The 2024 Northern Inland Premier League campaign will reach its halfway point when round 10 concludes on Saturday afternoon, and what a way to mark that milestone as Southern Conference heavyweights Moore Creek FC and Oxley Vale Attunga FC go head-to-head in a top-of-the-table first grade clash at Riverside Sporting Complex 3A.
The two Tamworth rivals have been in impressive form so far this season and are well clear of third-placed North Companions.
Moore Creek lead the way at the top of the conference table with 19 points following six wins, a draw and just one loss this season across eight matches. Their most recent win was the most dominant registered by any team this year as they thrashed East Armidale United FC 22-1 at Doody Park in round nine before the long weekend break.
It was a victory that saw them go to the top of the for and against tally among all teams with 46, having scored 54 goals and conceded eight so far this season.
OVA are just one win behind the Mountain Goats with 16 points following five wins, a draw and two losses in their eight games, and they can go level with their local rivals on 19 points should they beat them on Saturday.
The two sides’ round 10 meeting will be their second of the season after they drew 0-0 in a rescheduled round one match back in April. That game was played on the Sunday after round three, which saw both teams go into it with tired legs, but this Saturday’s fixture should see both teams show what they are really made of as they enter the contest fresh off a break.
Moore Creek’s coach Andy Cygan has been quite pleased with the football his side have been producing in recent weeks and he is well aware that they’ll have to be at their best when they meet a quality football team led by a smart coach on Saturday.
“I think it’s the most confident we’ve been based on our results of late,” Cygan said.
“In 10 years for me though, I’ve never beaten OVA or Tim Coates (as a coach or player at both Gunnedah and Moore Creek). We held them to a draw earlier this year and I think we drew once with Gunnedah, but I’ve been often on the losing end against them. That’s always been a personal challenge, and I think this has to be our best opportunity.
“I’m hoping it’s going to be an open game. We plan to attack as hard and as fast as we can, and our defence has been brilliant all year.
“Our two centre backs Will Hall and Hayden Davidson both missed the last game and we’ll have them, back, and we’ll get Dean Hoy back in goal. He missed the last game with injury too.
“We want to keep the consistency going (from the 22-1 win against East Armidale). We know how good we can be. We want everyone to be an 8/10 and they have been. We don’t want to start having 6/10s and making silly mistakes.
“It should be a good game. We’re all keen and we’re full strength.
“OVA, if it’s the same group, they’ve played together for so long and they know each other inside out. Tim Coates follows a set game plan and they execute it really well. We know how strong they’ll be. They are hard to break down at the back and they don’t concede many.”
As far as Moore Creek’s success so far this season is concerned, Cygan has received a lot of credit and rightly so, but he was quick to point out that the club’s reserve grade coach Rob Haskard deserves a share of that credit as well.
“I seem to get a lot of credit for things, but Rob Haskard is our reserve grade coach and he coaches the team on a Tuesday night when I can’t be there,” Cygan said.
“He’s doing as much as me as well as running his reserve grade side, who are also top of the ladder.
“He deserves a lot of the credit for what he’s doing”
Oxley Vale Attunga have had an injury-riddled season so far in 2024, but they welcome back several faces this weekend following their extended break. Coach Tim Coates is expecting a tough contest against a club that have taken their game to another level in 2024, and one that his men always enjoy playing against.
“I think they’ve done exceptionally well. They’ve built over the past four years looking to go the extra step,” Coates said of Moore Creek.
“Andy’s uncovered the X-factor there and they’ll be a tough nut to crack. We’re looking forward to playing them.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries this year and we’ve staggered to this stage. We’ve got 12 regular first graders, and if we’ve had nine available in a week, well that’s been a good week.
“It is what it is though and it’s the beauty of bush football. You never know who you’re going to be playing one week to the other. I guess it makes it a challenge for coaches to maintain that consistency.
“But we’ve gone through our injury spell now and I’d like to think we’ve come out the other side of it.
“We’ll be at about 90 per cent this weekend I suppose, and whether that’s good enough or not the way the Moore Creek guys are going, we will see.”
The other matches this weekend will see Demon Knights FC host Namoi United at Rologas Sporting Fields, Tamworth FC travel to Inverell Sporting Complex to challenge Inverell FC, East Armidale United FC welcome Hillvue Rovers FC to Doody Park, North Companions FC and South United FC meet in a Tamworth derby at Marius Street Sporting Fields, and Norths United FC go head-to-head with South Armidale United FC in an Armidale derby at Phil Wheaton Oval.
Northern Conference leaders Armidale City Westside FC have the round 10 bye.
The match at Rologas sees Namoi United return to Armidale for the second and final time this season. The combined Narrabri/Wee Waa/Moree team played at the same venue in round nine before the long weekend and went down 3-2 against South
Armidale United, and they now face an even tougher test when they challenge the best defensive side in the competition on Saturday.
Demon Knights are undefeated so far in 2024 following five wins and two draws. They have only conceded five goals across those seven games and they are yet to let in more than one goal in a single match.
They are five points behind fellow undefeated Northern Conference outfit Armidale City Westside with a game in hand, and a win against Namoi United would cut Westside’s lead to just two points.
Namoi United are fourth on the Southern Conference table with seven points. They have won twice this season, drawn once and lost four games, but three of those losses were by a one-goal margin. They have been well and truly in every game they have played but have struggled to get over the line on several occasions.
They are just one win behind third-placed North Companions with a game in hand and are determined to ensure that is not extended on Saturday, however, they will more than likely need to keep their first clean sheet of the year if they are to get the job done given DK’s remarkable defensive record across the first half of the season.
At the Inverell Sporting Complex, Tamworth FC face an uphill battle against one of the form sides of the competition. Inverell are third on the Northern Conference ladder, three points behind Demon Knights on 14 following four wins, two draws and just one loss this season.
Damien Schutz’s men are fired up following a 7-0 Australia Cup preliminary round six loss against NPL Northern NSW heavyweights Edgeworth Eagles last Saturday and they are determined to return to winning ways in the league.
Tamworth FC are coming into this one full of confidence off the back of a 7-0 victory against East Armidale in round eight and raring to go after an extended break as their round nine game against South United was washed out before the long weekend.
The win against East Armidale was their second of the season and they are sitting sixth on the Southern Conference table with six points, but Saturday’s clash against Inverell will be one of their toughest of the season to date.
At Phil Wheaton Oval, South Armidale United will go in search of their third win on the trot and their fourth in five matches when they take on Norths United. The fourth-placed Scorpions had a slow start to the campaign but they are finally finding their groove as they look to make a push to get themselves within striking distance of the top three of the Northern Conference.
Norths are currently fifth on that table following a win and five losses this season. They have scored four goals and conceded 30 across their six games and they are looking to end a three-game losing streak in round 10.
The only team with fewer points than Norths United this season are East Armidale United, who are looking to put a horror start to the season behind them when they welcome Hillvue Rovers to Doody Park.
East Armidale have only played six matches so far but have conceded 57 goals and have only scored four, and they are yet to pick up a point. They enter round 10 off the back of 12-2, 7-0 and 22-1 losses in their past three games.
They now go up against a team in form in Hillvue. The Rovers lost their first four games of the season but have bounced back to win their most recent two fixtures in rounds seven and eight. Their round nine match against Demon Knights was washed out, and they enter Saturday’s clash in Armidale intent on extending their winning streak to three.
At Marius Street Sporting Fields, South United are looking to snap a four-game losing streak and earn their second win of the season. Their opponents North Companions will be searching for their first win in six games. Northies started the season strong with three wins on the trot but are yet to win since, losing four of their next five games.