Walter Pless on Football

Preview for the Weekend of 30 May-1 June 2008

By Walter Pless

Just three points separate the top five teams in the Premier League competition, but the leadership is unlikely to change very much as a result of this weekend’s matches as those five teams all meet sides in the lower half of the ladder.

Leaders South Hobart should be too strong for bottom-side Taroona at South Hobart on Saturday, while second-placed Hobart Olympic have a fight on their hands at Clare Street, also on Saturday, against seventh-placed New Town Eagles but should still win.

Third-ranked Glenorchy Knights will have to be at their best to triumph against sixth-placed Clarence United at KGV Park on Friday night, and fourth-ranked University face a danger game against the wounded eighth-placed Kingborough Lions away at Lightwood Park on Sunday.

Metro, second-last on the ladder and suffering inner turmoil, host fifth-ranked and reigning champions Tilford Zebras at North Chigwell on Sunday with a who-knows-what kind of line-up.

South Hobart’s Tom Roach has an ankle injury but should recover in time to play, but coach Ken Morton is wary of the bottom side after Taroona led Olympic 2-0 at half-time last weekend before succumbing 4-2.

Taroona also beat Division One leaders Beachside 4-2 in a practice match on Wednesday.

“We’ll show them a lot of respect,” said Morton.  “They’ll perhaps try and repeat their first-half performance against Olympic.

“They’ll be compact and try and restrict our space and they’ll counter attack, so we’ll have to be patient and break them down.”

Taroona will miss centre-back Sam Johnson, who is overseas, and he may be replaced by Lucas Wyatt from the under-19s.

“He is confident, physically strong, reads the game well and, for a young guy, passes well,” said Taroona coach, Ben Horgan, of Wyatt.

“I guess we can take some confidence from knowing that we outplayed a top side like Olympic for long periods of the game.”

Eagles have Chris Wass injured and Wade Savage will replace him, while Chris Stingle will join Adam Shackcloth on the substitutes’ bench.

Matthew Rybak is still injured, but the side played well against University last Sunday and should have earned at least a point instead of losing.

“Given the gut-wrenching last-gasp loss to University, the squad has shown remarkable resilience with another energetic training display this week,” said Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford.

“Converting chances has been the emphasis and an improvement in this area will see Eagles gain the first points at home for season 2008.”

Knights will miss joint player-coach Janko Begovic, who has work commitments, against Clarence, and will replace him with Joe Minnucci, while defenders Jayden Wiggins and Anthony Grundy should be fit in time for this match.

Knights have also signed Amadu Koroma from Eagles and he may be on the bench.

Injury clouds hang over several Clarence players, including Chris Hunt, Jacob Huigsloot and Jacob Kavanagh, but the prospect of beating the Knights is sure to lead to miraculous recoveries.

James Symmons is out of the Zebras line-up against Metro through injury and will be replaced by Michael Connolly, provided he passes a fitness test on a leg injury, while Ricky Self can play after being exonerated for last week’s send-off by the disciplinary tribunal during the week, which accepted that it was a case of mistaken identity.

Aaron Brazendale has returned from Melbourne and is available for selection.

Kingborough Lions will try and forget last week’s debacle  -  a 7-0 loss to South Hobart  -  and will seek an improved performance against the visiting University.

Beachside must beat fifth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs at home at Sandown Park on Saturday to retain their lead at the top of the Division One ladder.

They are a point ahead of second-placed Hobart United, who entertain sixth-ranked Kingborough Lions United at Pontville on Sunday.

Beachside lost 4-2 to Hobart United last weekend in what was a reality check and coach Tony Kavanagh acknowledged that his side was outplayed and must improve if they are to win the league title.

“Akuek Guot was impossible to contain and he destroyed us,” said Kavanagh.

Daniel Gardner will return to the Beachside line-up, while Liam Sprod will go in goal from the outfield in the absence of Michael Soszynski.

Pat Bigg was on the bench last week but will resume at left-wing for this game.

“After last week’s loss, we are keen to make amends this week,” said Daniel Gardner.  “We had a hard run at training through the week and we are well aware that two defeats in a row would be a major setback for our season.”

Nelson were held to a 3-3 draw by bottom-side Christian United last weekend and will be keen to bounce back against Beachside.

Third-placed New Town Eagles travel to Sherburd Park on Sunday to take on Christian United but will miss Damien Bones and Bob Hadfield, who are unavailable.

Youngsters Jack McCann and Jeremy Lazarus come in to the side as man-marking defenders.

“The squad has some niggling injuries at the moment and it’s important to nurse them through three matches in the coming weeks,” said Eagles’ joint-coach, Marty Nidorfer.

“Joint coach Marcus Proud hasn’t run the lads into the ground at training, instead focusing on shooting and set plays.

“Our discipline on the field has been atrocious, with several send-offs and yellow cards, and although we won’t win the Fairplay Award, the lads have been asked to improve in this department.”

Fourth-placed Kingston Cannons should be too strong for second-last Huon Valley at home at Sherburd Park on Saturday.

John Demir returns for the Cannons after a long absence through injury, as do midfielders John White and Neil Thomas.

Sweeper Ismet Aydin is unavailable and will be replaced by Daniel Hanna, enabling Stewart Collins to move to centre-back.

“We are determined to produce a good performance this week after a disappointing game against Kingborough last week,” said the Cannons’ Steve Giudici.  “We played some of our best and worst football in that game.

“We knocked it around well and set up some great chances, but some terrible defensive marking, including two own-goals, cost us the game.

“It was very disappointing, especially after a good performance against Northern Rangers in the Statewide Cup, where we pushed them all the way.”

Hobart United will have coach Tony Tarros back in charge against Kingborough Lions at home at Pontville on Sunday after returning from overseas, while midfielder Peter Otto returns after suspension.

Akuel Guot has scored 11 goals in the past three games for United and the Lions will need to stop him if they are to have any chance.

In the Premier Reserve League, Glenorchy Knights will face Clarence United on Friday evening without Sasha Puclin, Martin Cairns and Matthew Cobson, who are injured and have been missing for two weeks.

Lindsay Millington has been recalled to the seniors, while Peter Roland, James Cusick and Danny Puclin are unable to play because of illness.

Ben Opira will make his debut in goal and Elliott Weitnauer will also return to the starting line-up after getting through 25 minutes of last weekend’s game in a comeback after a leg injury.

Knights lost to Clarence 6-0 in the Summer Cup, which may indicate which way this game is likely to go.

In other games, leaders South Hobart should overwhelm the visiting eighth-placed Taroona at South Hobart on Saturday.

Fifth-ranked New Town Eagles host third-placed Hobart Olympic at Clare Street on Saturday in what should be a close game.

Second-placed Tilford Zebras should get home at a canter at North Chigwell on Sunday against Metro, while seventh-placed University will make fourth-ranked Kingborough Lions United work for the three points at home at Lightwood Park, also on Sunday.

University v New Town Eagles Match Report [Premier League, Olinda Grove, Sunday, 25 May 2008]

By Walter Pless
________________________________________________________________

University 2 (Jones 1, Gilham 88)
New Town Eagles 1 (McKeown 56)

HT:  1-0   Att:  80   Ref:  K Barker

University (4-4-2):  Matsuo  -  Fletcher, Merry, Jackson, Stockdale  -  Maddock (Teale 59), Foley-Donoghue, Bull, Hindmarsh (J Andrews 75)  -  Proud, Jones (Gilham 46)  [Substitute not used:  Piesse]  [Coach:  G Slicer]

New Town Eagles (2-6-2):  N Pitchford  -  Wass (W Savage 90), Page  -  Whitehall, Wakefield, Vernon, Clark, McKeown, Malakoff  -  Ferrall, Leszczynski  [Substitutes not used:  Pope, Duval. Shackcloth]  [Coach:  S Pitchford]
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New Town Eagles, in seventh place on the Premier League ladder, deserved to at least draw, if not win, this match against fifth-placed University away at Olinda Grove.

A bizarre goal after just 58 seconds put Eagles behind and, although they drew level early in the second half, they were caught by a quick counter-attack two minutes from the end and lost.

They brought on Wade Savage in injury time and he had a chance from close range in the dying seconds, after Andrew Clark’s effort had been blocked, but University held on for the three points, which lifted them a place to fourth on the ladder.

Eagles remain seventh, but on this form, they must start to earn points soon.

The game was less than a minute old when a simple back-pass from Mark Page caught goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford out.  He mis-kicked while attempting to clear and Sam Jones was left to tap the ball into an empty net.

Pitchford atoned for his error in the 5th minute when he saved with his feet from Julian Proud, who should have squared the ball to team-mate Jones on the right as he was unmarked.

Alex Leszczynski had a great chance for Eagles midway through the half, but he fired tamely at Ryo Matsuo.

Two minutes later, Leszczynski rattled the University crossbar with a free-kick, while in the 27th minute, he fired narrowly wide of the left-hand post as Eagles piled on the pressure.

University were still dangerous on the break, however, and a minute later, Jones chipped just wide of Pitchford’s left-hand post.

In injury time at the end of the first half, a bad tackle by Chris Wass felled Aaron Hindmarsh and the Eagles player was fortunate not to see yellow.

Peter Gilham replaced Jones at the interval and he revitalised the home side’s attack.

Pitchford had to tip Proud’s shot over the bar for a corner in the 47th minute and, from the corner, Proud headed over the bar.

The equaliser came in the 56th minute when Nick Ferrall and Adam McKeown broke through the University defence.

Ferrall, on the right, squared the ball to the unmarked McKeown on the left.  His shot lacked power and was parried by Matsuo, but the ball went straight back to McKeown, who scored.

Pitchford again saved from Proud in the 70th minute after a low cross from the right by Gilham had created the chance.

With 15 minutes remaining, University brought on defender John Andrews in place of Aaron Hindmarsh as coach Gary Slicer sought to bolster his defence.

Earlier, he had replaced Richard Maddock with the excellent Brook Teale, who constantly threatened down the right flank.

Twelve minutes from the end, Jamie Vernon should have done better from Leszczynski’s pass as Eagles desperately sought a winner.

Eagles had a penalty appeal turned down in the closing stages when Nathaniel Jackson appeared to bring down McKeown in the box.

But, two minutes from the end, a fast break by University saw Gilham beat Page for the ball and advance on goal before pushing the ball past Pitchford for the winner.
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• University coach, Gary Slicer, said:

“It was a pretty tough game, actually.

“I thought the Eagles boys played really, really well, and didn’t give us any time on the ball.

“They fought right to the end.

“We thought we were going to have a little more time on the ball that what we did have with them, but, certainly, they played really hard.

“Our boys came back second half.  We had a talk in the changing room about coming out and fighting a little bit more and we came back a picked up in the second half and I think that showed.

“We had a bit of a change up front and brought Pete Gilham on and took Sam Jones off and that made the difference with the goal and penetrated their defence a bit more.

“So, all in all, pretty happy with it.”

• New Town Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford, said:

“I thought it was a magnificent 90 minutes by the entire side.

“We took the game to Uni and, again, had numerous chances.  This week we had more on target than we normally do, so there’s a big improvement there.

“We got one in the net and we were continuing to take the game and, at the end, they got a breakaway and scored a goal just before the end of the game.

“Very pleased with the effort and things are really looking forward.”
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STATISTICS

UNIVERSITY        NEW TOWN EAGLES

14    Goal Attempts    18

10    Shots on Target    10

8    Corners    7

12    Fouls Committed    3

0    Off-Sides    1

0    Yellow Cards    0

0    Red Cards    0

University:

PLAYER    GOAL ATTEMPTS    SHOTS ON TARGET
Foley-Donoghue    2    1
Proud    4    3
Bull    2    1
Jones    2    1
Gilham    3    3
Maddock    1    1

New Town Eagles:

PLAYER    GOAL ATTEMPTS    SHOTS ON TARGET
Leszczynski    4    3
McKeown    6    3
Ferrall    1    1
Wass    1    0
Vernon    1    1
Clark    3    1
Malakoff    1    1
Savage    1    0

South Hobart v Kingborough Lions United Match Report [Premier League, South Hobart, Saturday, 24 May 2008]

By Walter Pless

South Hobart 7 (Lo 11, 12, 53, Abbott 23, 26, Gasparinatos 63, Ladic 77)
Kingborough Lions United 0

HT: 4-0 Att: 100 Ref: P Galloway

South Hobart (4-4-2): Kruijver - Cooper, Ludford, M Brown, Scott - Roach [(Hickey 46) Downes 75], Beecroft, Ladic, Abbott - Lo (Woolley 72), Gasparinatos [Substitute not used: Pearce] [Coach: K Morton]

Kingborough Lions United (4-4-2): Coleman - R Hinkley, Iseli, Brown, Marchioli - Bevan (Schuth 58), Upton, Kerr, Palmer (Andrews 46) - Greg Freeman (Bremner 56), McDonald [Substitute not used: Voss] [Coach: Geoff Freeman]
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Debutant referee Patrick Galloway tosses the coin before the match

Kingborough Lions United started strongly and created several chances early on without success.

The best of these came in the 8th minute when Greg Freeman’s cross from the left was turned over the bar by Sam Kruijver as the ball threatened to sneak under the crossbar.

Freeman should, in fact, not have been playing. He damaged a hip in a work accident during the week and was eventually substituted early in the second half when the going got too much for him.

Kingborough again badly missed Charles White, who is still recovering from a foot injury.

Garry Upton put in a solid performance and was clearly Kingborough’s best player. He and White together may have made a difference.

Once Kingborough fell behind to Jonathon Lo’s goal in the 11th minute, they started to fall apart.

They may have come back from 2-0 down to beat Metro 5-4, and they may have come back from 4-0 down to draw 4-4 with Glenorchy Knights and force extra time in the cup, but a revival was never on the cards in this match as they trailed 4-0 at the interval.

Twenty players crowded together in a 25-metre zone at a goal-kick

Lo’s opener came from a corner on the right by David Abbott. Lo headed the ball towards the far top corner and, although Ross Hinkley headed it clear, referee’s assistant Robyn McCarthy was well positioned and immediately indicated a goal. Hinkley was adamant the ball had not crossed the line, but the goal stood.

A minute later, Lo made it 2-0 when he turned home Billy Gasparinatos’s left-wing cross after the ball fell to him when goalkeeper Adam Coleman and defender Mark Iseli impeded each other as they went for the cross.

Coleman produced a good save with his feet when he blocked Gasparinatos’s shot in a one-on-one situation in the 16th minute, but the keeper was at fault in the 23rd minute when Abbott’s cross from the left sailed into the far top corner of the net to make it 3-0.

Three minutes later, it was 4-0 as Jonathon Ladic’s through-ball was missed by Coleman and Hinkley, who left the ball to each other, and Abbott nipped in between them to score.

Gasparinatos attempts a header
Abbott almost completed his hat-trick in the 27th minute when he collected a pass from Gasparinatos, but his chipped attempt drifted centimetres wide of Coleman’s left-hand post.

Three minutes after the resumption, Abbott had another great chance from Ladic’s corner from the left, but he headed the ball down with force and it bounced and scraped the top of the bar and went out for a goal-kick.

In the 53rd minute, Lo completed his hat-trick when he dispossessed Brett Andrews in midfield and raced for goal, shooting past the advancing Coleman and making it 5-0 to the home side.

David Cooper then had the ball in the net following Abbott’s low cross from the left, but assistant referee Steve Fagg had his flag up indicating off-side.

Abbott again went close on the hour when he fired narrowly past a post.

In the 63rd minute, a mis-kick by Cooper flew to Gasparinatos, who controlled the ball, turned and slotted it home inside the left-hand post to make it 6-0.

Thirteen minutes from the end, Abbott went on a great run through the middle which spooked the Lions defence and he got just inside the box before losing control of the ball and falling over amidst a crowd of Lions defenders.

The ball rolled loose to Ladic, who stroked home goal number seven.

The Lions may have been playing only for pride at this stage, but it was embarrassing.

Iseli and Upton, in particular, never gave up, but they were totally outclassed by a strong and confident South Hobart outfit which moved to the top of the Premier League ladder as a result of this win.

Incidentally, South Hobart had some of their numbering on their shirts different to what was on their team sheet and this could have been costly for an innocent player.

The referee booked Billy Gasparinatos and wrote down number 9 as per the team sheet. But, according to the team sheet, it was Liam Scott who was wearing the number 9 shirt. Gasparinatos was, in fact, wearing the number 9 but was listed as number 8 on the team sheet.

The referee realised the error when it was pointed out to him, but Scott could easily have been credited with a yellow card rather than Gasparinatos. The referee said he would note the matter in his report.

In the afternoon’s other match, Clarence United downed Metro 2-1 at Wentworth Park.

In the Reserves, South Hobart beat Kingborough 4-0 through two goals by Alex Gordon and one apiece by Julius Ross and Toby Woolley, while Clarence beat Metro 5-0. Jake Undy netted twice and Juma Barabara, Mattias Toghill and Adam Mahoney once each.

_______________________________________________________________

• South Hobart coach, Ken Morton, said:

“I’m really pleased with that performance.

“We started well and we got at them and got at the game and I was really happy with our performance today.

“We defended well and we nullified their key players and we looked exceptional up front today.

“We looked really sharp and bright where it really mattered.

“It was nice to be able to get Toby [Woolley] and Greg [Downes] on at the stage where we were comfortable and they acquitted themselves well again.

“It just shows that we have some good depth in the club.

“I thought Kingborough started very brightly. They looked sharp and bright and mobile and Upton was causing us a lot of problems with his probing runs and he’s got a good head on his shoulders.

“He sees good passes and he can make them, but we had a spell where I put Roach on him man-for-man just for 15 or 20 minutes and they lost their tempo then and we started to get into the game.

“And, at the right times, we got vital goals, goals which finished them off.”

• Kingborough Lions United coach, Geoff Freeman, said:

“Very disappointing. Really disappointing from the point of view that we probably didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to even have a go at them really.

“We started brightly for the first, probably, five or six minutes, which is not a very long period of time, and not long enough if you’re going to try and beat sides as good as South Hobart.

“The first goal, poor defending on the corner.

“The second goal, poor defending again.

The third goal, unfortunately, they seem to go in some times when someone crosses. There’s not much you can do about that. Maybe the keeper could have got it, maybe not.

“We defended poorly. When we had the ball, we probably kept it quite well, but the difference between the sides was that they were probably more solid in defence.

“We spoke a little bit about pride at half-time, and I know it’s really hard to take pride out of a game when you lose seven nil, but I suppose we did keep trying.

“We did keep trying to play the ball, but we just weren’t good enough today.”
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STATISTICS

SOUTH HOBART KINGBOROUGH

16 Goal Attempts 11

11 Shots on Target 4

7 Corners 1

9 Fouls Committed 5

3 Off-Sides 0

2 (Beecroft 66, Gasparinatos 80) Yellow Cards 2 (Upton 66, Marchioli 83)

0 Red Cards 0

South Hobart:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Lo 4 3
Gasparinatos 2 2
Abbott 5 3
Ladic 2 2
Woolley 1 0
Cooper 2 1

Kingborough Lions United:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Freeman 3 1
Marchioli 1 0
Upton 3 2
Palmer 1 0
Bevan 2 1
McDonald 1 0

Tilford Zebras v Glenorchy Knights Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 23 May 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Tilford Zebras 3 (Self 47, Crosswell 62, Pullen 85)
Glenorchy Knights 4 (Igor 25, 70, Begovic 50, Huigsloot 68)

HT: 1-1 Att: 200 Ref: S Collins

Tilford Zebras (4-4-2): Kaden - D Cox (Thorpe 78), Telega, Fagg, Symmons (Connolly 92) - D Lapolla, Cairns, Pullen, Self - Fennell (L Engels 83), Crosswell [Substitute not used: Mainella] [Coach: N Lapolla]

Glenorchy Knights (4-4-2): Peter - Gordon, Dzelalija, Grundy, Wiggins - Clay, Begovic, Fielding, Igor (Millington 90) - Huigsloot, Guma (Minnucci 87) [Substitute not used: Frank] [Joint Player-Coaches: J Begovic, J Fielding]
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Glenorchy Knights went to the top of the Premier League ladder with this 4-3 win over leaders and reigning champions Tilford Zebras at KGV Park.

There were 11 yellow cards issued (7 to Zebras and 4 to the Knights) and one red to Zebras, but it was the wrong player who was sent off.

In the 77th minute, Ricky Self was shown a second yellow card, this time for unsporting behaviour, and was dismissed.

The real culprit, however, was David Cox, who had kicked the corner flag in frustration. It should have been a yellow card to Cox, who would have stayed on the field as he had not been cautioned previously.

Self’s team-mates tried unsuccessfully to tell Mr Collins that he had made a mistake, but Mr Collins was acting on the advice of his assistant, who had told him the guilty party was Self.

Perhaps it is time the Zebras did something about their numbers, which are gold and difficult to distinguish against the backdrop of black-and-white striped shirts.

If Self appeals against a suspension, he is likely to receive a favourable hearing.

The Knights deserved their victory, which was their third in a row.

They looked far more menacing in attack than the Zebras, and they were much more prepared to shoot on sight, which ultimately paid dividends against the Zebras’ stand-in goalkeeper, Troy Kaden.

Kaden had been drafted into the line-up at the last minute after regular custodian Frank Mainella injured a finger at work.

Tom Huigsloot almost put the Knights in front in the 2nd minute, but he just failed to get his head to Jade Clay’s deep cross from the right.

A minute later, Zebras should have scored when Paul Cairns put Self away on the left, but his cross just eluded the sliding Daniel Lapolla.

Dylan Fennell squandered a great chance for the Zebras in the 6th minute from Cairns’s pass, while two minutes later, Knights goalkeeper Ben Peter produced a fine save from Ben Crosswell, turning his shot wide for a corner.

Igor chipped just over the crossbar for Knights in the 11th minute, while five minutes later, he fired into the side-netting.

In the 18th minute, Huigsloot had a shot deflected for a corner. Igor took the corner, which found Huigsloot, but the striker headed wide of the target.

Igor opened the scoring for the Knights in the 25th minute - his 8th league goal of the season in 7 games - when hesitation by the Zebras defence allowed him a run at goal down the right and he finished with a low drive beyond Kaden and into the far corner of the net.

Crosswell missed a glorious chance from close range in the 42nd minute. Fennell crossed the ball from the left to Self beyond the far post, and he set up Crosswell with a neat pass, but the striker hooked the ball high over the bar.

Two minutes into injury time, it was 1-1.

Josh Fielding gave the ball away to Brett Pullen in midfield. He passed to Cairns, who put Fennell away on the left, and when the return ball came in on the ground to Pullen, the Zebras captain dummied, and Self, who was just outside the box, smashed home a marvellous shot with the outside of the right foot that was always curling away from the diving Peter.

Five minutes into the second half, Janko Begovic put the Knights ahead with a free-kick that the diving Kaden got his fingers to but could not keep out.

Huigsloot almost added a third on the hour, but his fine effort from range curled just wide of the left-hand post.

Two minutes later, Crosswell made it 2-2. Self took the ball through midfield before slipping it to Crosswell, who appeared to hold three defenders spellbound and on the back foot before squeezing a low shot past Peter and just inside his left-hand post.

Huigsloot restored the Knights’ lead six minutes later when his goal-bound shot took a deflection off James Symmons and wrong-footed Kaden.

Igor made it 4-2 two minutes later, after he had won a corner, which was taken by Fielding. The diminutive Brazilian midfielder eluded his markers and headed the corner home from six metres, to the great delight of the vocal Knights supporters.

Zebras coach Nick Lapolla was then sent off the bench and behind the fence after a heated exchange with Mr Collins, who had been remarkably lenient with Lapolla in an earlier altercation.

With the Zebras down to 10 men, Pullen reduced the arrears and made it 4-3 with a splendid volley from a corner five minutes from the end, but there was still drama to come.

With seconds remaining, Andrew Telega’s chip towards goal ricocheted off Anthony Grundy’s legs and cannoned off the right-hand post, with Peter beaten.

The Zebras players who were booked were Pullen (7th minute), Cairns (24), Self (36), Symmons (50), Telega (58), Fagg (70) and Self (77), the latter then receiving a red card.

The Knights players cautioned were Dzelaljia (24th minute), Begovic (39), Igor (72) and Fielding (50).

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• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

“I’m disappointed in the end by the nature in which we lost.

“I give full credit to the way the Knights played.

“Igor tore us apart.

“They deserved the win, but I won’t comment further on the other incidents.

“[On being sent behind the fence] That was his [the referee’s] opinion. I mean, if you can’t make a comment about the game and you get yellow carded, or sent off, that’s his prerogative.

“If we were given a fair go at the ball, I thought we could have got back into it, but it makes it hard under those circumstances.

“The people who saw the game can make their own comments.”

• Glenorchy Knights joint player-coach, Josh Fielding, said:

“Absolutely thrilled with the win.

“We’ve been working on consistency over the week at training and we finally played 90 minutes of football.

“So, I’m totally happy with it.

“We’re starting to get a bit of momentum up now. That’s five games in a row for the boys.

“We’re going to be the hunted from now on.

“It was always going to be a hard-fought game with both teams very attacking.

“All credit to the boys.

“We like to be the underdogs. It’s the first time we’ve won a game against a team higher up on the ladder.”
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STATISTICS

ZEBRAS KNIGHTS

8 Goal Attempts 19

4 Shots on Target 7

7 Corners 5

12 Fouls Committed 6

0 Off-Sides 6

7 Yellow Cards 4

1 Red Cards 0

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Fennell 1 0
Crosswell 4 2
Self 1 1
Lapolla 1 0
Pullen 1 1

Glenorchy Knights:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Guma 4 0
Igor 4 2
Wiggins 1 0
Huigsloot 6 2
Begovic 3 2
Fielding 1 1

Division One Preview for the Weekend of 24-25 May 2008

By Walter Pless

Division One leaders Beachside face a tough assignment on Sunday when they travel to Pontville in the early evening to take on second-placed Hobart United under lights at 5.30pm.

United trail Beachside by four points and a win would close that gap to just one point, so there is everything to play for.

Beachside will have Michael Soszynski back in goal and his presence could make the difference against the likes of Akuel Guot, the United striker who has scored eight goals in his past two games.

Soszynski can only play every second week because of work commitments and it is Beachside’s good fortune that his weekend off coincides with this showdown.

Athony Grzinic also returns for Beachside, but Daniel Gardner is out because of a groin injury.

“It’s a game to get excited about,” said Beachside coach, Tony Kavanagh.

“They are favourites for the title, but at the moment, we sit on top of the ladder.

“They will have to come at us to win and we are in no mood to come off second best.”

United will be coached by Mark Broadbent in the absence of Tony Tarros, who is due back from overseas shortly.

Third-placed New Town Eagles welcome sixth-ranked Huon Valley to Clare Street on Saturday and the home side will be without goalkeeper Damien Crowle, who has split the webbing between his ring and middle fingers.

Brian Sutherland will be in goal for the first time this season, while Daniel Zucco and Matt Williams join the squad at the expense of Steve Vernon and Grant Page.

“Both specialist keepers are on the long-term injury list, but part-timer Brian Sutherland has won us games in the past with his exceptional athleticism,” said Eagles joint-coach, Marty Nidorfer.

“The squad has benefited from a week off with a much needed rest and are champing at the bit to get a result against Huon Valley.

“At training this week, we have concentrated on quick movement of the ball out wide, utilising our wide men at every opportunity.”

Bottom-side Christian United entertain fifth-ranked Nelson Eastern Suburbs at Sherburd Park on Saturday and the home side may move off the foot of the ladder if they win.

Nelson will be without the suspended Tom Roach, who will be replaced by Aaron Wojcik.

“Even though the early part of the season has been marred by injuries - and that is continuing with goalkeeper Damien Bradburn out for the season with a cartilage tear - the team has fought hard over the last couple of weeks and is starting to put 90 minutes together,” said Nelson coach, Michael Roach.

The remaining match of the round is at Lightwood Park on Sunday, where second-last Kingborough Lions United host fourth-placed Kingston Cannons.

The Lions have conceded more goals than any other side this season and may become cannon fodder for the visitors in this game.

Premier League Preview for the Weekend of 23-25 May 2008

By Walter Pless

Tilford Zebras and Glenorchy Knights clash in the Premier League on Friday evening at KGV Park fresh from victories in the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy round last weekend.

Both sides qualified for the quarterfinals of the Cup after eking out narrow wins in extra-time against weaker opponents.

Zebras squeezed home 2-1 against Launceston City, while the Knights squandered a 4-0 lead to just sneak home 5-4 against Kingborough Lions United.

Key players will be returning to both line-ups for this league meeting between the top side, Zebras, and the fourth-placed Knights.

Only a point separates the five leading teams, so there won’t be much in this one.

Zebras will have striker Ben Crosswell and midfielder Brett Pullen back, but midfielder Aaron Brazendale is interstate.

Crosswell and Pullen did not play against Launceston City and should be fresh and eager to perform.

Crosswell is, of course, the league’s leading marksman with 14 goals.

Strikers Tom Huigsloot and Edward Guma and defender Jayden Wiggins will return for the Knights, which means there will be no place in the starting line-up for striker Sasha Puclin or defender Marcus Burn.

Wiggins and Guma were cup-tied last weekend as they have played for New Town Eagles and Metro, respectively, in earlier rounds, while Huigsloot was unavailable.

The Knights are notorious for slackening off as a game progresses and they will need to put in a consistent 90 minutes of effort if they are to get anything out of this match.

Second-placed South Hobart will have an unchanged side from the one that beat New Town Eagles 2-0 in the Cup last Sunday when they host eighth-placed Kingborough Lions United at South Hobart on Sunday.

“I was happy with the performance and there’ll be no changes,” said South Hobart coach, Ken Morton.

“I will be looking for more consistency, but there’ll be continuity with team selection.”

This means that Sam Kruijver, who has been a little suspect in his two recent games, retains the goalkeeping position ahead of Mark Moncur, who may be unavailable anyway because of work.

South’s midfield is also not at its peak, with Tom Roach out of position wide on the right, and Jonathon Ladic and Bart Beecroft not performing in midfield.

Their styles are very similar and this could be part of the problem.

Kingborough Lions United will field an unchanged side, which means midfielder Charles White, who is almost over his foot injury but who is getting married next Friday, will be rested for two more weeks.

Third-placed Hobart Olympic will be without defender Chris Tsimiklis for the away match against Taroona at Kelvedon Park on Saturday, which means youngster Yiorwo Dourias retains his place at the back.

Tsimiklis is in Adelaide because of family reasons.

Defender Peter Tsakiris and midfielder Lee Mason are still a couple of weeks away from resuming because of injury.

Robert Lebski, who was in the starting line-up in last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Devonport City in the Cup, retains his place in the squad.

Nektar Vavoulas should be back from interstate, while Danijel Djekanovic should also be available for selection.

Alex Bigg returns in goal for Taroona, while central defender Alex Holmes is back after a three-game absence because of a hamstring strain, and Jason Szoka keeps his place in central-midfield.

“They will be tough to beat, but Uni showed it can be done and we will need to continue the form which we showed in the 1-1 draw with Clarence,” said Taroona coach, Ben Horgan.

“We should have gained some confidence from that result, and we need to show the same resilience and composure against Olympic.

“Goalkeeper Alex Bigg will return to the side after being a late withdrawal from the team for the Clarence game when Hutchins insisted he play for the school team instead.

“Our other goalkeeper, Dean Durant, is still suffering from an ankle injury which has kept him out for the last month, so we were forced to play striker Tom Sherman in goals, but he did a great job, pulling off a couple of sharp saves to help us gain an important point.

“I think he’ll be keen to get back out on the pitch, though, and find the back of the net at the other end.”

Sixth-placed Clarence United will miss injured midfielder Chris Nicholson, who will be replaced by Nathan Cashion, for the visit of second-last Metro to Wentworth Park on Saturday.

Nicholson suffered a knee injury in the 3-0 Cup win over Burnie last Saturday and will have plaster on for about three weeks.

Paul Bremner would like to play after his ankle injury, and he may be fit, but coach Andrew Brown will not consider him for at least another week.

Metro are reported to be without goalkeeper Michael McKenna, and Simon Land will take his place in goal.

Fifth-placed University host seventh-ranked New Town Eagles at Olinda Grove on Sunday.

University have signed defender Jon Foley-Donoghue from South Hobart and he played in last weekend’s State-wide Cup victory over Somerset.

Eagles will again miss Matthew Rybak, Chris Stingle and Amadu Koroma, but Ben Whitehall, Chris Wass and Mark Wakefield return.

Damien Bones, Alec Johnston, Jeremy Marshall and Ethan Menzie are omitted after being utilised in the seniors last weekend because of a shortage of senior personnel.

“There was a buzz at training following the challenge to South Hobart last week and a win is expected at Olinda Grove,” said Eagles stand-in coach, Stephen Pitchford.

New Town Eagles v South Hobart Match Report [Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy, First-Round Proper, Clare Street, Sunday, 19 May 2008]

By Walter Pless
____________________________________________________________

New Town Eagles 0
South Hobart 2 (Gasparinatos 19, Cooper 27)

HT:  0-2   Att:  100   Ref:  S Collins

New Town Eagles (2-6-2):  N Pitchford  -  Johnston, D Bones  -  Page, McKeown (Menzie 80), Clark, Ferrall, Malakoff, Leszczynski  -  Marshall (Shackcloth 71), Vernon  [Substitutes not used:  Duval, Quan]  [Coach:  S Pitchford]

South Hobart (4-4-2):  Kruijver  -  Cooper, Ludford, M Brown, Scott  -  Roach, Beecroft, Ladic (D Brown 53), Abbott (Downes 59)  -  Lo, Gasparinatos (Pearce 71)  [Substitute not used:  Jay]  [Coach:  K Morton]
_______________________________________________________________

New Town Eagles’ stand-in coach, Stephen Pitchford, tried a daring new formation and it worked quite well.

He played with two central defenders, six in midfield, and two up front.  Eagles restricted South Hobart to two goals, so the experiment was a measured success.

Damien Bones, one of the central defenders, showed his experience upon being called up from the club’s Division One side.  He adopted a no-nonsense approach and kept the young heads around him cool and focused on their tasks.  He even found time to have a couple of cracks at goal himself.

South Hobart scored two early goals.  The first, from Gasparinatos in the 19th minute, came from a powerful low shot after a fine build-up from defence.

The second came in the 27th minute after a goalkeeping error.  Nathan Pitchford dropped the ball and David Cooper was on hand to push it home with his right foot.

Some of Eagles’ youngsters found the pace difficult to handle, but they did well to restrict the visitors to two goals and might have netted a couple themselves.

In the 57th minute, Andrew Clark forced Sam Kruijver to tip his shot over the bar and, from the corner, Mark Page headed over the bar.

Jamie Vernon also had a shot that shaved a post.

In the second half, South Hobart’s best chance fell to Jonathon Lo, who was unable to make the most of Tom Roach’s right-wing cross.

Daniel Brown also powered in a header from Greg Downes’s corner and when the ball was blocked and rebounded to Lo, he headed tamely.

The win put South Hobart into the quarterfinals, where they will meet University, at South Hobart.

The other quarterfinal pairings for the weekend of 27-29 June are:  Glenorchy Knights v Northern Rangers;  Tilford Zebras v Devonport City; Riverside Olympic v Clarence United.

New Town Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford, said:

“It was a much better second half.

“I thought the boys today really took it to South, in the first half as well.

“In the first ten minutes we had their keeper under pressure mis-kicking.

“We made a couple of mistakes in the defence, and a goalkeeping error, led to their goals.

“But, in the second half we certainly put the pressure back on them and had chances, a couple of close ones.

“One just skimmed the bar, skimmed the post, their keeper mis-punched and it didn’t go to us, went to them.

“I think compared to the last time we played South it was a marked improvement.”

South Hobart coach, Ken Morton, said:

“Comfortable, easy today.

“And, it was good to get a run in for such as Damien Pearce, Greg Downes and Daniel Brown.

“It was a comfortable work-out for us today.

“I thought we played well first half, and second half we did enough.

“I’m not too terribly disappointed.

“I think it’s a terrible place to come to, with the cricket wicket spoiling any football.

It breaks down once it gets into there and if you try and play in there you know it’s going to be a difficult bounce and the team have a chance of nicking in and anything can happen.

“Even in the first half, I thought we played quite well.

“We had good penetration and should have scored two or three more goals.

“Even in the second half, without having a lot of territorial advantage, we had a great cross from Roach where Jonathon Lo should have done better, so we still created chances.

“Not too disappointed today.”
______________________________________________________________

STATISTICS

NEW TOWN EAGLES        SOUTH HOBART

10    Goal Attempts    19

7    Shots on Target    12

4    Corners    8

6    Fouls Committed    13

0    Off-Sides    0
3 (Marshall 65, McKeown 61, Pitchford 75)    Yellow Cards    0

0    Red Cards    0

New Town Eagles:

PLAYER    GOAL ATTEMPTS    SHOTS ON TARGET
Bones    2    2
Leszczynski    1    1
Clark    1    1
Page    3    1
Vernon    2    1
McKeown    1    1

South Hobart:

PLAYER    GOAL ATTEMPTS    SHOTS ON TARGET
Roach    3    1
Gasparinatos    3    3
Scott    3    2
Abbott    2    2
Cooper    2    2
D Brown    3    1
Lo    2    1
Downes    1    0

Hobart Olympic v Devonport City Match Report [Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy, First Round Proper, Athletic Centre, Saturday, 17 May 2008]

By Walter Pless
_______________________________________________________-

Hobart Olympic 0
Devonport City 2 (McKenna 17, Chilcott 63)

HT: 0-1 Att: 75 Ref: S Fagg

Hobart Olympic (3-5-2): Nester - Kaproulias, Y Mohamad, Dourias - Lebski, Backhaus, C Tsakiris (Loutsis 82), Bulis, Tsimiklis - Grillas (S Mohamad 86), Winter (E Tsakiris 46) [Substitute not used: Plomaritis] [Coach: F Shaw]

 Hobart Olympic
Devonport City (4-4-2): A Howe - Mulraney, Gratton, Conroy, Chilcott - Scicluna (Downes 84), Douglas, Wilson, Ashdown - S Howe (Howard 81), McKenna [Substitute not used: Gleeson] [Coach: T McGinn]

Devonport City

___________________________________________________________

Hobart Olympic were missing nine key players through injury or unavailability.

Peter Tsakiris is still out of action because of a knee injury. Lee Mason, Hugh Richardson, and Matthew, James and Adam Hedge are all injured. Nektar Vavoulas was in Melbourne. Danijel Djekanovic and Nick Meredith were also unavailable.

This illustrates, however, that Olympic have a very strong squad because the side they did put out would hold its own in a league match.

Missed chances is what cost Olympic the match, not the absence of key players.

Ben Backhaus missed at least two sitters from headers that he should have put away, and his shots lacked power on another couple of occasions when he got into good shooting positions.

Kosta Grillas rarely got in a dangerous shot because he tended to play deep as he searched for the ball.

And, Michael Bulis’s timing was way off, although he did have one brilliant effort that hit the underside of the bar, came down on the line, and rebounded into play.

Chris Tsakiris did not make use of a couple of free-kicks that came his way. He is normally deadly at such set-pieces.

Devonport fielded a very young side and they made the most of their chances.

Chris McKenna fluffed his first real chance in the 8th minute when he headed Sean Howe’s accurate cross from the byline on the right wide of an open goal.

Three minutes later, Grillas set up Bulis, who lifted his effort over the bar.

Devonport hit the front in the 17th minute when Bradley Chilcott fed McKenna, who drove his shot past the outstretched left arm of Dmitri Nester.

Nester saved from McKenna on the half-hour after the Devonport striker had played a neat one-two with Howe to get into a scoring position but did not quite connect properly with his shot.

In the 33rd minute, Backhaus showed great skill in dribbling past three opponents inside the box, but his shot lacked accuracy and drifted wide of the far post.

Simon Wilson should have done better for Devonport in the 35th minute when McKenna put him through, but he shot wide of the target.

Bulis’s shot against the under-side of the bar came four minutes before the interval. Mr Fagg looked towards his assistant, Mr Thain, who signalled that it was not a goal. Video replays confirmed the accuracy of the assistant’s decision.

Howe struck the post with a superb shot 7 minutes after the resumption as Devonport sought to kill off the match.

Eleven minutes later, they did just that. McKenna gained possession on the left and cut inside before picking out the unmarked Chilcott, who was untroubled in firing past Nester to make it 2-0.

Backhaus headed tamely over the bar in the 75th minute, while in the78th, Devonport goalkeeper Andrew Howe turned Chris Tsimiklis’s shot wide for a corner as Olympic launched a mini revival.

But, the visitors held out for the win and an appointment with Tilford Zebras in Hobart in the quarterfinals.

____________________________________________________________

Hobart Olympic coach, Farrell Shaw, said:

“It was a bit disappointing, but it was kind of expected.

“We’ve got nine regular senior players out of the squad, but in saying that, Devonport played some good football.

“They really played us off the park.

“I mean, we had chances late in the game that we should have buried but, overall, we didn’t deserve it.

“It was unusual for Backhaus and Grillas to miss such chances, and in weeks to come, they’ll bury those sort of chances.”

Hobart Olympic squad

• Devonport City coach, Tom McGinn, said:

“I’m very pleased. When you come down to Hobart all the way from the Coast, it’s nice to get a victory.

“I think we can progress. The only thing is, we’ve got to travel, all the way through to the final if we get there.

“The travel isn’t going to worry us if we get to play someone we’re not used to playing.

“We’ve got a young team. There’s probably six under-18s there.

“I think if we’d taken our chances in the first half, the game might have been over a lot earlier.

“We had a few chances in the second half.

“But, we’re going okay. We’re progressing well.”

Devonport City squad

__________________________________________________________

STATISTICS

HOBART OLYMPIC DEVONPORT CITY

16 Goal Attempts 15

6 Shots on Target 9

3 Corners 7

9 Fouls Committed 14

0 Off-Sides 2

0 Yellow Cards 0

0 Red Cards 0

Hobart Olympic:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Backhaus 5 0
Bulis 4 1
C Tsakiris 3 2
Grillas 3 2
Tsimiklis 1 1

Devonport City:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Scicluna 2 1
McKenna 6 4
Wilson 1 0
S Howe 3 3
Mulraney 2 0
Chilcott 1 1

Division One Soccer Match Report for “The Sunday Tasmanian” of 18 May 2008

By Walter Pless
_____________________________________________________________________

Beachside increased its lead at the top of the Division One soccer ladder with a 4-0 away win over sixth-placed Kingborough Lions United at Lightwood Park yesterday.

James Hay’s goal gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at the interval, while Sebastian Milford wrapped up the game with a second-half hat-trick.

Kingborough battled bravely and was unlucky as it struck the woodwork three times.

Hobart United moved into second spot after downing Christian United 4-1 away at Sherburd Park after being 1-1 at half-time.

Akuel Guot netted a hat-trick for the visitors and Thon Youl scored once on his debut, while Ashley Page replied for Christian.

Second-last Nelson Eastern Suburbs moved up to fifth on the 8-team ladder by beating Huon Valley, which had been fifth, 2-1 away at Ranelagh despite playing for most of the game with 10 men.

Thomas Roach was sent off after a mere 10 minutes when he collected a second yellow card.

Gareth McMahon and Jackson Marsh, with a penalty, scored Nelson’s first-half goals, while Max Barnett, also in the opening half, netted for the Valley, which dropped a place to sixth.

State-wide Cup Soccer Match Report for “The Sunday Tasmanian” of 18 May 2008

By Walter Pless
___________________________________________________________________

Five southern and three northern teams are through to the quarterfinals of the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy State-wide soccer competition.

Glenorchy Knights, University, Hobart Zebras, Clarence United, and the winner of today’s [Sunday] game between New Town Eagles and South Hobart, are the southern qualifiers, while Northern Rangers, Riverside Olympic and Devonport City are the successful northern sides.

There were four wins for away teams, while three games went to extra-time, one of them to a penalty shoot-out.

Launceston City, the cup-holder, went out after losing 2-1 in extra-time to Hobart Zebras, who also missed a penalty, while City had Matthew Reynier sent off in the first period of extra-time.

Zebras’s scorers were Dylan Fennell and Josh Thorpe, while Josh Harrison levelled at 1-1 for the home side shortly before the end of normal time.

Kingborough Lions United made a magnificent comeback from 4-0 down before losing 5-4 in extra-time to Glenorchy Knights, whose player-coach, Josh Fielding, headed the winner two minutes before the end from Peter Frank’s cross.

A hat-trick by Igor and a superb strike by Janko Begovic powered the Knights to a 4-0 lead in just under half an hour, but the Lions’ revival began with Tom McDonald’s goal 10 minutes before the break.

Strikes by Jeremy Brown, Greg Freeman and Ross Hinkley made it 4-4 with five minutes remaining, necessitating extra-time.

Devonport City beat an under-strength Hobart Olympic 2-0 away at the Athletic Centre through goals by Chris McKenna in the first half, from Bradley Chilcott’s assist, and in the second half through Chilcott, who was set up by McKenna.

Two goals by Thataetsile Kakadumane and one by Luke Connor gave Northern Rangers a 3-1 away win over Kingston Cannons, who struck through Stewart Collins.

Clarence United beat Burnie United 3-0 away at Montello in a match that was abandoned after 75 minutes when Chris Nicholson suffered a knee injury, forcing a delay until an ambulance arrived.

Two goals by Dwayne Walsh and one by Jacob Kavanagh had done the damage by then, however.

Riverside Olympic beat Prospect Knights 1-0 through a goal by Peter Oosterloo.

University downed Somerset 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the sides were level at 2-2 after 90 minutes and 3-3 after extra-time.