WHEN south Armidale defender Mark Wright left the pitch for a hurried trip to Sydney he would have felt comfortable that he’d helped steer his team to a long awaited victory over Easts in the local derby of the New England Credit Union Premier League (NECU-PL) on Saturday.

Leading 3-nil with just 15 minutes on the ref’s watch, Wright had been as safe as the Pentagon at the back for the Scorpions when he had to leave the field for the trip down south.

But his team mates also chose that time to clock off - with Easts finding the net twice in the final minutes to bring the result into question.

Souths coach Craig Wright was nonetheless happy to get the win, but not so pleased at the unnecessary angst at the death.

“We played well and dominated for most of the match. We could have closed it out earlier if we had taken all our chances but we failed to convert,” Wright said.

He said he had stressed to his charges at half-time the importance of trying to keep a clean sheet - but all that came to nought with the departure of Wright and a reshuffle at the back.

George Palmer, Richard Morris and Dan Clydesmith all got on the board for Souths in a welcome return to form after some indifferent efforts of late, and coach Wright while well pleased to walk away with the points said his side wouldn’t be so lucky if it failed again to stay focussed for the duration.

Indeed the Scorpions will have to be ‘on’ till the final whistle in their next assignment against the wounded defending premiers North Companions at the Sportsground on Saturday.

With their late revival, fellow strugglers Easts also took some positives away from the loss to Souths.

Sweeper Daniel Preston said it had been an entertaining clash, where both sides enjoyed patches of purple.

“It was a topsy turvy sort of game and we had our moments but so did they,” Preston said.

The game was a memorable one for Easts’ Josh Mears - coming up against his old club in what was his final NECU-PL outing before heading overseas.

Preston, who named Dave Mahoney as Easts standout on the field, said the fixture represented a solid club effort coming on the back of a couple of demoralising defeats.

Souths also pipped Easts in reserve grade, 4-3, and Preston who coaches the seconds, was as happy as one could be despite coming up just short in the preliminary.

Trickster Farley Rhodes scored two for Easts in the reserve grade clash, in what Preston described as a very entertaining engagement and a sign that the team is heading toward brighter tomorrows.