Weston Bears bury Maitland Magpies in derby classic

While the hosts' table position and head to head record over their coalfields opponents suggested they would be firm favourites, a last start defeat along with Weston's commanding back to back victories meant it may not be as clear cut.

The visitors signalled their intent early, getting on the front foot as Tommy Duggan looked to burn the Maitland defence with his pace.

A 17th minute Aaron Niyonkuru corner was met well by Cooper Buswell, whose header into the ground bounced up and clattered the crossbar from close range.

Two minutes later, though, a clever turn from Duggan after receiving a Chris Hurley through ball saw him wrong foot his marker and bury a low strike from the edge of the 'D' to give the Bears the lead. It was no less than they deserved after an enterprising and proactive start to the game.

The man in the middle seemed to have an itchy 'card hand', going to his pocket with almost metronomic regularity to ensure several Weston players went into the book for what appeared to be relatively innocuous infringements.

This would break up the rhythm of the game somewhat, but Maitland were ultimately unable to make use of the multiple free kicks awarded to them and the Bears continued to have the better of the general play.

Paul Sichalwe's 35 yard attempt in the 29th minute fizzed just over the bar, and the midfielder would no doubt have had visions of replicating his wonder goal earlier in the campaign.

A Hurley corner whipped in towards the back post saw Buswell with a chance to extend the advantage at the beginning of stoppage time, but his low drive whistled just wide of the mark.

Zac Sneddon pulled up lame as the sides went to the sheds, but Bears manager Anthony Richards - undoubtedly the happier of the two gaffers at the interval - was able to call upon a 'Zac for Zac' replacement as Zac Jokinen was introduced for the second stanza.

The hosts emerged from the sheds with an added sense of urgency, and their bench were baying for a penalty in the 51st minute after a coming together of bodies off the ball in the six yard box.

The referee would wave play on, though, and the ball was cleared with the minimum of fuss.

In the 53rd minute, former Magpie Duggan grabbed a second, but not without significant consternation from the home side.

As Buswell played a searching through ball, Duggan looked to be in an offside position, and was flagged as such by the linesman, but the pass was deflected heavily by a lunging Maitland defender, thus rendering Duggan's position irrelevant given the defender's touch was deemed deliberate.

As a result, the referee overruled the linesman's decision and allowed the goal to stand.

Just 18 seconds after play restarted, however, Maitland had a corner, and within 36 seconds of the restart it had been headed in by Will McFarlane to halve the deficit to 2-1.

The Bears would now need to be careful not to let complacency creep into their game.

A handball call as Duggan attempted a strike shortly afterwards was waved away, before the Magpies returned serve moments later with a header that brushed the outside of the post.

Maitland went close again in the 66th minute through a James Thompson header that was saved well by Jacob Zissis at point blank range. The tension in the air was palpable, imbuing the game with a classic derby feel.

Moustafa Mohammad went close in the 68th minute, drawing a solid low stop from Paul Bitz - who had been having a rather shaky afternoon with the gloves - on to the post.

Duggan's afternoon looked done as he was ground to a halt with what appeared to be an injury, but in Lazarus-like fashion he somehow returned to the play; this happened on multiple further occasions, as if possessing some form of mystical regenerative power.

Niyonkuru showed silky skills in the 74th minute to escape the attentions of his marker and stroke home a low strike to restore the two goal lead.

It was just the tonic the Bears needed and seemed to help them play with renewed confidence once more. The Magpies were certainly not about to roll over, though, and gave every ounce of effort to close the gap.

The latter stages of the contest were largely defined by a blood and thunder brand of football with both sides swinging heavy blows at one another.

Substitute Jacob Brownlow forced a good save in the 86th minute before Thompson hit the bar in the 90th at the other end. Bears skipper Nathan Morris suffered an injury in the first minute of stoppage time, leading to a three minute break in play as he was helped off the pitch.

There would be one final twist in the tale in the 99th minute, as the Magpies grabbed a very late consolation goal from a header after what looked to be a foul on Zissis.

The non-call proved academic, though, as it would be the last touch of the match, with the referee drawing the afternoon to a close at a score of 3-2 to Weston.

The Bears will now carry a run of three straight victories in six days into a Wednesday night home fixture against Cooks Hill United, as they will look to replicate their round onr performance, which saw them claim an emphatic 5-0 win with five different goal scorers.

Their opponents have shown substantial improvement since then, however, so it is sure to be a more enticing contest this time around.