HEAVY rain and skilled opposing forwards led to the Demon Knights' 1-0 defeat to Glen Innes on Saturday.
Glen Innes had several opportunities to score in the first half of the match, but a strong defence from Knights goalkeeper Luke Birmingham kept the Highlanders at bay.
A free kick 20 yards out granted Glen Innes the only goal of the match just minutes after the start of the second half.
Despite strong performances from Chris Daly and James Thomson, the Knights were unable to match the Highlanders for the remainder of the second half. Demon Knights player Dave Farmer said the poor conditions had hampered the performance of both teams.
"Conditions were terrible, it was raining, there were soggy grounds, it wasn't favourable for either team," he said.
"Glen Innes had a good style of football, we missed some chances and didn't convert any opportunities we had.
“It wasn't pretty football, it was pretty scrappy actually."
The Knights had a better game in reserves, defeating Glen Innes 3-1. The Knights led from the outset and had reached 1-nil by half time.
Although Glen Innes scored once in the second half, the Knights were able to score two more goals before full time with the assistance of striker Scott Janes.
The Knights will return to Rologas on Saturday to play against Inverell.
Farmer said the next week would be spent building on the team's skills.
"It'll be good to play back at home after being away for the last couple of weeks," he said.
"I imagine it'll be a bit of a challenge, but we just have to work out a few things and hopefully we'll perform a bit better than we did on the weekend."
