They had held their own in the sides' previous meeting, which was deadlocked until the 89th minute before two late Kale Bradbery strikes sealed the result in the Jaffas' favour.

The hosts looked to exert their influence on proceedings early, as James Virgili forced a low stop from Jacob Zissis in the third minute. A fourth minute cross found Mitch Rooke well positioned around the penalty spot, but his pedestrian side-footed volley was comfortably collected by Zissis.

The Bears began to make their way into the contest and the next quarter hour of play proved largely a midfield battle. Bradbery had an opportunity in the 19th minute, but a bobble a split second before connection scuppered his chances as he skewed his attempt wide.

A booming Zissis goalkick in the 22nd minute cleared the heads of the Jaffas' first line of defence and Moustafa Mohammad was quick to react, teeing up Chris Hurley, whose long-range wormburner stung the palms of Lambton keeper Isaac Quinn.

Aaron Niyonkuru suffered a heavy challenge from behind as he attempted to collect the scraps but the referee awarded only a corner as the ball trickled behind. The subsequent Hurley delivery found the head of Zac Sneddon, but the fullback's attempt was wide of the mark.

The attentions of Matt Buettner on the inside were just enough to force Bradbery wide of the mark once more in the 31st minute, as the Jaffas marksman latched on to a low Virgili cross.

Legitimate chances had been at a premium for either side, each finding it difficult to break down the opposition defence.

Lambton's Finn Harris went down on the 35 minute mark in a 50/50 challenge with Paul Sichalwe and play was brought to a halt for two minutes.

Upon the resumption, a Michael McGlinchey long ball found Sam Kamper out wide, whose cross was well directed towards Niyonkuru at the back post. The strike was tame and misdirected, however, meaning the hosts were let off the hook.

In the 39th minute, Sichalwe was brought down in midfield by Andrew Pawiak, who went straight through the back of him, but play continued as Bradbery unleashed a vicious strike towards the top corner that went straight through the palms of Zissis to hand the Jaffas the advantage.

Virgili had a crack himself in the 41st, but his strike ended up in an adjacent postcode; in any case, he may have been slightly distracted, still chewing the referee's ear off over a perceived foul suffered thirty seconds earlier.

Parris' afternoon came to an early conclusion in the 43rd minute as he made his way off gingerly for Ben Hay. Hay was straight into the action, taking possession of the ball on the edge of the box, but his rust was evident as the placement of the ensuing strike left a lot to be desired.

Only a minute of stoppage time would follow - curious given a single pause for injury alone took twice as long to resolve - before the players made their way to the sheds.

For Leo Bertos' Bears, it would be an opportunity to regroup, while for Shane Pryce's Jaffas, the hymn sheet would no doubt be along the lines of 'more of the same'.

Zissis was called into action 55 seconds after the restart, as Bradbery let fly from just inside the box. Ultimately it would prove a simple assignment for the Weston gloveman, but crucially Lambton had shown their intent early and they did not appear content to sit back and simply defend their lead.

McGlinchey delivered a dangerous deep cross in the 53rd minute, but the home side's defence did well to block Mohammad's strike before it could threaten Quinn.

The same combination cropped up a minute later; this time Mohammad fluffed his lines with a 'big swing, no ding' at the first time of asking. By the time he fashioned a second opportunity to shoot, his patience had run out and he snatched at the strike without properly setting himself.

It would be a case of 'third time lucky', though, in the 56th minute, as McGlinchey's perfectly executed corner was deftly nodded home by Mohammad to square the ledger. It was no less than the two deserved, having unlocked a seemingly fruitful link-up in the early portion of the game's second stanza.

Zissis did well to advance early in the 59th minute and dispossess the advancing Virgili, who had stolen in behind the Bears' defence and was all alone.

At the other end thirty seconds later, Cooper Sargent showed nimble feet to elude his marker and release a quick strike timed awkwardly for Quinn to judge, but fortunately for the Lambton custodian he was able to watch the ball past the post.

Play was curiously waved on in the 62nd minute despite Buettner being clattered off the ball by Tom Waller, with Bertos justifiably taking exception to the decision from the sidelines.

Less than a minute later, a seemingly much more innocuous challenge was flagged against the visitors as players came together in the air, which only served to compound the ire of the Weston brains trust.

Fortunately, Rooke's header from the resulting free kick finished well wide of the post.

A slight mix up in the 67th minute saw Nathan Morris head the ball back towards Zissis, with an ill-timed moment of hesitation leading to Bradbery nipping in for a rapid touch. It was of little consequence, though, directed straight into Zissis' hands.

Morris was presented with an opportunity at the other end from a dead ball shortly afterwards, but his tame strike was comfortably dealt with by Quinn.

The same man was colossal in his own defensive third moments later, coming up clutch to block the strike of Virgili, who had felled Sneddon in the middle of the park en route to making his way in behind the Bears' line.

Hurley had a chance to unleash a long range volley in the 71st minute, but like a teenager at a blue light disco trying to seal a first kiss, he bottled it at the crucial moment and connected cleanly with fresh air.

After another minute had elapsed, Rooke went close at the other end, his low strike trickling past the right post with Zissis at full stretch.

An inspired piece of play from Mohammad in the 76th minute saw him hold off the attentions of three Jaffas markers and play a delightful ball for Kamper down the line, who had put in a lung-busting overlapping run to make himself available; the execution of Kamper's cross, however, was less elegant.

The Jaffas introduced Kai Bradley for Rooke only moments afterwards, while McGlinchey, having previously only been used for second half cameos this campaign and thus with more minutes than usual in the legs, made way two minutes later for Cooper Buswell.

Kamper delivered a sumptuous cross into the box in the 80th minute, with the frantic passage of play that followed seeing Mohammad's strike blocked, Hurley's subsequent attempt blocked by the friendly fire of Mohammad, then finally Niyonkuru's attempt blocked by the scrambling Jaffas defence.

Buswell tried his luck from range in the 80th minute, but his low strike fizzed just past the right post. The Jaffas forced Zissis to scramble at the other end and earnt themselves a corner, then another, but the well organised Weston defence proved themselves up to the task.

A triple substitution would follow, as Waller, Luke Remington and Virgili and made their way for Alex Hilton, Josh Whitten and Matthew Berrigan. Mohammad would then make way for Connor Heydon in the 85th.

Berrigan put himself about early after his introduction, doing well to get on the end of a long bomb from fellow substitute Hilton and force a desperate touch from Zissis for a corner. The subsequent delivery, however, lacked the incisiveness to trouble the visitors.

A harsh decision to award a foul to the home side saw Reece Papas deliver a close-range free kick and force a desperate diving header from Morris. Papas' opportunistic chip following the corner saw Zissis produce perhaps the save of the afternoon, flinging himself through the air to tip the ball over the bar.

Papas was in the action once more in the 90th minute, executing a delicious lob for the on-rushing Berrigan.

Berrigan's chip, with Zissis advancing and Kamper sticking to him like glue, carried a high degree of difficulty, and indeed it was a bridge too far as the ball finished well over the bar.

The exertions of the afternoon began to take their toll as Sneddon went down with cramp and Hay with what appeared to be a back strain, but both men were able to return to the fray.

After 93 minutes of play, the referee blew the final whistle with the score locked at one apiece. It was a well-earnt point for the Bears, who showed enough in the second half to suggest there is definitely life left in their campaign and they are capable of mixing it with the competition's top sides.

The Bears face Maitland Magpies at Cooks Square Park on Saturday in round six of the Australia Cup.