The battle for runners-up in reserve grade continued to heat up, with one win and a few goals separating 2nd from 4th, while the Newcastle Jets Powerchair Football Club kept the pressure on Hills United Football Club with another convincing victory.
Fresh off winning their title, the Newcastle Jets reserves found themselves in an arm-wrestle with a confident Sydney FC Powerchair Team. Determined to hold onto a clean sheet, Harry Simmons was forced to make some critical saves for the sky blues, eventually giving his team a chance to strike. In the final minute, Mitch Albert found the winning goal, ruining the Jets’ celebrations.
But the Jets would not be denied in the Premier League, with some early passing leading to a quick fire Ryan Seck double in the first 10 minutes, set up by an incisive Chris Hastas. An adventurous run from keeper James Kim with the aid of a rebound from a defender resulted in a clever near post finish. The passing didn’t stop after half time, with Hastas repaid for his hard work earlier, with Jake Vidakovic finding him with a cross for a confident spin kick goal. Captain Dimitri Liolio-Davis had a chance to go forward late on, finishing off a multi-pass move with a tap-in, doubling it up with a spectacular reversing solo spin kick to put the exclamation mark on a dominant performance.
Coming off back to back wins, Hills United reserves were looking for a third to continue their late season resurgence. Getting the best possible start, Hills hit the scoresheet in the opening minute through Josh Ryan, keeping the Wanderers stuck in their defensive end. Chris Holmes then pounced on a goal kick, giving Hills an early 2-0 lead which they took into halftime. A solo Daniel O’Brien strike from a defensive mix-up opened the second half instantly, putting the pressure back on the team in yellow. Composing themselves against the mounting pressure of a desperate red and black, but Samir Eshani put the game to bed with a calm finish from a Ryan corner, keeping the team in second place in reserve grade via goal difference.
Knowing they had to win to keep their distance over the Jets, the Hills premier league side copied their opponents with two early goals. A rapid counter-attack started by goal keeper Chris Turnbull resulted in a Jacob Cross goal via an Abdullah Karim cross, before Chris Suffield found Karim for a sneaky close finish after a corner. But the Wanderers responded by weathering the storm and working to counter the passes of their opponents. Andy Waite and Andrew Kim held Hills at bay, and with time running down, Daniel O’Brien calmly slotted a far-post goal from a well struck corner. A frantic finish followed, but the Wanderers ran out of time to find an equaliser. The result sees Hills needing one more win to seal the title over their rivals.
Round 13 Results:
Reserve Grade:
Sydney FC 1-0 Newcastle Jets
Hills United 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Premier League:
Newcastle Jets 6-0 Sydney FC
Hills United 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers