Maitland coach Keelan Hamilton was wary of a wounded Charlestown as they prepared to vie for important competition points in Newcastle Herald Women's Premier League at Lisle Carr Oval on Saturday.
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Hamilton expected Azzurri to be smarting after they missed their opportunity to join the fourth-placed Magpies on 21 points midweek.
Charlestown twice led before losing to last-placed New Lambton in a rescheduled match on Wednesday night. It left Azzurri sixth on 18 points with six rounds of the season proper remaining.
"I think they're going to be pretty determined to get some redemption there," Hamilton said.
"They would've been disappointed with the result, so there will be that little bit of desperation in terms of staying in touch with the top four and that little bit of motivation from coming off a loss that they wouldn't have wanted to have.
"They've also got some good, experienced players and some good young players that we have to be aware of as well. Jess Gentle has obviously been in decent form in recent weeks and Lori [Depczynski] is a clear focus for them. She scored a really good goal against us in the last fixture. But they've got some other good players in other parts of the pitch as well."
The sides have won one each in two encounters this year. Azzurri were 3-2 winners in round two and Maitland 3-1 in round nine.
Azzurri coach Niko Papaspiropoulos said his side paid the price for being "wasteful in front of goal" against the Eagles.
"We had enough chances to win the game," Papaspiropoulos said. "We weren't as composed as we have been for the past few weeks and it hurt us.
"It makes our job a little bit harder but at the same time it's still in our hands if we win our games. It will be a tough game where it comes down to who wants it more on the day and who's probably a little bit better prepared mentally."
The match kicks off at 3.40pm.
Third-placed Adamstown (22) host Mid Coast (4) at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility at 7pm on Saturday night.
Warners Bay (19) are at home to New Lambton (3) at John Street Oval on Sunday at 3.40pm.
Broadmeadow played Olympic on Friday night.
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Renee Valentine
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
