour or so and took the game away from us. He scored a couple of goals in the first half, even though we man marked him.”

Pascoe though took some positives out of the second half performance.

“After going up 1-0 and then being down 3-1 at halftime at home, the boys got told a few home truths. They responded quite well in the second. Again though we huffed and puffed, but we just didn’t find that finish.”

Next weekend Lambton travels to Adamstown to meet the Rosebuds while Maitland meet Weston in the Coalfields derby.