North Companions and Tamworth FC both won 4-nil, with North Companions accounting for Joey’s FC in Inverell and FC getting the better of East Armidale at Johnson Field to leapfrog Demon Knights into fourth after they suffered a 3-1 loss to North Armidale.

The Armidale side do though have a game in hand.

Oxley Vale Attunga meanwhile slotted two unanswered second half goals to defeat South Armidale 4-2.

Mushies striker Nash Tapp put the home side ahead about 10 minutes in.

“We were confident we were looking okay and then they equalised,” Mushies coach Tim Coates said.

Ben Gennardini restored their lead only for Jamie Wright to lock the scores up at 2-all at half-time with a looping header. 

“We changed a couple of things defensively (at half-time),” Coates said.

The main purpose of that was to tighten things up.

He also spoke to them about putting away their chances. They created enough in the first half to win the game, he felt.

Jacob McGoldrick obliged but then they returned to old habits and “missed another half a dozen good chances” before Tim Smith put the result beyond doubt from the penalty spot.

McGoldrick and Tapp were both stepping up from reserve grade and did an “enormous job”, Coates said.

“They ran and they put pressure on the Souths defence, which unsettled them,” he said.