Reserve Grade – Western Sydney Wanderers 1-1 Newcastle Jets
Eager to add to a confidence-building victory in Round 4, the Western Sydney Wanderers were looking to put a winless Newcastle Jets under pressure from the first whistle. With some of their players absent, the Jets fielded a reshuffled lineup featuring Jack Bridge and Cooper Greenwood in their first matches of the season. With their opponents taking a little while to find their groove, the Wanderers started strongly with Jye Mokluk and Jaxon Taylor combining well to work the ball upfield, with Patrick Nolan repelling any Newcastle attacking forays to send his teammates on runs of their own. It wasn’t long before Taylor once again found his name on the scoresheet, coolly slotting a composed shot into the goal with moments left in the first half thanks to a pinpoint delivery from Mokluk. With the Wanderers unable to capitalise on their lead, the Jets found themselves down by a single goal at halftime.
Feeling comfortable with their lead and wanting to protect it, Mokluk retreated into the goal and Nolan came into the midfield for the red and black. Neither side could find their rhythms with the match turning into a battle of territory. With Ryan Seck controlling things from the middle, every Wanderers attack was met with a tough opponent to break down. The ball was making its way through to Mokluk more and more after each Wanderers’ attack broken down by Seck and his team mates. Looking to clear the ball upfield once more, Mokluk’s attempted pass was met by a charging Jack Bridge who fired the ball into the far corner to level the scores up. The remaining 10 minutes didn’t hold too many chances for either side, with Bridge’s debut goal enough to earn a scrappy Newcastle their first point of the season.
Match stats:
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Taylor 18‘)
Newcastle Jets 1 (Bridge 28‘)
Premier League – Newcastle Jets 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
With both sides coming off disappointing Round 4 results, the duel between the Wanderers and Jets was a chance to re-establish their seasons. It was Newcastle who started the stronger of the two sides, Ryan Seck playing pivot for Dimitri Liolio-Davis and Chris Hastas up front and launching straight into an expansive passing game. Forcing the Wanderers to turn left and right chasing their opponents, Newcastle soon found themselves in perfect position for their dangerous set-pieces fed by captain Liolio-Davis. Blasting the ball through the defence, he found Seck for a tidy finish before finding Hastas in open play for another patient finish. It looked as if Newcastle would run away with the match mid-way through the half, but finally the Wanderers found their way into the game.
Working the field position far better as time wore on, the red and black looked to make an impression. Still, Newcastle continued to work the ball calmly with even goal keeper James Kim contributing from the back. Andrew Kim of the Wanderers began to apply his trademark pressure, biding his time before pouncing on an errant pass from his brother in the Jets’ goal to claim his fourth goal of the season right before half-time to take some momentum into the second half.
Newcastle and Kim would have been disappointed in their lead being cut, but they didn’t show it with their resumption of play. A marauding run forward by the Newcastle goal keeper was the perfect start to the second half for his team, his counter-attack a fantastic launching pad for the Jets’ passing and stifling another Wanderers attempt. Finding Liolio-Davis, the captain’s combination with Hastas set the skipper up for a flashy spin from distance to retake Newcastle’s 2-goal lead.
With plenty of time remaining to mount a comeback for the red and black, the defensive combination of Seck and Kim were strong enough to repel everything the Wanderers would throw at them. With their job done, the Jets were able to run the clock down with a combination of passing and 1 on 1 play, while the Wanderers would lament their lower intensity than that of their opponents. Their first win of the season could be the start the Newcastle side need to fight back and work into the championship battle once more.
Match stats:
Newcastle Jets 3 (Seck 5‘, Hastas 11’, Liolio-Davis 22’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (A Kim 13‘)
Reserve Grade – Hills United 4-0 Sydney FC
Hills United and Sydney FC went into their Reserve Grade matchup understrength and looking to work for a result in a challenging contest. With Samir Eshani absent, Matthew Mallows would be looking to combine with Chris Holmes and Lachlan Ninham, while Sydney FC’s spark plug in Fletcher Ball was also unavailable. To make up for this, Joshua Ryan wore the goal keeper’s jersey to shore up the defence and this seemed to be the right strategy in the opening passages of play. Playing cautiously meant that Hills United found themselves under pressure, but Mallows calmly dealt with the difficult positions through a combination of clearing the ball and seeking out his team mates. Still, a composed Sydney FC defence remained impenetrable for the rest of the first half thanks to Harry Simmons working well with Ryan.
With several of the Sydney FC players also playing Premier League later on, the coaches rang the changes to manage their minutes. Daniel O’Brien and Marthy Anax came onto the court in the centre and goals respectively. Seizing their opportunities against an inexperienced defence, Mallows found a gap from s sideline hit-in to open the scoring moments into the second half. The changes meant O’Brien was made to work hard in the middle, but he was still able to work the ball wide to Cameron Moody and Riley Brown often enough. With their tails now up, Hills took advantage through a surging run from Ninham, rounding O’Brien and guiding the ball home inside the post. Putting the exclamation point on a strong effort, Holmes and Mallows added to the scoresheet to claim their fifth win in a row. Sydney FC would be looking forward to regaining reinforcements next round but made a Hills outfit filled with confidence work hard for their result.
Match stats:
Hills United 4 (Mallows 21’ 36‘, Ninham 27‘, Holmes 28‘)
Sydney FC 0
Premier League – Hills United 0-0 Sydney FC
Fresh off gaining their first points of the season, Sydney FC came into their clash with the ladder leading Hills United side full of confidence. Despite claiming the three points in their last outing with the Newcastle Jets, Hills knew they were in for a scrap against an enthusiastic opponent. Things began brightly for the team in yellow, taking the ball upfield and giving Harry Simmons some work to do with an early goal kick. Surprised to find the ball coming his way, Jacob Cross could only put his warning shot wide from the goal kick, perhaps a sign of things to come.
With Chris Suffield marshalling his troops from the goal, it was clear that Hills were determined to ensure their strong defence would keep them in the game. This would be crucial as the match wore on and the sky blues found their way into the game. Aggressively marking Abdullah Karim and more than willing to initiate contact, the Sydney FC players, especially Mitchell Albert and Daniel O’Brien were able to get under Hills’ skin and prevent their passing game from getting started. Despite this, Hills United would get a few more unsuccessful attempts from Sydney’s goal kicks but their passing just wasn’t as crisp as needed against an energetic opponent. O’Brien almost made them pay as he worked into the box, only just not managing to round a desperate Suffield and Abdullah Karim, and the team in yellow would feel fortunate not to be behind at the break.
The second half began much like the first with Hills finding themselves in strong positions early only to find their shots going wide or their passes missing the mark. The longer the match went on, the more frustrated Hills became and the more hopeful their opponents were in response. Relentless pressure was almost unable to break through a resolute Suffield, but still Sydney found their chances. The sky blues almost found themselves in front mid-way through the second half as Joshua Ryan and Albert combined to split the defence from the sideline only for O’Brien to be unable to reach the cross in time, leaving Hills’ hearts in their mouths.
With time running out, Hills brought Suffield into midfield and sent Mallows back to cover the goals. Nearing the end of the 40 minutes, the passing of the league leaders kicked into gear with a dangerous cross from Suffield just being saved before Karim could reach it, sending the team in yellow scrambling to cover a final Sydney FC counter attack. A few final set-piece chances had to be dealt with by the sky blues but the final whistle came before the mounting pressure could lead to something more. Both teams would be glad to take something from an incredibly tight contest, but the sky blues would be proud to gain their second point of the season, showing their progress week to week. Despite not taking their chances, Hills United still extended their lead on top of the table with the drawn result.
Match stats:
Hills United 0
Sydney FC 0