Kane Goodchild scored twice and played a part in Hamilton’s other goal as they defeated Edgeworth 3-1 in the PlayStation® 4 NPL Northern NSW Match of the Round to take over at the top of the ladder.
Match of the Round
Hamilton Olympic 3 defeated Edgeworth Eagles 1
2.30pm, Sunday 17th July at Darling Street Oval
The win brought Olympic level with the Eagles on 34 points but they lead the defending major and minor premiers by five goals on for and against with four rounds remaining.
Hamilton took the lead in the 44th minute when Matt Swan was rewarded for a long run into the box. Swan got a foot to the ball off a one-two passing move with Goodchild and the touch beat Edgeworth goalkeeper Jim Fogarty.
Dylan Holz was off target with a free header for Edgeworth, Leo Bertos hit the crossbar with a free kick for Hamilton and Daniel McBreen was wide twice with strikes for the Eagles in an action-packed second-half.
Bertos blasted a penalty over the crossbar in the 79th minute after Daniel Bird was fouled by Josh Evans but Goodchild made no mistake four minutes later when earning a sight on goal. The powerful striker headed a ball on for himself then pounced on a miscommunication at the back to get his foot to the ball and score.
Edgeworth were back in the contest a minute later when Keigo Moriyasu’s corner was nodded on by Ayden Brice for Aden Gardner to hit a close-range header in.
Broadmeadow Magic 10 defeated Newcastle Jets Youth 2
2.30pm, Saturday 16th July at Magic Park
Broadmeadow bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Edgeworth with a record 10-2 win over the Newcastle Jets Youth at Magic Park on Saturday.
Kale Bradbery exposed an understrength Jets defence with a remarkable four goals in the opening 17 minutes before Peter Haynes and James Virgili scored three each.
After Bradbery’s goals in the sixth, 12th, 13th and 17th minutes, Virgili made it 5-0 in the 20th. The Jets Youth hit back through goals from Kristian Brymora in the 23rd minute and an own goal which went in off Ben Higgins from a cross on the 39th.
Haynes put Broadmeadow five clear again with goals in the 48th and 50th minutes, the first a tap-in and the second a long-range strike. Haynes scored again in the 68th minute before Virgili struck in the 72nd and 89th minutes. Virgili moved back to the top of the PlatStation 4 NPL NNSW goalscorers list with 16, one ahead of Goodchild.
Magic’s total and the winning margin of eight goals were both new PlatStation 4 NPL NNSW records. The previous records were 7-0 victories for Hamilton over the Jets Youth last year and Edgeworth over Charlestown in 2014.
Valentine Phoenix 2 drew with Weston Workers Bears 2
3pm Saturday 16th July at Blacksmiths Oval
Weston’s Pat Wand scored with a free kick on debut to give the Bears a share of the points against Valentine in a 2-2 draw at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
The last-placed Bears led with a penalty goal from Nathan Morris on the half hour after Jake Barner was brought down.
Valentine, though, were in the lead 16 minutes into the second half after two goals from Matt Paul. His first came from a curling kick from close to the by-line which beat everyone in the 48th minute and his second was a long-range strike in the 61st.
With Morris battling a thigh injury, Wand stepped up to take a free-kick for Weston in the 75th minute and knocked home the equaliser.
Charlestown City Blues 0 drew with Lambton Jaffas 0
2.30pm Sunday 17th July at Lisle Carr Oval
Charlestown’s hopes of securing a finals spot suffered a blow as they had a scoreless draw with Lambton Jaffas at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday.
The fifth-placed Blues went to 18 points with the draw, leaving them four points behind fourth-placed Maitland. Lambton went to 13 points in eighth.
The Jaffas were without Jobe Wheelhouse (calf tear), Michael Sessions and Kevin Davison (both suspended) for the match and were playing for the first time since Peter McPherson declared he was finished for the season because of injury problems and family commitments.
Maitland Magpies 4 defeated Adamstown Rosebud 2
2.30pm Sunday 17th July at Cooks Square Park
Maitland came from a goal down against a 10-man Adamstown to win 4-2 and move four points clear of the chasers in the race for a top-four finals place at Cooks Square Park on Sunday.
Ryan Clarke scored twice for the Magpies in the win, which came just five days after the club parted ways with head coach Steve Piggott.
Clarke opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he made the most of a mistake at the back. Adamstown, though, led 2-1 at half-time after Alex Read converted from the spot following a foul tackle in the box and Mason Palmieri scored with a free-kick in the last minutes before the break.
The match swung back Maitland’s way in the 60th minute when Owen Littlewood gave away a penalty for a tackle on Ryan Broadley and was then sent off for touching the referee on the shoulder.
Matt Thompson converted the penalty and Clarke scored from a corner in the 69th minute to put the Magpies ahead. Liam Thornton made it 4-2 with a header from a corner in the 77th minute.
The victory lifted Maitland, who have a match in hand against the Newcastle Jets Youth, to 22 points. Adamstown are ninth on 11 points.
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