Moruya took the upper hand early in the first half and wowed its home crowd fans with a goal to Tim Knight.

Clyde equalised minutes later through Griffin Kauffman and the two sides went into the break at 1-all. 

A momentary lapse by Moruya’s defence allowed Kauffman to sneak behind to score a second goal after about five minutes of the second half.

He chased down a loose ball on the left flank and a one-two pass involving Dean Charmichael led him into the 18-yard box. His shot sailed into the top right of the net.

Moruya pressed for a goal in the waning light but Clyde’s defence dealt with each attacking raid well, led by vocal goalkeeper Rick Patrizi and the set of fullbacks in front of him. 

Clyde United’s coach Paul Dillon said it was a hard-fought win and was pleased to see his team show resolve after trailing 1-nil.

“They didn’t drop their heads and bought it back to 1-all and went on with it; it was great,” Dillon said.

Dillon praised Kauffman, who has been playing well over the past few matches.

“He’s a young fella coming through the ranks,” he said.

“The way he scored the first one was a cracker and the one-two in the box was just as good I thought.” 

Jye Kelly played as Clyde’s striker in the second half and Dillon said he made a positive impact.

“He had a fairly big influence up front; I thought Moruya tended to hang back a little bit once he came on,” he said.

“He hit the post in the second half and to go up 3-1 against Moruya would have been a bonus.” 

Nathaniel Vogel earned the best and fairest points for Clyde.

“He was very good in the midfield; he was strong and went above and beyond,” Dillon said.

Moruya Swans’ coach John Selems said his players were gallant in the loss against a better side.

“We were up and I thought we would keep them out and maybe get another goal,” Selems said.

“But they were on a mission and played very good football and very quick football.

“There’s not a lot to complain about; the guys put in the effort but we lost our game plan a little bit.”

Selems praised Dylan Staunton for his play in an unfamiliar position.

“He’s normally a striker but because we had a major stayer in the midfield out, I put him there,” he said.

“He was the man of the match for us and he earned it.

“Everyone put in the effort but he was outstanding.”

Next Sunday Clyde United plays fourth-placed Batemans Bay and Moruya tackles third-placed Bodalla at Captain Oldrey Park.