Valentine had the first real chance of the match in the 14th min. The shot looked to be goal bound until Sam Parkinson pulled of a great save and parried the ball wide.
Things were not looking good for the Bears with no real opportunity on goal coming until the 31st min. The chance came when Rhys Tippett found room and took on the Valentine defence, only to see his shot find the side netting.
Referees understandably make mistakes but in the 39th min the Match Official made a howler when he awarded Valentine a Penalty. He then compounded his error by booking the bewilded Bears defender that executed the tackle. Valentine made no mistake from the spot and took the lead 0-1.
Sam Parkinson was proving a good replacement for Pratt when he again kept the Bears in the match with another good save in the 42nd min.
Hopes of a Bears victory were dealt a further blow when the referees once again pointed to the spot in the 53rd min. The difference this time was that the referee got the decision correct and Valentine stretched their lead to 0-2.
Valentine put the game out of the Bears reach in the 66th min when they capitalised on some poor defending and an unfortunate slip from keeper Parkinson to find the net for a 0-3 lead.
The Bears won a free kick, centre field and 20mts from the Valentine goal. Nathan Morris stepped up, did what he does best and smashed his trademark scud through the wall and into the net to make the score 1-3.
The Bears fired up after this and could have easily pinched a further 2 goals in the remaining 7 mins but it was a matter of too little too late and Valentine took the 3 points.
The U/23’s continue to hang onto the slight chance of making the Semi Finals with a hard earned 1-0 victory. Kurt Tunicliffe scored the match winner for the side.
U/18’s continued to find the going tough with another loss 1-2.
A special thanks must be given to the Kurri Kurri Juniors U/7’s and U/8’s along with Weston Bears Juniors U/8’s for putting on a wonderful exhibition of small sided games prior to and at half time of the First Grade game.
Next week the Bears travel to Edgeworth for the final match of the 2009 season. The Bears will be motivated to not only end the season on a high but also stop Edgeworth from winning the Minor Premiership title.
C’MON YOU BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!
