Another huge day of Northern Inland Premier League football is in store on Saturday and the round six action will be headlined by a blockbuster clash between Inverell FC and Armidale City Westside FC at the Inverell Sporting Complex.
Games will also be played in Tamworth and Armidale, with South Armidale United FC welcoming Oxley Vale Attunga FC to town for the grand final rematch, Hillvue Rovers FC travelling to Phil Wheaton Oval to challenge Norths United FC, and two matches being played at Riverside Sporting Complex as South United FC host Demon Knights FC while Moore Creek FC and Tamworth FC meet in a local derby.
North Companions FC will sit out on Saturday with the round six bye.
Four teams went into round five last Saturday undefeated and only three of them kept their streaks alive as Inverell became the first team to beat OVA this season with a 4-1 home ground victory.
It was Inverell’s third win on the trot in as many games, and fellow Northern Conference teams Armidale City Westside and Demon Knights also continued their unbeaten runs as Westside edged out South United 1-0 at Riverside 3A while DK drew 1-1 with North Companions at Rologas Sporting Fields.
Namoi United scored their first win in the NIPL first grade competition since 2016 following a seven-year hiatus in just their fourth game after rejoining when they overturned a 1-0 half-time deficit on home soil at Hogan Oval to beat Hillvue Rovers 2-1.
The two other round five winners got the jobs done in far more comfortable fashion as South Armidale demolished East Armidale 7-0 at New England Mutual Sportsground while Moore Creek cruised past Norths United 4-0 at Riverside 4A.
Inverell were the team that everyone was talking about heading into the 2024 campaign following their dominant pre-season that saw them progress to round six of the NNSWF Australia Cup preliminary rounds and also take out the Johnson Cup tournament in Tamworth. They have lived up to the hype so far, winning all three of their games across the opening five rounds a combined 11-2, which included a comfortable 4-1 win against last season’s premiers OVA at Inverell Sporting Complex last Saturday.
Coach Damien Schutz said going into that match he wanted to see his men compete at the best of their ability up until the final whistle and not get complacent in a game that would be their toughest of the season, and he was proud to report that they did exactly what was asked of them.
They took a 1-0 lead into half-time after a Paul Leo strike separated the two sides in the first half, and the hosts then piled on three goals in 15 minutes during the second stanza as Stephen Toleyi, Leo and Brad Readett found the back of the net. OVA then scored a late consolation goal.
“It was a funny game, very physical at the start,” Schutz said.
“Our guys got one goal up and we kept the pressure on and kept weathering OVA’s attack, because they kept coming.
“There was a 15-minute period around the 50th or 60th minute when we got three goals (to go ahead 4-0) and put the game away.
“The guys were stoked with the win and there was a good turnup at training (on Wednesday night). It’s put a bit of fire in their belly.”
Inverell are now ready to step it up another level against the most dominant team in the competition so far, with Westside having won their first four games a combined 22-0.
“We knew OVA were going to be our toughest test so far, but Westside will be really tough as well,” Schutz said.
“I don’t know whether they’ll be as physical as OVA. I don’t know much about them to be honest. But from what I’ve been hearing, they’re a young, fit side, and there are a few quick fellas there who could cause us a bit of bother.
“We just need to keep focusing on what we’ve been doing and keep finishing the second half off.
“It will be a good test, I think. They haven’t conceded a goal yet, so they’ve obviously got something going on in that backline of theirs.”
Westside have started off the year with a bang, and like Inverell, they have won every game they have played so far. The Armidale side have piled on 22 goals in four games and are yet to concede following four straight clean sheets.
Saturday’s round six contest will be their toughest match so far, and goalkeeper/coach Anthony Gray is confident his men will be up to the challenge.
“Their results indicate that they’re a pretty handy team,” Gray said of Inverell.
“We need to give them their respect but also go out there and do our own thing and see what happens from there.
“We’re just trying to play football and not worry about the distractions. I think last year we got caught up in where people thought we were and rested on our laurels and we got found out in the semis.
“My message to the guys, and what it’s been all year, is that we’re setting up in a certain way to play a certain style of football and we’ve got to play that. It doesn’t matter who we play against or what sort of environment or external factors come into it, we’ve got to be able to play our style for the full 90 minutes.”
Westside have shown so far that they can play teams off the park and also win the tough, gritty games. They started off the season with 8-0 and 12-0 victories against Norths United and Tamworth FC, but more recently have won 2-0 and 1-0 against Hillvue Rovers and South United.
“We were really happy with our start to the season, but those two first games can be a bit misleading,” Gray said.
“Last week we had seven players out with one of our players getting married, but we’ve got two pretty strong teams across first and second grade and we were able to grind out the win. A lot of respect to South Tamworth though, they put us to the sword and we had to scramble for that 1-0 win. It was a really tough test and we’d been saying that’s what we wanted.”
Gray said this year he had challenged his men to press all over the park as soon as they lose possession to try and win the ball back, and they have been stepping up and doing so which has been a driving force behind their perfect defensive record to start the season. That mindset will be put to the test on Saturday against one of the best sides in the league.
A third team will attempt to continue their undefeated start to the season on Saturday, and that is fellow Northern Conference outfit Demon Knights.
DK have won three of their four games so far and drew the other, scoring 11 goals and conceding just two in the process. They are away against South United at Riverside 3A, with the Tamworth side going into the game hungry for their first win.
The Lightning’s goalkeeper/coach Daniel York was chuffed to learn of Gray’s comments regarding the tough test they gave Westside in a 1-0 loss in round five and he wants his men to take that momentum into round six against the undefeated DK.
“That’s actually great to hear, that’s a massive compliment to our boys,” York said.
“I think it was the best that we’ve played so far this year and the best we’ve played compared to a lot of last year as well.
“Everything seemed to come together for us. I think that came about because of the kick in the guts we got the week before against Moore Creek (an 11-0 loss). We had a lot of players out for that game but it’s not an excuse. We didn’t turn up and we played very poorly. I think it was the kick in the guts we needed.
“This weekend, I’d love to see us run out there and put on the same performance as we did against Westside, but I’d like to see us do one better with the result. I’d like to see us walk away with three points this week.
“DK are undefeated and they’re going to be tough. When we played them last year, they were strong and quick. It will just depend on how they travel, I think.
“The best thing we can do is play our game. We play our best when we have the ball at our feet, and as soon as we lose the ball and our heads start to drop, that’s when we start to leak scrappy goals and the confidence goes out the window. As long as we have the ball at our feet, we can play some very, very good football.”
In Tamworth, Moore Creek can climb to the top of the table in the Southern Conference with a win in round six. They are currently second following their 4-0 victory last weekend that saw them overtake their local rivals OVA after their slip-up in Inverell.
The Mountain Goats are just one point behind North Companions, but Northies will sit out this weekend with the bye.
Andy Cygan’s side started their season off with a 3-1 loss away from home against Demon Knights but have since won three games and drawn their other. They have kept four clean sheets in that four-game unbeaten run and have scored 21 goals to emerge as the team to beat in the Southern Conference.
At New England Mutual Sportsground, the grand final rematch between South Armidale United and OVA should be a cracking contest. The Scorpions had a slow start to the season but scored their first win last Saturday when they prevailed 7-0 against East Armidale United, while OVA enter round six coming off their first loss of the campaign.
Also in Armidale at Phil Wheaton Oval, Norths United and Hillvue Rovers will go head-to-head as they both continue their pursuit of earning their first wins of the season.