Declan Payne

Maitland snatch three points at the death again, Hamilton fall at the death

For two weeks in a row now, Maitland has relied on centre-back Alex Read for a goal at the death to take all three points when one looked likely.

This week would have looked like a huge missed opportunity, given their two-goal lead with 25 minutes remaining but instead, they’re now in third and level on points with Magic who has the bye next week.

With one of the strongest rosters in the league, there were questions of how new and old would gel together but results so far seem to suggest things are good and only going to get better.

While Maitland has won two on the trot in the final ten minutes, Hamilton has lost two after going down late to Edgeworth and now the Magpies.

Results aren’t fantastic thus far for Peter McGuinness’s side but performances are far more encouraging, and it won’t be long until Olympic pick up their second win of the season.

 

Weston lose third on the trot, Adamstown win first of the year

After two wins from their first four, Weston looked to be on the up but have been brought firmly back down to Earth after three losses in a row – the latest to Adamstown.

They went down fighting though, with much of the ball in the final third of the pitch in the dying stages but they were ultimately unable to turn chances into goals.

An injury to young winger Regan Lundy will be of some concern to coach Steve Piggott after he was taken from the ground on Saturday in an ambulance with a serious leg injury.

It’s taken seven weeks, but Adamstown finally have their first win of the season and it came against the side which beat them to the Heritage Cup in March.

Much of their positive play came through Chris Berlin and Connor Heydon up front, and if youth and experience can continue to combine in the fashion it did on Saturday it can only be good for Rosebud.

 

Magic men mighty with ten, Valentine still without a win

Broadmeadow captain Josh Piddington played his 300^th first grade game for Magic on Saturday night and was a key part of the ten men which kept a clean sheet.

The red card to Dino Fajkovic came in the 45^th minute, and his absence in the side for at least the next week is likely to be covered by the return of James Virgili from a shoulder injury, with which he was expected to miss only a week.

The win, Magic’s third in a row, moves them into second place and ensures they’re virtually unable to be knocked out of the top four next week when they play the bye.

After a positive result against Lambton the previous week, Valentine huffed and puffed for 45 minutes against ten Magic men but were unable to blow the house down.

Two golden chances in the final ten minutes went unfinished for Valentine and goals are fast becoming an area of concern for Phoenix; they’ve only scored five from six games so far this year.

 

Lake Macquarie give up two leads, Jets Youth resilient and clinical

Sam Walker scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season to give Lakes the lead twice on Sunday afternoon, but they were leads they were unable to hold for more than two minutes at a time.

Instead, Jets Youth came bounding back each time and put Lakes under incredible pressure before running away with it in the end.

Despite the 5-3 score-line Lakes wasn’t outplayed, instead, they were the victim of a number of individual errors which cost them dearly, which will give the side encouragement as they look to get back in the winners’ circle against Hamilton next weekend.

While they were clinical in seizing on Lakes’ mistakes, Jets Youth proved more than worthy winners after outplaying their opponents when it mattered and jumping into outright fifth place.

The inclusion of fringe A-League squad youngster Angus Thurgate proved a masterstroke for Jets Youth, as he was directly involved in the opening two goals.

 

Edgeworth chasing the leaders, Charlestown worthy contenders

Despite the low scoring nature of the match, Edgeworth’s draw with Charlestown was one of the most exciting matches of the season so far as the current premiers scored late to take a point.

It’s the second week running they’ve rescued at least a point from the jaws of defeat, but it wasn’t undeserved.

A draw was probably a fair result in what was an evenly matched fixture, with Edgeworth’s young squad doing well and perhaps unlucky not to score a win.

If Edgeworth was unlucky not to take all three points, then so too was Charlestown who had their fair share of the chances.

The make-up of the squad will be interesting next weekend, with Kane Goodchild edging closer to a return while former Phoenix man Aden Gardner could make his first appearance after making the switch recently.