Leo Bertos' men would no doubt have been buoyed by victory in the previous meeting between the two sides, making them one of only three sides this year to claim three points against Mick Bolch's outfit.

Cooper Buswell got the home side off to the best possible start, grabbing the opener in the 10th minute to finish off a tidy attacking move.

The lead was short lived however; a 25 yard peach of a free kick from James Thompson in the 12th minute saw the ball nestle in the top right corner.

After the early duo of goals, the remainder of the half played out in similar fashion to the sides' previous encounter; with attacking opportunities at a premium.

After twenty or so minutes of what was essentially a midfield stalemate, a 36th minute move saw Connor Heydon advance to the byline and deliver a low cutback that was just behind the run of Jackson Eckford and out of the long-limbed Buswell's reach.

First team newcomer Paul Sichalwe, who had previously plied his trade at Lakes, was making some great reads in midfield and stealing in to win back possession on several occasions; he proved himself a key cog in breaking up the Magpies attacking forays and ensuring the contest remained a tight one.

A 44th minute cross from Joey O'Connor found the head of Buswell, who directed his effort downward but could not beat Maitland custodian Lachlan Watson on the bounce. The sides would remain deadlocked heading into the break.

The travelling fans appealed loudly in the 49th minute as Weston keeper Stuart Plant knocked Ty Cousins off balance inside the box, with the Maitland attacker fluffing his lines and directing his subsequent attempt over the bar with the goal at his mercy, but the referee ruled that there was nothing doing and allowed play to continue.

The always enterprising Aaron Niyonkuru forced a smart stop from Watson in the 51st minute, driving the ball from an acute angle inside the box.

A clever cutback from Eckford in the 54th minute found Heydon, who was scythed down in the box as he attempted to unleash a strike, but the contact appeared unintentional and again the man in the middle adjudged that there had been nothing untoward in the challenge.

Bolch went to his bench in the 57th minute, replacing Flynn Goodman with Ryan Clarke. A strong challenge from Thompson on Cooper Sargent in the 61st minute saw the former win possession and set off on a mazy run en route to a strike that drew a low stop from Plant.

Bertos replaced Eckford with Tommy Duggan in the 62nd minute, while the visitors introduced Alex Read for Joseph Melmeth in the 66th. Less than four minutes later, Charlie Cox played Thompson through the middle for an emphatic finish from close range to hand Maitland a 2-1 lead.

Jarryd Sutherland was brought on for Buswell immediately after the Bears went behind, but Maitland had no designs on taking their collective foot off the gas. Weston skipper Nathan Morris was slightly fortunate to escape punishment after dragging Read off the ball in the 72nd, while the latter had an opportunity to extend the lead less than 60 seconds later only to be scuppered by his own heavy touch at the crucial moment.

Read would make no mistake in the 76th though, latching on to a Thompson through ball and cutting inside Sichalwe to slot the ball home past the outstretched arms of Plant and double his side's advantage.

Now well and truly scrambling to close the gap, the Bears were desperate in attack but lacked poise and failed to generate any opportunities of note aside from a Morris free kick that was headed wide by Marcus Duncan in the 84th minute.

Thompson was in the action once more in the 3rd minute of stoppage time, latching on to a long through ball and firing a one on one strike at Plant, but Clarke was on hand to spare his blushes and convert the rebound. The contest was drawn to a close upon the resumption of play, with the visitors claiming a convincing derby victory.

The Bears, who have now won just one of their last nine games, will now look ahead to Wednesday night's catch up fixture as they host Broadmeadow Magic, who currently lie third but could rise to the top of the ladder should they win each of their two games in hand.