THE Namoi pairing of Bailey Campbell and Matt Hall was in the Southern team which regained supremacy over the Northern team as the annual Northern Inland Football (NIF) men’s All-Stars match took place at Hogan Oval in Narrabri on Saturday.
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Southern triumphed 3-0 after winning the inaugural battle two years ago before Northern won last year’s fixture.
Jack Diebold shone like a beacon as he scored all three goals while team-mate Isaac Wood also played well.
Southern generally had the better of play without dominating as its players came from Namoi, Tamworth FC, North Companions, Oxley Vale Attunga and Moree.
The Northern line-up contained players from Norths United, South Armidale, East Armidale and Inverell, while Namoi’s Thomas Kable switched teams as Northern underwent a notable reshuffle.
It didn’t take long for Southern to gain the better field position, although scoring opportunities were at a premium for much of the first half.
Diebold beat the advancing keeper in a one-on-one situation following a well-timed through ball in the 35th minute, although it appeared that the goal could have been stopped.
Southern gained a few corner kicks, and then the keeper made a great save before the margin expanded to two goals less than a minute later.
In bizarre circumstances, the ball dribbled feebly off Diebold’s boot but it trickled past the keeper’s hands and went across the line.
The final goal occurred 11 minutes into the second half and was easily the highlight of the match. Diebold steadied and took aim from 20 metres out before driving the ball into the net as he found a space that eluded the keeper’s reach.
There was no let-up in intensity as both teams were unable to profit from scoring opportunities.
On one occasion the Southern keeper tapped a potential scoring kick over the crossbar, before a promising raid from Northern failed to yield the finishing touch as less than 10 minutes remained.
