The Kempsey Saints leapfrogged the Camden Haven Redbacks into fifth position on the Football Mid North Coast Premier League ladder after a 2-0 victory over the Taree Wildcats on Saturday.
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The match was a catch-up game from the round one contest which was forced to be rescheduled as the Saints had an FFA Cup knockout game on the same day.
It was an important victory for the Saints, who reignited their finals aspirations while landing a blow to Taree's hopes.
"We needed to earn the win after the setback we had with the narrow 1-0 loss to the Redbacks last week," Saints coach Kevin Sinclair told the Argus.
"We are back in the top five but unfortunately we don't have a buffer and we can't afford to drop any games for the run home to the finals."
Both sides were hampered by a "howler of a wind" which was directed across the field.
Sinclair instructed his side to keep the ball on the ground and the tactical decision proved to be successful as Saints controlled the majority of the possession.
Despite both sides creating quality chances, which included the Wildcats hitting the crossbar, the deadlock wasn't broken until the final 20-minutes of the match.
Kempsey captain Troy Ward found the back of the net from a free kick, as he lifted the ball over the wall and it dipped just in time to sneak under the crossbar.
Saints doubled their advantage in the final 10-minutes when Nick Wright, who played the first 75-minutes as a centre midfielder, was moved into a striker role.
Wright was in the right spot at the right time as the ball fell to him after a scramble in the box and he made no mistake.
Sinclair is hopeful the victory will be a confidence builder for his side, who he wants to show more composure in front of goal for the remainder of the season.
"I feel we are doing everything right at the back two thirds of the field but we haven't been able to find a way to get goals at that front third," Sinclair said.
"We have been working hard on that at training and hopefully we are rewarded and can find the back of the net more often."
Saints have conceded the third least amount of goals but also scored the third lowest amount this season.
Kempsey take on bottom-placed Wauchope at home this Saturday.
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