NEWFM Northern League One Round 11 Preview

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Wallsend FC (7th) vs. New Lambton FC (11th)
Sunday 27th May, 2:30 pm, The Gardens 

After starting the season six games undefeated, Wallsend has now lost their last three and have tumbled out of the top four and into seventh.

New Lambton on the other hand, sit on the bottom of the table once again. However, since the induction of new coach Jim Foley, the Eagles have started to show some signs of the potential that their young team acquires, having only lost once in their past five games.

For New Lambton to win though, they’ll need to shut down Wallsend’s threatening attack, just as their last few oppositions have done.

In the first six weeks of the competition, Wallsend was averaging just under three goals a game, but in their past three losses, have averaged less than one goal.

When these two teams faced off last season, both sides collected a home victory so look for this game to yet again be another close one.

Herald Women’s Premier League Round 12 Preview

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football.

Match of the Round
Warners Bay v Wallsend
Sunday 27th May, 2:30 pm
John Street Oval

Last start: Warners Bay beat Thornton 9-0, Wallsend lost 2-0 to Adamstown 

Position on ladder: Warners Bay 1st, 25 points; Wallsend 4th, 13 points 

Squad news
Nadja Squires and Maddi Latter return for Warners Bay to field a full-strength team. Sass Seaborn has moved to South Wallsend and Laura Hall, Georgia Minors and Rosie O’Connor will be given until Friday to prove their match fitness.

What the coaches say
Warners Bay player-coach Cass Davis wants to finish off Round two strong.

“Last time we played Wallsend, they threw everything at us,” Davis said.

“We lacked intensity which we have spoken about and did really well on Sunday.

“We know Wallsend will come out firing so we need to be ready from the start.”

Wallsend coach Marc Hingston says he is expecting another great game of football.

“We have a few injuries at the moment but we have plenty of depth and culture that money can’t buy,” Hingston said.

“We are quietly confident we can be successful on Sunday but also appreciate that Warners Bay are playing well.”

Bottom line
History hasn’t been kind to Wallsend, with their last victory over Warners Bay back in Round 9, 2015. Sass Seaborn is a big loss for the Devil’s but their young guns will have no trouble filling the void. The visitors have the chance to extend their top four lead and will be out with a point to prove. On the opposing side, Warners Bay have the front-runner for the Golden Boot, Jenna Kingsley, leading the charge up front. Kingsley is dangerous and with Tara Pender and Sophie Stapleford assisting, they are a force to be reckoned with. The Bay is coming off a big win over Thornton and will be looking for another scalp on Sunday. A victory is a big ask for Wallsend but they can beat any team on their day which makes for an exciting match.

NEWFM Northern League One Round 10 Review

Story courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Match of the Round

Cooks Hill United 4 (Lee Ashton x3, Nick Russell) def. Wallsend FC 1 (Sam Bradshaw)

Saturday 19th May, 2:30 pm, Newcastle Athletics Field

Cooks Hill successfully carved their authority on the competition following a dominant victory over Wallsend and in the process, retained their position at the top of the table.

The odds were always stacked against the Red Devils with injuries to key attacking men Ty Goldsmith and Travas McCabe but despite that, it would be the away side who took the early advantage through Sam Bradshaw who made it 1-0 and netted his sixth of the year so far.

Their shock lead didn’t last long though after Wallsend’s Tom Adams was deemed to have made a foul in the box leading to a penalty kick that was coolly slotted away by Nick Russell to equalise the score.

With only ten minutes remaining in the first half, Cooks Hill made their possession and control of the game finally count as Lee Ashton converted a brilliant solo effort with a stunning finish after beating the Wallsend defence with ease.

Just moments after scoring his first though, he would double his tally for the match after a deflected shot dribbled across the line to double Cooks Hill’s lead as they headed into the half-time break.

The second half saw both sides tussle in gaining control throughout the middle of the park but resulted in neither team being able to create any clear-cut chances.

That was until a Wallsend defensive error would be pounced upon by Ashton once again who made no mistakes in front of goal to complete a terrific hat-trick and seal Cooks Hill’s tenth straight league win at the AthField and Wallsend’s third straight loss.

Wallsend coach Ben Edwards stated he didn’t believe that the score wasn’t a true indication of how well his team performed.

“My thought on the result was that it didn’t reflect how we played,” Edwards said.

“The 4-1 score-line shows Cooks Hill dominated us, but if you were there watching, I think you’d see we had it on them in points of the game.

“We matched it with them big time. We went 1-0 up, and then to have a penalty, that a lot of people are confused about, go against us, it deflated the boys.

“2-1 probably would have been a fair result of the game…I felt we did a lot better than the score-line shows.”

Cooks Hill coach Graham Law displayed his happiness for the way his team played but also praised Wallsend for their performance without their star players.

“I was again very happy with how we controlled the game,” said Law.

“It was enjoyable to play a team that try to play football and when they [Wallsend] get their key players back, they will threaten the top four.”

Herald Women’s Premier League Round 11 Review

Story courtesy of Northern NSW Football, photo courtesy of Dave Quick.

Adamstown 2 (Lauren Allan, Elodie Dagg) defeated Wallsend 0 at The Gardens on Sunday.

Half-time: Adamstown led 2-0.

Adamstown scored the bragging rights this time with their third win of the season, defeating a disappointed Wallsend side 2-0.

Wallsend had a tough time with injuries, losing Laura Hall, Georgia Minors and Jess Evans before full time.

Returning strike weapon Lauren Allan wasted no time finding the back of the net, scoring in the 38th minute and creating plenty of headaches for Wallsend’s defence.

Four minutes later, Elodie Dagg capitalised on a mistake from Devil’s defender Brooke Summers and struck from the top of the 18-yard box to score.

In the second half, it was to and fro with both sides having chances but unable to execute.

Adamstown’s usual brick wall defence was exceptional and fill in goalkeeper Natalie Wiseman put in a superb performance to earn Buds player of the match.

Adamstown coach Paul Devitis said the overall work ethic of his side was near perfect.

“Our defence was probably the biggest winning factor,” Devitis said.

“We didn’t give them a sniff of creating anything in the second half and our defence was compact.

“We managed to create many ‘two on one’ defensive tackles and it was the first time we have put in a 90 minute performance.”

“The girls have played some great football and have battled so hard for no reward, but today they earned their reward.”

Wallsend coach Marc Hingston described the match as “one of those days where nothing went right.”

“We had a lot of positional changes due to injuries which meant a below-par performance,” Hingston said.

“Credit to Adamstown who were more desperate but we’ve put a line through today and moved on.”

U20’s, 17’s, 14’s Results:

20s: Wallsend 3 beat Adamstown 2.

17s: Wallsend 5 beat Adamstown 2.

14s: Wallsend 2 drew Adamstown 2.

NEWFM Northern League One Round 10 Preview

Story courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Match of the Round
Cooks Hill United (1st) vs. Wallsend FC (5th)
Saturday 19th May, 2:30 pm, Newcastle Athletics Field

With coach Graham Law’s return to Cooks Hill last weekend, the league leaders proved once again why they’re the team to beat and this Saturday they come up against a Wallsend side that’s only won one game from their past five outings.

This match will mark Cooks Hill’s seventh match at home at the AthField, and the Cookers are yet to even drop a point whilst playing there, however, the Red Devils have already shown this year that their attack can be deadly when it’s firing.

That may be difficult for Wallsend though, following injuries to Ty Goldsmith, Matt Williams and Travas McCabe who collectively have scored 10 of the team’s 17 goals this season as they play a team who have only conceded two goals this season at the Newcastle Athletics Field.

Wallsend coach Ben Edwards suggested that although his injured players are still not officially ruled out of this weekend’s clash, the next few weeks’ focus will be on younger reserve players stepping up to replace their hurt stars in order to scrape out results.

“I won’t risk them at this part of the season – We’ve still got a long time to go so I’d prefer saving them for the second half of the season,” Edwards stated.

“Hopefully some of the young blokes put up a performance that stands up and shows that they want to be in first grade and then we’ll try and reset when they [the injured players] start coming back.”

When asked of the impact Law’s return will have on Cooks Hill, Edwards joked saying, “I was hoping we had them when he was away” and confessed that he was ready for one of their toughest games of the year.

“I’m expecting them to be quality as always.

“They’re a team that when they get a chance, they take it.

“Hopefully we can outwork them in the midfield and put the pressure to stop that ball getting to their attack up front.”

Herald Women’s Premier League Round 11 Preview

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Adamstown v Wallsend

Sunday 20th May, 2:30 pm

The Gardens

Last start: Adamstown lost 4-2 to Warners Bay, Wallsend lost 3-0 to Merewether

Position on ladder: Wallsend 4th, 13 points; Adamstown 6th, 7 points

Squad news

Adamstown has been dealt a cruel blow with keeper Olivia Sneddon out for the next 4-6 weeks due to a tear in her PCL. U20’s keeper Natalie Wiseman will join first grade and strike weapon Lauren Allan returns from the United States. There are no changes to Wallsend.

What the coaches say

Adamstown coach Paul Devitis is hoping there will be more effort from his side on Sunday.

“We will be looking to put in a strong performance and get a positive result,” Devitis said.

“Both clubs try to play a good brand of football so it should be a good spectacle.

“This weekend’s game against Wallsend is huge for us and the girls are up for the challenge.”

Wallsend coach Marc Hingston says he has been impressed with the standard of football his side has shown in the last two weeks.

“We have spent time with our attacking players this week to work on technique in front of goal,” Hingston said.

“The girls were hitting the target constantly and their confidence is starting to grow.

“Our stat of 46 shots in two games for four goals doesn’t read well but it says a lot about creating so many chances.

“Hopefully with a focus on finishing this week we can get a reward for playing well.”

Bottom line

Wallsend escaped with bragging rights over Adamstown back in Round four but it may not be smooth sailing this weekend. Adamstown has had terrible luck with injuries so far and the loss of Olivia Sneddon will hurt their defence massively. There is nobody more capable of filling the void than Natalie Wiseman and excitement is building for her performance on Sunday. The welcomed return of Lauren Allan from America is a huge bonus for the side as she scored 16 goals in eight matches last season for the Buds. Wallsend boasts quality across the park and has shown in the past they have the ability to compete with the best. It’s an exciting matchup that could go either way and executing opportunities will be the deciding factor.

Herald Women’s Premier League Round 10 Review

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Match of the Round
Merewether 3 (Rhali Dobson 2, Jamee Ellis) defeated Wallsend 0 at Wallsend Park on Sunday. Half-time: Merewether led 2-0.

There was no shortage of action at Wallsend Park as Merewether continued their winning streak with a grinding 3-0 win over Wallsend on Sunday afternoon.

It didn’t take long for the visitors to get on the board with Jamee Ellis scoring from an absolute thunderbolt free-kick in the 16th minute.

Merewether shot-stopper Alison Logue had potentially her best game of the season and even managed an assist after Rhali Dobson ran onto her full field goal kick and chipped Devil’s keeper Danielle Redding to score just before half-time.

Wallsend’s failure to score wasn’t from a lack of trying with Libby Copus-Brown and Sass Seaborn both unlucky not to put one in the back of the net.

The visitors were able to put the game to bed in the dying stages of the game after Rhali Dobson drew the keeper out and slotted one in behind her.

Wallsend coach Marc Hingston said it was one of his side’s best performances all year.

“We had 19 shots on target and played a standard of football so high that any coach would be proud,” Hingston said.

“Our effort was enormous and we dominated for the most part but conceded three goals against the run of play.

“It was heartbreaking to watch as we deserved more but our football and effort was outstanding.”

Merewether coach Cass Koppen thought her side played below their capability.

“We didn’t concede and we battled hard to grind out the win,” Koppen said.

“There has been an inconsistency with player availability this season which has been difficult.

“We faced a much stronger Wallsend side than in Round one and full credit to them.”

NEWFM Northern League One Round 9 Review

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Match of the Round
Wallsend FC 1 (Sam Bradshaw) def. by Thornton Redbacks FC 6 (Jake Millstead x2, Jye MacKellar, Tallan Martin, Patrick Wand, Trent Partridge)
Sunday 13th May, 2:30 pm, The Gardens

After both teams lost their first game of the season last weekend, it was the Redbacks who bounced back in style defeating the Red Devils with a dominant, high-scoring performance to evict Wallsend to outside the top four.

Although defensively is where Thornton has excelled this season, it was their attacking powers that were on show early as Jye MacKellar and Tallan Martin scored in prompt fashion for the visitors to give them a first-half lead.

Matters only worsened for the home side too as key men Ty Goldsmith, Matt Williams and Travas McCabe all needed to be substituted due to injuries, leaving Wallsend without any replacements for the remainder of the match.

Just minutes before halftime though, Wallsend created a glimmer of hope after being awarded a penalty that was calmly slotted away by Sam Bradshaw.

Thornton came out firing in the second half though and Patrick Wand doubled Thornton’s lead after scoring an incredible free kick that landed squarely in the top right corner.

Despite being beaten multiple times already in the match, Wallsend’s goalkeeper Joel Magnee showed his class making some great saves to keep Thornton at bay, but the Redbacks would be too hard to stop, and two goals to Jake Millstead and an impressive strike from Trent Partridge would seal a decisive victory and deal Wallsend their first back-to-back loss this season.

Thornton’s coach Gary Wand said the result and performance was the perfect reply to losing their first match last weekend and praised his side for their ability to adapt to changes.

“You can’t for any more than what happened today,” Wand said.

“We changed a few things going forward, but we just had to play like a team that’s one of the best sides in the comp, which we did.”

“When you win 6-1, you haven’t really got a bad player.”

NEWFM Northern League One Round 9 Preview

Story and photo courtesy of Northern NSW Football

Match of the Round
Wallsend FC (5th) vs. Thornton Redbacks FC (4th)
Sunday 13th May, 2:30 pm, The Gardens 

One week ago, this would have been a mouth-watering clash between two undefeated sides, however after both teams had their unbeaten streaks ruined last weekend, this fixture between Thornton and Wallsend will be about returning to the winners’ circle and safely back inside the top four.

Although last week marked the Redbacks first loss of the year, they’re still chasing their first victory away from home despite only conceding one goal on the road and only six in total.

Wallsend on the other hand, haven’t lost a game at The Gardens so far this year, and as they now sit outside the top four for the first time this season, they’ll be looking to solidify their home ground as a fortress.

Wallsend’s coach Ben Edwards, affirmed his confidence in his team returning to winning ways but admitted he was expecting a tough battle against the Redbacks.

“We’ll bounce back,” Edwards said.

“We’re trying to make our home ground a fortress and make it a hard place for other teams to visit – not just because of the surface.”

“I’m expecting them [Thornton] to come out hard to try and get back on their winning streak, as we will be as well.”

Edwards also suggested that despite being held scoreless for the first time last weekend, that he wasn’t worried for his forwards and expected them to return to their attacking potential this weekend.

“It had to come eventually, so I’m glad we got it out of the way now instead of at the end of the season.”

“It’s just something the boys have to learn from.”