NORTH Companions' Premier League campaign has come to an end at the hands of a dominant North Armidale outfit.
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Squaring off at Bellevue Oval, both sides were vying for a spot in next week's grand final against Tamworth FC at Scully Park.
Northies had won their way through to Saturday's preliminary final after defeating South Armidale 1-0 last week, while Norths were keen to avenge their major semi-final loss to Tamworth FC.
Norths wasted little time getting the upper hand as Harrison George gave the home side a 1-0 advantage just 12 minutes into the first half.
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Despite the early onslaught, Northies defence remained strong, but a costly error from the goalkeeper saw them trail 2-0 at the half-time whistle.
Things didn't improve for the visitors after the break as Elijah Barnes found the back of the net, giving North Armidale a 3-0 lead.
The goal proved to be too much for Northies to overcome with the three-goal deficit remaining in tact at the final whistle.
Northies coach Jackson Zifodya said "it was a tough day at the office" for his team.
"We produced a real Jekyll and Hyde performance on Saturday," Zifodya told the Leader.
"Last week's game against South Armidale was one of our best performances of the season and then this week's was probably one of our worst.
"Kudos to North Armidale, they just wanted it more than us and to be honest, we played really badly."
Zifodya said the 3-0 scoreline was not a true reflection of how dominated North Armidale was throughout the game.
"We had to change a few of our formations around because they weren't working," he said.
"Those moves helped us contain North Armidale a bit, but they were in full control.
"It just seemed like we couldn't string two passes together, while Norths played really well."
North Companions will now turn their attention to the Premier League reserve grade grand final,
They will play North Armidale who defeated Tamworth FC in the preliminary final.
"Our reserve grade side is looking to win their fourth premiership in a row, which would be just fantastic," Zifodya said.
"We haven't had much luck with our first or third grade sides, but hopefully second grade can get the job done."
Zifodya said he was willing to continue coaching Northies during the 2020 season.
"For me, it is up to the club, if they want me to keep going then I will keep going," he said.
"I'm keen to keep going in the club wants me to.
"One thing I will be looking to do if I continue as coach is to recruit a few players to fill a few gaps in our lineup.
"We have a few of our younger guys moving off to university, so there will be a few spots open.
"We will just have to wait and see what happens."
