A LATE penalty has denied North Companions a first grade victory in their weekend Premier League double-header.
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Playing host to Oxley Vale Attunga on Sunday, Northies were out to avenge their 4-1 defeat at the hands of Tamworth FC on Saturday.
The young Northies side had to make up ground, trailing the Mushies 1-0 at half-time after Mitchell O'Keefe found the back of the net.
Thomas Haling and Jack Young responded well in the second half for Northies, each finding a goal not long after half-time.
However, a penalty inside the last five minutes of the game gave the Mushies a chance to level the score and Jack Diebold did not miss.
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Northies coach Jackson Zifodya told the Leader it was disappointing for his side to come up short.
"I think we had something like 70 per cent of the possession and lost the game because we couldn't score," Zifodya said.
"We are just not scoring, which is really frustrating at times and we need to find a way to fix it."
Zifodya said his young side would use Sunday's clash as a "learning experience".
"Like Saturday against Tamworth FC, we played really well had a lot of possession, but again we couldn't score," he said.
"We have a few youngsters in the team and I think when you have trouble scoring, the teams with the more experienced players really make you pay for it.
"So I think our guys will have learnt that we need to make the most our opportunities."
The weekend's double-header got off to a poor start for Ziodya's men, going down 4-1 at the hands of reigning premiers Tamworth FC.
"I think all of our young guys will learn from that loss as well," Zifodya said.
"Considering our team does have a lot of youngsters, what they are showing me now is very encouraging.
"There's lots we can work on, there's lots of room for improvement and that's all we can do."
Zifodya said "keeping a positive attitude" would be key to his side's ability to bounce back next week.
"I think because we lost two games in a row against two of the strongest teams in the league I think, I don't want my youngsters to get their heads down," he said.
"It's not as if they have lost because they have played badly, so it is so important for me to make sure they keep their heads up.
"To be honest, there's nothing I would really change with how we are playing, the youngsters up front are trying their best.
"They are coming up against wise, experienced players so they will learn and it will come, which is encouraging."