West Wallsend’s first chance was also wasted when they fired high over the bar with only 9 mins gone.
The Bears were starting to get tied down with Westy looking more likely to score and in the 13th min Westy should have taken the lead but luckily for the Bears the Westy attacker was unable to direct his header and it sailed over the crossbar from 2mts out. The previous match between the sides was all about missed chances and in the 20th min this appeared to be the case again when Westy fired a shot towards Bears keeper Tim Pratt, but like the earlier attempts the ball flew over the bar.
The Bears were riding their luck in the 23rd min when they failed to clear the ball from their 18 yard box but Westy’s shot was just wide. A minute later the Bears luck run out when they left the League’s leading goal scorer John Majurovski free on the edge of the box and he calmly slotted the ball past Pratt to put the Bears behind 0-1.
Defensive jitters struck the Bears again in the 33rd min when they once again struggled to clear the ball and if not for Pratt making a great save they may well have been down a further goal.
West Wallsend were dominating the game to this point with only poor finishing and the Bears catching the Westy attack off side on many occasions keeping the score at 0-1. In the 40thmin the Westy’s John Majurovski got away with a dubious call by the referee and was ruled on side. Majurovski continued onto Bears keeper Pratt who spread himself perfectly and executed a wonderful 1on1 save to deny Westy another goal. Majurovski was injured in a challenge and was unable to take any further part in the match.
This looked to spark the Bears and they had 3 chances on goal in the remaining 5 mins of the half with the best falling to Jamie Subat in the 44th min. Subat battled well for the ball wide on the left, he then cut back inside and fired a perfectly placed ball, low to the back post but the only problem was nobody was there and the ball rolled harmlessly out for a goal kick and the score remained 0-1 at the break.
West Wallsend’s dominance of the match was no longer the case as the Bears were now starting to control the play and in the 58th min Nathan Morris looked like he was going to level the scores only to do what Westy had done many times in the first half and fire over the bar.
Jamie Subat had 2 fantastic chances in 2 mins with the first coming in the 61st min when his back post header lacked power and was easily picked up by the Westy keeper. The 2nd saw Subat have 2 options, either shoot at goal or play to Robbie Turnbull who was unmarked in the middle of the 6 yard box. Subat decided to fire a shot at goal but the keeper stood tall and kept his goal intact.
Coach Mick Boogaard again kept Rhys Tippett as fresh sub and he was straight into the thick of things when he found the net in the 69th min only to be wrongly disallowed by the referee.
Rob Macbeth in the 73rd min fired a rocket shot through a crowded Westy box only to see the keeper pull off a fantastic save to stop his goal bound shot.
West Wallsend had a chance in the 75th min when they got behind the Bears defence and placed their shot across the Bears goal that almost snuck in the far post.
Robbie Turnbull looked to have won a penalty only minutes later only to have the referee book him for simulation.
The Bears were on the wrong end of another referee decision in the 87th min when they found the net from a Nathan Morris cross. The goal didn’t stand as it was ruled the goal keeper was fouled when he appeared to simply drop the ball.
Just when the match looked to be another one of missed opportunities Chris Cousins came forward and saved the day with a goal from a Mick Holt corner with just 2 minutes of regulation time remaining to tie the scores up at 1-1.
The remaining 5 minutes of the match saw both sides throw everything at each other but the score ended with a 1-1 draw.
U/23’s match also ended in a draw only this game was 0-0. Both sides had chances to take the game but keeper Paul Marrone was brilliant in goals for the Bears saving a penalty along with some strong saves.
U/18’s had a strong 3-2 win with Sam Turnbull bagging a brace and Jake Barner also finding the net for the young Bears.
Next Saturday the Bears are away to bottom placed Toronto Awaba. Last time the Bears met they defeated Toronto Awaba 6-2 with Mick Ryan bagging a rare 4 goals.
C’MON YOU BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
