It's been a tough start to the season for the Mudgee Wolves, after their Men's Western Premier League team went down 4-1 with just 10 men against Lithgow Workmen's.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the Wolves always expected a challenge in returning to the Western Premier League after 20 years.
It was a frosty 8 degrees at Glen Willow Stadium, with both teams standoffish for the first half hour of the match, as they got a sense of each other's playing style.
The ball was relatively contained to the centre of the pitch, with both sides trying to break through each other's midfield, until Mudgee's Joel Albrecht danced through Lithgow's defence and put one through.
It was looking like Mudgee would continue to hold possession and control of the match until tensions between striker Joel Albrecht and Lithgow players came to a head, and he was given a red card in the 45th minute.
The decision was met with immense frustration from the Wolves, as it brought their side's numbers down to just 10 men.
The Wolves held a strong defensive wall but Lithgow managed to break through, scoring a total of four goals.
I thought some of the combination play early in the first half was pretty good, and even late in the second half when we made some formation changes, I thought the boys created a few solid chances in front of goal.
- Jason Payne
Even after the significant loss of strike power, the Wolves continued to make attempts at goal throughout the second half, with a particularly strong corner from David Hagtharp.
Mudgee Wolves coach Jason Payne was disappointed with the overall result but impressed with how the team dug deep in the face of a demoralising referee decision.
"It's disappointing a few decisions didn't go our way, which in the end changed the game to a certain extent, but I don't know if it changed it too much," he said.
This weekend the Wolves face off against Barnstoneworth United at Glen Willow Stadium at 6pm.
Lithgow Workmen's 4 (Fordham, Inwood (2), R Gibbs-Minner) defeated Mudgee Gulgong Wolves 1 (Albrecht).
