It was a battle for half an hour before Coffs City United asserted their authority over Coastal Premier League Men’s new boys Southern United on Saturday.
The Ospreys were competitive for most of the first half before the Lions kicked into gear in a comfortable 4-0 win in the CPL Super Round fixture.
Lions striker Martin Kelleher scored a hat-trick while Joel Hampson also found the back of the net in the victory that satisfied coach Glenn Williams.
“There was a fair bit of talk getting around the table about those guys coming in and how strong they were going to be and I think once they get their fitness they’ll be tough,” he said.
“It was a real battle there for half an hour to 35 minutes and I think our fitness got it over them.
“Super positive; this year against quality opposition it was our best game”
Williams believes the Forster-based club will cause some headaches once they play more games.
“Down there in the middle of the year it’s going to be tough to take the points away from them because they’re well-drilled and they try and play football,” he said.
“I think (the scoreline) was a fair reflection. We scored another one that was ruled offside and it could have been more.”
Southern United coach Jonathan Newman felt they won some individual battles, but collectively the Lions were much stronger.
That was where the improvement needed to come from when the two teams meet again.
“I hate losing. I’ve never liked to lose, but when you’re beaten by an opposition who’s played better football than you on the day you have to cop that on the chin,” he said.
“I thought there’s a lot more room for improvement in us than there is in them.”
Newman also felt some of his forced selection dramas played into Coffs United’s hands.
“We were a bit lacking in width but that was forced upon us selection wise where I had to pick two central midfielders in wide attacking areas,” he said.
“They did what central midfielders do and that’s come central.
“You can make a list of excuses as long as your arm, but in the end you have to look at who you have on the day and they did their best that’s for sure.”
In other matches, Port United put 10 past Taree Wildcats while Kempsey Saints and Boambee played out an entertaining five-goal thriller. The Bombers emerged 3-2 after 90 minutes.
Coffs Tigers banged in five goals in a 5-0 win over of Sawtell while Port Saints bounced back from an opening round 5-1 defeat to cruise past Macleay Valley 5-2.
Bellingen battled hard to register a 1-0 win over Northern Storm.
Coastal Football Leagues 