East Armidale are hoping they can cement their spot in the Northern Inland Premier League with a win against Norths United this Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Four rounds remain in the competition and Easts sit in fourth – nine points in front of Norths – after a loss to Tamworth FC in contentious circumstances on Saturday.
The Doody Park-based team are back at home for round 18 against the fifth-placed Redmen and while Easts are comfortable in front of their coming opponents, coach Mark Gwynne warned his team not to take it too easy on them.
“Norths, we can't afford to take them lightly,” he said.
“We have got to win our next three games to see if we can run second.”
East Armidale finished their physical game against FC without major injury and are expected to be close to full-strength.
On the other hand, the Redmen have had a season filled with injuries.
Three players have been ruled out for the remainder of the season while nine others are battling minor injuries.
Their diminishing squad has spent the last few rounds playing both reserve and first grade which has taken its toll but co-coach Scott Freeman believes his team can topple the top sides.
“We will be giving it a 100 per cent shot,” he said.
“It doesn't matter what team we put on the field, it is going to be 100 per cent of what we can provide. I am not writing us off. We are still a chance to beat them [Easts].
“Three games left for us – because we have the bye in among that – and we will be trying our hardest to make it [to semis] ourselves and if that means we cause a few problems and headaches then we are quite happy to cause a few headaches.”