Oxley Vale Attunga have opened their Northern Inland Premier Division account after a delayed start to their season.
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Mushies' round one clash with North Companions was deferred until May 13 which meant Saturday's match with South United served as the reigning premiers' opener for the 2021 season.
OVA shot out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a double from Adam Watson before Souths fought back to see the game finish 3-2 to OVA.
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"They defended really well. Cleared their line and their goalkeeper made a couple good saves," OVA coach Tim Coates said of South United.
"We had seven guys at a wedding the day before. We weren't on our A game but they played really well."
James Kitcher scored the other goal for OVA and Coates said there were some good individual performances from his charges.
"The seven that backed up from the wedding were all standouts but young Jem Barbara and Joel Carter played very well all day and Riley Russell," Coates said.
Coates now expects plenty of improvement from his side in the coming weeks.
"We'd like to think so. That was our first official game in this competition for the year," Coates said.
"We didn't have a full first grade team in the Johnson Cup so we haven't played with a full team on the paddock since the FFA game against Port Macquarie. It was good to blow the cobwebs away and we're looking forward to the next few games."
The next three matches will be played across eight days with OVA's deferred match against Northies on May 13.
Coates said he had plenty of players to choose from if someone was struck down with an injury.
"Our reserve grade team won 5-0 and hit the post four times as well. We've got a very good reserve grade team to pick from. Like a couple other clubs, we've got depth," Coates said.
In the other Premier Division matches, North Companions scored a 2-1 win over Tamworth FC and Gunnedah FC ran riot to beat Kootingal 12-0.
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