The Macleay Valley Rangers showed some promising signs for the season ahead at the Nambucca Challenge Cup over the weekend which saw them play in the semi-finals against Port United.
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The annual Challenge Cup is one of the North Coast's longest running football tournaments and attracts hundreds of footballers from up and down the coast.
Rangers and Port United couldn't be separated during their semi-final's clash and finished regulation locked at 0-all
The teams headed for a nerve-wracking penalty shootout where Port United eventually defeated the Rangers 5-4 for a finals berth against Coffs Tigers.
Although the Rangers just fell short of a grand final spot, coach Jason Coleman encouraged by their overall performance.
"Even though it was very hot conditions, the players backed up for one another which was important and the key to us making it that far in the tournament," he said.
"I think our morale is good and the tournament gave us a bit of confidence going forward to know that we can match it with the other teams," he said.
Coleman said the team learnt a lot from their performance last year where they were knocked out the Coastal Premier League season following a 4-0 defeat to Coffs United in the semi-finals.
The team has been focusing on their consistency and ball management in pre-season with the hope of going one step further this year.
"We need to be consistent for the full 90 minutes," he said. "I think that's the biggest thing we have taken of our performance last year.
"I really want to make sure we play a high standard of football every game, no matter who we play, and we need to keep the ball under control at all times."
The competition has a different look this year with the Coastal Premier League now replaced by a two grade Zone Premier League after it collapsed in 2022 when all bar one of the North Coast clubs declined to nominate. Clubs cited travel and costs as the main reason for withdrawing.
Coleman said he was "disappointed" too see the CPL fold but is confident of the team's chances in the new format.
"I was disappointed that the Coastal Premier League folded," he said. "I liked the challenge and I think it gave me the chance to challenge the team and myself as a coach.
"But moving forward in this zone league, my goals are the same and at the the end of the day we want to win. That will always be where we stand, no matter what competition we play in."
The Zone Premier League will kick off on April 22 and will feature six sides in total from the Macleay-Hastings regions.
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