Hills United Football Club achieved their first double, with wins in both grades, while Newcastle Jets Powerchair Football Club move one game closer to the Reserve Grade title.
With Hills United still seeking their first win in the second division, an early strike to Josh Ryan, willing the ball over the line was the perfect start. But a resilient Sydney FC Powerchair Team found their feet but not an equalizer until early in the second half. A crisp passing move saw Mitch Albert put the ball between scrambling defenders. But, refusing to be denied, Ryan bullied the ball over the line once more, before a nervous last ten minutes, but the yellows held on for a hard-fought win.
Taking a leaf from their reserves’ book, Hills’ Premier League side scored in the opening minute, but it was a cagey period before a second goal late in the half, a second to Chris Suffield gave them some breathing room. Despite the sky blues’ endeavour, goals to Karim and a third for Suffield to open the second half sealed the result convincingly before Josh Ryan scored his first top division goal for the season. The result extended Hills lead to 8 points pending Newcastle’s matches later that day.
The Newcastle Jets edged yet closer to the Reserve Grade title, with their passing prowess proving too much for the red and black. Despite their control of the match, it took until the middle of the first half for Jake Vidakovic to hit the scoreboard, but a determined effort from Daniel O’Brien and Patrick Nolan meant the Jets took a single goal lead into the half. An early Ryan Seck strike, followed by Riley Brown finishing off more passes gave the Wanderers too much to do, with a Jaxon Taylor goal cutting the deficit but not enough to seal a point. The Jets can seal the title in Rd 12 if results go their way.
The Premier League encounter between the two sides saw the Jets looking to control field position with a combination of grinding and passing, pinning the Wanderers back with a team effort but unable to break through a resolute Andy Waite early. Instead, a speedy counter-attack saw Andrew Kim slide the ball between defenders from distance seconds before the half. Going behind didn’t change the Jets approach too much, but the passing increased once more. Peppering the Wanderers’ goal, eventually it was too much. James Kim bounced the ball in off the post to end another passing sequence, but the Wanderers had enough in the tank to steel themselves and lock up a point. The result closes the gap between the two to 4 points.
Round 11 Results:
Reserve Grade:
Hills United 2-1 Sydney FC
Newcastle Jets 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Premier League:
Hills United 5-0 Sydney FC
Newcastle Jets 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers