Charlestown will be sweating on a scan on skipper Nigel Boogaard's knee after he limped off in a 2-1 win over Newcastle Olympic which kept a rampant Maitland at bay for another week in the NPL men's premiership race.
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Boogaard twisted his right knee in the 53rd minute of Saturday's round 19 match at Lisle Carr Oval and left the ground unassisted with Azzurri up 1-0.
Coach James Pascoe said initial fears were Boogaard had a medial ligament strain or tear but scans in the next two days would reveal the damage.
Boogaard will almost certainly miss next Saturday's clash with third-placed Lambton Jaffas, after which Azzurri have a 17-day break before meeting Broadmeadow in the penultimate round.
Saturday's win moved Charlestown to 41 points, still two ahead of Maitland, with three rounds to go.
Azzurri led in the 16th minute when Regan Lundy raced onto a poor touch at the back to score. Charlestown then missed a chance in the 24th when Miguel Angel Fernandez Herrera sprayed his penalty over the crossbar.
The hosts then gained breathing room when Kyle Munns chipped keeper Isaac Quinn after a mistake at the back in the 78th minute. Archie Finn gave Olympic hope with a goal in the 87th, but Azzurri scrambled late to deny them. The loss left Olympic on 27 points, six off the top five.
All round 19 games were on Saturday.
Adamstown dealt another blow to Weston's trophy hopes with a second 2-2 draw against them this season. A double to Dino Fajkovic late in the first half gave Adamstown a 2-1 lead at Weston Park before Ben Clouten's header from an Aaron Niyonkuru cross levelled the contest in the 68th minute. Niyonkuru had the Bears in front in the 19th.
The result was another setback for Weston, who have earned just two points from their past four games to sit fifth on 33.
The loss also limited the damage for Edgeworth after their 4-0 defeat at Maitland. Edgeworth, now two points behind Weston in sixth, were down to 10 men in first-half stoppage time when keeper Shane Van As was given a red card for handling a chipped shot from Braedyn Crowley just outside the 18-yard box.
Crowley, who finished with a hat-trick, had put Maitland up in the 19th minute with a back-post header. Crowley then scored inside the first minute of the second half. He laid off for James Thompson to make it 3-0 in the 56th before scoring himself again in the 85th. The win was a 10th straight for Maitland.
Fourth-placed Broadmeadow rose to 36 points with a 6-1 win over a 10-man Lake Macquarie on the road.
Riley Tydd copped a second booking on 72 minutes with Magic up 3-1. Riley Smith and Sam Donnellan scored twice, while Bailey Wells and James Cresnar got Broadmeadow's other goals. Josh Maguire scored from the spot for last-placed Lakes on 36 minutes.
Jaffas came from a goal down to beat Valentine 2-1 at Hunter Sports Centre and move to 37 points. Carl Thornton's strike put the hosts up in the 23rd minute, but a header from Kale Bradbery (58th) and shot from Bailey Newton (82nd) got Jaffas home.
In the other game, Cooks Hill scored three late goals to down second-last New Lambton 4-3 at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field and make it four wins in a row.
Carter Smith scored the 90th minute winner to cap a double. Cooks Hill moved to 25 points, with a game in hand against Rosebud.
In the women's NPL, Olympic thumped Mid Coast 7-0 and Broadmeadow beat Adamstown 4-1 on Saturday in round 17.
On Sunday, Maitland beat New Lambton 5-1 and Azzurri downed Warners Bay 7-0.
IN THE NEWS:
Craig Kerry
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
