Northern Inland Football: Tamworth FC defeat Moore Creek Mountain Goats in dramatic fashion

The men in blue started the season poorly, with just two wins and a lone draw from their first 14 games.

But over the last five rounds, they have strung together four wins - a run which culminated in yesterday's dramatic 3-2 victory over the Moore Creek Mountain Goats.

"The boys stuck to the structure, and that's been our big thing in the last six to eight weeks," Tamworth FC coach Rob Jeffrey said.

"It's paid dividends big time."

Many would have expected Saturday's match at the Gipps Street playing fields to go comfortably the way of the Mountain Goats.

Leading in, they were the third-ranked team on the ladder and had put a combined twelve goals on Hillvue and Norths United in their last two games without conceding one.

So it came as a surprise to say the least when Tamworth FC leapt out to a 2-0 lead, the second of which was the result of a spectacular running effort in the top right corner from Frezer Vera.

But Moore Creek hit back just seconds later with their first goal of the game to Brendon Jenner, who parried a slick cross under the keeper.

From that point roughly 30 minutes into the first half, the Mountain Goats had the run of play.

And when captain Mitch Harding kicked a penalty goal to bring Moore Creek level at 2-2 in the second half, the men in orange and black seemed destined to find the match-winner.

But Tamworth FC held out, and continued to pour on the suffocating pressure as they had done all game.

"We wanted to put pressure on them in that final third," Jeffrey said.

"It was a goal at the start of the season to beat the Mountain Goats, and that's what we've done today."

The clincher for Tamworth FC came in the last minute of the game, courtesy of fast footwork from Solomon Islands import, Moses Lae.

It snared a dramatic victory over the team with whom they share "a bit of a rivalry", Jeffrey said.

And though their late-season surge has not come in time to push Tamworth FC into finals contention, the coach has already achieved his three primary goals for this season.

"Our goal was to finish as good as we can and upset two teams above us," Jeffrey said.

"But player retention was our big thing. To have a good finish to the end of the season, and it looks like we've retained 95 per cent of our players from this year to next year, and that's a big building block.

"We said three years ago that it's a three-year process, and we're well on track to continue that in the next year and maybe finish top four."

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