The game was in the balance until the final whistle with the Inverell side pressing hard for an equaliser in the final minutes, but FC scrambled to deny them.

Joeys manager Mick Migheli said it was an encouraging start.

“We’ve looked at this year as a restructuring and rebuilding year,” Migheli said.

He thought 2-1 was a fair reflection of the game.

“They played very strong on the ball,” he said.

“Our blokes gave it their all but in the end our match fitness cost us.”

“This was our first game all year.”

As to be expected there was also some rustiness, the combinations not quite clicking.

They have had a few changes particularly up front, with Jackson Haussler, Rod Smith and Leigh Bush all back after a year or two off.

“Then you’ve got a 16-year old in the middle with that,” Migheli said.

They started the game well and probably had the better of the early attacks, with FC’s opening goal coming on the breakaway and somewhat against the run of play.

Joeys created some good chances both before and after the that, but just couldn’t find the back of the net as Tamworth went into the break up 1-nil.

The goal they were searching for eventually game early in the second half, Kyle King picking up the scraps from a spot kick that FC keeper Kameron Manks parried away.

Diving to his right he got a hand to the follow-up shot but found King, who finished off.

But they quickly found themselves chasing the game again.

“Getting that goal straight back was a bit of a demoraliser after all the hard work they did,” Migheli said.

Still they continued to press right up the final whistle, and had a couple of late chances that Tamworth managed to foil.

Particularly in the first half, Joeys used the width of the field well with some nice switch passes to hit their wingers on the run.

“This year we’ve changed the structure,” Migheli said.

“For the first time playing the structure it worked well.”

A big part of that new structure is trying to use the wingers more and utilise the speed they have out wide, and for probably 60-65 minutes of the game they did that well.

But as they tired that dropped off.

Cameron Gossan was a controlling influence for them at centre-back and one of their best, while Haussler was constantly threatening. 

Migheli said numbers at the club are good.

“We’ve got up to 30 players for both squads,” he said.

“It’s the biggest we’ve had for a lot of years.”