Narrabri FC’s four-game win streak came to an end in the eighth round of the 2023 Namoi Premier League first grade competition at Hogan Oval on Saturday when the local side was beaten 3-0 by defending champions Inverell FC.
The two sides met for the third time this season after they contested the 2022 decider in September last year.
Narrabri FC had won their previous two encounters a combined 11 goals to two away from home, but Inverell returned serve in style in their first game in Narrabri this year as Junior Padokana scored a first-half hat-trick. He opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes and then added a second on the half-hour mark before finding the back of the net again on the stroke of half-time.
The sides contested a second-half stalemate as Inverell FC held on to win the contest 3-0.
Narrabri FC went into the match five points clear of Inverell at the top of the table and had a chance to stretch that gap to eight points.
However, Inverell’s fifth win of the season saw it close that gap to just two points.
Both sides have lost two games each, but Narrabri FC has six wins to its name and Inverell had a draw against Wee Waa United FC earlier in the year.
Wee Waa contested a home match against Moree Services FC at Cook Oval on Sunday and narrowed the gap between themselves and Narrabri FC to five points when it scored a 3-0 win.
The hosts netted all of their goals in the first half. David Avery struck first, Nathan Hamblin doubled Wee Waa’s advantage, and Avery scored his second before the break.
Ben Cooper’s men held out Moree for the remainder of the match to secure their second clean sheet and fourth win of the year, while Moree’s loss was its eighth in a row as it remained on zero points.
Narrabri FC will play its third game in a row at Hogan Oval this Saturday when it hosts Wee Waa in round nine, while Moree hits the road to take on Inverell.
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