Coach Anthony Beckett said this.

"We need to put two good halves together,'' he said as the Barbarians prepare to meet Taree tomorrow at the EG Trad Fields at Old Bar.

Beckett said a poor first half last week against Port United proved costly.

"We let in two early goals,'' he said.

"We played well in the second half, but the damage was done.''

That loss will hurt Old Bar's top five chances, a fact Beckett acknowledged.

"We can't afford to lose another match,'' he said.

The Barbarians are also keen to win the Bryson Challacombe Shield for the first time tomorrow by beating the Wildcats. Old Bar won the first round encounter and Beckett said his side is now primed to repeat the dose tomorrow.

"It would be good to win in front of our home crowd. We haven't played that much at home this year so that's another incentive,'' he said.

Beckett doesn't expect any changes from the team that lost to United last week.

He said the field at Old Bar has recovered well from the wet weather.

"It's been rolled and it's looking good at the moment,'' he said.

"Hopefully it'll stay that way for the rest of the season.''

TAREE Wildcats lost to Old Bar for the first time in six years in the opening round of the Football Mid North Coast Premier League this season.

Coach Ben Sedlen said the Wildcats are now hell bent on making sure they don't go down twice to their arch rivals in the one year.

Taree and Old Bar will meet tomorrow at the EG Trad Complex. The Wildcats are already out of semi-final calculations while the Barbarians are at best, long odds to make the cut.

However, Sedlen says the Wildcats have plenty to play for both tomorrow and for the rest of the year.

"We hold the Bryson Challacombe Shield and we don't want to lose that,'' he said of the annual clash between the teams at Old Bar. The clubs have met twice for the shield, with Taree winning in 2013 while last year's match was a draw.

While retaining the silverware is important, Sedlen said there's another major reason the Wildcats need a win.

"We want to get out of last place,'' he said

Despite their lowly position on the ladder, Sedlen said his side 'hasn't been playing too badly.'

"We just need a bit of luck to go our way. We haven't had much of it this year,'' he said.

Sedlen hopes to welcome four players back for tomorrow. Troy Modderno and Josh Bithrey were both out last week due to work commitments and would be expected to return. Josh Ferris and Josh Morris were to undergo fitness tests last night.

"They both said they'd be right, but we won't know until we see them on the park,'' Sedlen said.

He admits he doesn't know what to expect from the playing surface at Old Bar.

"Old Bar played there last week and apparently chopped it around a fair bit,'' he said.

"It might be soft, but we won't know until we get out there.

"At least people can't say we have the worst ground in the competition anymore.''