The Weston Bears showed they have a clinical side as well as an abundance of youthful exuberance with an emphatic 3-1 win against bogey side Valentine Phoenix.
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The Bears have struggled against the Phoenix in recent outings, losing to them in the FFA Cup and allowing Valentine to grab a late equaliser for a 1-all draw in round five.
But the Bears put their bye break to good use, following their 3-1 loss to Maitland, and looked fresh and full of running as their lightning quick midfield taunted and terrorised Valentine's defence.
However, it was up to veteran defender Nathan Morris to open the scoring and his excellent timed header off a cross from Chris Hurley found the back of the net to open the scoring in the 31st minute.
The Bears were seemingly in full control until a lapse in concentration and a poor back pass opened the way for Valentine to level the scores in injury time just before the break.
"I thought we could have scored more goals in the first half. I thought we dominated things and didn't lose that control in the second either," Bears assistant coach Craig Stoker said.
"We needed to win after the recent loss to Maitland and they have been a bit of a bogey side for us.
"We were still caught out with another lapse at the end of the first half. They scored off the last kick."
Stoker said Valentine's keeper Perry Budden pulled off a number of great saves to deny the Bears a bigger win.
"He pulled off a save from a free kick by Nathan Morris and a strike from the edge of the 18-yard box by Regan Lundy," he said.
But Budden had no answer for Cooper Buswell's strike off a Jason Tjien-Thoo cross or a header by Zac Sneddon who glanced the ball into the opposite corner after racing in to meet a Chris Hurley corner.
Stoker said the Bears were well served by both their centre-backs in Morris and Sneddon as well as midfielders Chris Hurely and Tjien-Thoo.
He was also full of praise for Buswell's efforts after coming off the bench in the second half.
"The second half in particular, Jason was excellent the way he went past their defenders," he said.
"The second goal we scored was a result of his lead-up work. His pace and ability to win one on one encounters was crucial. When he plays like that it gives us that cutting edge.
"Cooper Buswell coming off the bench made a big difference as well. I thought he was excellent.
"It's good he is starting to find some form again.
He is a quality player and he is just starting to find his feet again at the right time for us."
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