NORTH Companions will be looking to continue their winning finals run against North Armidale on Saturday.
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A grand final berth against reigning premiers Tamworth FC, will await the winner of the preliminary final clash at Bellevue Oval.
Northies booked their place in Saturday's showdown after pulling off a 1-0 win over South Armidale in last week's first semi-final.
North Armidale on the other hand, will be looking to atone for their 3-0 second semi-final loss to FC at Scully Park.
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Northies coach Jackson Zifodya said his side was "as prepared as we can be" for Saturday's do or die clash.
"So far this season, we lost our first two games to Norths 4-2 and 3-1," Zifodya told the Leader.
"However, we were able to beat them in our most recent encounter, which fills me with confidence that they are beatable.
"Obviously finals is a totally different beast, and regular-season form counts for nothing, but I am confident we can get the win.
"I wouldn't be going up to Armidale if I didn't think we could beat them."
Zifodya said he was pushing his side to "block out the external factors" that come with playing away from home.
"I said this last week when we played Souths and I will say it again this week, I think playing in front of a home crowd will put all the pressure on Norths," he said.
"There will be a certain expectation on Norths to win in front of their home crowd, where as I don't think there will be too many expectations of us.
"As well as that, we have had a pretty good record in Armidale this year, so we are feeling really good about Saturday's game."
Zifodya said his side would have a different game plan to the one which helped them defeat the Scorpions last week.
"Norths are a fast, strong, well-drilled side, so will have to alter our approach to the game from last week," he said.
"Because of that, we might have a few guys playing in different positions to last week, but I'm confident they can adapt.
"I'm confident our guys can step up and get another victory on the road."
Saturday's clash will begin at 3pm with the Premier Reserve preliminary final between North Armidale and Tamworth FC proceeding it at 1.30pm.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
