NPL Nothern NSW: Maitland Magpies beat Weston Bears 3-1 to claim 'El Clasicoal'

These derbies are typically cagey affairs, with the last such meeting being settled by a Yuta Konagaya penalty on the hour mark, and this one too was shaping similarly during the early stages. A half-shout for a penalty was rightfully waved away as Joey O'Connor went down in the 3rd minute just inside the box after losing his balance. Cooper Buswell came ever so close to breaking the deadlock in the 7th minute, after Konagaya nimbly weaved around two defenders and laid the ball off only for Buswell's side-footed attempt from 15 yards to finish agonisingly wide of the mark.

An early yellow card to Paul Sichalwe after a poorly thought-out trip on Tyrell Paulson in a non-threatening position in the centre of the park in the 15th minute would see him needing to walk a tightrope for the remainder of the contest; a less-than-ideal scenario for a holding midfielder who would no doubt be called upon to break up play at regular intervals. A 28th minute Maitland free kick lacked accuracy and was comfortably blocked by Weston skipper Chris Hurley.

A 36th minute Bears corner was only half cleared by the Maitland defence and O'Connor produced a quality strike that drew a save right out of the top drawer from Magpies custodian Taylor Pate to preserve the clean sheet. Two more corners ensured, but O'Connor's half-volley from the latter was skied to give the visitors a reprieve. Another half-hearted penalty shout was again justifiably waved away in the 40th minute as James Thompson went down in the Bears box.

The Bears were well organised in defence and snuffed out a Braedyn Crowley incursion into the area in the 42nd minute, before Konagaya had an attempt from 20 yards blocked a minute later that looked to be heading towards the target. With few events of note having taken place through the half, the referee brought proceedings to a close with no stoppage time and the coalfields foes headed to the sheds with the game still scoreless. One had the feeling that a repeat of the sides' earlier 2023 meeting may be in store, where it would take a solitary moment to separate such evenly matched opponents; little did most know, the second half was about to burst into life.

Kew Jaliens introduced Liam Wilson at half time for Connor Heydon, and the Bears attacking intent was evident as Connor Evans tried his luck from distance less than two minutes after the restart; unfortunately for the home faithful, his attempt was well over the bar. In the 49th minute, however, disaster struck for the Bears. A lax moment in midfield saw what looked to be a totally innocuous low clearance from Pate trickle through everybody and land at the feet of Thompson out wide in an excellent pocket of space, with Hurley having allowed him to drift away unopposed. Mitch Dobson was caught in two minds as Thompson threaded a pass through for Crowley to latch on to, and at that point Alessandro Ouwerkerk was left with little chance to make a covering tackle as the clinical Crowley deposited the ball past Gerard Roebuck and into the back of the net.

It was virtually the first moment of the contest where the visitors had threatened, but to their credit they had made the most of their opponents' mistake and punished them dearly on the scoreboard. In a tight tussle, the Bears were now faced with the rather unenviable task of picking themselves back up off the canvas and hitting back. But it would only get worse in the 53rd minute, as an unfortunate blunder from Roebuck saw Flynn Goodman gifted a point-blank opportunity from which he made no mistake.

Suddenly after looking the better side through the opening 45, the Bears were almost dead and buried, but the spirit and resolve of this side would not allow them to go away that easily. A 54th minute attempt from Aaron Niyonkuru drew a great save from Pate. A tangle between Thompson and O'Connor saw the game reach a flashpoint in the 60th minute as players swarmed in after what they had perceived as some undue contact, with the referee ultimately issuing cautions to Wilson, Thompson and Konagaya for their parts in the melee.

Hurley and Sichalwe made way for Cooper Sargent and Jacob Dundas respectively immediately afterwards, as Jaliens searched for a comeback catalyst. Dundas nearly proved just that in the 65th minute, sparking an attacking move that saw the Bears pepper the Maitland goal only for each attempt to be blocked before Pate could break a sweat. In the 69th minute, though, the Bears finally had their breakthrough, as a dangerous back post cross from Wilson was not adequately cleared and sat up nicely for Buswell to rifle home a delicious volley and halve the deficit.

Wilson looked lively once again in the 71st minute, creating an opportunity for Konagaya, whose curling 25 yard effort was stopped low by Pate diving to his right. Ouwerkerk gave away a free kick in the 78th minute in a dangerous position, for which he was issued a yellow ticket. Thompson attempted an opportunistic strike as he tried to catch Roebuck off guard, but the referee's whistle had not yet blown; in any event, it was comfortably saved. His retake lacked venom and trickled straight into the wall.

Jaliens rang the changes once more, withdrawing key playmakers Niyonkuru and Buswell in favour of youngsters Ben Clouten and Kayden Soper in the 80th minute. Substitute Isaac Collins looked dangerous a minute later after running on to a loose ball at the back post, and drew a decent save from Roebuck, though the subsequent corner left something to be desired. A fired-up Clouten earnt his way into the book almost straight away, winning a challenge - albeit clean - from behind that the referee adjudged dangerous in the 82nd minute.

A fast break from Maitland in the 84th minute was well dealt with by the composed Ouwerkerk, who recovered after a slip to regain possession for his side, but the sense of accomplishment was short-lived as Crowley burst into the box only a few seconds later and slotted into the bottom corner for a 3-1 lead. The clock was now very much the enemy of the Bears if they were to regain a foothold in the contest, though a well-worked move from kick off very nearly paid handsome dividends.

Konagaya tried to deceive Pate with timing in the 86th minute from distance, but the young Maitland stopper was equal to the task. A deep 90th minute cross from Wilson looked dangerous from the hosts, but Soper's attempted through ball ran a touch too far to allow Sargent to fashion a strike. The Bears went within a whisker in the 93rd, as a deft front post cross from Sargent was headed expertly down by Konagaya, only for Pate to produce a crucial reaction stop for a corner. Moments later, it was Konagaya in the action once again, this time heading on to the right post with Pate beaten.

As the whistle blew for full time, the Bears were left ruing both profligacy in front of goal and a couple of defensive brain fades as Maitland ran away derby winners, in the process closing the gap between the two to just a point and leaving the Bears marooned six points behind ladder leaders Charlestown and just three points above sixth placed Lambton. With the regular season 'El Clasicoal' fixtures having now wound up at one apiece for the fifth consecutive season - excluding the aborted 2020 campaign where the Bears claimed honours in the sides' solitary encounter - one feels it might not be the last time this year we see these combatants go at it, with a post-season matchup a strong possibility.

With the chasing pack now very much breathing down their necks, next weekend's home fixture against Valentine will now carry with it an even greater sense of importance, particularly in light of the Bears' poor showing in their previous outing against the same opposition. They will need to give the best possible account of themselves if they are to remain in the premiership hunt in what is shaping as the tightest campaign since the heartbreak of 2019.

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