Narrabri FC wins first derby

Above: Narrabri FC’s Cooper Brayshaw makes his way upfield as Crossroads Eleven FC’s Ayden Hunter gives chase.

Narrabri FC and Crossroads Eleven FC played in the first Narrabri derby of the 2019 Namoi Soccer League season in round five on Saturday at Hogan Oval.

Narrabri FC scored a couple of goals early on in the match but Crossroads showed heart and determination to frustrate their rivals.

The ladder leaders established a 3-0 at half time but were held to only one second half goal as they won the derby 4-0.

Crossroads would be pleased with its second half effort and will move forward with confidence when it faces Moree Services FC One in round six this Saturday.

Narrabri FC will remain undefeated after the next round as it has the round six bye.

On Saturday the two sides met each other at Hogan Oval with Narrabri FC undefeated in its opening four games while Crossroads were yet to taste victory in the 2019 season.

Narrabri FC started fast, capitalising on a sloppy foul as Cooper Brayshaw scored directly from a free kick just three minutes in.

Ten minutes later Colby Williams doubled Narrabri FC’s advantage when he squeezed a shot inside Crossroads’ near post to make the score 2-0.

Crossroads began to defend as a solid unit rather then individually which helped them keep Narrabri FC out until the half hour mark.

In the 30th minute a piece of broken play and a nice cutback from Brayshaw saw Blake Jarrett run onto a loose ball in the box before firing home a half volley to give Narrabri a 3-0 lead with 15 minutes left in the half.

Instead of giving up on the match, Crossroads picked its game up, keeping Narrabri from scoring for the rest of the half.

After the break Crossroads frustrated Narrabri FC, restricting it to only chances from outside the 18-yard-box in which the Blues fired wayward.

It wasn’t until the 75th minute that Narrabri scored their fourth of the afternoon.

Jarrett scored his second goal of the match after his initial header from a Rhys Hayne corner was denied by Crossroads keeper Dylan Thompson but the shot stopper could not keep out the striker’s second effort, tapping the ball into the back of the net.

A swift break away from Crossroads almost gave the team its first of the contest but the chance was snuffed out by an alert Narrabri FC defence.

The match finished 4-0 to keep Narrabri FC undefeated at the quarter mark of the season.

In the other match played in round five of the Namoi Soccer League Wee Waa United continued its strong start to the season defeating Moree Service Club one 4-1.