Tamworth FC had already sewn up the minor premiership heading into the match but coach Greg Bartlett said his side wouldn’t be lacking motivation in the lead-up.

And the coach thought that showed.

“We won 3-1 and they didn't score until late,” Bartlett said.

“We dominated them, they didn't have a lot of chances. I think we were the better team, especially with the players we had out.

“But it was a tough old sort of game. It got a bit controversial.

Bartlett added: “The referee lost control of the game.

“The guy that refereed the reserve grade game came in and took over.

“We were up 1-0 at the time. I said to them at half-time, go out there and play good football which they did.”

With FC’s top scorer Kurt Barrow out, Troy Hearfield and Jackson Haussler picked up the slack in the goal scoring department.

“Troy Hearfield scored two and Jackson Haussler got one,” Barlett said.

“Troy’s first was from a free kick and the second was a header.

“Jackson’s was also a header from a corner.”

Bartlett said the game was won thanks to a team effort by his players.

“Everybody played well. Everybody did their job. They all worked hard,” Bartlett said.

While the minor premiership has already been decided, ladder positions for the final three spots in the finals are still to be finalised.

East Armidale were sitting third, but equal on points with Demon Knights, leading into the game but now sit outright fourth.

Demon Knights sit in second after their 1-0 win over South Armidale while Oxley Vale Attunga are in third position with their 2-1 win over Norths United.

DK sit on 28 points while OVA has 26 and Easts 25.