Weston Workers Bears beat Lake Macquarie City 4-0 in NNSW NPL

A free kick in the centre of the park to Lakes' Josh Maguire just 18 seconds in saw possession turned over, and this lax touch would prove to define the early gap in urgency between the two sides. A 3rd minute Aaron Niyonkuru corner was headed on to the crossbar by Cooper Buswell, with the follow-up strike from Alessandro Ouwerkerk well saved by Isaac Nyman. It would take less than two more minutes for the Bears, playing in their yellow away strip, to open their account, a crisp strike on the edge of the box by midfielder Jacob Dundas skidding beyond the full-stretch Nyman and just inside the far post to put the visitors one up in the 5th minute.

The difference in tempo would continue to shape the contest, as a well-drilled Weston outfit continued to take advantage of some ponderous moments from Lakes, bossing the possession and allowing barely any attacking opportunities to materialise for their opponents. Yuta Konagaya was away one on one in the 13th minute only for the Lakes backline to perfectly time their step up and catch him a fraction offside.

Only a few heavily weighted through balls into the final third were preventing the Bears from extending their advantage. Niyonkuru nailed one in the 22nd minute though, but Konagaya's ensuing strike was slowed by the fingertips of Nyman and then cleared off the line by Chad Kubica. It didn't take much longer for the second, though, as Buswell's composed cutback - after a sumptuous touch at full stretch to bring a waist height through ball down to the carpet - from the byline to Liam Wilson, lurking with intent around the penalty spot, was coolly converted by the latter in the 23rd minute.

A robust 28th minute challenge from Brock Oakley on Dundas saw the Lakes midfielder cautioned. Wilson looked to pounce on the scraps after a 31st minute corner but was collected heavily in the act of shooting and appeared to sustain some damage; ultimately he would be unable to continue and was replaced by Ben Clouten after a two-minute delay. Clouten was straight into the action, latching on to a 37th minute corner at the front post and sliding a pass through for Mitch Dobson to convert a simple tap-in and make it 3-0.

Ouwerkerk made his way into the book shortly before half time for cynically impeding a Lakes counterattack, while Caleb Low experienced the same at the other end a minute or so later. The visitors went to the break without further incident - curiously after just one minute of stoppage time despite three restarts and a two-minute injury - and at three goals to the good, gaffer Kew Jaliens would no doubt have been very pleased with how things were progressing thus far.

The Bears emerged from the sheds and were clearly not content to simply shut up shop; an open and expansive style of football was still very much on the menu for the Speers Point crowd. Charlie Buffon would burst forth for the hosts in the 50th minute and earn his side a corner through sheer enterprise, but it would amount to little. Buswell and Konagaya got their wires crossed in the 54th minute, the former rifling his goal-bound volley straight into the body of the latter.

Substitute Dieuseul Kandundaho came up with possession in a great area in the 55th minute, after Clouten's impetus had sliced open the Lakes defence; Kandundaho's powerful strike was authoritatively parried away by Nyman for a corner, after which the hosts were able to comfortably avert the danger. Bears gloveman Gerard Roebuck was struck heavily when collecting a loose ball and took three minutes to return to his feet; 364 days after Stuart Plant's harrowing incident against Broadmeadow, the travelling fans would undoubtedly have had hearts in mouths for a few moments.

Roebuck would be called upon only moments later, producing a fine leap to deny Guilherme Evangelista's well-placed header in the 60th minute. A Conor Heydon cutback in the 63rd minute was skied by Clouten from eight yards, in a move started by skipper Chris Hurley, who had recently been introduced off the bench, and contributed to by Niyonkuru. Kandundaho's effort a minute later was deflected into the side netting, with the ensuing corner easily claimed by Nyman after what looked to be a rehearsed move failed to yield the desired result.

The Niyonkuru-Heydon-Clouten pass combination was back in effect in the 71st minute, but this time Clouten made no mistake from the cutback and grabbed his first Premier League goal of the season to make it 4-0. It was no less than he had deserved after a spirited display, while Heydon looked to be operating at the peak of his creative powers.

Despite the result now being well and truly out of reach, the hosts refused to roll over, and a string of desperation lunges in the 74th minute showed there was still no shortage of fight left amongst their troops. Konagaya's venomous 25 yard drive a minute later was headed for the top corner and stung the palms of a well-positioned Nyman, who was amongst the best on the park contrary to what the scoreline would indicate.

Kandundaho was providing no shortage of headaches for the Lakes defence; a passage of his silky trickery in the 82nd minute saw the ball end up in the back of the net once more, off Clouten's boot, but the linesman's flag had already gone up. A wild speculator from 35 yards in the 85th was blasted well over by Kandundaho, before he stroked another attempt just wide of the far post a minute later.

The Bears did not add any further to their advantage, with Clouten caught offside in the 93rd minute on their final attempt to make it five. It had been an emphatic all-round performance, combining fluent attack with well-marshalled defence - the equal best in the competition - to return to the winners' circle.

With the imperious form of the reserve grade side, who secured a commanding 5-2 victory to maintain their flawless record thus far in the campaign, evidencing the strength in depth of the squad Jaliens has at his disposal, the murmurs of confidence buzzing around a normally reserved Weston faithful who have witnessed many a late season collapse in recent times suggests there could be something a touch different about this group.

After Lambton's victory over Charlestown, a midweek win for the Bears in their Wednesday night catch-up fixture away at Valentine would see them go second, just a point off the lead. It is an attractive carrot being dangled before them, and would stand them in excellent stead after nine rounds of football if they are looking to consolidate a finals berth in 2023.