All three Glen Innes Highlanders soccer teams have progressed to the semi-finals this coming weekend after Demon Knights Armidale forfeited both 1st and 2nd grades and Division 4 having a 3-3 draw against 2nd placed North Armidale United.

With only one game being played on Saturday, the focus was on trying to get Division 4 to advance into the semi-finals for the first time with the team needing a win or draw to stay in the top 4.

The Highlanders started the game off very slowly, trying to find their positions on the field against a more younger and fitter Norths outfit. The Highlanders defensive cordon of Anthony Barrett, Daniel Holley, Keith Doe and Ed Montgomery held out most of the Norths attacking advances, assisting goal keeper Paul Knox.

The visitors soon took the lead after some miscommunication from the Highlanders left some Norths players unmarked; allowing them to score passed Knox.

The Highlanders soon found their spark and lifted with the Mid-field of Levi Webb, Thomas Kempton, Tony Kamphorst and Thomas Montgomery worked hard and combined well to help set up strikers Pete Duddy and Shaun Mepham.

After a few near misses from the Highlanders, the team started to grow with confidence, then with the injection of John Cameron and Dylan Ferris off the bench, the Highlanders looked unstoppable.

The Highlanders soon equalised when Ferris latched on to a Knox clearance kick and left him one on one with the Norths goalkeeper and took the score to 1-1.

The Highlanders then took the lead for the first time in the game after a run from Kempton down the line found an open Ferris in front of the box; Ferris then flicked it on to Duddy who fired the shot passed the keeper taking the score to 2-1.

In the second half, the Highlanders struggled to find their feet once again but managed to keep the Norths attack out the game.

A penalty early in the second half saw another opportunity for the Highlanders to score, but after an altercation on the field the Highlanders were reduced to 10 men with the red card being brought out. This didn’t deter the Highlanders and soon added their third goal onto the scoreboard with Keith doe firing a shot from outside the 18 yard box taking a 3-1 lead. The last 10 minutes saw the undermanned Highlanders tire and the opposition took advantage of the extra player and scored two quick goals to equalise. With the Highlanders only needing a draw to advance, they held on for the final minutes of the game to take the point they needed.