FOOTBALL
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Mudgee Wolves coach Jason Payne has all but conceded his team’s elimination from the Bathurst District Football men’s first grade competition.
The Wolves had to win Sunday’s match against CSU Bathurst at Proctor Park but were beaten by the competition leaders 4-2.
Although the Wolves’ position had yet to be confirmed due to the points table not being updated, Payne has a feeling his team has missed the finals boat.
“On our calculations we were one point behind fourth [Abercrombie],” he said.
“We had to win and Abercrombie had to lose but that didn’t happen.
“I’m not sure how far we were behind third spot but we could be at least four points from the top four and with a game to go, there isn’t enough points left.
“At this point in time, we are done.”
Mudgee got off to a brilliant start when James Ford slotted home the first goal in the opening minutes.
But then the Wolves fell asleep and the students took control of the match.
They piled on the goals and despite Ford’s second goal of the match, CSU ran out 4-2 winners.
Payne made no excuses for the loss.
“We were out played,” Payne said.
“They were clinical, they pressured us higher on the park. The better side won on the day.”
Meanwhile the Wolves men’s third grade could be the only team to feature in the semi-finals after another strong win on the weekend.
They also played CSU Bathurst but the Mudgee team were able to win 3-1 with Justin Griffiths bagging a double.
“They are starting to pull the right form at the right end of the season,” Payne said.
“They’ve got some wins and not many losses.
“The pleasing thing is the young guys are performing well.
“We started slow [against CSU] but once we knocked the ball around we started to get on top.”
Mudgee Wolfettes had their second heavy defeat in as many weeks when they went down 5-0 to Macquarie United White in the women’s second grade competition.