Tamworth FC coach Greg Bartlett has tweaked his defensive set-up as they reboot their Northern Inland Premier League campaign against Demon Knights in Tamworth on Saturday.
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After kicking off their season with a 4-2 win over North Armidale, FC had the bye last week.
Bartlett said the week off probably hasn’t done them any favours and is expecting a typically tough encounter with their Armidale opponents enjoying wins over East Armidale and North Companions.
FC will be without star recruit Jackson Haussler, who is in Germany for brother Heinrich’s wedding.
Bartlett said it is a shame with the midfielder really starting to hit his straps.
“He scored one of the best goals I’ve ever seen against North Armidale,” he said.
His loss is cushioned a bit by the return of Ben Davis, who, Bartlett said, will help stiffen up the midfield.
The midfields for both sides will have a big say on the outcome.
“Like most games if you win the battle in the middle of the park that goes a long way to making everyone else’s job a bit easier,” Bartlett said.
“Hamish Migheli is getting better and better. I think him and Ben (Davis) will complement each other.”
Ryan Davidson is also starting to come into his own.
“If we can take control of the middle we have got a few goals in us,” he said.
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They showed that against North Armidale. One of the most pleasing aspects of that was that the goals came from different players, and Bartlett is hoping they can continue to build on that.
His only real complaint was a couple of little lapses in concentration in defence, which they need to cut out.
He has subsequently made a “small tweak” in defence, which he said “might surprise a few people” but that he feels might help with that.
North Companions meanwhile host South Armidale, while East Armidale and North Armidale clash in Armidale.
