Many doubters amongst the Hunter footballing fraternity were suggesting the Weston Workers Bears lacked a certain 'je ne sais quoi' after coughing up back-to-back two-goal leads against Broadmeadow and Lambton and failing to adequately consolidate their impressive start to 2023.
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As such, the men from the coalfields were keener than ever to prove these assertions off base, as well as shaking off the underdog tag that has followed them around in recent campaigns like a bad smell and establish themselves once and for all as genuine, credible title contenders.
Standing in their way were an Edgeworth Eagles side who had practically filled their trophy cabinet in the past decade or so, though despite their current position among the finals contenders had lost a touch of the shine of their premiership predecessors, having seen a few of their quality veteran campaigners either retire, move on to pastures new or transition into more bit-part roles within the playing setup.
Coach Peter McGuinness had been tasked with steeling a younger group of players for a title charge, and in a season where one could throw a blanket over the top seven clubs, the comparative lack of big game experience would prove a substantial obstacle to overcome.
A blustery Jack McLaughlan Oval, at which the Bears had not even claimed a solitary point in over ten years - intriguingly, there had been no draws in league meetings between the two sides over that stretch either, regardless of venue - set the scene for what loomed as a potential changing of the guard of sorts.
The Bears flew out of the gates in their loud yellow away strip with great intensity and an early moment just sixty seconds into the contest saw Connor Heydon lay down the gauntlet, his industry and determination almost creating something from nothing as he bore down upon the Eagles defence and forced a rushed, blocked attempt at a clearance.
It would take only seven and a half minutes for the Bears to break the deadlock; a surging run from Aaron Niyonkuru saw him lay the ball off inside the box to Cooper Buswell, who showed poise and patience to evade his marker and perfectly time his nutmegged strike to catch Ben Conway off guard and gently stroke the ball into the back of the net.
The moment was in essence a microcosm of Buswell's season, which has seen him showcase all of the skill and creativity he has always possessed but add an additional sense of composure to round out his game and increase his end product, making good on the potential that all within the Weston camp were already well aware he had.
If the Jets scouting department decided to change tack and start fishing from their own pond to source young talent, there is little doubt he would be starting 2024 as an A-League player, but their short-sightedness is the Bears' gain.
If the visitors thought the path towards victory would be a simple one, though, they were in for a rude awakening.
A skewed clearance attempt from Alessandro Ouwerkerk off what looked to be a relatively innocuous lob into the box saw the Bears concede a corner, and although skipper Chris Hurley cleared the ball away with a diving header at the near post at the first time of asking, the follow up cross from the marauding Tom Curran found its way back into the box from thirty yards out - always a difficult angle to defend against - and was met perfectly by Dylan Holz, who planted his header authoritatively into the bottom left corner past the outstretched Gerard Roebuck to level things up at a goal apiece.
Roebuck was forced into a save at the near post in the 23rd minute, as Jacob Pepper struck from an acute angle at close range, having made his way forward for a corner and almost profited from a glanced Jordan Lennon header off the second ball.
Holz was involved once more in the 26th minute as he latched on to a through ball in a decent area but pulled his strike wide of the mark. The Bears needed to quickly recapture momentum, and duly did so as a series of hard runs and clever passing options quickly shifted the heat map to the other end of the park.
Heydon in particular was consistently impressive both on and off the ball, as was Connor Evans in a free role. The former Connor paired a tireless work rate with a great football IQ to regularly starve opposition defenders of time on the ball and create opportunities seemingly from thin air for his own side, while the latter was demonstrating his versatility and knowledge of positional responsibilities to sit in and provide cover for Hurley when appropriate, allowing the skipper to utilise his attacking instincts - which at times have been shackled this season by his defensive duties - while also occupying the centre of the park when in possession to both catalyse attacks and position himself well to break up the play as soon as the ball was turned over.
Heydon used his physicality to excellent effect in the 30th minute as he held off his marker and laid the ball off centrally for Buswell, whose first time effort back across his body finished only a touch wide of the left post. Heydon was nearly on the other end of an attacking opportunity a minute later, narrowly beaten to a header after a clever back post chip from Evans. The resultant corner, however, and the additional one that followed, came to nothing; if the Bears could be faulted for one thing this season, aside from perhaps their propensity not to close games out, it would be their consistent failure to deliver anything of consequence from set pieces - Niyonkuru's effort against Charlestown excepted of course.
A deft Niyonkuru through ball in the 40th minute released Buswell in an excellent pocket of space inside the box, but his strike rolled just wide of the far post with Conway beaten and a darting Heydon a whisker away from applying a crucial touch. Konagaya sent Heydon away in the 43rd minute with an excellent pass that cut right through Edgeworth's lines, but the strike was disappointing and failed to raise Conway's heart rate. A series of three strikes in the 45th minute, firstly by Konagaya, who had created the opportunity, then Joey O'Connor and finally Heydon, each failed to find the target, with the first two blocked and the latter skied. The visitors undoubtedly had the running at this point, though, and the arrival of a second goal felt much more a matter of 'when' than 'if'.
With the first half drawing to a close after a minute of stoppage time, it was safe to say that the general sentiment for the hosts would have been one more of relief than anything else, having been on top for probably 10 minutes while Weston enjoyed the better of the other 35. The scoreboard, though, is the only thing that counts when the day is done, and Bears coach Kew Jaliens would have wasted no time in impressing this point upon his charges, who would need to be more clinical in front of goal to avoid another unsavoury result not befitting of their effort and quality.
Two minutes after the restart, Konagaya burst through and rifled a daisycutter past Conway but could only look on as the ball crashed into the base of the right post, handing the Eagles a reprieve. Heydon was next to acquaint himself with the woodwork; his 52nd minute attempt had Conway at full stretch to push the ball on to the very same part of the post Konagaya had hit only five minutes beforehand.
The Eagles threatened in the 64th minute with one of their only attacking incursions of the half as Lennon produced a Rory Delap-like throw deep into the mixer that Konagaya attempted to clear but could only glance on to Holz off the back of his head. The Edgeworth attacker drew a sharp low stop from Roebuck to deny him a go-ahead goal.
It was at the other end, though, that the damage was done a minute afterwards. O'Connor's attempted through ball was partially blocked by Mason King, but the looping, deflected pass landed at the feet of Heydon inside the box, who turned Pat Wheeler inside out and struck low; a diving Conway could only parry the ball back into Heydon's path, and Heydon dispatched the ball from the follow up to hand the Bears a valuable lead, with the goal a richly deserved product of what had been an impressive display from the Weston wide man.
Gaining a lead has not proven to be an issue for this Weston outfit, but holding one has proven an altogether different story in recent weeks. The final 25 minutes of the contest would prove something of a litmus test to see if they would remain steadfast under pressure and put their recent demons behind them, or crumble in the heat of battle. There were certainly no signs of their attacking impetus abating, with Heydon rifling a 74th minute attempt goalwards - though too straight to cause Conway any issues - and recently introduced substitute Ben Clouten, returning to the top grade for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury a week after his memorable hat trick performance against New Lambton, looking lively.
Niyonkuru tried his luck from range in the 76th minute, but his strike lacked the requisite dip to hit the target. Heydon's high press on Conway almost saw him force an error a minute later, but the Eagles gloveman was cool under pressure and managed to avert the danger. A pair of robust challenges from Holz felled Heydon and then O'Connor in the 78th minute, the latter of which was fortunate not to earn a card with the ball having already gone.
Paul Sichalwe went within a whisker in the 89th minute as he exchanged passes with Clouten, but after collecting the ball in a great area and advancing towards Conway one-on-one, his strike finished a coat of paint wide of the post. Some very willing challenges flew in late on from the Eagles, who were cutting frustrated figures as they began earning their way into the referee's notebook with three yellow cards and probably three or four more that went begging.
As it eventuated, the Bears were able to see out the result. A fizzing low drive from Hurley was well stopped by Conway in the third minute of stoppage time, and after four and a half added minutes had been played, the contest was brought to its conclusion with the Bears on the right side of the ledger. An away trip to bogey side Newcastle Olympic, who the Bears have failed to defeat since 2019, awaits in round 15, with no fixture scheduled for the long weekend which will give the players an opportunity for a well earned rest as they sit atop the ladder for the first time this season, though Charlestown are level on points and have a game in hand.
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