NSWPFA Powerchair League Recap – Round 7 and 8, 2023
Rd 7 – Reserve Grade – Hills United 0-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
A return to action for the NSWPFA Reserve Grade competition saw a chance for points for two teams who struggled to make an impact in the early stages of the season. The Wanderers fielded a strong side including the likes of Steve Webb and Jaxon Taylor, while the Hills United gameplan revolved around the young but promising Lachlan Ninham. The red and black were stronger out of the blocks with Webb looking to set up Jonathan Reyes down the wing, with sweeping passes across the field to Julian Pereira causing some panicked looks from the Hills defenders. But a battling Ninham was able to pick off the more errant passes and turn them into chances to clear the ball upfield for Ollie McPhail to guide towards goal.
Neither side could trouble the scorers for the entire match, with the second half seeing Ninham absorbing the pressure subjected to him by the Wanderers. While Webb’s passing was crisp, his team mates weren’t able to find that more clinical placement needed to break down some dogged defensive efforts. Hills would be pleased with a fighting point, but the Wanderers would have been disappointed not to make their domination of the match turn into more points.
Rd 7 – Premier League – Hills United 0-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
Fresh off their APFA Club Championship title, Hills United were looking to re-enter the race for the NSWPFA title with a strong performance against the Wanderers. The red and black fought to the semi finals at the championship and the confidence this bred led to a strong start to the match. It appeared that the Hills side was experiencing a bit of a hangover from their championship, camped down in their defensive end under a barrage of Wanderers efforts orchestrated by Abdullah Karim. Shots from Jordan Crane and Ben Keyte kept Chris Turnbull and Chris Suffield busy between the posts, but the duo held out calmly until the halftime interval.
The second half saw Hills looking to be more aggressive with their passing, but Suffield wasn’t able to generate much pace with his passing. The red and black kept power away from him by directing their passes wide across the pitch, stretching their opponents, but still the Hills United defence held firm. It took most of the match, but the Wanderers were forced to defend for the final few minutes. Hills finally took some shots, but the best they could do was give the Wanderers another goal kick. Points shared, both teams would have been disappointed with their efforts in front of goal, but would be glad to pick up a point.
Rd 7 – Reserve Grade – Newcastle Jets 1-0 Sydney FC
Returning from the mid-season break, the sky blues of Sydney FC were looking to continue cutting into the Newcastle Jets lead on top of the table, having closed to within 3 points. Fresh off a promising campaign for the Jets at the APFA Club Championships, Jake Vidakovic was looking to put in another controlled performance, and this went to script as he was able to combine well with Aseem Soti to nullify the Sydney attackers.
The midfield battle was even until the halftime break, but Vidakovic worked to gain an edge early in the second half. Finally taking his chance, Vidakovic worked into the Sydney box efficiently, working the ball over the line to give his side the lead. Comfortable with their lead, the Jets were able to close the game down, limiting the Sydney chances. Extending their lead back to 6 points, this was a strong result for Newcastle’s championship credentials.
Match Statistics
Newcastle Jets 1 (Vidakovic 28’)
Sydney FC 0
Rd 7 – Premier League – Newcastle Jets 3-1 Sydney FC
A difficult APFA Club Championship campaign for the Newcastle Jets saw them without captain Dimitri Liolio-Davis and goal keeper James Kim for the second half of the tournament, so Liolio-Davis’ return was a welcome reinforcement for their return to league action. Jake Vidakovic remained in their side as the Jets took an early lead against Sydney FC through the ever reliable Chris Hastas in the opening moments of the match. The sky blues worked hard to regain some control of the match and looked to be back in the contest before Ryan Seck found Vidakovic twice in the space of 2 minutes, and suddenly the Jets had a 3-0 lead before the break.
Sydney FC coach Jason Ryan reassured his troops at the break, giving them the goal of winning the second half. The sting was out of the game as the minutes wore on, but now the sky blues were evening the proceedings up in midfield and applying pressure. And with 10 minutes gone, Joshua Ryan fired in an impressive strike to hit the scoreboard, a deserved reward for their efforts. Still, the Newcastle Jets would return to league action extending their lead on top of the table.
Match Statistics
Newcastle Jets 3 (Hastas 2‘, Vidakovic 14’ 15’)
Sydney FC 1 (Ryan 30’)
Rd 8 – Reserve Grade – Western Sydney Wanderers 1-1 Sydney FC
Both the Sydney rivals were looking to chase down the ladder-leading Newcastle Jets, but after being evenly matched for the majority of the season it would take a considerable effort to take the three points from this derby. Starting out strong was a key goal and it was the red and black who made the early impact on the scoreboard. Steve Webb had been displaying some excellent delivery over the previous rounds without reward, but this time he served the ball on a platter for Jonathan Reyes to score his debut goal for the club. Taking the narrow lead into halftime was a positive outcome for the Wanderers, giving them a sniff of taking home the three points.
As they have shown all season in the Reserve Grade competition, the Sydney FC side have been eager to respond anytime they go behind. This was once again the case with Mitchell Albert hitting the scoreboard in the opening stages of the second half. With such an early goal, both sides had plenty of time to work towards a winning goal, but as time rolled on, both rivals focused their energies on securing an important point. The scores remained tied with both teams taking some positives leading into the second half of the season.
Match Statistics
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Reyes 8‘)
Sydney FC 1 (Albert 23‘)
Rd 8 – Premier League – Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 Sydney FC
While being difficult for teams to break down, the Sydney FC Premier League side have struggled in the opening stages of matches this season. The Wanderers had taken advantage of this earlier in the season and looked to do the same this time around. It was instant pressure from the red and black from the outset, forcing the sky blues into an early defensive error resulting in an unfortunate own goal. Still, going behind so early gave the Sydney team a chance to build into the half and they were able to prevent any further deficit leading into the halftime interval. The coaches would have been hoping that reminding their players of their roles would prevent any early errors.
Unfortunately for the sky blues, the red and black weren’t going to allow them time to settle, and this was quickly evident when a dangerous ball fired into the box wasn’t dealt with. The Sydney defenders weren’t able to clear the threat and the ball once again ended up in their own goal moments into the second half. With the damage done, the Wanderers looked to win the territory battle to hold on, and despite the best efforts from the sky blues, the red and black would seal a derby victory. The result would help them chase down the Newcastle Jets after closing in to within 3 points pending the later match for their rivals.
Match Statistics
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Own goal 5’ 21’)
Sydney FC 0
Rd 8 – Reserve Grade – Hills United 0-0 Newcastle Jets
The Newcastle Jets and Hills United had been in the midst of contrasting seasons in the Reserve Grade competition, with the Jets flying high and the Hills struggling with consistency in the absence of several players. So it was a confident Newcastle looking to secure full points against an inexperienced team, but as had been shown recently, Lachlan Ninham was a difficult player to come up against. The core of Vidakovic, Herath and Soti was a threatening trio for any side to face, but their passes weren’t quite coming off as effectively as hoped early on so it took some time for a threat to form. On the other side, the Hills side looked to work the ball long to Ollie McPhail, but his strikes didn’t trouble Soti as much as hoped before the interval.
Heading into the second half, neither side was pleased with their first half efforts, and it was the Jets who worked harder early on. The Hills side found their spacing wasn’t working out, being lured into several 2 on 1 free kicks. Still, with the ball being forced out wide, Newcastle couldn’t find their targets initially, but eventually they were able to work into their triangle formation and put Ninham under more pressure. The most dangerous moment came late when a crisp flurry of passes led to a hard spin shot from Vidakovic that sailed just wide of the post. Scores level at full time, it was an encounter where neither side took full advantage so a point was a fair outcome for each side.
Rd 8 – Premier League – Hills United 1-0 Newcastle Jets
The Newcastle Jets and Hills United had formed quite a rivalry over the past few seasons, with both sides trading victories in the league while also sharing the points in their APFA Club Championship encounter, so this was set to be a tight battle. The two contrasting styles of the sides were on clear display with the Newcastle side working the ball around the Hills defence with direct and rapid passing from both general play and sideline plays straight from the training ground, while the yellow team absorbed pressure and relied on their defence before launching on the occasional counter attack. Newcastle looked to be just missing their cutting edge, their final passes setting up for shots but the strikers not able to quite connect with the ball, but it was only inches away from making their opponents sweat. Completely against the run of play, Hills surged forwards to win a corner. With almost their first chance of the match, Jacob Cross fired a pass into the box for Chris Suffield to cleverly nudge between the defence of Ryan Seck and Luke David at the near post.
With such a narrow lead heading into halftime, the pressure continued to mount for both sides. Once more it was an impressive passing display from the Jets, with David coming up to combine with Seck, Chris Hastas and Dimitri Liolio-Davis to really stretch the Hills defenders. The tensions were high, with both benches groans of disappointment clear each time their sides weren’t rewarded by the referees. Getting more and more desperate, the Jets still couldn’t break the Hills wall of defence, in turn facing more pressure of their own as the Hills side surged forward on the counter attack. In the end, Hills claimed the three points against the run of play, with the Newcastle side unlucky not to have their continual pressure through the match rewarded. The result brings the top 3 to within 5 points of each other as we enter the second half of the season.
Match Statistics
Hills United 1 (Suffield 17‘)
Newcastle Jets 0