Australia Cup: Mitch O'Keefe and Sam Higgins score as Oxley Vale Attunga beat Coutts Crossing 2-1

Picking up where they left off last year - shooting for a second straight Northern Inland Premier Division title they were undefeated and well clear on the top of the table when COVID brought the season to a premature end - the Mushies booked a spot in the next round 2-1.

After a scoreless first half Mitch O'Keefe finished off what coach Tim Coates described as a really good interchange of play to put the Mushies ahead in the 46^th minute.

"It was basically a training ground drill, there were five players involved," Coates said.

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The Cougars, who he said were "very physical and willing", hit back in the 61^st minute.

But Higgins restored the Mushies' lead eight minutes later with a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar before hitting the goalkeeper and going in.

"It was an absolute rocket - a bit like his grand final goal against Tamworth FC a couple of years ago," Coates said.

He said it was "a bit of an ebb and flow game" and he wasn't ever "that worried". They just needed to convert their chances.

They probably should have "been three or four up" at half-time but just couldn't finish.

The game was played in spits and spurts of rain; it would be heavy then lighten up for a while, then get heavy again and so forth, which made it hard for the players to find their rhythm.

"The other thing was we had not played on synthetic before so that was a learning curve," Coates said.

It does play a bit differently to the local turf grounds they are accustomed to.

Playing up front with O'Keefe, Aden Hall on debut was one of the Mushies' best.

"He played the entire 90 minutes and constantly looked dangerous," Coates said.

"It was a solid effort from most of them.

"Matt James played well in defence and Josh Magann pulled off a couple of really good saves."

They now await Monday's draw to find out who they play in the next round, which will be next weekend.

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