NSW NATIONAL PREMIER LEAGUE
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South Coast Wolves finally broke through for their first win of the season with a 6-1 drubbing of Manly United at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.
In just his second game in charge, Nahuel Arrarte watched his side slam home five second-half goals - including three in the final five minutes - to give him the first three points of his tenure.
Young substitute Jordan Murray was a standout on his first-grade debut, coming on with 20 minutes left and scoring two sublime goals.
Arrarte said the result was a reward for the character his new squad had shown during a tough start to the season.
"Full credit to the boys, their attitude has been fantastic and it is always difficult when you are down the bottom," Arrarte said.
"Not everything went our way today, but I felt the commitment and effort and their attention to instructions was great for everyone.
"The belief in the team is there, the attitude is there and I have had a chance to see it with [new assistant coach] Michael Santalab."
The signs were positive early on for the Wolves, with Ricky Zucco and Peter Simonoski both coming close to opening the scoring inside 15 minutes.
Their efforts were rewarded in the 23rd minute when a snap shot from Zucco found the post and Sam Matthews followed it up.
The Wolves continued to pile on the pressure, with a Zac MacKenzie effort finding the crossbar and another attempt cleared off the line.
They had to wait until early in the second half to gain a deserved 2-0 lead, through the head of Zucco.
Manly pulled a goal back from the penalty spot through Brendan Cholakian before Arrarte made what proved to be an inspired substitution, bringing on Murray for the yellow-carded Zucco.
Murray scored with virtually his first involvement of the match, 70 minutes in, combining a magnificent turn with an even better finish to put the Wolves 3-1 up. But the impressive former Bulli attacker wasn't done yet.
After latching onto the ball behind the United defence, he slammed home a rocket half volley from just outside the 18-yard box.
From then it was party time for the Wolves, as Simonoski and Matt Bailey added the fifth and sixth to give South Coast their first win of the season.
"Obviously it is just the one game of many left, 14 or 15 left, so for us it is just a tiny step in a long race," Arrarte said.
"It is always difficult when you have lost so many games and only picked up one point.
"Hopefully this is a common pattern which can keep recurring away from the losses and the draws.
"It is great to get a win and for the players to experience that - which they haven't this year, apart from their midweek Cup game."