Reserve Grade – Newcastle Jets 0-0 Hills United
The last month had been a difficult one for the Newcastle Jets, with a confident start to the season fading and seeing them drop down to second place last round. So Round 11 gave them a chance to get things back on track behind Jake Vidakovic when they encountered a struggling Hills side. Still, Lachlan Ninham had been working hard for his side of late, making this no simple feat, and so it proved when the Jets were unable to break down their opponents. The same could be said for Hills, with Aseem Soti more than capable of keeping his side safe. Despite a few chances from Rumeth Herath, scores were level at the half.
Things didn’t change much in the second half, but it was promising to see some exciting efforts from newer athletes. Ruby McLean, coming from our Skills Acquisition Program played the entire match for the Newcastle Jets, and the improvement in her game was continual throughout. And efforts from Ollie McPhail for Hills showed that both sides have a bright future. But in this match, neither side could break through to find a goal, sharing the points in an even battle.
Premier League – Newcastle Jets 5-0 Hills United
Coming into their Round 11 match-up, Newcastle were in a strong position in the league with an 8 point gap between them and second placed Hills United. The team in yellow had been performing well against the Jets, having claimed two narrow wins in their most recent encounters and that confidence saw them begin the match with some aggression and strong passing. But the Newcastle side were able to weather the storm, surging back into the match with a powerful 10 minutes to end the half, featuring two clever goals from Chris Hastas off Jets’ set plays. The first saw him reading the defence to perfection with a nice deflected shot to the far post and out of the defence’s reach, while the second saw him thread the ball through a narrow gap between the two defenders, with only a ball’s width to aim at. The Newcastle Jets were rolling and clearly full of confidence and composure.
The second half began where the first left off, with the Jets piling on the pressure, forcing Hills to make more defensive plays and being rewarded when a Luke David strike was deflected goalward by an unlucky Matthew Mallows. Then a clever fake from Dimitri Liolio-Davis on a Ryan Seck sideline hit-in saw him leave the ball, faking out Chris Turnbull to see the ball fire inside the far post with Suffield unable to keep it out when rushing across. To put the cherry on top, David found himself open and in space late on, slamming a long shot home to complete the rout. Out to an 11 point lead now, the Jets would see themselves with a chance to seal the title in Round 12. For Hills, it was back to the drawing board after being mercilessly hammered by the Jets.
Match Statistics
Newcastle Jets 5 (Hastas 12’ 18’, Own Goal 28‘, Seck 31‘, David 39’)
Hills United 0
Reserve Grade – Sydney FC 2-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
Round 11 was a vital chance for both the Sydney rivals to make a strong challenge for the 2023 Reserve Grade title, with the sky blues looking to stretch ahead on top of the table, while the red and black were looking to close to within 3 points of the top two. Things could not have started better for the Wanderers with an early penalty shot dispatched by Steve Webb. Surging into the box, a challenge clattering against his rear wheel from Harry Simmons gave him the opportunity. And this was a lead the red and black took into half-time, having closed in on their rivals if results remained the same at the end of the match.
Starting with the same level of intensity, the Wanderers looked to pin the sky blues down, and they did earn an early goal kick from their rivals. With all the pressure on the sky blues, Harry Simmons fired a goal kick beside Shannon Anlezark who let it run past. Webb came up to clear, but a hovering Cody Towne was there to pick off his clearance and drive it home for the equaliser. Despite being against the run of play, momentum was now with Sydney FC who piled on the pressure. Leaving it until the final minute, Anlezark found Mel Marlow from a free kick, a clever deflection setting Fletcher Ball up for a well taken winner slotted inside the post. Taking a decisive lead at the final whistle, the sky blues would take a 3 point lead into the final few matches of the season. For the Wanderers, time was running out, so a win next time out would be vital for their title chances.
Match Statistics
Sydney FC 2 (Towne 25’, Ball 39’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Webb 9‘)
Premier League – Sydney FC 0-0 Western Sydney Wanderers
Both Sydney rivals were coming off difficult matches last time out, having been thoroughly outclassed by their opponents, so the focus for Round 11 would surely be on their defensive efforts and structures. The Sydney players were looking to work the ball upfield through one on one battles, and Joshua Ryan found himself up against an Abdullah Karim looking to break from the battles and pass to Ben Keyte and Jordan Crane. This added a little more pressure, resulting in Keyte firing a shot to the far post, easily gathered by Fletcher Ball but signalling their intent. Credit had to go to the sky blues who defended the ensuing corner and, after a few minutes of concerted effort and pressure, they earned a corner of their own. Shannon Anlezark found Ryan at the near post, his shot almost squeezing between Andy Waite and the post, but somehow scores remained level. For a moment it looked like Sydney had the upper hand, before the red and black had the final few minutes of the first half where they wanted the ball, but just couldn’t break down the stubborn combination of Ryan and Ball in the sky blue goal despite some nervous moments.
The second half saw the introduction of Steve Webb, and this helped to give the Wanderers some more intent on the offensive side of the ball. Still, the second half meandered about as the ball battled from end to end with little impact. The most exciting moment of the second half came late, as Webb battled into the box, but the ball refused to roll and a set ball was the outcome. A late effort struck the post for Daniel O’Brien, but neither side could quite find the final opening. A point would do little for the Wanderers title hopes, but a point each was a fair outcome in the end.