Wee Waa United scores a reserve grade win and a first grade draw against Narrabri FC

Wee Waa United hosted Narrabri FC at Cook Oval in the sixth round of the Namoi Soccer League campaign on Saturday, and for the second time in as many meetings between the two clubs, the Wee Waa teams picked up four of the six points on offer as they remained undefeated in 2022 in both grades against their old Narrabri Shire rivals.

While it was a first grade win and a reserve grade draw last time out for Wee Waa in round one to kick off the season back in April, this time, it was the club’s reserve grade team that was victorious.

The Andy Kiely and Chris Johnson-coached side kicked off the day with a 3-1 victory on home soil before Wee Waa United and Narrabri FC played out a 3-all draw in the first grade game.

Bailey Organ struck for the hosts midway through the first half in the reserve grade match as he netted his first goal of the season, and then Hayden Shearin scored with a powerful strike from just outside the 18-yard box with two minutes left to play in the first half to send the home side into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Shearin made the score 3-0 early in the second stanza before Narrabri FC’s George Bennett scored with 15 minutes remaining.

The visitors pushed hard to find the two goals they needed to equalise, but the hosts were too strong in defence and secured a two-goal win.

That victory was Wee Waa’s second in four matches so far this season. It is now ranked third on the table with seven points and still trails the undefeated ladder leaders Inverell FC by 11 points.

Inverell scored a 7-1 win at home on Saturday to move to 18 points. It has won six times in as many matches in 2022 and has scored 32 goals so far while conceding just three times.

The other reserve grade match was won by second-placed Moree, which also prevailed at home as it outscored Narrabri Eleven FC 7-0.

In the first grade game at Cook Oval on Saturday, Narrabri FC struck first in the 13th minute. Colby Williams whipped in a cross from the right sideline, which fell to Blake Jarrett, who guided the ball into the bottom left corner with a volleyed shot from close range.

Narrabri FC centre back Nathan Trindall then scored his first goal of the season 23 minutes later to give his side a 2-0 lead when he headed home a Cooper Brayshaw corner kick.

The visitors took that 2-0 lead into the break, but it was Wee Waa that came out firing in the second stanza.

One of the side’s newest additions in 2022, Ben Cooper, found the back of the net from close range after getting onto the end of a through ball in the 51st minute before Nathan Hamblin equalised with 16 minutes left to play when he drove a sensational strike from the far left corner of the 18-yard box into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Wee Waa then took the lead three minutes later when Jacob Hopman capitalised on a loose ball that the visitors failed to clear following a set piece. The Wee Waa attacker volleyed into the roof of the net from close range to make the score 3-2.

The home side looked set to claim all three points as the game entered stoppage time, however, Narrabri FC had other plans. Rhys Hayne sent a free-kick from deep in his own half upfield, and the ball was chested by Jake Brayshaw into the path of his brother Cooper Brayshaw who then struck a curling volleyed strike into the bottom right corner from 20 metres out to make the final score 3-all.

That result saw Narrabri FC finish the weekend in second place on 10 points following three wins, a draw and two losses.

Wee Waa dropped to fifth and is now on five points following a win, two draws and a loss. However, the side has two games in hand on the top three.

Inverell still leads the league after it came from behind against Gunnedah to score its fifth win in six games.

The hosts trailed 2-1 at the break after Andy Cygan opened the scoring for Gunnedah and his teammate Matt Williams netted a 30-yard screamer to make the score 2-0 before Inverell’s Andrew Saru pulled one back before the break.

The score was 2-all late in the game before Inverell FC converted from the penalty spot with five minutes left to play to win 3-2.

Inverell finished the weekend five points ahead of second-placed Narrabri FC and third-placed Gunnedah FC, which have both accumulated 10 points each so far this season.

Moree Services FC is now ranked fourth following a 10-0 win against the last-placed Narrabri Eleven FC.

The Moree men went into the break with a 5-0 lead in that round six clash and they piled on five more goals in the second half to score a 10-goal win in front of a home crowd.

Alex Madden and Joe Coleman both scored hat-tricks, while Matt McLane, Joe Grills, Adam Ha and Domonic Kowalski all netted once each.

The Elevens are yet to pick up a point following five losses from as many rounds but will have a chance to kick-start their 2022 campaign on Thursday when they take on Wee Waa in a rescheduled round four fixture at Hogan Oval in both grades.

The Elevens will have played all six matches at full time of that game, and as of Friday, there will only be one fixture to catch up, which will be Wee Waa and Moree’s round three games in both first and reserve grade.

There will be no matches played this weekend as the clubs all break for the June long weekend.