PS4 NPL NNSW Round 8 Preview

Second meets third this Sunday afternoon as part of the ‘Match of the Round’ in PlayStation® 4 NPL Northern NSW.

Match of the Round

Maitland Magpies v Edgeworth Eagles
Sunday May 29, 2.30pm
Cooks Square Park

Last Meeting: Maitland 0 Edgeworth 2 at Cooks Square Park, July 12, 2015.

Ladder: Maitland 3rd (15pts) Edgeworth 2nd (16pts)

Past 3 Starts (Most Recent First):

Maitland – Won Weston (a) 3-0, Drew Jaffas (h) 0-0, Won Jets (h) 4-1

Edgeworth – Won Blues (h) 6-1, Won Phoenix (a) 4-0, Lost Olympic (h) 3-2

Bottom Line

Both Edgeworth and Maitland will be looking to keep pace with ladder leaders Hamilton Olympic.

The home side come into this clash after an undefeated run across the opening seven rounds which has seen them claim 4 wins and 3 draws and will be full of confidence after disposing of their rivals Weston last weekend in a clinical 3-0 win.

Key: Cooks Square Park has been a hard place to score goals this year, so how well can Edgeworth adapt to the normally windy conditions at Maitland?

Join myself and Declan Payne live on BarTV from 2.30pm.

 

Lambton Jaffas v Jets Youth
Saturday May 28, 2.30pm
Arthur Edden Oval

Last Meeting: Jets Youth 2 Lambton 3 at Arthur Edden Oval, June 13, 2015.

Ladder: Lambton 6th (7pts), Jets Youth 8th (4pts)

Past 3 Starts (Most Recent First):

Lambton – Won Rosebud (h) 3-0, Drew Magpies (a) 0-0, Lost Blues (h) 3-1

Jets Youth – Lost Olympic (h) 5-0, Won Rosebud (a) 3-0, Lost Magpies (a) 4-1

Bottom Line

These two sides have treated us to some tight contests over the last two seasons. In their four most recent clashes, one goal has separated the sides, the Jets however have only won one of those matches.

The Lambton Jaffas have returned to form in recent weeks with 2 wins, a draw and a loss from their last four matches, which followed on from 3 losses to start the season.

Coach James Pascoe’s style is now starting to show in a Jaffas’ line-up with a mix of the old and new and a charge for the top 4 looks like it has begun. Last weekend saw their most dominant performance when they disposed of Adamstown 5-0 at home.

Key: The Jets taking their chances. They created plenty against Hamilton last week but couldn’t breach Danny Ireland’s defences. With a defence conceding more than three a game, the Jets need some goals this week.

 

Valentine Phoenix v Hamilton Olympic
Saturday May 28 3.00pm
Cahill Oval

Last Meeting: Hamilton 5 Valentine 0 at Darling Street Oval, June 16, 2013.

Ladder: Valentine 7th (5pts), Hamilton 1st (19pts)

Past 3 Starts (Most Recent First):

Valentine – Drew Magic (a) 3-3, Lost Eagles (h) 4-0, Won Bears (a) 2-1

Hamilton – Won Jets (h) 5-0, Won Magic (h), 3-1, Won Eagles (a) 3-2

Bottom Line

Valentine come into this match with plenty of confidence after giving Broadmeadow Magic a huge scare last weekend, leading 3-2 with 20 minutes left on the clock, but unfortunately for the Phoenix they couldn’t hold on. The clash with Hamilton will be the final week of a three-week examination of the Phoenix, after they met Edgeworth in Round 6.

After being thumped by Edgeworth they responded outstandingly last week and the Phoenix will not want to undo all the good work of last weekend with a poor showing in front of their home faithful.

Hamilton have been unstoppable so far this season and will want to keep their winning streak alive against Valentine which has now stretched to 6 matches. Incredibly, Olympic have only lost 3 of their last 28 PlayStation 4 NPL matches.

Key: Can Valentine put the disappointment of not claiming a victory against Magic behind them and put on a similar fighting display in front of their home fans?

 

Adamstown Rosebud v Weston Workers Bears
Sunday May 29, 2.30pm
Adamstown Oval

Last Meeting: Weston 1 Adamstown 2 at Rockwell Automation Park, June 13, 2015.

Ladder: Adamstown 9th (3pts) Weston 10th (2pts)

Past 3 Starts (Most Recent First):

Adamstown – Lost Jaffas (a) 5-0, Lost Jets (h) 3-0, Lost Maitland (h) 6-1

Weston – Lost Maitland (h) 3-0, Lost Blues (a) 1-0, Lost Phoenix (h) 2-1

Bottom Line

Both Adamstown and Weston will be looking to halt a four match losing run, which has seen both teams slide to the bottom of the ladder in the PlayStation 4 NPL.

On the scoreboard, Adamstown were thumped by Lambton last weekend but in the contest they were right in the game for the opening 60 minutes, only being down 1-0 at the time. The Rosebud’s will be aiming to bring that type of performance against a Bear’s side who also have also struggled this year.

Adamstown’s defence is a big concern, as they have leaked 26 goals across the 7 matches played so far. Their young centre backs in Owen Littlewood and Dylan Schrauder are still developing their combination and will be keen to keep Weston quiet.

Weston’s performance in the final third has been their major concern this season, scoring just one goal in their last 6 matches, which was from the penalty spot. Last weekend, they played against a Maitland side who were down to 10 men for more than half of the game and struggled to create chances.

Key: Heart. Its been a tough season for both clubs and whichever team wants it more will get the job done at Adamstown.

 

Charlestown City Blues v Broadmeadow Magic
Sunday May 29, 2.30pm
Lisle Carr Oval.

Last Meeting: Broadmeadow 2 Charlestown 0 at Magic Park, August 8, 2015.

Ladder: Broadmeadow 5th (12pts) Charlestown 4th (14pts)

Past 3 Starts (Most Recent First):

Charlestown – Lost Eagles (a) 6-1, Won Bears (h) 1-0, Won Jaffas (a) 3-1

Broadmeadow – Drew Phoenix (h) 3-3, Lost Olympic (a) 3-1, Won Jets (a) 4-1

Bottom Line

Charlestown City Blues return home to Lisle Carr Oval in Round 8 keen to put the disappointment of their first loss of the season behind them in their 6-1 defeat at Edgeworth.

The Blues record against Broadmeadow is better than most sides in the competition, with Charlestown winning 3 of their last 5 matches against Magic and 2 of their last 3. They haven’t lost against Broadmeadow at Lisle Carr Oval since 2013 and Shane Pryce will be hoping his side can keep that good run alive.

Charlestown were right in the contest with Edgeworth for much of the match in Round 6, with Charlestown only down 2-1 after 66 minutes. But, a 4 goal blitz in the final 24 minutes hurt the Blues and their so far very good defensive record in 2016.

Key: The first half. 8 of Magic’s last 11 goals have come in the first half. If Charlestown can weather the early storm, this will go down to the wire.

 

CLICK HERE for a full Round 8 preview.