NBN State League Round Eighteen

This report is reproduced courtesy of NNSWF

Lake Macquarie City 3 - 2 Valentine Phoenix

Lake Macquarie City has one foot firmly placed in finals football after they defeated Valentine Phoenix 3-2 at Macquarie Field on Sunday.

A Justin Tannock hat trick guided them to victory which included two penalties and although Valentine Phoenix looked to get back in the game, they were always one step behind Lake Macquarie on the day.

Valentine Phoenix started well and had two set piece opportunities in the opening ten minutes but Brad Swancott had them covered.

Lake Macquarie City then took the lead on ten minutes when Justin Tannock converted from the spot after Damien Brown was brought down in the box, sending Chris Bowling the wrong way to put the ball into the bottom corner.

There were few chances created in the following 35 minutes with Damien Brown coming close in a goalmouth scramble and Andre Gumprecht sending his shot wide from the edge of the area.

Only half chances went to Lake Macquarie in a first half that saw little goalmouth action but the second half was a different affair with four goals scored in the following 45 minutes.

Lake Macquarie had two great opportunities to extend their lead within the opening minutes of the second half when Damien Brown was released in space but had his one on one opportunity saved by Chris Bowling, and just seconds later Brady Parker forced a corner from seven yards out.

Valentine Phoenix got themselves back in the game on 50 minutes when Lake Macquarie scored an own goal, sending in a cross at the back post after some nice work from Nathan McAllister who advanced the ball up the pitch.

They looked to take the lead five minutes later when Dennis Fajkovic beat his defender down the right hand side to put in a dangerous ball at the back post but McAllister was pulled up for offside although missing the chance.

Just 30 seconds later Lake Macquarie City restored their lead with Justin Tannock getting his second of the game sliding on the six yard box to send home a Brady Parker cross.

Tannock claimed his third on 63 minutes when Brown was brought down inside the penalty area for the second time and he again stepped up to convert from the spot to give his side a two goal lead.

Lake Macquarie controlled the game from then on and moved the ball around freely as space opened up on the park, showing why they are such a good attacking side able to break with pace on the ball.

Sean Matthews again had a solid game in the middle of the park and was key to their ball distribution, as did Damien Brown and Justin Tannock who were dangerous coming forward into the box.

Valentine Phoenix pulled one back through Nathan McAllister who was on hand to finish into an empty net after a goal mouth scramble, but it was too late for Valentine to get anything out of the match.

Valentine Phoenix Coach Darrel McAllister said “it was a bit disappointing to concede two penalties and get beat, but they had their faire share of possession.”

Lake Macquarie City Coach Chris Turner was happy with the win and said despite the close score line his side “felt comfortable from front to back” as his side continues to score goals and get impressive results in the competition.

With Lake Macquarie now seven points clear of 3rd place and with a game in hand, they face Edgeworth next week in what looks to be a very exciting match up while Valentine Phoenix are up against West Wallsend and in search of a valuable three points to keep their season alive.


South Cardiff 1 - 1 Broadmeadow Magic

South Cardiff and Broadmeadow Magic played out a 1-1 draw at Ulinga Park with the Gunners almost getting their first win over the front runners this season.

With 5-1 and 3-0 defeats to Magic this season, South Cardiff were eager to get a different outcome in this encounter as they came out very strong and in the end were very unfortunate not to walk away with the three points in front of their home crowd.

South Cardiff took the lead on 34 minutes through Jarryd Johnson who struck a well timed shot from the edge of the area which deflected into the back of the net to open the scoring.

Murray Fletcher started the match with Shane Paul ruled out and he got the equaliser midway through the second half after a nice passing exchange on the edge of the area and finished well.

Keegan Wolfendan was also a late inclusion to the starting line up with Josh Birch ruled out, his first match back since very early in the competition.

South Cardiff had a chance to win the match in the final seconds with an entertaining finish to the match but couldn’t convert and only walked away with a point.

Broadmeadow Magic Coach Damien Smith said he was “happy to take the point in the end, Southy did really well, especially in defence.”

The result keeps South Cardiff in the top four, two points clear of Weston Workers in 5th spot as they go on to face Hamilton Olympic in Round 19 and a big match coming into Semi Finals, while Broadmeadow Magic will face Weston Workers at Wanderers Oval.


West Wallsend 2 - 1 Weston Workers

West Wallsend got their third win of the season with a 2-1 win over Weston Workers at Varley Park on Sunday putting a dent in Weston’s finals hopes.

Tom Walker scored twice for West Wallsend who held a two goal lead until a late Jamie Subat goal pulled one back for the away side.

Walker got his first goal through sheer determination when he pressured the Weston defence to pick up possession and went on to chip the keeper and give his side the early advantage.

Walker got his second on the other side of halftime as he was released in behind the defence to slot the ball past the keeper to double their advantage and West Wallsend were looking good.

Jamie Subat pulled one back for Weston but it was too late as West Wallsend got the win they had been waiting for and in turn Weston continue to slide down the table.

Weston are two points outside the top four and face league leaders Broadmeadow Magic next week while West Wallsend are up against Valentine Phoenix.

Weston Coach Darren Elkin said “the effort was there, we battled better this week but I didn’t think we did enough to win in the end.”


Hamilton Olympic 3 - 4 Edgeworth

Edgeworth moved into 3rd position on the ladder after a dramatic 4-3 victory over Hamilton Olympic at darling Street Oval on Sunday.

Joel Wood and John Majurovski both claimed hat tricks for their respective clubs but it was Edgeworth who got the late winner to claim the victory.

Edgeworth took the lead just three minutes into proceedings when Joel Wood opened the scoring after finishing inside the box after Edgeworth were awarded a free kick.

Hamilton Olympic equalised on the 30 minute mark through John Majurovski but their lead was short lived when Wood got his second just minutes later, turning his defender from ten yards out to finish.

Edgeworth took a 2-1 lead going into the halftime break and there were still plenty of goals to come in the second half and Hamilton Olympic equalised shortly after the restart with Majurovski getting his second goal.

Ben Martin restored Edgeworth’s lead shortly after to cap off a fine performance for the young striker.

With less than ten minutes remaining Hamilton equalised with Majurovski again and getting his hat trick in the process but Joel Wood was to match his efforts and get his hat trick and the match winner with just minutes remaining to give Edgeworth the three points.

Hamilton Olympic Coach Michael Bolch said “we have no problems scoring, but if you keep conceding three and four goals you can’t keep winning.”

Edgeworth Coach Gary Wilson is delighted to see his side in the top four and said “It’s terrific, it has been a hard grind for the last three months, the dividends are starting to pay off.”

Edgeworth now face 2nd placed Lake Macquarie City while Hamilton Olympic now have an all important clash with South Cardiff next week.

POS		TEAM	P	W	D	L	For	Agst	GD	PTS
1		Broadmeadow Magic FC	18	13	2	3	47	21	26	41
2		Lake Macquarie	17	10	3	4	34	25	9	33
3		Edgeworth Eagles	18	8	2	8	27	29	-2	26
4		South Cardiff	18	8	2	8	25	31	-6	26
5		Weston Workers	18	7	3	8	30	28	2	24
6		Hamilton Olympic	17	6	3	8	33	32	1	21
7		Valentine Phoenix FC	16	5	3	8	18	23	-5	18
8		West Wallsend SFC	18	3	2	13	16	41	-25	11