Braedyn Crowley scored two goals in three minutes to rescue the Maitland Magpies a draw in their Northern NSW NPLM clash against the Edgeworth Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
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The Magpies found themselves trailing 2-0 after conceding from a set-piece in the 11th minute and again before half-time.
A rejuvenated Maitland emerged in the second-half and put the Eagles under pressure when Crowley neatly latched onto a long ball to get the Magpies back in the game.
He was at it again shortly after as Edgeworth saw their lead evaporate in a matter of minutes.
Maitland were now running downhill and could have snatched all three points, Flynn Goodman hit the post and co-skipper Jimmy Thompson went close from a free-kick.
Magpies assistant coach Gavin Woolfe said it was a case of contrasting halves after Maitland recovered from a slow start.
"It might be a cliché but it's what we were talking about after the game, absolutely, it was a game of two halves," he said.
"Edgeworth were really good in the first half in possession of the ball and scored a couple of good goals and really gave it to us.
"We were on the other side of the coin, really poor with the ball in possession, too many turn overs, not looking after it enough and made a couple of defensive errors."
Woolfe said a half-time chat allowed the side to reset.
"We have had a relatively slow start to the season, so we did put it on the boys a little bit to really show up in the second-half and to their credit they did that," he said.
"It was a case of us being a lot better with the ball in the second-half and being more positive as far as getting the ball forward to Braedyn and James (Thompson) up top.
"There was some good play by Charles Cox to get that ball going forward and a few of our other midfielders."
It will be a busy week for the Magpies, they face Lambton Jaffas away in a fixture rescheduled after their round one match was abandoned.
Maitland will then back-up against Cooks Hill on Saturday afternoon at home. Jaffas are second on the NPLM ladder.
"We've had a couple of decent battles with Jaffas over the past couple of years and I don't expect Wednesday night to be any different," Woolfe said.
In other news:
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- City's massive growth prompts call for more cops and 24-hour station in the east
- Greta Branxton Colts beat Denman 26-12 to remain unbeaten on top of table
- Barber scores hat-trick as Maitland Pickers smash Central Newcastle 44-6
- All the mud, music and moves at Groovin the Moo Maitland 2023
Ben Carr
Starting out as a reporter in Lightning Ridge in 2005, I returned to journalism in 2023 after 15 years spent in event production and technical services. Passionate about community news, contact me on ben.carr@austcommunitymedia.com.au or ph: 0484 524 000
Starting out as a reporter in Lightning Ridge in 2005, I returned to journalism in 2023 after 15 years spent in event production and technical services. Passionate about community news, contact me on ben.carr@austcommunitymedia.com.au or ph: 0484 524 000
