Rhys Tippett also showed his strength on the ball when he forced his way through the defence in the 6th min. Tippett played a great cross ball to Rob Macbeth who failed to control his shot and it flew high over the bar.
Broadmeadow had to wait till the 21st min for their first chance to test Bears keeper Tim Pratt. They had another chance to take the lead 3 minutes later but luckily for the Bears they failed to find the net.
The upright was the only thing that stopped Rhys Tippett from putting the Bears in the lead after 27 minutes but it was Magic should have made the Bears pay for the earlier missed chances in the 30th min when they got behind the Bears defence and fired a rocket of a shot that crashed into the cross bar. The angled deflection bounced back into play and forced a scramble that resulted in Magic winning a corner.
The game was going from end to end with plenty of chances on goal for both sides and in the 33rd minute Jamie Subat did some strong work out wide and after beating his defender fired a great low ball to Nathan Morris who hit a bullet of a shot that narrowly flew over the bar. Magic sent the ball straight down towards the Bears goal from the restart and came close to scoring but they also lacked direction and fired their shot over the bar.
Rhys Tippett was again in the right spot and he had a great chance on goal in the 38th min, Tippett won the ball in the Magic's 18 yard box before pulling the trigger but the shot was just off target and smashed into the side netting.
Broadmeadow Magic continued the pattern of the match and again had the Bears under the pump in the 40th min when they botched up a good chance on goal.
With so many missed opportunities on goal it was only a matter of time before one actually found the net and in the 41st minute Magic did just that through the man that has made a habit of scoring against the Bears, Peter Haynes. The goal was one that made the large number of travelling Bears fans see red towards the match official as Haynes was caught well off side when he ran onto the through ball and put it past Pratt.
The 2nd half was only 2 minutes old when Tim Pratt was forced to make a fantastic 1 on 1 save and keep the Bears in the match.
Rob Macbeth actually beat the Magic's keeper in the 49th minute only to see his well hit low shot blocked and cleared by a well placed Magic defender.
Mick Ryan and Rhys Tippett combined well in the 57th min. Ryan ran onto a fantastic ball from Tippett before hitting his shot across the face of the keeper towards the far post that missed the target by the narrowest of margins.
The ball to Ryan was Tippett's last play of the match with coach Boogaard giving mid season signing Corey Fletcher his first opportunity in the top grade in Bears colours. Fletcher should have levelled the scores with his first touch of the game when he climbed well to get his head on the end of a perfectly placed cross ball from the right from his brother Tyson 2minutes after taking the field. Fletchers header was well timed and flew off the head but like so many of the earlier chances, was just wide of the Magic's goal and went out for a goal kick.
Supporters watching the game to this point were enjoying an entertaining match with end to end play, plenty of chances and controversy from some puzzling decisions by the match officials. With so many chances in the first 2/3rds of the match it was no surprise to see the Bears hectic recent schedule catch up with them and both sides reverted to playing the long ball up field for the remainder of the match and the chances on goal stopped.
The Bears gave everything they had but the earlier missed chances meant that they would have to settle for a 0-1 defeat and open the door for Edgeworth, West Wallsend and Olympic in the charge for the Premiership.
U/23's rollercoaster season continued with a game that mirrored first grade. Missed chances cost the Bears in a game that they dominated possession but failed to score and also lost 0-1.
U/18's like the 2 senior grades also went down 0-1 to round out what was a disappointing day out for the Bears.
Next week the Bears are back at Thomas and Coffey Park in a must win match against Hamilton Olympic. Olympic are only a few points behind the Bears and although in 4th spot are well and truly still in the hunt for the Premiership. This will be the 4th meeting the 2 sides have had this season with the Bears taking the honours in the past 3 matches 3-0, 3-0 & 6-0 in the Solo State Cup.
C'MON YOU BEARS!!!!!
