The Northern NSW PlayStation 4 Round 8 Match of the Round was an absolute spectacle, producing a seven goal thriller at Magic Park as Broadmeadow welcomed Weston.
Broadmeadow Magic FC 3 def. by Weston Workers FC 4
Sun 31 May 2:30 PM
Magic Park
Match of the Round
Magic, in particular Peter Haynes, dominated the opening 20 minutes. Haynes scored the opener off a header from a Scott Petit corner in the sixth minute, then in the 17th minute made a crucial tackle and assisted Kale Bradbury for his ninth of the season.
At 2-0 up Magic looked as though they would kick on as they did against the Jets, however the loss of Peter Haynes to injury halted their momentum halfway through the first half.
Weston were playing fairly poorly, however Jamie Subat and Garry McDermott stood up for the visitors and changed the game. Subat cut a ball back to McDermott in the 29th minute, whose shot was saved by Magic keeper Nathan Archbold. Five minutes later however, the pair combined again as McDermott this time found the net from a Subat cross.
Edgeworth FC 3 def. Newcastle Jets Youth 1
Sat 30 May 2.30 PM
Jack McLaughlin Oval
Edgeworth hosted the Newcastle Jets Youth in the first of three matches on Saturday afternoon, with the chance to move to first, for a night at least, there for the taking.
The Eagles entered the match on the back of four wins in a row, so were boosted with confidence. They were missing key players Bren Hammell, Justin Tannock and Dylan Holtz however.
The Newcastle Jets Youth were playing their second game in six matches after being beaten 5-2 by Broadmeadow last Monday night.
Keanu Moore sent the home side into the break ahead 1-0, with a strike in the 31st minute the difference between the sides.
Adamstown Rosebud FC 3 def. South Cardiff FC 0
Sat 30 May 2:30 PM
Adamstown Oval
The second of two Saturday clashes in Round 8 saw Adamstown host South Cardiff at Adamstown Oval.
The Buds were forced to play without star striker Guy Bates for the first time since losing him after it was discovered he was not cleared to play in the PS4 NPL.
It was new signing Nick Hill’s first match for the club, and Coach Graham Law decided to include him in the starting lineup.
The Gunners were missing their four key attacking players in Mitch Wallace, Sean Clerke, Jung Deok and Dean Kelley, so goals were going to be hard to come by for the away side.
Lambton Jaffas FC 2 def. Maitland FC 1
Sat 30 May 2:30 PM
Arthur Edden Oval
The third of three key Saturday matches saw Lambton Jaffas host Maitland FC.
This match would usually have an enormous ring to it, as they share three ex-Jets favourites in Jobe Wheelhouse, Matt Thompson and Michael Bridges, however only Wheelhouse was available on Saturday.
The Jaffas dominated the first half, creating more chances and enjoying more possession. As has been the case this season however, they could not convert the chances in the first half.
Maitland defender Zac Hill was forced from the field in the first stanza with an ankle injury and is now in doubt for Round 9.
The teams went into the break scoreless, with both aware they needed to be more clinical after the break.
Hamilton Olympic FC 4 def. Charlestown City Blues FC 2
Sun 31 May 2:30 PM
Darling Street Oval
The final match of Round 8 of the Northern NSW PS4 National Premier Leagues saw last placed Charlestown travel to Darling Street Oval intent on taking all three points against the favourites, Hamilton Olympic.
The talk off the field during the week was how Kane Goodchild would perform against his old club, and despite a number of goals flying in during this match he was surprisingly absent from the score sheet.
The home side started the better of the pair. Jacob Bailey opened the scoring for the second week in a row, in the twelfth minute of the game.
Charlestown equalised just eight minutes later, as Jarrod Ross netted for the away side in the 20th minute to make the score 1-1.
Click here for a full rundown of the weekend's matches.