Two goals in three minutes from super sub Michael Ryan has given Weston a 3-2 win over Newcastle Jets Youth and a berth in the Northern NSW National Premier League grand final.
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It looked as if yesterday’s major semi-final at Rockwell Automation Park was going to be one of those days for the Bears.
Despite dominating for large parts of the contest, Weston found themselves trailing 2-1 with 15 minutes to play when they were awarded what looked a contentious penalty after Connor Evans went down in the goal area.
Up stepped the ever-reliable Nathan Morris, who uncharacteristically crashed his spot kick off the crossbar.
But the disappointment of Morris’ miss didn’t last long.
Two bullet-like headers from Ryan, the first in the 83rd minute off a Jason Cowburn corner and the second in the 86th from a Jye McKellar cross, was enough to propel the Bears into their first decider since 2010.
On a number of occasions this season Bears coach Steve Piggott has highlighted the attitude and application of the veteran Ryan, and yesterday was no different.
“He’s been professional the whole season - he knows he wasn’t going to start a whole lot of games this season and he’s taken that on the chin and gotten on with it,” he said.
“It just shows the young guys in the team just how important it is to have 16 to 18 quality players.”
The Bears twice had to come from behind, with Evans’ 26th minute strike cancelling out Michael Kantarovski’s opener in the second minute.
It was the first time in seven meetings that the Bears had triumphed over the Jets, and while Piggott acknowledged the confidence boost the win would provide he said his side would again need to be at their best in the decider.
“Look, whether we play them (Jets Youth) or Lambton we’re going to need to perform again, they’re both quality sides,” he said.
“We showed plenty of heart and character today and showed just how much we’ve improved, but we’re a young side that still makes mistakes.
“We’re going to go fairly light at training this week and try and get a few of these injuries right and get back into it the next week.”
Jets Youth will now meet Lambton in the preliminary final at Edden Oval on Saturday after the Jaffas eliminated Charlestown with a 3-1 win in the minor semi-final at Blacksmiths yesterday.
The Bears’ win capped off a successful weekend for the club after their under-15 side defeated Edgeworth 1-0 in the NPL Youth grand final at Magic Park on Saturday.
In other football news from the weekend, Maitland booked a spot in the Northern NSW First Division grand final courtesy of a 9-1 drubbing of cross-town rivals Thornton yesterday.
The Magpies will meet Valentine for a fourth and final time this season, with the Phoenix defeating Belmont Swansea 3-1 on Saturday.