AFTER scoring for fun in the opening rounds of the Australia Cup, the Coffs Coast Tigers made the journey down the Pacific Highway last weekend to take on National Premier League side Cooks Hill FC in their round six matchup.

The knockout fixture was a tough test for a young Tigers side who have struggled for consistency in a weather-interrupted Coastal Premier League season.

It has been a similarly mixed season so far for their Newcastle-based opposition, with the newly promoted Cooks Hill sitting ninth in Northern NSW’s premier senior football competition.

Early goals from Cooks Hill’s Jacob Pepper, Josh Benson and Daniel Yaxley set the tone for the game, with the Coffs Coast youngsters heading into the sheds at half time 3-0 down, having been unable to match the pace of their more experienced NPL opponents.

“We knew we were up for a big challenge with Cooks Hill being an NPL team and us coming from a local comp,” said Tigers coach Luke Stow.

“I thought our guys were very nervous in the first half, knowing they were up against that kind of level of opposition,” he said.

A fourth goal added in the second half by Lachie Pasquale sealed the match for the home side, but not before a little drama, with the Tigers hitting the post and then missing a penalty.

“In the second half we actually stuck to our game, and we actually took it to them for a little while which made me happy,” Luke said.

“We hit the post and we missed a penalty, so if they go in, who knows.

“It could have swung completely and we could have been right in it.

“You can’t be disappointed, they put in the best effort that we could have asked for,” he said.

Despite the result, the Tigers side left the Fearnley Dawes Athletic Track with heads held high, having gained experience their coach thinks will hold them in good stead later in the season.

“We can take something from it, all my guys are young, with some of them sixteen and seventeen.

“We are trying to build something here.

“We play a lot of good football week in week out, these guys were just a bit quicker and sharper on the day,” Luke said.

Having had eight games rostered in three weeks, Cooks Hill coach David Tanchevski was pleased with his players’ game management.

“I thought we were good in the first half, we rested a couple of players and we made a couple of changes in the second half just to rest legs.

“It probably disrupted us, and we were disappointed not to have closed the game out better in the second half but overall we controlled the game,” he said.

As is often the case in Australian grassroots football, camaraderie was in high supply, with players and supporters from both sides converging on the Commonwealth Hotel for a post-game debrief.