The Bears were at home for the 3rd week in a row against Charlestown City Blues and looking to bounce back after the upset loss the previous week to the Newcastle Jets Youth.
Although the Bears had Jason Cowburn and Rob Macbeth sidelined with injuries, they started the game strong and dominated the first half. Carl Thornton and Nathan Morris both came very close to finding the back of the net early in the half but it was Gary McDermott (left) who broke the deadlock in the 31st min when he got on the end of a great ball from Jamie Subat.
Weston continued to play some great football and had the Blues under plenty of pressure, this pressure was rewarded in 45th min they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Mick Ryan. Referee Rod Allen initially missed the foul but luckily for the Bears the linesman spotted the infringement and a penalty was awarded. Nathan Morris stepped up and hammered his perfectly placed shot into top corner to give the Blues keeper no chance. The Bears took a well deserved 2 - 0 lead to the sheds for the break.
Charlestown were slow out of the blocks and the Bears should have put the game to bed within 5mins of the restart with 2 fantastic chances being wasted. This appeared to lift the Blues and slowly but surely it was becoming clear that Charlestown were getting more into the game and the travelling side were not too far away from a goal. This goal came via what could only be described as a soft penalty in the 78th min. Blues player Scott Smith made no mistake with his spot shot to bring the score back to 2-1.
The Bears earlier dominance and missed chances came back to bite them in the proverbial 3 mins into injury time when the Blues managed to header the loose ball in a scramble over the line after Bears keeper Tim Pratt spilled a cross from the left to snatch a 2-2 draw.
The lower grades had a good day out with the U/23's having to settle for a nil all draw, U/19's getting up 2-1 while the U/17's smashed the Charlestown 7-0. On Saturday the U/14's continued their strong start to the season with a 1-0 win, U/15's went down 0-2 and the U/16's had a dominate 2-0 win.
Next Sunday the Bears are away to South Cardiff. Southy away is always a hard proposition for both players and supporters so any points taken from there will be valuable ones. The young Bears are also in action with the U/14's away to Edgeworth, U/15's are away at Lake Macquarie against Broadmeadow Magic and the U/16's are away to Mayfield United.
C'mon you Bears!!!
Young Bears teams the U14s and U16s saw the first football action this weekend with great results at Rockwell Automation Park.
The U14s took on the Lambton Jaffas and came away with a 1-0 victory.
Shortly after, the U16s had a fine 2-0 victory over the Charlestown Blues.
Congratualtions everyone and....
C'mon you Bears!!!
On a beautiful day the Bears were involved in a number of games across different grades and age groups.
The U15s had a fine 5-0 win against South Cardiff at Wanderers Oval via a Dylan Bentley hat trick. Brock Lewsam and Joel Barner also found the net for the Bears.
U16s were at Rockwell Automation Park to face Toronto Awaba and came away with a 2-1 victory. Goal scorers for Weston were Tom Newman & Jayden Hinds.
The Bears U17s good run continued with a 2-1 victory over the Emerging Jets with goals from Lachlan Doyle and Jacob Golding.
The U19s were right in their contest until the final 15min. Conceding goals late in the game, as it opened up, ultimately made it impossible to peg it back.
Weston's U23s also went down in a tight one 2-1 and definitely had their chances.
First grade took part in a high scoring affair that saw the lead change numerous times and again as the game opened up goals were conceded. The Bears finally went down 5-3 in an entertaining game for the neutral.
Bears' old boys dust off the cobwebs for an exhibition game
By Josh Callinan
Spectators at Rockwell Automation Park will be forced to take a second look when players take to the field on Saturday evening.
Instead of Weston's first grade squad they will see the Bears of yesteryear out in the middle....
Read the full article online at the Maitland Mercury
