Walter Pless on Football

By Walter Pless

Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 18 May 2007

Tilford Zebras 3 (Self 4, Fagg 62, 82)

Kingborough Lions United 1 (Sanita 17)

HT: 1-1 Att: 200 Ref: C Phillips

Tilford Zebras (3-5-2): F Mainella - H Fagg, R Smith, M Connolly - A Brazendale, C Cox, B Pullen, M Falzon, R Self - D Lapolla, R Frediani (D Fennell 74) [Substitutes not used: E Nicholson, J Welch, D Cox] [Coach: N Lapolla]

Tilford Zebras - on course for the title 

Kingborough Lions United (3-5-2): I Trotter - M Marchioli, M Iseli, J Brown - M Wells, B Andrews, G Kerr, R Hinkley, C White (M Giomataris 80) - C Sanita, W Iles (M Palmer 69) [Substitutes not used: C McConnon, A Coleman] [Coach: G Freeman]

Tilford Zebras increased their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 5 points with this win over 6^th-placed Kingborough Lions United on a wet and greasy KGV Park pitch.

At one point, Zebras goalkeeper Frank Mainella and defender Henry Fagg slipped over within seconds of each other on the edge of the box and were lucky that Kingborough did not take advantage.

Zebras were without Josh Thorpe, while the Lions were missing key central defender Ian Cannon.

Zebras played the Lions off the park for the opening 15 minutes and led 1-0 through a Ricky Self goal after a mere 4 minutes.

Ricky Self - put Zebras in the lead on the 4th minute

Chris Cox almost made it 2-0 when he headed against Ian Trotter’s right-hand post, while Romeo Frediani was denied by a point-blank save from Trotter, who had mishandled Aaron Brazendale’s cross.

Kingborough then began to put together some fine moves and equalised through Chris Sanita in the 17^th minute.

Chris Sanita equalised for Kingborough

Warren Iles missed two good chances for Kingborough and also hit a post before the interval.

Charles White gradually found a way down the left as the match went on and he set up two good chances for his team-mates after cutting the ball back from the byline.

Iles missed another good chance on the hour, but two goals by defender Henry Fagg made it 3-1 and Kingborough were down and out.

With 20 minutes remaining, Kingborough might have had a penalty when substitute Michael Palmer appeared to be brought down by Michael Connolly, but Mr Phillips waved play on.

Connolly was very lucky to emerge from this game without even a yellow card. He committed a professional foul in the second half, while in the first, he conceded a free-kick for dangerous play when he almost kicked Warren Iles in the head.

Zebras committed far more fouls than Kingborough and had two players cautioned, but they look a good bet for the title on this performance.

Mark Falzon

MINUTE BY MINUTE:

0 Kingborough Lions United kick off.

4^th Ricky Self passes across the field from left to right for Aaron Brazendale. He fires a low shot across the face of goal and Self slides the ball home to give the Zebras the lead (1-0).

 
Aaron Brazendale

6^th Ian Trotter drops Brazendale’s cross from the right and the ball falls to Romeo Frediani, but his shot is blocked at point-blank range by Trotter.

12^th Chris Cox sneaks in on the blind side of the Kingborough defence and nods Mark Falzon’s free-kick from deep on the right against the post.

15^th A great run by Brett Pullen puts him past several defenders on the left, but no-one is up to take advantage of his cut-back from the byline.

Brett Pullen  - back from injury

17^th Charles White eludes the Zebras defence on the left and his low ball across the face of goal is slotted home by Chris Sanita at the far post (1-1).

21^st Gordon Kerr glances Marcello Marchioli’s free-kick wide.

22^nd Marchioli makes a penetrating run down the right, but Iles shoots wide from close range.

25^th Daniel Lapolla volleys wide from range after a corner is only partially cleared.

26^th Dangerous attack started by Kerr, who releases White down the left. His low ball to the near post finds Iles, whose shot is blocked.

Charles White - Kingborough captain

28^th Good save by Frank Mainella, who anticipated the danger and came off his line to block Sanita’s shot. An error by Ryan Smith had enabled Iles to pass to White, who set up Sanita on the right.

31^st Lapolla releases Falzon, but his tame shot is straight at Trotter.

37^th Lapolla is cautioned for dissent.

38^th Falzon is cautioned for a foul. Trotter’s long free-kick eludes the Zebras defence and finds Iles, who has to contort himself to get in a shot, but the ball comes back off the left-hand post.

[Half-time: 1-1]

 
Frank Mainella - some vital and timely saves

46^th Tilford Zebras kick off the second half.

60^th A quick counter-attack by Kingborough and Sanita outruns the defence down the right and plays the ball across the box to Iles, who somehow prods it wide.

62^nd A Zebras corner from the right by Brazendale is headed against the crossbar by Smith, and Fagg heads home from close range (2-1). It is his fourth goal of the season, which is not bad for a defender.

65^th Brazendale volleys wide from Self’s right-wing cross.

66^th Marchioli’s free-kick from deep on the right is headed wide by Kerr.

Marcello Marchioli

69^th Iles makes way for Michael Palmer.

70^th Palmer beats Pullen and Smith wide on the right and cuts inside the box, where he appears to be brought down by Connolly. Mr Phillips has his whistle to his lips, but waves play on. He later said: “I gave it careful and due consideration and decided it wasn’t a penalty.”

74^th Frediani replaced by Dylan Fennell.

76^th Ross Hinkley heads wide from Palmer’s right-wing cross. The substitute is causing Zebras quite a few problems.

 
Ross Hinkley -went close for the Lions

79^th Sanita beats Smith wide on the right, but his cross is too powerful and goes astray.

80^th Michael Giomataris replaced White.

82^nd A free-kick by Pullen inside his own half is nodded against a post by Fagg. The ball rebounds off the keeper’s back and falls to Fagg, who slots it home (3-1) for his fifth goal of the season.

87^th Mark Iseli concedes a corner as Self threatened on the right.

88^th Brazendale combines with Falzon to open up the defence down the left and he hares towards goal, but his toed effort drifts wide.

90^th Iseli misses Marchioli’s corner and the ball is cleared to Michael Wells, who blazes wide.

Marc Iseli - played well in defence for Kingborough

[Final score: 3-1]

WHAT THEY SAID

Nick Lapolla (Tilford Zebras coach): “Full credit to the boys. They stuck to their task. Our game plan went out a bit in the first half, but in the second half we reorganised ourselves and full credit to the boys. They came back and played our game plan.

“We put pressure on them and played to our game plan, which is good. Another win’s a win.”

Henry Fagg (Tilford Zebras defender): “It was hard in the wet, but we played well.

“We just battled hard. We didn’t play our best football, but we didn’t really need to.

“We’re getting away with scrappy wins and they’re still a win.”

Geoff Freeman (Kingborough Lions United coach): “It was a game of missed chances, really. They hit us hard early and we could have been probably down 3-0 early.

“We battled well to get back into it and it was 1-1 at half-time. It could probably have been 3-all at half-time but it was a game of missed chances throughout.

“In the second half, they took their chances and we didn’t. We made the opportunities.

“They’re a good side.”

Charles White (Kingborough Lions United midfielder): “It’s the first time I’ve seen Zebras play.

“I’d heard good things about them and they knocked the ball around really well.

“I thought we put them under a lot of pressure early on, particularly in the first half. If we’d put a few away it might have been a different game in the second half.

“But, all credit to them. They played really well in the second half and stopped us from playing out from the back, which is something we’ve done really well, and, 3-1 is the result.”

TILFORD ZEBRAS		KINGBOROUGH
23	Goal Attempts	12
10	Shots on Target	4
11	Corners	4
19	Fouls Committed	10
6	Off-Sides	5
2 (Lapolla 37, Falzon 38)	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER	GOAL ATTEMPTS	SHOTS ON TARGET
Self	5	3
Frediani	1	1
Pullen	3	0
C Cox	1	1
Brazendale	4	0
Lapolla	1	0
Falzon	4	1
Fagg	3	3
Smith	1	1

Kingborough Lions United:

PLAYER	GOAL ATTEMPTS	SHOTS ON TARGET
Sanita	3	2
Kerr	2	0
Iles	4	2
Marchioli	1	0
Hinkley	1	0
Wells	1	0