The Urunga Raiders travelled to the uncharted footballing territory of Armidale on Saturday to take on the Inverell Joeys in round 3 of the Northern NSW state cup. Little is known about the teams from the tablelands and their was an air of excited uncertainty amongst the squad as the bus began its ascent up the scenic waterfall way.
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There was some confusion over what sort of weather to expect in the high country as well; with some thinking shorts and thongs would suffice, while Emar packed a snow jacket, swag, and 3 days camping supplies.
Team Manager and debt collector Jason Snell was in a scrupulous mood – possibly to recoup two up losses from the previous day – and constantly had the red ink out, fining Luke Pomroy, Fabrice and Turtle among others for not adhering to the Raiders strict match day fashion code.
A hard and uneven pitch made it near impossible for the Raiders to play their preferred short passing game. Passes which began at ground level were often received at waist height, and the extra touch needed to control the ball was allowing the enthusiastic Joeys time to close down options. Coach Pomroy had identified attacking set pieces as an area that needed improving, and the midweek training moves paid off on 15 minutes when a perfectly weighted corner from Jai Wadick was met at the near post and headed in by Cale Simmonds. For the remainder of the half the Raiders had the better of attacking opportunities but couldn’t find the space to get shots on goal. The Joey’s were a well structured unit and defended desperately to keep the score to 1-0 at halftime.
After the break the Raiders lifted the intensity and began to dictate the pace of the game, creating more and more space in and around the Joeys penalty box. On 50 minutes Emar Foran tapped home from close range to make it 2-0, then 5 minutes later Nigel Robinson stormed out of the backs, won four tackles in a row and laid off a gift wrapped pass to Fabrice Wamara to round the keeper and finish the goal and, effectively, the game 3-0.
A defensive lapse allowed the Joeys a late consolation, but two goals in the final five minutes to Josh McGovern and a 2nd for Cale Simmonds took the scoreline to 5-1. A slightly untidy, but nonetheless comfortable victory for the Raiders, who now progress into the State Cup Finals Series for the second year running.
The Raiders return to the Cabbage Patch at Urunga this weekend, coming up against the Woolgoolga Wolves.
Reserve Grade at 12pm. First Grade 2pm. Get along to watch as the Raiders enjoy their best start to the season in many years.
