Tamworth FC coach Greg Bartlett has given his side a B-plus mark for the season after a dour 1-0 win over Oxley Vale Attunga at Johnson Field kept them four points atop the table .
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Again, Bartlett was left lamenting FC's poor finishing - although he was happy to get the win in what he described as "just one of those sort of games".
"It wasn't overly impressive," he said of his side's performance, adding: "They probably had a few chances to score and didn't take them, and we a few - and Kurt Barrow scored one."
A first-half goal by striker Barrow - in which his attempted cross from out wide found the corner of the net - secured the reigning premiers the points.
FC ran into a strong wind in the first half, which they had at their backs after the break.
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Bartlett had thought that his side might "run away with it" in the second half.
"But that didn't happen," he said. "They [OVA] fought really well. "It was a good game, played in the right spirit and refereed very well."
Bartlett praised the performance of his keeper, Sam Coates, who played against his former club.
"He had a very good game in goal and made one terrific save, where he put his body on the line, which was pleasing," the mentor said.
"The game probably could of gone either way. So just happy with the win and we'll move on."
He also singled out midfielder Brent May for special praise, as well as his defenders Zac Kam and Troy Hearfield. "They [Kam and Hearfield] played well. They defused a lot of play," he said.
"OVA's got a couple of quick guys up front, but the guys [Kam and Hearfield] handled them pretty well ... Moving forward it's good that our defence is sorted."
Bartlett said FC was "still not firing like I'd want ... the front third was letting us down a lot".
"But we've got plenty of time to work on it," he said, adding: "It's time we stopped talking about finishing games and started finishing a few."
In other matches, South Armidale thumped East Armidale 6-0, while North Armidale downed Demon Knights 1-0.
