Reserve Grade – Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 Newcastle Jets
The league-leading Newcastle Jets had a great chance to extend their lead atop the table, but an encounter with the ever-improving Wanderers posed a challenging prospect. Barely being given a chance to settle into the match, the red and black’s Steve Webb showed off his passing range with a length of the court ball, finding Yac in a dangerous spot. The first-year player fired the ball home for a first minute strike and the red and black had a great opportunity to chase down their rivals. A strong defence led by Webb and Jaxon Taylor, with great assistance from Julian Pereira and Jonathan Reyes kept the Jets out until halftime.
The second half was another defensive scrap for the Wanderers, tasked with denying the impressive Jake VIdakovic but the combination of passing and one on one play simply couldn’t break down the Wanderers defence. Time dwindling down saw Aseem Soti pushing higher up the court to attempt to add a different dimension to their attack, but Webb continued to pick his passes to ease the pressure and eventually the job was done. A well-earned 3 points sets up the red and black for a title charge in the second half of the season, while the Jets still have their destiny in their own hands.
Match Statistics
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Yac 1’)
Newcastle Jets 0
Premier League – Newcastle Jets 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Round 8 shaped up as a crucial encounter for both the Wanderers and top-of-the-table Newcastle Jets. A win for the red and black would bring them within a victory of the Jets, while a Newcastle result would leave them with their destiny in their own hands. And it was an aggressive start for the Jets who flew out of the blocks with Ryan Seck finding his captain, Dimitri Liolio-Davis for an early strike to give the Wanderers a mountain to climb. Both sides then took their time to settle into the match, forcing each other into periods of defence, but it was the single goal separating the two sides as the half time interval arrived.
The second half started out slowly for both sides, but you could feel the intensity ramping up as each team poked and prodded, looking for an opening. The half dwindled on and, looking for something new to spur them forwards, the red and black brought Steve Webb on from the bench, and his combination with Abdullah Karim reaped instant rewards with a levelling goal. The Jets gave the game no chance to settle as Luke David found Seck for an instant reply. The Wanderers pushed further for a second response, but an adventurous Andy Waite left Karim isolated down back, and Seck was smart enough to guide a shot next to the post, with Karim unable to do anything but turn it into his own net. The result sees the Jets surge clear once more with the season rushing towards its crescendo.
Match Statistics
Newcastle Jets 3 (Liolio-Davis 2‘, Seck 34’, Own Goal 39’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Webb 33’)
Reserve Grade –Sydney FC 2-0 Hills United
With the Newcastle Jets losing their encounter with the Wanderers, the sky blues of Sydney FC had a chance to close to within a win of the table-topping Jets. The intent was clear from the start as an eager Shannon Anlezark was probing and pressing from the centre from the moment the first whistle went. But this would not be an easy task to break down a Hills side with some reinforcements. After being away from the team, Samir Eshani came in to give Lachlan Ninham some much needed leadership and this looked to have helped as the pair were able to feed their wingers, Ollie McPhail and Prayaag Sharma from range. A composed Harry Simmons in the Sydney goal was more than ready to keep them out, but neither side did much before half time.
The second half began brightly for the sky blues, playing ball after ball into the Hills box before they struck. Finding Cody Towne on the break, Anlezark sent him forwards and towards the post. Towne ran at Eshani, forcing the keeper into a error for his first goal of the season. The goal gave the sky blues a new lease on the match, and the momentum was clearly in their favour as they thrust forwards over and over. Ninham scrambled around to keep his side somewhat in the contest, but Towne was on the spot to nab his second and seal a strong result for the sky blues. The win puts them in with a chance to challenge for the title, while Hills would need to work on their chemistry as the weeks roll on as they looked for more wins.
Match Statistics
Sydney FC 2 (Towne 28‘ 37‘)
Hills United 0
Premier League – Sydney FC 1-0 Hills United
Earlier results had the Hills United side looking to overtake the Wanderers on the table if they could snag a win over the previously winless Sydney FC, but this young side would be anything but easy to defeat. From the outset, it looked like the sky blues had more to play for, pinning the Hills side down and drawing free kicks thanks to cramping the spacing of Jacob Cross and Matt Mallows. Suffield and Turnbull in the Hills goal were unable to clear the pressure and that was all Sydney needed. From a free kick, Joshua Ryan found Daniel O’Brien who poked the ball between the stranded defence, taking an early but well deserved lead. Far from flustered, Hills launched into some offence of their own, with Suffield just grazing the post from a free kick, but Ryan and Fletcher Ball held out strongly until halftime.
The break did a lot to calm Hills down, but their structure was being broken with the sky blues players closing down the passing lanes and dribbling downfield effectively. Hills defended far more strongly as the match progressed, but Sydney were more than happy to milk the clock as Hills became more desperate. Turnbull pushed higher and higher, launching into some passing moves of his own, while the shots began to come from his teammates. Suffield fired in a shot from a rebound arranged by Cross, but Ball was determined to earn his clean sheet. Desperation led to errors from Hills and Sydney were there to capitalise by taking the sting out of the game with clever tempo management. A well worked structure and dogged defending sealed a memorable first victory of the season for the sky blues, leaving Hills disappointed at their inability to catch up to their rivals.
Match Statistics
Sydney FC 1 (O’Brien 8’)
Hills United 0