The Onekey Resources first grade almost fell behind with the first salvo of the game as West Wallsend struck the cross bar with a fierce shot.

After this opening scare, the game developed into a midfield arm wrestle with both teams trying to exert their superiority.

Each goalkeeper was called into action, but the score remained 0-0 until Singleton struck the opener through Ryan Hartwell whose delicate shot lobbed the advancing ‘keeper.

The 1-0 scoreline remained until the break.

The second half started with Westy pushing hard for an equaliser, but the Singleton defence held them at bay.

Bowen Bagnall had a golden opportunity to extend Singleton’s lead, but he only managed to sky his shot from close range.

Westy turned on the nasty tactics as they tried to get themselves back into the game, and the tackles flew in thick and fast.

Singleton’s livewire centre forward Joe Civello had the ball in the back of the net, only to see his effort flagged for offside.

Time and time again, the visitors attacked but Singleton held firm until the final whistle to record a gutsy win.

The under-23 fixture was only minutes old when a defensive mix up almost cost Singleton dearly as West Wallsend blasted over the crossbar from close range.

But the Strikers recovered and Brad Cox had a chance to shoot after 10 minutes, but he saw his shot sail wide of the target.

Singleton continued to live dangerously with slack defending gifting Westy two gilt-edged chances which squandered from close range.

The 0-all half-time score line underlined the closeness of the teams.

But West Wallsend drew first blood almost straight from the kick off for the second period with a well-taken shot that snuck inside the far post.

And then a penalty kick awarded to West Wallsend gave them a two-goal buffer.

Singleton got a well-earned penalty themselves when Cox was unceremoniously hacked down, and Nathan Willoughby struck his penalty shot with conviction to make it 1-2. 

Nathan Hall then stung the Westy keeper’s hands with a fierce shot.

West Wallsend restored its two-goal buffer when a glancing header beat a diving Ryan Guihot.

And then a fourth sealed all three points for the visitors in an entertaining game.

Yhe Viatek under-19 game started with a sluggish looking Singleton under the pump early.

A defensive lapse saw West Wallsend take the lead after just seven minutes.

Sustained pressure from the visitors saw them double their lead at the 25-minute mark. 

And, a third goal in the shadows of half-time aptly demonstrated the gulf between the two teams.

A much-improved second half performance saw the Strikers hold the table topping West Wallsend side until the dying minutes when a corner kick to the visitors resulted in them scoring their fourth goal from a thumping header.

The Betts Bower Haulage Singleton Strikers under-17s were under pressure early against a strong West Wallsend team.

And it took its toll as the visitors grabbed the lead after 15 minutes.

Singleton rallied after this early setback, and dominated the next 10 minutes with a number of corner kicks awarded, but they could not convert this field position into goals.

The rest of the first half was a fairly even affair. 

Singleton custodian Brae Wissink was called upon to make a couple of good saves, while at the other end Jacob Geddes went closest to scoring for the Strikers. 

The stalemate continued in the second half. 

West Wallsend maybe had their noses in front in terms of possession, but stout defence was keeping them at bay and Singleton was doing enough to cause alarm among the Westy defence.

The game turned when the softest of penalties was awarded to the visitors, and was duly converted.

After that, the Strikers heads went down and Westy capitalised with a third goal to put the game to bed. 

Singleton Strikers under-15’s season appears to continue get worse and this weekend’s loss to West Wallsend virtually signals the end of their run to make the semi-finals. 

The game started with Singleton playing some attacking football without creating any real opportunities to score.

A mix up between the Strikers’ keeper and the sweeper presented West Wallsend with a simple task of scoring the first goal.

This was compounded shortly after with Singleton’s Elijah Smith being given a red card in the 20th minute of the first half. 

The Strikers continued to give their best but never really threatened to score.

As they pressed for the equaliser a break away by West Wallsend late in the half saw them add a second goal to end up winners 2-0.