Narrabri FC reaches Johnson Cup tournament semi-final

Narrabri FC travelled to Tamworth with a squad of 16 players for the 2022 Johnson Cup pre-season tournament on Saturday and finished in the final four.

The club was determined to go one better this year after going down in the final during its debut appearance at the Northern NSW Football event in 2021, but was beaten in its semi-final match against eventual champions South United.

Narrabri FC was placed into a tough pool alongside defending champions Oxley Vale Attunga as well as North Companions and Moore Creek FC.

It finished second on its pool ladder with six points after winning two of its three matches and, like last year, was the highest-ranked runner-up.

That saw it earn the chance to progress to the semi-final stage alongside the three pool winners.

They included OVA, which topped Pool A with seven points, as well as the Moore Creek Mountain Goats and South United.

South United defeated Narrabri FC 3-0 and the Mountain Goats downed OVA 2-0. Those two victorious teams played out a 0-all draw in the decider before South United outscored Moore Creek in a penalty shootout to win the event for the first time.

Narrabri FC’s first grade coach Neil Brayshaw told The Courier that he was proud of his side and said he was impressed with the way his players gelled as a team on the day and all pushed themselves through 160 hard minutes of soccer.

He added that the club enjoyed the 2022 event, just as it did last year, and would be back in 2023.

All matches lasted 40 minutes on Saturday and were played across two 20-minute halves.

Narrabri FC took on Moore Creek FC in its round one match and scored a dominant 5-0 victory to kick off the day in style.

It was an impressive performance as the Narrabri men fired in all areas of the field. They were strong in the defensive third, worked tirelessly in the middle third and were clinical up front.

Rhys Hayne opened the scoring nine minutes into the match with a cracking left-footed strike from distance, which curled and dipped over the Moore Creek goalkeeper and just under the crossbar.

Blake Jarrett then doubled Narrabri FC’s lead when he scored from close range after running onto a pin-point curling Cooper Brayshaw cross from the right edge before Brayshaw found the back of the net himself just before the break as his side entered half-time with a 3-0 lead.

Brayshaw scored again soon after play restarted after running onto a headed Jarrett through ball and firing a powerful strike into the bottom left corner.

Colby Williams then made the score 5-0 midway through the second half when he converted a penalty that he won himself.

Narrabri FC’s next match was against OVA, the side it was beaten by in the 2021 final.

The Tamworth team almost took the lead soon after the match kicked off, however, a sensational dipping Mitchell O’Keefe strike from distance cannoned back out off the crossbar.

Narrabri FC took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break after Brayshaw won and converted a penalty late in the half, but the Tamworth heavyweights were able to find the back of the net twice in the second to claim a 2-1 win.

Narrabri FC went into its third and final pool match aware that a win would more than likely secure it a spot in the semi-finals, and it got the job done in dramatic fashion.

It took on North Companions in a game that went down to the wire and was decided by one of the most unimaginable of goals.

Neither side could break the deadlock during the first 37 minutes of play. But with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, midfielder Matt Edmonds was rewarded for his determination with the match-winner. He worked tirelessly in the middle of the park throughout the day and was eager to spark a winning play for his team. When an overhit pass reached the feet of the North Companions goalkeeper, Edmonds refused to give up on the play and chased the ball down. The opposition keeper then attempted to launch the ball upfield, however, it struck Edmonds in the chest and rebounded into the goal.

He and his teammates defended desperately until the final whistle sounded and held on to earn a 1-0 win.

The Narrabri men then went into the semi-final confident that they could return to the grand final for another crack at the Johnson Cup but were outclassed by a talented and well-drilled South Tamworth side that went on to lift the cup by winning the decider.