Football Far North Coast Premier League leaders South Lismore Celtic, the 2019 Champions, went behind to Lismore club rivals, Lismore Thistles before a decent midweek crowd at South Lismore last night.

Lismore Thistles, who staged a remarkable win at Maclean last Sunday to claim their first points of the shortened season, went behind after 15 minutes of open football, with both sides wanting to attack.

A free kick to Thistles was met by a defensive header from South Lismore Celtic's captain Patrick Kable who, unfortunately for the home side, directed his clearance into the path of Thistles’ attacker Jye Wilson. Wilson needed no invitation to unleash a thunderous strike which whistled into the roof of the net passed Souths' goalkeeper Luke Condon to put them ahead.

South Lismore maintained their composure despite falling behind and looked dangerous from set pieces. Souths almost levelled the scores as the ball deflected out off the post from a corner, before Murray Towner had a golden chance to score but misdirected his close range header wide of the goal.

Midway through the first half and the pressure on Thistles took its toll as teenager Ezra Frost was on the end from some excellent work from Kaine Allan to direct a smart header into the far corner of the net.

Teenager Ezra Frost, pictured taking on Goonellabah's Nelson Cheli, scored another goal for South Lismore Celtic against Lismore Thistles last night. Photo: Steve Mackney

South Lismore didn’t have to wait too long before they took the lead. After numerous half chances going to waste from corners, Patrick Kable was finally able to convert from an excellent Noah Coleman corner and give the Celtics a 2-1 lead heading into halftime. 

The early stages of the second half brought about some fantastic football from South Lismore who deserved to extend their lead but excellent scrambling defence from Thistles prevented this from occurring. 

While the score remained 2-1 to the Celtics, Thistles continued to be a threat on the counter attack from their fast attackers, in particular Isaac Essery and Jye Wilson. 

However, with 10 minutes remaining, South Lismore extended their lead to two goals as young midfielder Harry Armstrong was on the end of some nice build up play from Cristian Brown. Armstrong was able to strike the ball beyond Joey McCalman and give the Celtics the two goal cushion they were searching for. 

Harry Armstrong (left), with Noal Coleman, scored the third goal for Souths against the thistles last night.

The score remained 3-1 to South Lismore, extending their lead at the top to three points from Bangalow, who drew 1-1 with Goonellabah last night.

South Lismore Celtic coach Cameron Hyde was excited to see some attacking combinations finally working and the players being rewarded for that. 

“I’m really happy to see our midfield play with the structure and combinations that we’ve been asking for," said Hyde.

“The progression could be seen in the last game against Bangalow and once again in this game so it’s really pleasing to see as a coach and the players know it’s taking shape now as well, so they’re all smiles.”

Hyde said he couldn’t name a player of the match due to the excellent team performance but singled out Connor Lovett, who made his Premier League debut, making him the sixth Celtic player to make their debut in the top grade this season. 

When Hyde returned to the club in 2017, Lovett was playing in the Fourth Division for South Lismore with his friend Bob Mullenberg.

Mullenberg was able to cement a spot in the Premier squad in 2018 while Lovett has had to remain patient for his opportunity and Hyde said he took it with both hands last night. 

“I’ve got a lot of time for Connor. He’s someone that every club needs as he continues to put the club and squad ahead of himself," said Hyde.

“Once the nerves disappeared he had some really nice touches and looked very comfortable in the attacking third. He should be very proud of himself.”

Lismore Thistles coach Nick Winkler-Maloney was proud of his players, who gave as good as they got in the first half.

"We just allowed a cheap goal on a set piece and then they got a lucky goal late," Winkler-Maloney said.

"But the boys were gassed and struggling. The effort was there but like every game we have had, we just aren’t doing enough to get the points unfortunately."

South Lismore: Luke Condon; Bodhi Estreich, Connor Lovett, Trevor Vail, Josh Parfitt; Harry Armstrong, Cristian Brown, Noah Coleman, Murray Towner, Paddy Kable, Bob Mullenberg, Ezra Frost, Kaine Allan, Connor Whitehall, Robert Vail, Davis Whitney

Lismore Thistles: Joey McCalman; Dean Marshall, Nick Rhodes, Mitchell Beardow, Jeremy Sullivan, Kaleb Gooley, Wyley Drew, Oscar Stahl, Isaac Essery, Will Parsons, Jye Wilson, Callan Sivewright,

Football Far North Coast Premier League Round 4

Alstonville 2 Goonellabah 4, Crawford Park, Alstonville;

Richmond Rovers 3 Byron Bay 5, Bill Harris Field, East Lismore;

Bangalow 0 South Lismore 2, Jeff Schneider Field, Bangalow;

Maclean 2 Lismore Thistles 3 Wherrett Park, Maclean;

South Lismore 3 Lismore Thistles 1, South Lismore

Bangalow 1 Goonellabah 1, Jeff Schneider Field, Bangalow

Alstonville v Richmond Rovers, Crawford Park, Alstonville, tonight, 8pm

Maclean v Byron Bay, Wherrett Park, Maclean, tomorrow, 7:30pm

Points score (matches played in brackets): South Lismore Celtic 13 (5), Bangalow 10 (5), Maclean 9 (5), Goonellabah 8 (6), Byron Bay 7 (4), Richmond Rovers 4 (5), Alstonville 3 (4), Lismore Thistles 3 (6)