Broadmeadow snatched a late victory, Adamstown matched the might of Merewether and a Jemma House hat-trick propelled Newcastle Olympic into second spot as Herald Women's Premier League restarted on Sunday.
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A youthful Adamstown opened the season with back-to-back wins, including the scalp of defending champions New Lambton, to lead the competition before play was suspended in March due to the coronavirus crisis.
When play returned on Sunday, Rosebud picked up where they left off and showed they would be finals contenders in a 0-0 with United at Adamstown Oval in a game which could have gone either way.
While Rosebud held the ball well and stuck their passes better, Merewether, who have played in four of the past five grand finals and won three, produced more clear-cut chances on goal without managing to put any away.
Lori Depczynski and Rhali Dobson both hit the woodwork in the first half for United and Katy Gray had a point-blank shot saved by Adamstown goalkeeper Olivia Sneddon then another shot on goal cleared off the goal line.
Rosebud moved to seven points atop the competition standings and coach Ryan Campbell said the performance was a boost as they prepared to face Olympic next round.
"It was a tough game," Campbell said. "I challenged the girls to go into the game thinking we should win rather than, can we compete with them, and I thought they did really well.
"If you had have asked me would I take a point before the season started, I would've taken a point at this stage. But the biggest thing for the girls is that they're all disappointed that we didn't win. Before we would've just been happy that we got a draw with Merewether whereas now they're all annoyed that we didn't win the game. They actually believe that they're a good team and they believe they can do well.
"It's another tough game next week but the girls will go into it confident because they've competed well this week."
Merewether moved to five points but dropped to third after Olympic seized second spot with a 4-0 win over Warners Bay at John Street Oval.
House scored a brace in the first half then completed her treble with a spot kick in the second half before substitute Georgia Amess completed the rout.
Warners Bay's new signing Jen Hoy, who has made over 100 appearances in the National Women's Soccer League in the United States, was still awaiting an international clearance and did not play.
Magic came from behind to beat New Lambton 2-1 at Magic Park and keep the defending champions winless.
The Eagles took an early lead through striker Taylah Bryde, who scored inside the first 10 minutes from around 25 metres out.
Chelsea Lucas produced the equaliser midway through the half for Magic and the scores remained locked until the 88th minute when Maddie Dean produced the late winner from close range off a corner. It was Magic's first outing of the season after their first two matches were postponed.
New Lambton coach Brad Jones felt they created plenty of chances without reward.
"The reality is on a different day we could've scored five, so the finishing needed to be a bit more clinical," Jones said.
"But the heart and the desire and how we tried to continually play was fantastic. Everybody is saying that these girls are done and dusted but they're far from that."
Courtney Anderson led Mid Coast to their first win of the season with a four-goal haul in their 5-2 win over Thornton in Taree. Mid Coast led 3-0 at the break.
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Round 3 results:
Adamstown 0 drew with Merewether 0 at Adamstown Oval. Half-time: 0-0.
Newcastle Olympic 4 (Jemma House 3, Georgia Amess) defeated Warners Bay 0 at John Street Oval. Half-time: Olympic led 2-0.
Broadmeadow Magic 2 (Chelsea Lucas, Maddie Dean) beat New Lambton 1 (Taylah Bryde) at Magic Park. Half-time: 1-1.
Mid Coast 5 (Courtney Anderson 4, Chelsea Hall) defeated Thornton 2 (Ainsley Childs, Susan Randall) at Taree Zone Field. Half-time: Mid Coast led 3-0.
Points:
Adamstown 7, Olympic 6, Merewether 5, Broadmeadow 3, Warners Bay 3, Mid Coast 3, New Lambton 1, Thornton 0.