TREVOR Skingle marked his return to the Shoalhaven United sidelines with a win on Saturday, as his Bears defeated North Sydney United 4-3 in their FFA Cup round two fixture.
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At Ison Park, the made a perfect start, scoring within the first minute through Lachlan Wilkinson.
But the Bears equalled the ledger 23 minutes later when Jamie Young put the ball past North Sydney goalkeeper Hugh O'Brien from the penalty spot.
The scoreline remained 1-all until just before half-time when Shaun Aldous gave the Bears their first lead of the match - making it 2-1 at the break.
Two minutes after the resumption, the Bears' lead was extended to 3-1 when Billy Wallington score before recruit Lewis Archibald added a fourth in the 56th minute.
At 4-1, the hosts appeared to be cruising towards victory but two late goals from Adam Robinson (76th minute) and Christain Garces (80th) set-up a grandstand finish.
Thankfully for the hosts, they managed to hold on and secure their spot in the third round of the 2021 competition.
"We made a shocking start to the match, going down within the first minute - which made me think we could be in for a long afternoon," coach Skingle, who singled out the performances of Young and keeper James Spackman, said.
"But full credit to the boys for the way they fought back and poked their noses in front at half-time, which to be honest, was a little flattering.
"After the break, we handled the heat better and scored two quick goals, on the back of us dominating the possession.
"We probably ran out of steam at the end, seeing them bring it back to 4-3.
"Thankfully, our defence composed themselves and we were able to hold on for the win.
"We probably could have scored a few more goals, as we were a little wasteful with the ball but all in all, it was a really positive performance from the boys and one we can build on going into next week."
The Bears next play the winner of this Thursday's game between Brookvale and West Pennant Hills.
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