By Mat Fox

Edgeworth FC v Weston Workers FC
Friday 2nd May, 8:30pm
Jack McLaughlan Oval
#EFCvWWB

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Edgeworth Eagles welcomes Weston Workers to Jack McLaughlan Oval on Friday night as the two remaining undefeated sides go head to head in the match of the round.

Weston Workers come into the contest after a 3-2 victory over Hamilton Olympic last week and are brimming with confidence after sitting top of the table with a game in hand over their opponents.

Edgeworth Eagles are also flying high after their 7-0 demolition of Charlestown City Blues and impressive 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets Youth.

Both sides know that execution in front of goal will be vitally important, as well as completing their passages of play, and both coaches have seen improvements in these areas in previous weeks, and provides an entertaining game of football on Friday night.

Jason Cowburn and Jamie Subat have three goals each out of four matches while Nathan Morris and Mick Ryan also have one to their name.

Hector Mendez and Bren Hammel both bagged a double in round 3 and Hammel scored a nice free kick against the Jets Youth.

Just two points separated these sides at the end of the regular season last year as they finished in fourth and fifth spot to both clinch a finals birth.

Little separated these sides on the pitch as well with their opening round fixture ending in a 1-1 draw; while their second encounter finished 2-2.

Both Gary Wilson and Steve Piggott have commended their teams defence early in the season and have proved difficult for opposition teams to break down.

With a few key guys up front in form for both sides and very tight defences it will be a great game as both sides try to break each other down and know that they will have to complete their plays and produce some high quality football.

It will be a very good game to watch at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Friday night, a late kick off at 9:15pm but the only game on so try and make it out if you can, otherwise the game will be streamed live online through the BARTV coverage of our match of the round.

Newcastle Jets Youth v Charlestown City Blues FC
Saturday 3rd May, 2:45pm
Lisle Carr Oval
#NEWvCCB

Both sides missed out last week through rain and will be keen to bounce back after suffering defeat in their last outings.

Newcastle Jets Youth were outplayed in their 2-0 loss to Edgeworth Eagles in their rescheduled round one fixture, but still showed some promising signs particularly in the first half conceding the first goal just moments before the break. 

Charlestown City Blues were outclassed in their 7-0 defeat to Edgeworth Eagles with a severely depleted playing roster, and should be close to full strength this weekend.

Charlestown City Blues Coach Shane Pryce knows his side will put that result behind them as they return home where they produced an impressive display against Hamilton Olympic in round two despite being unable to produce the deciding goal, while in round one his side defeated Lambton Jaffas 3-1 away from home.

Newcastle Jets Youth has just the one defeat to its name and still sits in fourth spot, one above Charlestown City Blues after recording an impressive 5-1 win over Adamstown Rosebud and 1-0 win over Broadmeadow Magic.

They will look to rectify what went wrong in their midweek defeat against the Eagles; however they missed some blatant chances early that could have changed the momentum of the game from then on.

Newcastle Jets Youth defeated Charlestown City Blues 4-1 in their opening fixture last year while the Blues recorded a 2-1 win over the Jets Youth late in the season.

Both sides will want to keep up with the top three and really have only the one defeat to their name last round and know a win this weekend will put them right back up there again with the leaders.

Hamilton Olympic FC v Lambton Jaffas FC
Sunday 4th May, 2:45pm
Darling Street Oval
#OLYvJAF

Hamilton Olympic do battle against Lambton Jaffas this Sunday at Darling Street Oval in what is set to be a big game.

Just two points separated the sides at the end of the season last year as Lambton Jaffas finished in second spot with Hamilton Olympic behind them in third.

They then went on to play each other twice in the finals series with the scores deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes on both occasions, with Lambton Jaffas prevailing 4-3 winners from the resulting penalty shoot outs.

During the regular season it was Lambton Jaffas who had the upper hand as well winning both contests 2-1.

However this time around it is Hamilton Olympic who has the upper hand going into the contest with Lambton Jaffas struggling to find their form early in the season.

Hamilton Olympic has just the one defeat to its name going down to top of the table Weston Workers 3-2 at Rockwell Automation Park last week, with wins against South Cardiff, Lake Macquarie and a draw against Charlestown City Blues prior to that.

David Hodgson has scored two goals from the penalty spot in two consecutive games which is a bizarre occurrence for any footballer, taking his tally to four goals for the season out of his side’s total of ten.

Lambton Jaffas Coach David Tanchevski said his side will focus on its defence after being disappointed with conceding goals at crucial times in previous matches.

The visitors will hope they can compile a complete performance with a disrupted start to the season as they try to integrate their new signings and have had the central pairing of Wheelhouse and McPherson available for just the one game also.

While Hamilton Olympic Coach Michael Bolch knows his side has recorded some impressive score lines with 4-2 and 4-1 wins, even including the 0-0 draw away to Charlestown, he knows his side still has room for improvement and will look for a step up this weekend.

With two very exciting sides on the pitch, lots of big names on display, and plenty of close encounters in recent history, it’s going to be a great match to watch at Darling Street Oval on Sunday.

Broadmeadow Magic FC v South Cardiff FC
Sunday 4th May, 2:45pm
Magic Park
#MGCvSCG

Broadmeadow Magic welcomes South Cardiff to Magic Park on Sunday with both sides still looking for their first win of the season.

Broadmeadow Magic has only taken the field twice with its two other fixtures being washed out, both of those matches were at home where they will face their opponents South Cardiff this weekend.

The home side were put under pressure in both of those matches escaping with a fortunate 0-0 draw against Weston Workers and then going down 1-0 to Newcastle Jets Youth.

Broadmeadow Magic Coach Glen Chapman knows the thing for this side will be execution in front of goal with his side failing to hit the back of the net in its opening two matches, he also hopes for the return of Scott Pettit and Luke Virgilli to bolster the midfield ranks.

South Cardiff will consider themselves unfortunate to go down 3-2 to Adamstown Rosebud after having the ascendency for much of the match, while even in the 0-0 draw against Edgeworth Eagles the week before they had their chances to take all three points.

South Cardiff Coach Greg Asquith will be hoping for that first result to go his side’s way as they have been building in confidence with their performances but look for the points to follow.

There should be lots of energy on the park as there always is between these two sides, but more than ever both sides will be hungry for the three points to get their season back on track and will feel they should not be sitting in eighth and ninth spot on the competition ladder.

Lake Macquarie City FC v Adamstown Rosebud FC
Sunday 4th May, 2:45pm
Macquarie Field
#LMCvBUD

Lake Macquarie City chases its first points of the season as it welcomes Adamstown Rosebud to Macquarie Field on Sunday.

It’s been a frustrating start to the season for the Roosters suffering three defeats in their opening three matches.

Adamstown Rosebud however recorded their first win of the season at home last round with a 3-2 win over South Cardiff and will look to build on that performance away from home.

Lake Macquarie will look to take their chance this weekend against the newly promoted side after having to face Weston Workers, Lambton Jaffas and Hamilton Olympic in their first three games, all top five teams from last season.

Lake Macquarie City Coach Gary Rowe knows his side has to take their chances in front of goal and will look to score first for his side to build their confidence on the pitch, and will look to minimize errors not letting their opponents into the contest easily.

They will look to put the two penalties and red card behind them that let them down against Hamilton Olympic conceding a 4-1 defeat, despite still pressuring the visitors.

Adamstown Rosebud Coach Anthony Richards said his side are full of confidence after the win and are improving after the new season and will be looking to build on their last performance.

With two young and newly assembled sides both have been working their way into the competition, both suffering some heavy defeats but still showing good signs along the way and will hope to capitalise when they face each other this weekend, it should be a good game.