Take the three points and move on.
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That was the message from Port United coach Nathan Wade after his side accounted for a gutsy Taree Wildcats 4-2 at Dixie Park on Saturday (June 5).
United looked in control for the majority of the Coastal Premier League match, but the Wildcats refused to go away with a second-half brace to Sam Modderno keeping his side in the contest.
Mitch Higgins and Jyal Tregier found the back of the net for the hosts while Matt Broderick also scored a second-half brace although he should have had a few more.
If not for some strong saves by Wildcats goalkeeper Dylan Webber, Broderick could easily have had four or five goals.
"They're a thorn in our side; they always give us a hard time," Wade said.
"It's not that we play bad, it's the amount of pressure they put on us makes us play bad so for some reason they're our bogey side. We're happy with the three points and we'll move on."
Broderick was meant to be substituted at half-time before the United coach had to abandon that plan.
"The other forward had a sore ankle so Brods was putting his socks back on to come back for the second half," Wade said.
Wildcats co-coach Ben Sedlen felt his side was slowly getting there after they rallied twice to close to within one goal before United kicked clear again.
He was disappointed in the result, but not with the effort.
"We're slowly getting there," he said.
"We were certainly in that game and had Port worried for a while, but a few defensive lapses cost us.
"We're moving in the right direction now."
They still conceded too many 'soft' goals for the coaches liking.
"When you score two goals you should win so we've got to work on the defence now, but it was certainly a step in the right direction," Sedlen said.
"It's not about winning at the moment, this was always a three-year plan for Taree.
"If we keep this group of guys together and add a few more next year we'll be a force to be reckoned with. If Port are one of the top teams we certainly ran them close. We're not too far off."
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