One goal was enough to ensure the Bears continued a win-less run away to the Eagles stretching back to 2011, but it could have been worse without Carter's efforts to continually deny the ladder leaders in the second half.

Both sides were relatively evenly matched over the first half hour of football, with a few half chances falling either way, but the Eagles began to pull away in the latter stages of the opening stanza.

Returning defender Zac Sneddon gave away a foul right on the edge of the box in the 33rd minute. Jose Atayde's strike crashed against the post and Ayden Brice headed the rebound straight at Kristian Brymora, before the subsequent deflection settled in the net to hand the Eagles the lead.

The goal sent Brymora to the top of the league goalscoring charts ahead of Maitland's Joel Wood.

The Bears went to the sheds with a bit of work to do to get themselves back into the contest. Act Two, however, veered some way off script for the visitors.

A 53rd minute Eagles counter created a precarious two on two situation for the Bears to deal with at the back. Bears custodian Scott Carter rushed off his line to smother the effort of Will Bower at the edge of the box with a crucial save.

It was one-way traffic at this point, the Bears seeming to have few answers for the Eagles, who were moving the ball with fluency despite the agricultural surface.

The final 20 minutes of the match proved largely a story of one man doing his level best to stem the tide and thwart the Edgeworth attack at every turn.

A 79th minute fast break released Brymora down the right - his tantalising low cross into the six yard box was met by what was almost a disastrous touch by Robbie Turnbull, which resulted in Carter having to produce a genuinely top drawer save to claw the ball out just inches from the line.

A minute later, Turnbull hit his header back towards Carter far too softly and it landed perfectly at the feet of an unmarked Brymora. Carter, limping heavily by this point with a calf strain, stood up well and showed great composure to save what was an absolute sitter for the Eagles striker.

The Bears were stubbornly refusing to yield despite weathering heavy artillery.

A compromised Carter made two more superb stops in the final 10 minutes. He justifiably took man of the match honours on the afternoon.

The Bears simply could not produce an equaliser and the result was a bitterly disappointing one for Leo Bertos' men, who are just starting to lose touch with the top four.

This weekend's home fixture against Lake Macquarie is absolutely crucial and nothing less than three points will do if their campaign is to remain alive.

The Bears need to find their feet quickly to avoid continuing a worrying early trend of inconsistency.