Newcastle Olympic beat Broadmeadow Magic to take lead in 2021 Newcastle Herald Women's Premier League round nine

Magic had the better of the attack in the opening stages of the match, which was played end to end at a frenetic pace. Their best chance came in the 28^th minute when Olympic shot-stopper Natalie Wiseman denied Lucy Jerram's close-range effort after a goalmouth scramble.

Olympic worked themselves into the game but their breakthrough did not come until the 37^th minute when striker Jemma House was felled in the box by Magic centre-back Kalista Hunter as both charged at pace for the ball.

House buried the ball into the left side of the net to give the hosts the 1-0 lead. Magic goalkeeper Alison Logue dove the right way but could not stop the shot.

Magic had an opportunity to level during first-half injury time but Olympic defender Jess Evans cleared Jerram's shot off the line to keep her side in front at the break.

The penalty was the only blemish on what was yet another goalkeeping masterclass from Logue, who produced several crucial saves in the second half to keep Magic in the match.

Broadmeadow, who went into round nine undefeated, had a chance to equalise in the dying stages when striker Ash Brodigan broke free into space but could not put her shot past an advancing Wiseman.

Coach Harmonie Attwill was thrilled with the result, which propelled Olympic two points ahead of Magic to 24, but said they needed to be better in front of goal.

"It was definitely a positive performance for us," Attwill said. "We had a pretty simple game plan. We didn't want to complicate anything too much. We felt if we could just go out and do the simple things then we could be successful.

"Obviously, Alison was probably the difference and if it was anyone else I think we probably would've won 7-0. But it's not anyone else, it's Al, and we just have to keep working on being better in terms of our finishing because if we can only score from a pen we're in trouble. So, we need to get better in that respect. But it was a solid performance across the park."

It was a similar sentiment from Magic coach Jake Curley, who will give his squad the week off before they host Charlestown on Friday night.

"I was happy with how we played in the first half," Curley said. "The second half we were chasing so we changed the shape a bit so it was a bit open ... and to be fair, because we were so open at the back because we tried to go forward, they could've scored a few more goals but Alison kept us in it."

Magic centre-back Kirstyn Antoni was forced from the field with a foot injury. Olympic midfielder Laura Hall came off with a suspected concussion after colliding heavily with Logue as they both challenged for a free kick and teammate Georgia Little also came off after a head knock.

Elodie Dagg scored four goals as Warners Bay (16 points) consolidated third place with a 5-1 win over last-placed New Lambton at Arthur Edden Oval on Sunday.

The Eagles were reduced to 10 players early in the second half after their goalscorer Brooke Miller was red-carded for handling the ball in the box. Miller was sent off only minutes after she had produced an equaliser from range. Substitute Mia Cook scored Warners Bay's other goal.

Adamstown improved to 13 points and fourth place with a 3-0 win over Mid Coast (4) in Taree on Sunday. Leia Puxty produced a match brace and Jenna Doyle also scored.

Maitland joined Charlestown on 12 points after coming from behind to win 3-1 at Cooks Square Park on Saturday. Lori Depczynski gave Azzurri a 1-0 half-time lead before Madison Gallegos, Kaitlin Radstaak and Sophie Stapleford scored.

Round nine results:

Newcastle Olympic 1 (Jemma House) beat Broadmeadow Magic 0 at Darling Street Oval on Sunday. Half-time: Olympic led 1-0.

Warners Bay 5 (Elodie Dagg 4, Mia Cook) beat New Lambton 1 (Brooke Miller) at Arthur Edden Oval on Sunday. Half-time: Warners Bay led 1-0.

Adamstown 3 (Leia Puxty 2, Jenna Doyle) beat Mid Coast 0 at Taree Zone Field on Sunday. Half-time: Adamstown led 2-0.

Maitland 3 (Madison Gallegos, Kaitlin Radstaak, Sophie Stapleford) beat Charlestown 1 (Lori Depczynski) at Cooks Square Park.

Points: Olympic 24, Magic 22, Warners Bay 16, Adamstown 13, Maitland 12, Azzurri 12, Mid Coast 4, New Lambton 0.