The Maitland Magpies have made a dismal start to their NPL premiership defence with a 4-1 hammering by Edgeworth Eagles despite having more chances and controlling play for large periods at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Sunday.
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Maitland's pain was further compounded when Matt Comerford injured his hamstring when he came on to play with 30 minutes remaining.
It was a cruel blow for Comerford who was playing his first regular match since injuring his knee two years ago.
Captain Carl Thornton was also hampered by an ankle injury for most of the game and will need to prove his fitness for next week's game against Lake Macquarie.
The Magpies trailed 2-0 at half-time, the same score as their 2019 grand final loss to the Eagles, but Edgeworth were in no mood for mercy and piled on two more goals to one in the second.
While Maitland struggled to make the most of their chances, the well-drilled Eagles were deadly effective in taking advantage of any slip-ups by the Magpies.
Will Bower scored first converting an opportunity on the counter for the Eagles and Jose Atayde made in 2-0 with a goal just a minute before half-time.
Braedyn Crowley got the Magpies on the board and back into the game at 2-1, when he back-heeled the ball past the keeper after some clever lead up work by Jimmy Thompson.
Maitland continued to create chances with Thompson and the Swan twins industrious and Crowley showing plenty of good signs.
But they were made to play again for poor checking on the counter. With 20 minutes to go Josh Evans was left unmarked in the six yard box and headed in from a free kick and five minutes later Kristian Brymora was given too much space and scored from outside the 18-yard area.
Maitland football director Simon Rutherford said the side had been aware that Edgeworth were well-drilled, very fit and dangerous on the counter.
Rutherford said Maitland was caught out on the counter and had trouble dealing with dead-ball set plays.
He said Thompson, the Swan twins and Crowley were Maitland's best.
"We really can't afford to have too many off days, unfortunately the other top teams all had wins and we need to turn things around," Rutherford said.
"The shortened 13-round season means you can't afford to drop many games if you want to be in the running."
The Magpies must turn their form around quickly when they host Lake Macquarie next Sunday.
