Gunnedah FC might have been well-beaten on the scoreboard by Coffs Tigers in their FFA Cup debut on Saturday, but coach Andy Cygan said it was the proudest he has felt in his time involved with the club.
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Cygan had said leading in it would take a miracle to get the win, and after managing to scramble together 14 to make the nine-hour round trip to Coffs Harbour, they found themselves down 4-nil at half-time.
But it was a different story in the second half, FC rallying to keep the Tigers to just a goal to go down 5-nil in the end.
"In the second half we pretty much matched them," Cygan said.
"It was only 20 minutes to go when they got their fifth goal."
He said there were a lot of positives to take away from their first hit-out of the season, and said it has given them a good idea of where they need to be.
"I think it's going to set us up well," he said.
"Three of their goals were just unbelievable goals which the keeper had no chance to save."
The Tigers took the lead six minutes in with "a good strike from outside the box".
They doubled their advantage on 20 minutes from what Cygan described as "an unbelievable finish on the turn".
Severely depleted through personal and work commitments he couldn't have been prouder of his sides efforts.
"It's a shame we couldn't score a goal," he said.
"We did have a few chances."
He thought Rowan Keeler was a standout in a strong team performance. The 18-year old spent the game pretty much chasing the Tigers' fast wingers up and down the pitch.
