The Weston Bears, down to 10-men for the final 20 minutes, pulled off a memorable 2-1 victory against the previously unbeaten Charlestown Azzurri at Lisle Carr Oval on Sunday, April 16.
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The result was all the more remarkable as Azzurri had conceded just two goals and scored 12 in claiming six wins from the opening six rounds.
The Bears find themselves third on the table with four wins and a draw from their opening six games against last season's top six finishers.
Meanwhile, the Maitland Magpies round 7 fixture against Lake Macquarie City was washed out.
It was the visitors who started the brighter, showing enterprise with the ball and looking to make some early incursions into Azzurri's final third.
An 11th minute handling error from Charlestown custodian Nathan Archbold nearly presented Bears winger Aaron Niyonkuru with a gilt edged opportunity from close range, but fortunately for Archbold the bounce was fortuitous and eluded the reach of Niyonkuru.
A miserly Charlestown defence had conceded just two goals through their opening six games, while the Bears were on a decent run themselves having allowed just three past them since the opening day pair of controversial spot kicks against Broadmeadow.
As such, the challenge facing both sides as they looked to inflict scoreboard pressure was anything but insignificant.
The hosts' first half-chance of the game came by way of a low Harry Frendo cross a couple of minutes later, which made its way right to the back post but was ultimately cleared away comfortably.
Jacob Dundas did well to shake off his marker in the 18th minute and advance towards goal, but his progress was curtailed with a trip from behind; curiously, the foul was awarded to Charlestown, much to the vocal consternation of the travelling contingent.
A shoulder-to-shoulder challenge in the 20th minute saw Bears skipper Chris Hurley cautioned by the referee, before a clear handball three minutes later from Charlestown was waved away, and another quite bizarre decision saw Dundas clipped once more in the middle of the park only for another foul to be awarded against him.
The frustrations were justifiably beginning to grow for Weston; to their credit, however, their focus on the play itself never wavered.
A superb piece of play in the 27th minute from Yuta Konagaya saw him take possession of the ball inside his own half with a great first touch facing away from goal, before turning two defenders and showing great strength and poise to shake off the attentions of another, then surging forward and prodding a through ball towards Niyonkuru.
Unfortunately, for the Bears, there was a touch too much weight on it and Archbold was able to come off his line and collect it.
Connor Heydon delivered a great cross in the 29th minute to the head of Niyonkuru, only for Harry Frendo to come up with a crucial intervention and head the ball away off the line.
Cooper Buswell's glancing header in the 32nd minute off a Niyonkuru corner was only half cleared, and Liam Wilson popped up at the edge of the box to rifle home a half-volley as clean as can be, handing his side a valuable lead.
Weston did not look like shutting up shop after dealing the first blow of the match, and continued to press forward with intent.
Dundas must have felt like he had incurred the wrath of the football gods as he was once again punished, this time in the 39th minute, despite appearing to have himself been fouled.
Ex-Weston man Regan Lundy fired in a dangerous cross in the 43rd minute but the flicked-on header from the heavily marked Ryan Frame ended well wide of the mark.
The scoreboard operators were not troubled any further prior to the break, and though it had been an exceptional display from the Bears through the opening 45 minutes, manager Kew Jaliens would be keen to impart the importance of maintaining focus and pressure, fully aware that this was a job only half done.
Azzurri emerged from the sheds with a touch more proactivity about their approach, but the Bears showed that they were not about to roll over and allow their opposition a clear path back into the contest.
An early foul from Alessandro Ouwerkerk on Jacob Melling meant the Bears now had three of their four defenders sitting on yellow cards, providing something of a conundrum for Jaliens to address, keen to avoid both a numerical disadvantage and a cautious and non-committal defensive approach.
A couple of chances for Charlestown saw Gerard Roebuck called into action, and on both occasions he came up trumps with authoritative catches. His distribution was letting him down a touch on the afternoon, but the ball definitely appeared to be sticking well to the gloves.
The hosts continued to employ a high press, something almost entirely absent from their first half strategy, and it was not long before the Bears realised they would need to fight fire with fire in order to arrest a potential momentum swing.
Through the pace and trickery of Niyonkuru and Wilson on the flanks, the visitors responded by giving Azzurri some headaches of their own to deal with.
A deep 54th minute Heydon cross towards Niyonkuru saw the latter attempt an athletic bicycle kick, but his strike was all y-axis and no x-axis, sailing well over the bar.
Dundas finally earnt a foul his way in the 55th minute, and the free kick 25 yards out was dispatched sumptuously by Niyonkuru, who deposited the ball perfectly into the top left corner to leave Archbold helpless and double his side's lead.
Jaliens immediately brought Dieuseul Kandundaho and Paul Sichalwe on for Wilson and Buswell respectively, keen to keep cranking up the pressure rather than sit back and look to preserve what is sometimes referred to as the most dangerous scoreline in football.
In 55 minutes of football, Weston had managed to put as many past Charlestown as their last six opponents combined across 540 minutes.
This Charlestown side are made of stern stuff and were not going to die wondering.
Against the run of play, Melling delivered a pinpoint cross to substitute Rene Ferguson in the 62nd minute for the veteran marksman to send a crisp drive past Roebuck into the bottom corner and halve the deficit.
The Bears seemed undeterred by the setback, continuing to push forward in numbers. Niyonkuru had the defence in all sorts in the 65th minute, but Taylor Regan did well to recover and ultimately clear the ball away.
Dundas went into the book shortly afterwards for what appeared a 50/50 challenge, with the Bears now curiously sitting on a tally of five cards collectively for the match while their opponents were yet to be cautioned.
This seemed that it may mark another turning point with the hosts mounting a period of pressure, their perhaps now-reticent opponents staying a touch out of the tackle.
But finally, a blatant trip from behind on Konagaya with the ball well gone saw Azzurri issued a yellow ticket for the first time on the afternoon.
A light coming together in the 74th minute saw Miguel Fernandez make the absolute most of the minimal contact on him by Sichalwe, with the referee consulting with his linesman and deciding to award a straight red to the Bears central midfielder, and once again the officiating status quo was restored.
The Bears would now need to see out the remaining 20 minutes of football a man light; Jaliens went to his bench to introduce Cooper Sargent for Connor Evans, as Ouwerkerk looked to have picked up a knock and was walking gingerly.
As play resumed, a quick counter attack saw Kandundaho create an opportunity for himself through raw pace, only for his shot to be deflected away for a corner.
Somehow he was denied a free kick moments later after a kick to the leg, but was punished for returning the favour with a trip born from pure frustration.
With 80 minutes on the clock, the 10 man Weston outfit still did not look outmatched by their more fancied opponents, and Kandundaho drew another egregious foul from Regan, somehow not already on a card, as he was about to escape down the line into acres of space and bear down on the Charlestown goal.
The resultant wide free kick amounted to nothing, but the Bears' offence did not abate.
Konagaya was stopped in the 83rd minute after a great run into the box, before some desperation defence at the other end in the 85th minute after a sloppy touch showed great character in the face of adversity.
Kandundaho was looking electric with the ball at his feet, burning his marker out wide repeatedly, but Niyonkuru failed to make the most of a slide rule ball from the former in the 86th, blasting his effort well over the bar with space in his favour.
Another great move a minute later between Konagaya, Kandundaho and Niyonkuru saw the latter caught narrowly offside.
A crucial intervention from Hurley saw him cut out a Fernandez attempt in the 88th minute at the near post, before Roebuck was fouled on the subsequent corner with Azzurri players clamouring in every direction to apply a decisive touch.
Niyonkuru, having contributed excellently all afternoon, made his way in the 89th minute, and moments later an inswinging strike from Sargent was tipped away well by Archbold for a corner.
Weston looked to run the clock down as opposed to delivering a cross, with the match heading into stoppage time, but the tactic bore little fruit as Konagaya was whistled for having the ball stuck between his feet.
A foul by Ouwerkerk on Ferguson in the 94th minute right on the edge of the box saw the in-swinging Lundy free kick successfully cleared away by the Weston defence, but a Ferguson attempt from a subsequent corner drew an incredible diving save from Roebuck to prevent the ball nestling in the top corner.
Only seconds later, from the third recycling of the ball, a near unmarked Regan headed narrowly over the bar from six yards.
Roebuck copped a yellow for running down the clock, and Azzurri seemed a tad deflated from being unable to convert any of these very late opportunities.
With 96 minutes on the clock, the Bears attacked one final time, but an errant touch from Kandundaho saw Regan able to take possession.
But with three whistles from the man in the middle, that would be all she wrote for the afternoon and it was the Bears who had held on for a crucial victory, in doing so becoming the first side in 2023 to take points from Azzurri.
In an unusual twist, the Bears actually dropped from second to third on the ladder despite the win, as a result of Lambton's dominant 3-0 victory over Adamstown taking them from a +2 to a +5 goal difference while the Bears moved from +3 to +4.
Having faced a murderers' row of opponents to open up their campaign - each of last season's top six sides - the Bears are now scheduled for four straight fixtures against bottom five sides, starting with a trip to Adamstown on Anzac Day.
They will need to be careful not to underestimate their opposition, however, as they possess more threats than their ladder position would suggest and are certainly capable of being a banana skin on their day.