The Wellington Warriors men’s division were knocked out of grand final contention as they took on Westside in the elimination semi-final on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The initial stages of the game were shaky as both teams attempted to settle their nerves.
It was the Wellington boys who broke the ice through Claude Lewsam who found the back of the net but was adjudged to be offside.
The boys continued to press the Westside defence but luck was against them as the Dubbo boys cleared their lines when a goal looked certain, followed by more bad luck as a shot by Dave Grant hit the post when a goal again looked certain.
Not long after, the Westside goal keeper went down injured causing a prolonged delay.
After the resumption the Wellington boys seemed to ease off and Westside were now full of running.
Soon Westside took the lead with a freakish corner finding its way into the net.
As half time approached some sloppy marking allowed Westside to break free down the right edge and slot away their second.
After the break the boys came out hard searching for a goal to get them back into the match, however time and time again either a stray last pass or desperate defence from Westside stopped the boys dead in their tracks.
When the Wellington boys did get their shots away they usually were ineffectual and did not trouble the goal keeper.
As time was wasting away Wellington sent men forward and duly created chances but once again desperate last ditch defending and a miracle save kept the boys at bay.
Late on Westside almost added a third but were denied by some great keeping from Sam Birbiles.
In the end Wellington were defeated 2-nil and their season was cut short.
Captain Kyle Nonnenmacher said it has been a great season with a lot of youth coming through the ranks which bodes well for the future of the club.
He added a big congratulations to the Wildcats who won their major semi final, 2-1 in Dubbo.
The Wildcats will play the Grand Final in two weeks and everyone is encouraged to make the trip up their to support the girls.