Ben Homer

 

Match of The Round

Edgeworth 5 (Hammel 27’, 90+2’ Moore 49’, Moriyasu 81’, 88’) defeated Lambton Jaffas 0

Jack McLaughlan Oval

Sunday 12^th June, 2.45pm

Edgeworth put on a dominant display in the ‘Match of the Round’ of the PlayStation ® 4 National Premier League Northern NSW competition as they put five goals past a lacklustre Jaffas outfit.

Lambton coach James Pascoe was bitterly disappointed with his sides showing.

“I thought the scoreboard didn’t quite reflect Edgeworth’s dominance to be fair. They were very, very good for the majority of the game. We competed slightly for the opening 20 minutes and after that we were a metre slower to everything, physically and mentally.”

“You won’t beat teams like Edgeworth or keep the score respectable if you can’t compete,” Pascoe concluded.

In the match, Edgeworth had some great early opportunities with Keigo Moriyasu hitting the post with a dipping shot from the edge of the box, while Daniel McBreen hit the post twice, with one cleared off the line by the Jaffas.

It was the Eagles who would grab the first goal through Bren Hammel, after Aaron McLoughlin found him with a pinpoint curling cross from the left side. An unmarked Hammel headed home into the top left corner.

Early in the second half Edgeworth extended their lead, Keanu Moore scoring a stunning goal after he received the ball just inside Lambton’s half before swerving through Lambton’s and finishing past Brad Swancott in the Lambton goal.

With less than ten minutes on the clock, as they did in round one against the same opposition, Edgeworth put Lambton out of the game. After a good chance from Michael Sessions was parried away by Edgeworth keeper Jim Fogarty, Ayden Brice raced away down the right edge from well inside his own half.

He played a ball across the face of goal to Keigo Moriyasu who danced his way past Lambton defenders and passed it into the goals. Moriyasu was at it again just seven minutes later, who cut inside the left edge of the box before once again burying his shot in the back of the net.

Bren Hammel finished off the rout for the Eagles when Moriyasu found him with a lovely chipped pass over the top of Lambton’s defence. Hammel went one-on-one with Swancott, both lost their footing before Hammel recovered under pressure from Michael William to finish into an empty net.

Damian Zane was very impressed with his side’s performance, and thinks they have stepped up in the last two weeks.

“Just before the Maitland game, I thought we switched into gear. We were still playing well and I couldn’t fault the guys. It was just probably a bit of a downer from winning everything last year. Maitland being undefeated just seemed to spark something. Training the last few weeks, they have stepped it and I think it showed today.”

He added an up tempo game aided his teams cause against an older Lambton line-up.

“There’s no hiding the fact we think against Lambton an up-tempo game works for us. I thought at the end of the first half we really started to get on top. I couldn’t fault the performance and the clean sheet as well.”

Next weekend Lambton play the FFA Cup against Belswans on Saturday before meeting Broadmeadow Magic in Round 11. For Edgeworth they play Urunga in the FFA Cup and then will take on Weston in their next league fixture.

 

Valentine Phoenix 3 (McGinley 51’, Olzomer 61’, Tserepas 86’) defeated Charlestown City Blues 2 (Johnson 45’, Hughes 66’ (P))

Blacksmiths Oval

Saturday 11^th June, 3pm

Valentine Phoenix won just their second match of the season on Saturday in a gutsy performance against the Charlestown City Blues in Round 10 of the PlayStation® 4 National Premier League Northern NSW competition.

Both sides came into the match looking for some confidence after Valentine were flattened 5-0 by a dominant Hamilton side two weeks ago and the Blues were beaten heavily by Edgeworth and Broadmeadow in consecutive matches.

It was Valentine who started off as the stronger side as Corey Atkinson had a great chance from the right edge of the box, Charlestown keeper Nathan Archbold keeping it out with a strong save. Charlestown had some chances too, Josh Maguire hitting a free kick, from a similar position to the one he scored against Magic two weeks ago, however it was just a bit wide.

Jarryd Johnson struck the first blow on the scoreboard though, right on halftime, as Charlestown’s mid-season recruit tucked a lovely cutback from Andy Kjiln, who made a run down the right edge, inside the near post.

Charlestown took the lead into half-time but it was Valentine’s skipper Scott McGinley who finally opened his account for the season with a deflected shot into the bottom left corner.

Soon after the home side had hit the front, when Breton Olzomer scrambled it across the line. A corner from Matt Paul flew long across the face where Corey Atkinson headed back across to Olzomer at the back post. There was some debate as to whether it crossed the line though, but the assistant believed it had and the goal was awarded.

Charlestown’s fighting spirit this season reared its head again when they equalised. Scott Smith was taken down in the box by Reece Pettit and Charlestown captain Ben Hughes made no mistake with the penalty, as he scored his third of the season.

Some later drama ensued as Scott Smith was given a straight yellow card for an apparent elbow in the attacking box, while Ridge Mapu was sent off less than ten minutes later for what allegedly was abusive language directed at one of Charlestown’s players.

But, in the end it would be Valentine’s day, when Olzomer raced down the right hand side and played a cross onto the head of Tserepas, who couldn’t miss from point blank range. The former Hamilton midfielder scoring an extremely important goal in the context of the Phoenix’s season.

Valentine coach Darren Sills was immensely pleased with his side’s showing.

“It was a fantastic performance from where we were last match, five nil down. You can only ask so much of these blokes and they deliver every time I ask them.”

“At the end of the day we were down one nil at half-time, and we had four clear cut chances in the first half to their two, and it was disappointing to go in at the break behind. It’s a sign of character and probably how the players are enjoying the place, that they’ve come from behind.”

He also was glowing in praise for Belswans FC for allowing them to use their ground.

“It’s a massive, massive thank you to Belmont-Swansea who are obviously a neighbour of ours and a fierce rival back from the NEWFM days, but, for that club to allow us to use these facilities is fantastic.”

Valentine meet the Jets Youth midweek, while Charlestown have next weekend off before playing the Jets Youth in round 11.

 

Jets Youth 3 (Carroll 51’, 68’, Brymora 72’) defeated Weston Bears 0

Rockwell Automation Park

Saturday 11^th June, 2.30pm

Clayton Zane believes that his Jets side hasn’t improved massively over the season and their strong run of form lately can be put down to defensive improvement.

Zane made the comments after his side, the Jets Youth claimed a valuable three points when they travelled up the Hunter Expressway to Weston on Saturday and have been undefeated in three of their last four matches.

“I don’t think we’ve improved hugely, I think we’ve just been more consistent with our defending, so those big moments where we were seeing individual errors are starting to be cut out of our game. We’ve looked a lot better at the back four and found a bit of consistency with the personnel at the back.”

After a tight first half saw the score locked at 0-0 at the break, it was the Jets who struck first in the second half. Cody Carroll once again hitting a wonderful shot with his left boot from outside the box onto the inside of the left hand post which deflected in.

Midway through the second half Tyson Jackson found Carroll once more with a pinpoint cross from the left edge of the eighteen-yard box, which Carroll headed in unmarked at the back post to make it 2-0.

The Jets finished off the win when Adam Cawley played a perfectly timed curling left foot cross from the left side into Krisitan Brymora in the middle of the box who headed home past onrushing Weston goalkeeper Benn Kelly.

Weston coach Trevor Morris thought his side was right in the contest over the opening 45 minutes.

“For the first 45 I was very happy. I thought we were in the game, we played to a plan and had good structure. I thought we were holding our own well,” Morris said.

“But, we conceded a goal four minutes after half-time and we were pretty ordinary after that, we lost our shape and structure. We just crumbled. It was pretty disappointing.”

With their finals hope looking slim Morris has no doubts his side has the motivation going for the remainder of the season.

“You play for pride. You play for respect. Respect for yourself as an individual, respect for the shirt you wear and respect for the club and the history of the club”

“First and foremost, its got to be for yourself as an individual, because they are better than that. They know it, everyone knows individually there is some good talent there,” Morris concluded.

Weston meet Edgeworth in a couple of weeks when the league resumes, while the Jets play a trial match against Shandong Luneng on Friday night at Magic Park.

 

Hamilton Olympic 1 (Cooper 55’) drew Maitland Magpies 1 (Thompson 85’)

Darling Street Oval

Sunday 12^th June, 2.30pm

For the second time this season Maitland were able to share the points with league leaders Hamilton Olympic, in what was a tight battle at Darling Street Oval.

In the first half, it was the hosts with the glut of early chances, PlayStation® 4 NPL Northern NSW leading scorer Kane Goodchild unlucky to have put Hamilton in front.

However, after the break it was Olympic who opened the scoring. Tommy Spencer played a pass back to Rhys Cooper, who was just outside the box. Cooper stepped around Maitland’s Matt Comerford before unleashing a low right foot shot which found its way across Matt Trott and into the Magpies goals.

The visitors would not go away, though. Matt Thompson started the attacking move from inside his own half, given too much space by Hamilton’s usually dominant defence. He played in Matt Comerford down the right who threaded the needle with a brilliant back heal to Thompson. Maitland’s talisman then summed up the opportunity and slid his shot past Danny Ireland at the near post.

Hamilton coach Mick Bolch was rued his sides missed chances in the first half.

“I thought we played really well in the first half and just couldn’t score goals. We probably had six to eight good chances in the first half and I don’t think they had a shot. It was just one of those games where the ball doesn’t go in net and it comes back and bites you.”

Bolch also paid credit to a determined Maitland outfit.

“They don’t go away. Matt Thompson was outstanding for them. He found space between the lines all day and popped up and grabbed the equaliser. On their second half performance, they deserved a point, but the game was there for the taking for us in the first half.”

Steve Piggott was pleased with the point, after playing a more attacking style against Olympic.

“We’ve been criticised for being a little negative in the first round and we’ve had to play that way, because we have played some good sides and tried to stay behind the ball. But we came out and we pushed forward and pressed very high.”

“For me, it was a very good effort from the boys and they did very well across the park. To come back from 1-0 down a snatch a draw is a good result.”

Hamilton with play Norths in the FFA Cup next weekend, while Maitland meet Broadmeadow on Wednesday night at Magic Park.

You can catch all the action on Wednesday live on BarTV from 7pm, when Damien Smith joins me in the commentary box at Magic Park.

 

Adamstown Rosebud 3 (Virgili 7’ (OG), Berlin 50’, 76’) drew Broadmeadow Magic 3 (Fajkovic 6’, Read 33’ (OG), J.Virgili 71’ (P))

Adamstown Oval

Sunday 12^th June, 2.30pm

For the second time in three matches Broadmeadow Magic finished all square at 3-all, this week against an Adamstown side which refused to lie down.

As Broadmeadow like to do, they scored early against the Rosebuds. Luke Virgili playing in a cross from the left, which Scott Carter fumbled, and Dino Fajkovic finished into an empty net.

Adamstown, as they would all afternoon, responded when Jordon Harrison crossed a ball in from the left to Chris Berlin. Berlin’s shot deflected off Luke Virgili and into the bottom left corner of Nick Hartnett’s goal.

Magic were back in front just after the half-hour mark when Kale Bradbury played a cross in from the left. The dipping ball deflected of Alex Read’s leg and into the top left corner.

Chris Berlin had the home crowd on their feet immediately after the break. Thom Lino broke down the left side and played a ball to Berlin in the centre who ran through and chipped over Nick Harnett.

Luke Virgili was then felled in the box and brother James Virgili finished the penalty to put Broadmeadow back in front midway through the second half.

But, it was Adamstown that would have the final say in the match and it was Chris Berlin at the heart of it again. Thom Lino’s shot hit the post and bounced out to the left, when a pinpoint pass found Berlin in the middle who calmly slotted his shot into the bottom right corner.

Broadmeadow co-coach Bobby Naumov felt Broadmeadow ‘didn’t play very well.’

“It was just one of those days, where I don’t think we performed to our ability. We just need to be a lot better than that. No disrespect to Adamstown, but if you score three goals it should be enough and if you want to be at the top, those are the games you need to win.”

“We scored three goals, but we still weren’t clinical in the final third. And we conceded three goals so we are not happy defensively. I said last week, that the next three weeks are crucial, and today was one test and we failed it. We still have got another couple of weeks now where we play Maitland and then Jaffas. We need to win both of those if we want to catch the top two.”

Adamstown have a couple of weeks off before meeting Hamilton in round 11, while Broadmeadow meet Maitland on Wednesday night.

You can catch all the action on Wednesday live on BarTV from 7pm, when Damien Smith joins me in the commentary box at Magic Park.