After a "really impressive" 5-0 win in their first match against Souths United FC, the Mountain Goats are confident but wary of their upcoming opponents.

"We don't really know too much about them," Hoy said.

"We think they'll probably be young, fast, and pretty skilled. being from Port Macquarie, I think their level of competition is pretty good over there so this should be an interesting challenge for us."

The match will also mark the debut of 16-year-old Charlie Carter for the Mountain Goats, who Hoy expects to "have a crack".

"For kids to come through at an early age is really good," he said.

"He's got the right attitude and got a good work ethic, so he should make the step pretty comfortably I feel."

The Saints are also coming off a win, with a 1-0 defeat of the Kempsey Saints last Sunday.

As they know so little about their opponents, the Mountain Goats are entirely focused on themselves in the lead-up and using the opportunity to fine-tune their game.

"We're just worried about our own style at the moment," Hoy said.

"We're still kind of treating this as a trial. Even though it's competitive, it's giving us another platform to have a trial against someone we don't usually play against.

"We're taking it seriously for sure, but we're open to working on things during the game to make sure we figure out where we need to be during the season."

Much like Moore Creek, the Oxley Vale Attunga Mushies are also coming off a win in their first game of the Australia Cup.

Their 2-1 victory over the Coutts Crossing Cougars was filled with tribulation, and coach Tim Coates expects further challenges with another away fixture against the Boambee Bombers on Saturday.

"Two weeks ago we went to the coast and it was flooding everywhere and roads were closed," Coates said.

"2-1 with a restricted team was a good day out.

"[This weekend will be] another five-hour trip via Port Macquarie to play on a synthetic pitch in Coffs Harbour against a team that's probably been the benchmark of the North Coast Premier League for a few years."

Given the challenges that lay ahead, and the calibre of their upcoming opponents, Coates said the Mushies "have to hope we catch them on a bad day", but added there were plenty of good signs during their last game.

"We've been training since the early January and we're getting really good numbers at training," he said.

"So we're able to have competitive games most nights at training, and the teamwork was there, and to see it translate into a full-blown game was good.

"We have a couple of guys stepping up into first grade this year on a more regular basis, and they did very well, and we had a 16-year-old make his debut, and he had an exceptional game."

The Oxley Vale Attunga Mushies will play the Boambee Bombers on Saturday, March 12, from 4pm at the Coffs Harbour Football Centre.

Meanwhile, the Moore Creek Mountain Goats will play the Port Macquarie Saints from 1.30pm this Sunday, March 13, at Cross Park.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: