Their opponents had lost their last two, finishing with nine and ten men respectively following dismissals; much like the Bears, they had surged into finals contention off the back of four straight victories but now appeared at risk of losing touch unless they could reverse their fortunes quickly.

The hosts, too, would be hampered by suspension, with captain Nathan Morris serving a ban following his last start dismissal against Edgeworth after a defensive mix-up forced him into a desperate last-man lunge.

The announcement of Kew Jaliens' return to the coaching fold for next season had undoubtedly buoyed the home faithful but for now the men in the Geordie stripes would need to do their very best to ensure they wrapped up their 2022 campaign on a high note.

Things got off to a strong start as a clever dragback from Moustafa Mohammad allowed him to shake off his marker and play in Aaron Niyonkuru, who latched on to the layoff and made no mistake with a composed finish in the 13th minute to hand the Bears an early lead.

It was the type of goal that spoke to the quality and skill of both players, creating a moment of magic with a decisive outcome.

Barely 30 seconds after the restart, Valentine won a free kick around halfway after a crunching challenge from Cooper Sargent, with the resulting cross falling to Canadian import Tyrone Mulder.

Mulder's attempt from the edge of the box was rifled towards Chris Hurley and the visitors felt the ball's progress towards goal was unduly impeded by a stray arm; the one man whose opinion counted, however, saw it differently, and allowed play to continue.

A definite sense of physicality had emerged in the contest, but to the referee's credit, he was adopting a proactive approach to keep a lid on proceedings, allowing tough but fair challenges to play out but swiftly curtailing anything constituting tactical fouling.

Rather than opening the floodgates, the early goal instead heralded an extended period where clear-cut attacking opportunities were few and far between.

It took until the 31st minute before either side would genuinely threaten again; only a last-ditch intervention in the form of a headed goal-line clearance from Daniel would prevent Mohammad from doubling the hosts' lead, after he nimbly rounded the advancing Brodie Volkienne and looked to convert from a tight angle.

Mohammad would react quickly in the 33rd minute to take advantage of a defensive error and stab a rapid layoff towards Paul Sichalwe, but a desperately lunging Liam Thornton did well to block the latter's low strike from 12 yards.

Many felt Mohammad had been fouled after his touch but the referee correctly opted to play the advantage given the clear goalscoring opportunity that presented itself for Weston.

Suddenly the hosts had been sparked back into life, as Mohammad injected himself right back into the action a minute later, drawing a smart stop from Volkienne low to his left.

Another 90 seconds of play followed and Mohammad was involved once more, drawing a foul right on the edge of the box that saw wily veteran Matt Thompson issued with a caution. Disappointingly, though, the strike was rifled directly into the wall.

A subsequent challenge from Thompson on Mohammad in the 38th minute looked to tick every box of a card-worthy effort, with Mohammad's run impeded and no effort whatsoever made to win the ball, but rather mystifyingly, the referee opted to allow Thompson to remain on the pitch; the visitors could count themselves very fortunate to still be competing with their full complement of players.

Sichalwe's chipped cross for Mohammad in the 44th minute saw the latter attempt a diving header that would have been very faintly reminiscent of his countryman Robin Van Persie back in the 2014 World Cup; alas, however, it was not to be on this occasion, as he failed to find the target.

The first half had essentially been one-way traffic in terms of chances created, with Bears custodian Stuart Plant having yet to be called upon to make a genuine save.

The home side would have considered themselves unfortunate not to be leading by a greater margin, as well as not to have a numerical advantage in troops.

In the 52nd minute, the irrepressible Mohammad looked to make inroads once again, but despite tiptoeing through the tulips to beat three players, his run was finally curtailed before he could produce a strike, with the mass of bodies proving simply too much to negotiate.

Dylan Newbold did well to advance past a couple of Weston defenders in the 53rd minute, his dipping strike ending only narrowly over the bar after a deflection.

The subsequent corner, however, would amount to little, with Weston going on to mount a counterattack of their own.

Two minutes later, Niyonkuru looked to have his brace sewn up for all money, turning one defender, shaking off another and calmly stroking the ball past Volkienne, only to watch on as it trickled into the base of the post.

Niyonkuru looked to atone in the 57th minute, but his attempt to curl the ball past Volkienne at the far post was skewed and never looked like hitting the target.

It was almost miraculous that Weston still led by just a solitary goal, but football is a cruel mistress, and so it would prove in the 60th minute as Valentine, from seemingly out of nowhere, produced an equaliser from a set piece.

It was Mulder who profited from the scraps of a corner to deposit the ball past Plant and into the top corner in what was the visitors' first attempt on target in an hour of football.

The Bears were doing their best not to be disheartened by the brutal blow that they had been struck with, and dusted themselves off quickly to go within a whisker of equalising directly after the restart.

Again it was Mohammad and Niyonkuru who were the thorns in Valentine's side, the former latching on to a through ball from the latter just ten seconds after kickoff only to have his acute-angled attempt cleared off the line.

Michael McGlinchey was introduced in the 65th minute for Sargent, as the home side looked to utilise the New Zealander's creativity and experience to contribute towards restoring their lead. Mohammad drove a strike from 20 yards in the 67th minute which looked to have been deflected, but the Bears were not awarded a corner.

The hosts went close once more in the 77th minute, Joey O'Connor's vicious drive drawing a diving save from Volkienne before Sichalwe somehow blazed the rebound well over the bar from close range with the goal at his mercy.

It was another golden opportunity wasted in a game where this had seemingly become a hallmark for the profligate Bears.

Another chance would present itself in the 84th minute, as Niyonkuru's clever cross-field lob found McGlinchey at the back post.

Volkienne did excellently to close the distance and make himself large, smothering McGlinchey's attempt, before fellow substitute Jake Brownlow failed to get the ball out of his feet properly from the follow-up and his strike was comfortably saved.

The visitors had yet to muster a shot on target aside from the goal, but after a clever piece of play just inside the box to draw a foul from Hurley, Ryan Clarke was handed an opportunity to win the game in the 86th minute.

Hammering the underside of the crossbar, the strike ultimately found the back of the net and Valentine had a scarcely believable 2-1 lead with precious little time remaining.

The second goal appeared to have shaken the Bears somewhat, as they mustered little in the way of consequential attacks over the final minutes of the match.

After four minutes of stoppage time, play was brought to a close with Valentine claiming a smash and grab victory.

The Bears will now look to right the ship on Sunday afternoon against a struggling Lake Macquarie outfit who are currently on a run of 12 consecutive defeats.