Namoi United’s highly-anticipated return to the Northern Inland Premier League soccer competition unfolded in Tamworth on Saturday afternoon and the combined Narrabri/Wee Waa/Moree team returned home with a point in each grade following a pair of 2-all draws at Riverside Sporting Complex.
The NIPL newcomers challenged South United Lightning in the second round of the campaign after they sat out with a bye in the opening round a week earlier.
The first and reserve grade contests were also South United’s first of the season after their round one clashes against Tamworth FC were washed out.
Namoi United went behind early in Saturday’s season opener when the Lightning capitalised on a defensive lapse that the visitors made in the seventh minute to make the score 1-0. However, they were back level 10 minutes later when Rowan Keeler brought the crowd to its feet with a cracking volley from outside the 18-yard box that flew into the top right corner to make the score 1-all.
The visitors had the perfect chance to take their first lead of the game just before half-time after winning a penalty kick following a handball in the box by the hosts, but striker David Avery’s shot that he blasted towards the bottom left corner was saved by Lightning’s goalkeeper/coach Daniel York.
The Tamworth side won a spot kick of their own early in the second half and they put it away to restore their lead, but Namoi United levelled with another quality finish when Avery ran onto a Jake Brayshaw cross from the left and drove the ball into the back of the net with about 15 minutes left to play.
Namoi United pushed hard for a winner in the final quarter of an hour, but the game was still locked at 2-all when the final whistle sounded, and the two sides shared the points.
The combined Narrabri/Wee Waa/Moree team’s coach Neil Brayshaw, who was the Narrabri FC first grade coach in the Namoi Premier League for seven seasons, told The Courier his side had a nervous start to the game but were impressive in the second half.
“In the end, I was pretty pleased to be honest. To come away with one point on the road instead of none is always a plus,” Brayshaw said.
“The players all know it was a pretty sloppy first half. The first goal we let in was very sloppy, there was no talk.
“We just weren’t composed and our touch wasn’t there. I’m not sure if it was nerves from being in the new comp, because we trained a lot better than we played in the first half.
“But then at half-time they took on everything we said and you wouldn’t think it was the same team out there in the second half. They held the ball really well and we held our structure, which was a really pleasing aspect of the second half.
“Souths had five back in defence and sometimes six with a midfielder just in front of the back five. Our fitness was really coming over the top of them late.
“It was a game of two halves really, and like I said, it was great to come home with a point.”
The Namoi United coach added that everyone involved with the club was thrilled to be back in the NIPL comp, and he said the limited interchanges is a change that his players will need to adapt to after they spent the past eight seasons playing with unlimited interchanges in the Namoi Premier League.
Earlier in the day, Namoi United and South United’s reserve grade sides played out a 2-all draw. Namoi United lead 2-1 at half-time after Colby Williams opened his side’s account early in the contest with a header and then Connor Hill added a second on the half-hour mark to put them ahead 2-1. The Lightning then struck late in the second stanza to earn a point as the contest finished locked 2-all.
Brayshaw said he thought Namoi United’s reserve grade side worked hard for one another and played quite well in their first game of the year, and he said the depth among the playing group is positive.
The only first grade game played in round one of the season saw North Companions earn a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Hillvue Rovers at Marius Street Sporting Fields. North Companions were then able to make it two from two on Saturday when they returned to that venue and outgunned East Armidale United 4-0.
Other matches across round two saw Inverell score a 3-0 home ground win against the defending champions South Armidale United at Inverell Sporting Complex, the 2023 minor premiers and grand finalists Oxley Vale Attunga beat Tamworth FC 5-2 at Riverside Sporting Complex, Demon Knights score a 3-1 home ground win against Moore Creek at Armidale’s Rologas Sporting Fields, and Armidale City Westside demolish Norths United 8-0 at Armidale’s Phil Wheaton Oval.
Namoi United will play their first home games of the 2024 season this Saturday when they host Inverell at the Moree Services Club Field.
Inverell were the champions of last season’s Namoi Premier League first grade competition and have been in almighty form in 2024 after being crowned champions of the Johnson Cup pre-season event in Tamworth after winning their way through to preliminary round six of the Australia Cup knockout competition, and then prevailing in their season opener on Saturday.
Brayshaw, who coached Narrabri FC to both grand final appearances against Inverell in 2022 and 2023, is expecting a tough encounter against his team’s rivals but said he thought the smaller field at Moree would suit Namoi United in that match-up.
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