Wakehurst has roared into fourth position on the MWFA Premier League ladder after a last-gasp 4-3 win over Narrabeen on Saturday.
In a high-quality fixture at Narrabeen Sports High the visitors scored in the final minutes to “suck the life out of” Ross Talarico’s side which had equalised in the 80th minute.
“At full-time there was honest disappointment,” Talarico said. “To come so close to getting a draw and lose it in the last minute, sucks the life out of you.”
Wakehurst went up 2-0 after 30 minutes before Josh Coleman, who was among Narrabeen’s best, scored a brilliant goal in the 35th minute, turning his man and volleying home.
At half-time Talarico told his team they “must be better in every facet”.
“We knew if we just raised our game a little it was there for the taking,” Talarico said.
Twenty minutes into the second half Tom Opie equalised for Narrabeen when he bundled the ball in after a low cross.
Wakehurst went ahead again before Coleman got his deuce in the 80th minute with a left foot strike from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Then Wakehurst nailed the winner at the death.
Talarico lauded Gutierrez O’Farrell for his “link up play upfront” and Tomas Pospisil for an “energetic display in midfield”.
“We moved the ball very well and our fighting spirit got us out of difficult situations. But mental lapses hurt us as they have in the last few weeks.
“Afterwards I told the boys if we can play as badly as we did and still be in with a shout and compete for the full ninety against the best sides in the competition, the sky is the limit.
“I’m expecting a big turnaround this coming week,” Talarico said.
In other games Saint Augustine’s beat BTH Raiders 3-1, Manly Vale went down 4-2 to CC Strikers, Curl Curl hammered Harbord 4-0 while Mosman made a statement at Grahams Reserve beating Brookvale 3-2.
