Newcastle Olympic coach Joel Griffiths took away plenty of positives from a frustrating 1-1 draw with defending premiers Lambton Jaffas as his new-look line-up again showed their potential.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Coming off a 3-0 win over Cooks Hill last Saturday, Olympic had the better of play against Jaffas in their NNSW NPL catch-up game on Wednesday night at Edden Oval.
However, an early penalty miss and a poor pass in defence proved costly.
Musa Kamara, one of Olympic's recent additions, was brought down close to the byline but Jared Muller's ensuing penalty shot was saved by Ben Kennedy in the 15th minute.
Two minutes later, James Virgili pounced on a sloppy pass at the back and put away his one-on-one shot to have the hosts up 1-0.
Muller cannoned a free kick into the crossbar in the 37th minute but Declan Hughes made no mistake five minutes later when the ball fell to him on the edge of the 18-yard box following another set piece.
Olympic, who added Kamara, Joey Langlois and Malik Thom to their roster in the first window for changes, rose to fifth spot, on seven points from five games.
Griffiths was frustrated with result but encouraged by the performance.
"It feels like a loss, and that's probably a good outcome," Griffiths said.
"I think we dominated most of the game, had the better chances and had a penalty saved.
"The boys played really well, they are figuring out the system we are playing and they are adapting well. There's a lot to build on."
The match was the Jaffas' fourth for the year and just their second in the past five weeks because of washouts.
Coach Shane Pryce was disappointed with the effort, which left them on seven points, just behind Olympic on goals.
"Credit to Olympic," Pryce said. "Where we're at is not where we want to be. We were good at times but terrible a lot of the time.
"But that's not taking anything away from Olympic's performance. Looking back, I wouldn't have been too upset if they won. They hit the crossbar, we saved a penalty and they probably threatened a lot more than us.
"It's probably two points dropped for them and we're disappointed we didn't perform to where we need to be at. Circumstances have contributed to that, but it was still a poor approach from our team."
Jaffas are away to Cooks Hill on Saturday and Olympic travel to Edgeworth on Sunday.
In the other catch-up game on Wednesday, Weston edged last-placed Adamstown 1-0 with a 41st minute goal from Chris Hurley.
The Bears, who rose to nine points in five games, had Jacob Zissis in goals on debut after Stuart Plant's neck injury last Friday night against Broadmeadow, which forced that game that be abandoned.
At Adamstown Oval, Hurley beat two defenders then finished his one-on-one chance after running on to a long-ball counterattack.
Both sides hit the woodwork but the Bears were able to keep Rosebud at bay. Adamstown are yet to record a point in six games this season.
"I think they were quite good Adamstown and they made it difficult for us," Weston assistant coach Anthony Richards said.
"But it was a deserved win, although they did have a couple of opportunities and one was a really good one where Jacob made a fantastic save on his starting debut. He did really well and was so confident in how he played."
Weston host unbeaten leaders Charlestown on Sunday, while Adamstown welcome Lake Macquarie on Saturday.
Also on Wednesday night, Valentine and New Lambton secured the last places in the NNSW round five of the Australia Cup.
Valentine next face Broadmeadow after downing Hamilton Azzurri 5-1 and New Lambton meet Cooks Hill after thumping Cessnock 8-0.
IN THE NEWS:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News