Mick Ryan may have been unsuccessful in his first attempt at beating the Edgeworth defence but less than a minute later he showed how deadly he can be when he won the ball wide on the right and cut in towards goal before pulling the trigger and firing a bullet like shot past the Edgeworth keeper that gave the Bears a fantastic early advantage with a 1-0 lead.
Carl Thornton is without doubt one of the best defenders in the State League but he almost made a mark on the game at the other end of the park when he run onto a loose ball and let rip with a rocket of a shot from distance that forced a great save from the Edgeworth keeper in the 12th minute.
Edgeworth are a side full of quality players that include former international Troy Halpin and they started to pin the Bears down by controlling the possession. This possession eventually took its toll when they broke through the Bears defence in the 29th min to level the scores at 1-1.
Chris Cousins is having a fantastic season and he ensured the Bears went to the half time break on level terms when he cleared the ball off the line to keep the score level 2 minutes after the Edgeworth goal.
Edgeworth came out from the sheds and almost sunk the Bears supporters hopes when they looked to be certain to score, only to push the shot wide across the face of the goal in the 48th min.
Robbie Turnbull was fouled by an Edgeworth defender in the 51st minute. The foul was in the perfect area for a Nathan Morris set piece and he curled a wonderful ball into the far post that picked out the head of Chris Cousins. Cousins then headed back to Rob Macbeth who steadied and placed his well hit low volley through the crowded goal mouth to rattle the net and give the Bears a 2-1 lead.
Edgeworth needed to win to pinch the Premiership from the Bears so it was no surprise to see them throw everything they had at the defence. This almost worked when they had 2 fantastic chances to draw level in the 56th and 57th minutes but luckily for the Bears the opportunities amounted to nothing and the Bears held onto the lead.
Chris Cousins almost ended Edgeworth's chances when he headed wide another pin point Nathan Morris free kick in the 59th minute.
Edgeworth made sure that the final 13 minutes would be extremely tense when ex Bear Luke Walker found the back of the net to square things up at 2-2.
The Bears have the upright to thank for keeping them in the lead after Edgeworth hit a hard low shot towards the Bears goal that rebounded back into play after 71 minutes.
Both sides continued to pressure the others defence so it was celebration time when the match official called time and ended the game at 2-2 for the Bears to take ownership of the 2010 Premiership trophy.
The 2 lower grades rounded out their respective seasons with a "what could have been" feeling after both sides looked to be certainties for the top 4 mid way through the season. The U/23's finished with a 1-3 loss, Luke Campbell the scorer while the U/18's came back from 0-1 to lead 2-1 before conceding again to end their season with a 2-2 draw, Tim Gleeson and Ryan Maxwell the scorers.
The club would like to congratulate the entire coaching staff and playing roster for the achievement of winning the Premiership, also Mick Holt for becoming the 27th player to achieve the honour of playing 100 top grade games for the Bears. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank the supporters who turned out in force for the "Old Boys Day" and hope to see you all back for the return leg of the Semi Final against Valentine Phoenix in 2 weeks.
Next Saturday the Bears travel to Belmont to take on Valentine Phoenix in the first leg of the 2 legged semi final series.
C'MON YOU BEARS!!!!!!!!!
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