The Match of the Round kicks off on Sunday when Valentine travel to Weston’s Rockwell Automation Park to try and collect three points and avoid the fight at the bottom of the table.
Match of the Round
Weston Workers FC v Valentine FC
Sunday, May 8, 2.30pm
Rockwell Automation Park
Two draws and two losses have put the Bears into eighth, but the home side’s coach, Trevor Morris, believes their defence can only improve as the season drags on.
“Our defenders have been terrific and even though we conceded four goals last weekend we were fantastic for seventy minutes and it’s just keeping up that level that made the difference.”
“There is always a few things that we have to address after games, but I think that both teams last weekend played good football and we’ll build on that.”
Valentine so far have had problems collecting points in the Play Station®4 National Premier League, with only a single draw netting them a single point in four games.
Valentine’s head coach, Darren Sills, faces an interesting match-up on the day however, having previously been a major part of the Weston Workers club and is eager to return as a rival and a friend.
“I’m looking forward to going back to my old club, there are a lot of friends up there that I want to see, so it’ll be a sort of homecoming for me, just not with the team I normally play there with.”
“Looking at us however, both personnel and structure needs to be changed. We need to take chances when creating them and that’s our major problem, so we need to create that spark again.”
Edgeworth FC v Hamilton Olympic FC
Friday, May 6, 7.15pm
Jack McLaughlan Oval
This Friday evening, Jack McLaughlan Oval plays host to a top of the table clash between Edgeworth and Hamilton Olympic, with the winner going clear at the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL Northern NSW competition.
Olympic remains undefeated in the league so far, coming off the back of a dominant win over the Weston Bears last weekend. So far their ten points have come from three wins and a close draw to open their season and Hamilton will be eyeing a fourth straight win to stay as league leaders.
With both teams coming into the match on equal footing in terms of suspensions, points and records, it may just be the Old Boys crowd that spurs Edgeworth on to victory, but with Hamilton’s dangerous squad and lethal form from the past few weeks, neither side can be dicounted.
Lambton Jaffas FC v Charlestown City Blues FC
Saturday, May 7, 2.30pm
Arthur Edden Oval
The second Saturday game of Round 5 sees the Lambton Jaffas come up against one of the most consistent performers of the league so far this season – the Charlestown City Blues.
Lambton have struggled to put points on the board in early games, with a single win over Adamstown last weekend at home breaking their three game run of losses from the start of the season.
The Jaffas proved last week that they cannot be counted out either, with their team’s defensive abilities coming together with their forward line’s skill in front of goals in a game that saw both John Majurovski and James Burn netting goals.
With the Jaffas eyeing the three points and Charlestown eager to continue their unbeaten and spectacular run, both sides will be hungry for the win.
Newcastle Jets Youth v Broadmeadow Magic FC
Saturday, May 7, 2:30pm
Magic Park
The Newcastle Jets Youth play Broadmeadow Magic at Magic Park on Saturday afternoon, after the Jets Youth missed their game last weekend due to weather.
Even with a game less than the other teams on the ladder, their season’s start has not been great, with only a single point after their matches, conceding twelve goals so far.
Their focus now will be shoring up their defensive line – with Cameron Joice proving that he can score in any game that he needs to, with four goals to his name already, the Jets’ attack is not their problem.
Broadmeadow have had a stronger start to the season than Clayton Zanes Jets and Magic will be looking for another win as they sit two points below the top of the table.
Two wins and two draws sits them in third place, equal to Charlestown but with an improved goal difference after their big win to open the season against the Rosebud.
Adamstown Rosebud FC v Maitland FC
Sunday, May 8, 2.30pm
Adamstown Oval
The final match of the league is to be played at Adamstown Oval on Sunday afternoon, with Maitland travelling to take on the Rosebud.
Adamstown have had only one win so far this season and find themselves in seventh place, with the worst goal difference in the league so far.
Injuries and suspensions have been rife in the Rosebud’s squad, most recently when both Daniel Yaxley and Ben Clements were lost to tackles last weekend, with Clements now confirmed to be out for at least eight weeks, but possibly up to the end of the season.
Maitland’s season so far has been strong and they sit in fifth place as another of the sides in the competition not to suffer a loss.
A win and two draws keeps them on five points, but after heavy storms last weekend they were forced to delay their first grade game against the Newcastle Jets Youth and that game in hand gives them an advantage over those above and below them on the ladder.
CLICK HERE for a full preview of the Round 5 matches.