THE Kempsey Saints have come from behind to record a 3-2 victory against the Old Bar Barbarians in the opening round of the Football Mid North Coast season.
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A three goal second half, featuring a double from Blake Webster, put them in a winning position after being down 1-0 at half time.
New coach Barry Horsfall said the win was well deserved.
“It has been such a big week for the club so for the players to step up when it mattered and get the reward was excellent,” Horsfall said.
“The main problem we had in the first half was not converting our chances. I knew if we created the same amount of opportunities in the second half we would be able to get on top, which we did.”
Despite having a greater share of attacking play in the first half, the home team found themselves behind at the break following a scrappy goal by their opponents.
It didn’t take long for the Saints to respond with Evan Clarke dispatching the ball into the right corner of the goal with his left foot early in the second half.
They made it back to back goals just minutes later when Webster latched on to set piece to put the Saints in the lead for the first time.
Old Bar hit back with a goal of their own soon after due to a misunderstanding in the Saints defence that left the goal keeper unable to deal with a looping shot.
With just five minutes remaining in the match, Webster again came to the rescue for the Saints with the side making the most of another set piece to seal a memorable victory.
Horsfall said his side knows where they have to improve going into tomorrow’s match against the Port Saints.
“The goals we conceded were quite sloppy so there are still a couple of areas which need some work,” he said.
“Overall, I was pleased with their performance in the game.”
The Kempsey Saints will take on the Port Saints tomorrow at 2.30pm at Eden st.
