Walter Pless on Football

Taroona v Metro {Premier League, Kelvedon Park, Saturday, 14 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Taroona 2 (Roberts 30, Luttmer 55)
Metro 3 (Marney 56, Jackson 70, 85)

HT: 1-0 Att: 100 Ref: D Gadd

Taroona (3-5-2): Bigg - Johnson, Holmes, Flonta - Macgregor, Atkinson, C Carey, Elliot, Roberts - Cox (Sherman 51), Luttmer [Substitutes not used: D Carey, Dove, Horgan] [Coach: B Horgan]

Metro(3-5-2): McKenna - Rahni, Herring, Curran - Farley, McQueen, Hope, Dawes, Marney - S Kent, Jackson [Substitutes not used: Kelly, Robb, Ramadge, Land] [Coach: A Abdaltam]
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This game was always going to be a physical and psychological battle, and the intensity waxed and waned throughout the 90 minutes with first one side having the upper hand and then the other.

Mr Gadd issued two yellow cards to Taroona and six to the visitors, but there were no reds.

Taroona led 1-0 at the interval and 2-0 after 55 minutes and Metro seemed down and out. But, they came back superbly to equalise with 20 minutes remaining and snatch a winner 5 minutes from the end.

Metro, who were without Darrin Chaffey (in Sydney) and Terry Kent (ill), squandered a couple of excellent chances in the opening half through Jason Dawes, who received fine service from Wayne Jackson.

In the 41st minute, Jackson’s precise pass put Dawes through with only the goalkeeper to beat, but he lobbed wide.

He repeated the miss a minute later, much to the relief of the home side’s defence, which was looking brittle.

William Roberts, playing wide on the left of midfield, had fired Taroona into the lead on the half-hour after Metro failed to clear a sustained aerial attack from the home side.

Taroona had another effort blocked on the post before the interval.

Taroona replaced striker Chris Cox with Tom Sherman in the 51st minute and, four minutes later, Hugo Luttmer netted to make it 2-0 for the home side, which was being supported by a vocal crowd on the bank.

Metro struck back superbly in the 56th minute when Aaron Marney turned sharply on the edge of the box and rifled a low drive past Alex Bigg in the Taroona goal.

This gave Metro hope and, with 20 minutes remaining, Dawes played Jackson through the middle with a precise pass and he made it 2-2.

Five minutes from the end, Jackson chased another through-ball and, when Alex Holmes hesitated for a split second, the Metro youngster cracked his shot home to give the visitors a 3-2 victory.

Taroona were shattered by the defeat and coach Ben Horgan was visibly upset as he prepared to do a TV interview.

Team manager John Meehan was also disconsolate and appeared resigned to relegation.

But, there are still eight matches remaining and anything can happen.

Taroona are now isolated at the foot of the table with 2 points, 4 adrift of Metro, who are second-last.

New Town Eagles also won away, 3-2 against Clarence United at Wentworth Park, but they remain third-last with 8 points, only 1 behind seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United, who must be starting to feel jittery.

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Taroona coach, Ben Horgan, said:

“We got ourselves in a position to win, obviously, and we caught out three times in much the same way.

“We competed in the first half, but it wasn’t the prettiest game, but we had a good crack.

“We’ve got plenty of games left and we’ll just have to keep working hard and get some results against some of the top teams.”

Metro coach, Ahmed Abdaltam, said:

“They were a vital three points and we needed them very much to encourage us to continue and stay in this league.

“The boys played well in the first half and to come back from two-nil down was really hard work. It’s a credit to all the players.

“They worked hard throughout the first half and the second half.

“I think we’ll progress from here and this result has encouraged us to stay in this league.

“I wasn’t worried by our misses in the first half because I knew it would come.

“It’s a very young side, with about nine players who are 19 years old and they are realising how hard it is in the Premier League.

“If we’re going to stay in the Premier League, this is the type of game we’re going to compete in and beat our opponents to give us a good show.

“That’s all we need to do.”

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STATISTICS

TAROONA METRO
27 Goal Attempts 15
14 Shots on Target 10
11 Corners 6
11 Fouls Committed 21
5 Off-Sides 3
2 (C Carey 66, Elliot 71) Yellow Cards 6 (Herring 28, Hope 46, S Kent 48, Jackson 71, McQueen 71, Dawes 75)
0 Red Cards 0

Taroona:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
C Carey 2 0
Atkinson 7 3
Elliot 2 1
Macgregor 4 1
Roberts 5 4
Luttmer 5 3
Sherman 2 2

Metro:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Hope 2 2
S Kent 4 3
Dawes 4 1
Jackson 4 3
Marney 1 1

Tilford Zebras v Hobart Olympic Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 13 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Tilford Zebras 0
Hobart Olympic 1 (Bulis 77)

HT: 0-0 Att: 300 Ref: K Barker

Tilford Zebras (3-1-4-2): Mainella - Fagg, Telega, D Cox - Pullen - Brazendale, Cairns, D Lapolla, Self - Fennell (Thorpe 70), Crosswell [Substitutes not used: Connolly, F Lapolla, Kaden] [Coach: N Lapolla]

Hobart Olympic (3-5-2): Nester - Vavoulas, Mohamad, Tsimiklis - Lebski, Mason (Walker 89), C Tsakiris, Djekanovic, Richardson (Backhaus 64) - Bulis, Grillas [Substitutes not used: Winter, Plomaritis] [Coach: F Shaw]
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Hobart Olympic went to the top of the Premier League standings as a result of this 1-0 away win over third-placed and reigning champions Tilford Zebras at KGV Park.

The first half was a dour affair with only a few chances.

Zebras’ Dylan Fennell was thwarted by Dmitri Nester in a one-on-one situation, while Olympic’s Daniejel Djekanovic headed tamely over the bar when he might have scored.

The game did not really come to life until the dismissal of Zebras midfielder Aaron Brazendale in the 54th minute after he collected a second yellow card for a tackle from behind.

Zebras seemed to play better with 10 men and they seemed more urgent as they sought a winner.

They were almost caught out in the 62nd minute when Hugh Richardson’s long-range effort scraped the outside of Frank Mainella’s left-hand post.

Seconds later, Olympic’s goalkeeper Dmitri Nester did well to deny Fennell, while a minute later, he turned the same player’s shot wide for a corner.

In the 69th minute, Djekanovic missed a sitter when set up by Michael Bulis.

The winner came in the 77th minute after Robert Lebski had outplayed Brett Pullen wide on the right and sent Lee Mason scampering down the line.

Mason’s pin-point cross to the far post was headed home by the unmarked Bulis.

Two minutes later, Zebras thought they had equalised. Pullen powered a header from a corner towards goal and Mason headed it off the line.

Pullen thought it had crossed the line and raced to the assistant referee to plead his case, but with no signal given, Mr Barker had little choice but to wave play on.

After the match, Pullen, coach Lapolla and other Zebras players insisted that the ball had been over the line, but Mason stuck to his story that he had headed it clear before the ball crossed the line.

Zebras still had more than enough chances to win, let alone draw.

In the 84th minute, Crosswell outfoxed several defenders and made space and time for a shot, but he drove the ball wide.

Two minutes from the end, Crosswell found himself through with only Nester to beat. With a goal seemingly inevitable, Nester pulled off a brilliant save to earn himself the man-of-the-match award.

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• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

“It was a great match to be involved in.

“I thought we were unlucky. I thought we dominated pretty much 90 per cent of the game and were just unlucky the goals didn’t go in.

“Olympic had one shot in the second half and, unfortunately, we fell asleep and it went in.

“We played better with ten men. Credit goes to all the boys who played. They gave 120 per cent.”

• Hobart Olympic goalkeeper, Dmitri Nester, said:

“The win puts us on top and, hopefully, they’ll slip up against University now and we’ll go outright to the top.

“I thought both teams battled hard in the first half but they didn’t take their opportunities, so nil-nil was a fair result at half-time.

“I don’t think we were nervous at all because we knew we could beat them. We beat them the last time we played them, and last year.

“We thought we could do it and we really wanted to so that we could stay on top.”

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STATISTICS

TILFORD ZEBRAS HOBART OLYMPIC
19 Goal Attempts 11
10 Shots on Target 8
14 Corners 1
13 Fouls Committed 7
4 Off-Sides 3
3 (Lapolla 37, Brazendale 52, 54) Yellow Cards 2 (Bulis 37, Vavoulas 59)
1 (Brazendale 54) Red Cards 0

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Fagg 3 1
Cairns 3 2
Crosswell 6 3
Brazendale 1 0
Fennell 2 1
Pullen 1 1
Self 1 1
Thorpe 2 1

Hobart Olympic:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Grillas 4 2
Djekanovic 2 1
Lebski 1 1
Mason 1 1
Richardson 2 2
Bulis 1 1

Preview for the Weekend of 13-15 June 2008

By Walter Pless

Premier League leaders South Hobart will give a senior debut to their under-19 team goalkeeper Rory McCallum for the match against fourth-placed University at the latter’s Olinda Grove headquarters on Sunday.

Regular keeper Mark Moncur is in the United States at a gymnastic event, while his understudy, Sam Kruijver, has an injured hand.

“Rory will be getting his chance sooner than I’d anticipated,” said South coach, Ken Morton.

University will provide the league-leaders with a stern test and the visitors cannot afford to drop any points in what is shaping up as a closely contested title race.

South won the first-round encounter 3-1.

A thriller is in store at KGV Park on Friday evening when third-placed and reigning champions Tilford Zebras take on second-placed Hobart Olympic.

The game will feature two of the best strikers in the league - Zebras’ Ben Crosswell and Olympic’s Kosta Grillas.

Crosswell has scored 21 goals in 9 league outings, while Grillas notched a hat-trick last weekend to take his league tally to 10.

Olympic won the first-round encounter 3-2 at the same venue and Friday’s match should be every bit as exciting and close.

Things are also close at the foot of the ladder and bottom-side Taroona face a crucial game against the visiting second-last placed Metro at Kelevdon Park on Saturday.

Metro won the first-round meeting 3-1 at North Chigwell and Taroona must reverse that result on their own turf if they are to mount a serious challenge against relegation.

The experienced Chris Cox and Cian Carey will start for Taroona, but young striker Tom Sherman is doubtful because of a back injury.

Sam Johnson returns from overseas on Friday but will slot straight in to the centre-back berth for Saturday’s game.

Metro appear a united force once again after recent internal ructions and this will help their cause immensely.

Third-last New Town Eagles are also in the relegation dog fight and will hope to come away from Wentworth Park on Saturday with all three points against sixth-placed Clarence United.

Neither side will have their first-choice eleven, with Clarence probably at a greater disadvantage than Eagles as they have Toby Ling unavailable and Ben Parker, Dwayne Walsh, Jacob Kavanagh, Chris Nicholson, George Stevens and Nathan Cashion all injured.

Eagles are without Adam McKeown and Chris Stingle, who are unavailable, and Wade Savage and Jamie Vernon will come into the starting line-up.

Barry Pope has been in good form for the reserves and will be on the bench for Eagles, who will have coach Ian Parker back after his return from overseas.

Clarence won 1-0 through an own-goal in the first-round meeting at Clare Street.

Seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United entertain fifth-placed Glenorchy Knights at Lightwood Park on Sunday and both sides will be desperate for a win to turn their mediocre seasons around.

The Knights won 3-0 in the first round, but this will be much more difficult.

Division One leaders New Town Eagles face a difficult away game against second-placed Hobart United at Pontville on Sunday.

Eagles will miss the injured Matt Smith (hamstring) and the unavailable Jayden Jones, who will be replaced by Sam Calvert and Richard Ketchell.

“Our first match at Pontville Oval will be helped by ex-AFL player-come-Newtown Eagles playmaker Aaron Veitch’s knowledge of the ground,” said Eagles joint-coach, Marty Nidorfer.

“We are buoyed by the clean sheet last week, despite sustained pressure.

“The only negative is our failure to capitalise on the scoreboard when we have periods of dominance.

“Hobart United are particularly strong in midfield and training drills this week have focussed on our players not being caught ball watching.

“The match-up between midfield heavyweights Peter Otto and Tomislav Fotak will be worth the price of admission alone.”

Hobart United’s ace goalscorer Akuel Guot has a calf injury and has not trained but is still finding the back of the net regularly.

Andrew Otto has a back injury, while Thon Youl is suspended after being sent off last weekend.

Peter Songa, Jacob Kuel and Tim Coad are the replacements.

“It should be a tough and fast game,” said Hobart United coach, Tony Tarros. “This game, I guess, should be called the decider, with the winner doubling the chances to win the title.

“If Eagles win, they go 7 points clear. It’s therefore a ‘must-win’ game for both teams.”

Third-placed Beachside take on fourth-ranked Kingston Cannons at Sandown Park on Saturday without Daniel Gardner, who is in Sydney.

He will be replaced by Liam Sprod, while David Chadwick also returns to the line-up.

“As a result of last week’s loss, we find ourselves off the pace with the league leaders and every game from here on in is like a final,” said Beachside coach, Tony Kavanagh.

“One more loss or draw in this round will have a massive impact on our title prospects, so, to remain in the hunt, we need to regroup and play the type of soccer we know we are capable of.

“Our younger players, including Liam Brown, Andrew Douglas, James Hay and Pat Bigg, have been playing exceptional soccer over the past few weeks and we will be looking to them to continue their form to get us over the line this week.”

Sixth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs entertain fifth-ranked Kingborough Lions United at North Warrane on Saturday with Nick Roberts and Richard Flood in the side in place of Rowan Sakul and Matt McKay.

In a bottom-of-the-table clash at Sherburd Park on Saturday, bottom-side Christian United host second-last Huon Valley.

Metro v South Hobart Match Report [Premier League, North Chigwell, Sunday, 8 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Metro 0
South Hobart 5 (Lo 15, 61, 79, Ludford 63 pen, Downes 86)

HT: 0-1 Att: 80 Ref: P Galloway

Metro (4-4-2): McKenna - Curran, Herring, Chaffey, Farley - Marney, Rahni, Hope (Geard 82), E Brown (T Kent 46) - Jackson, S Kent [Substitute not used: Land] [Coach: A Abdaltam]

South Hobart (4-4-2): Moncur - Cooper (Pearce 79), Ludford, M Brown, Scott - Roach, Ladic, Beecroft, Abbott (Hickey 70) - Gasparinatos, Lo (Downes 79) [Substitute not used: Ross] [Coach: K Morton]
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Metro were totally outclassed in this 132nd meeting between the two oldest clubs in Tasmania.

South Hobart stretched their winning run against Metro to 11 games and they collected the Steve Robins Memorial Shield, named after the late player of both clubs. The trophy was presented to South Hobart after the match by Steve’s parents.

Metro had the first chance after 7 minutes, but Shane Kent headed Wayne Jackson’s right-wing cross harmlessly wide.

From then on it was all South Hobart, who forced 9 corners in the opening half but scored only one goal.

Michael McKenna did well to block Jonathon Lo’s effort in the 12th minute after he had been put through by Hugh Ludford’s pass.

On the quarter-hour, Metro conceded a soft goal from a corner, Lo nodding home at the far post after a goalmouth scrimmage.

In the 29th minute, South deserved a goal following a marvellous attacking move that started deep in defence when Matthew Brown won the ball on the left-edge of the box.

Brown knocked the ball forward to Liam Scott, who played it inside to Jonathon Ladic, who knocked it to the right for the advancing fullback David Cooper.

Cooper released Tom Roach down the right wing and his cross was met by Lo, whose excellent header was turned over the bar by the acrobatic McKenna.

Two minutes later, McKenna did very well to turn Ladic’s powerful drive wide for a corner.

Five minutes before the break, McKenna was again at his best to deny Roach, while in the 43rd minute, he tipped David Abbott’s shot over the bar in spectacular style.

Metro introduced Terry Kent for the second half and, although he was his usual reliable self, the veteran was unable to alter the course of the match.

The good thing was that Metro have apparently sorted out their internal squabbles and Shane and Terry Kent and Andrew Herring were back in the side.

They will need all the personnel they have at their disposal to avoid relegation or the relegation play-off.

Three minutes into the second half, Bart Beecroft missed an easy header as South continued where they had left off in the first half.

In the 50th minute, Metro had one of their few chances, but Stuart Hope fired just wide of Mark Moncur’s goal.

South added their second goal in the 61st minute, Matthew Brown heading a corner against the crossbar and Lo tapping home from close range.

A minute later it was 3-0 as Ludford converted a soft penalty, awarded after a great run into the box by Abbott, who seemed to go down far too easily.

Eleven minutes from the end, Lo completed his hat-trick when he nodded home Scott’s lob into the box.

Four minutes from time, substitute Greg Downes scored the visitors’ fifth when he smashed home Shae Hickey’s left-wing cross.

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Metro coach, Ahmed Abdaltam, said:

“South Hobart have got the players to make them win.

“They deserved to win.

“We’ve got young boys and we’re still learning and it’ll come in the future.

“It takes time to develop the team, but I’m sure we’ll be much, much better in the second round than now.

“That’s the situation and we’ll just have to keep working, keep our heads up and be positive.”

South Hobart coach, Ken Morton, said:

“We created a lot of opportunities in the first half when we had ten corners and we got one goal from it.

“We had a few words with them at half-time to make better use of the possession and in the second half we played some wonderful football and the fifth goal was sheer class.

“I’ve got to be happy. Five nil away from home, you’ve got to be happy.”

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STATISTICS

METRO SOUTH HOBART
4 Goal Attempts 26
1 Shots on Target 16
1 Corners 15
7 Fouls Committed 6
0 Off-Sides 7
1 (Jackson 85) Yellow Cards 1 (Ladic 57)
0 Red Cards 0

Metro:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
S Kent 2 1
E Brown 1 0
Hope 1 0

South Hobart:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Gasparinatos 4 2
Lo 4 3
Roach 5 3
Ladic 3 2
Cooper 2 1
Abbott 2 1
Beecroft 1 0
M Brown 1 1
Ludford 1 1
Downes 1 1
Hickey 1 0
Pearce 1 1

Hobart Olympic v Glenorchy Knights Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Saturday, 7 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Hobart Olympic 5 (Grillas 40, 74, 87, Lebski 51, C Tsakiris 95)
Glenorchy Knights 1 (Guma 6)

HT: 1-1 Att: 100 Ref: D Gadd

Hobart Olympic (4-4-2): Nester - Mohamad, C Tsakiris, Kaproulias, Tsimiklis - Lebski (Richardson 72), Vavoulas, Mason (Backhaus 80), Djekanovic - Bulis, Grillas [Substitutes not used: Walker, Matsouris] [Coach: F Shaw]

Glenorchy Knights (4-4-2): Peter - Pringle, Grundy, Dzelalija, Gordon - Clay, Fielding, Begovic, Igor - Huigsloot, Guma (Koroma 58) [Substitutes not used: Millington, Russell] [Joint Player-Coaches: J Begovic, J Fielding]
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Hobart Olympic beat Glenorchy Knights 5-1 in this Saturday evening match to go to the top of the Premier League ladder.

South Hobart were due to play the following day and a win against Metro would put them back on top on goal-difference.

This was Glenorchy Knights’ second loss in a row and the return of Janko Begovic, which looked a huge boost at first, ended in disaster when he was sent off in the 90th minute after collecting a second yellow card.

The Knights remain fifth on the ladder, 7 points adrift of the leading pair and two behind fourth-placed University.

Edward Guma put the Knights in front in the 6th minute with a header after a delicate chip from the right by Igor.

Michael Bulis almost equalised for Olympic in the 10th minute but Ben Peter got a finger to his shot and turned the ball against a post.

Kosta Grillas levelled 5 minutes before the interval. He mistimed his first attemot and completely missed the ball, but he recovered to shoot past Peter and make it 1-1 at the break.

Six minutes after the resumption, Grillas controlled the ball superbly and turned to race past Anthony Grundy and down the left. With Grundy clattering at his heels, Grillas cut inside to the left of the box and played a low ball across the goalmouth to Robert Lebski, who fired home to put Olympic in front.

It was Lebski’s third goal in two matches, but he still ended up being substituted midway through the half.

Guma was replaced by Amadu Koroma in the 58th minute but he was unable to help the Knights’ cause.

In the 68th minute, Youssef Mohamad pushed an opponent inside the box and Mr Gadd awarded the Knights a penalty.

Igor has become predictable in the way he takes spot-kicks and Dmitri Nester dived to his right to beat out the attempt by the Brazilian.

In the 74th minute, Grillas beat the Knights’ off-side trap and raced through the middle before firing past Peter to make it 3-1 for the home side.

Bulis should have added another in the 86th minute, but his shot was too high and cleared the crossbar.

A minute later, Grillas, this time looking suspiciously off-side, again beat the Knights defence through the middle and, although his shot hit the advancing Peter, the ball looped into the net to give Olympic a 4-1 lead.

In the 95th minute, Olympic earned a free-kick wide on the left and Chris Tsakiris scored their fifth with a curling shot that went in at the near post, leaving the Knights defence and their keeper flat-footed and guarding against a far-post cross which never came.

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• Hobart Olympic coach, Farrell Shaw, said:

“It was a very pleasing game. In the first half, Igor was the dominant player, I thought, so we made a change in the second half and put Chris Tsakiris on him, which kept him a little quieter, which was good.

“In he first half he made a lot of chances but they didn’t put them away, so we always thought we were well in the game.

“We just kept going at them and actually out-ran them and they were getting very tired towards the end.”

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

“Obviously, I’m very disappointed, but all credit to Olympic.

“We were outplayed and they were the better team on the day and they thoroughly deserved the result.

“The penalty…I thought it was probably justice because I thought it was a very soft decision, to be honest with you. But, that’s football. I didn’t think it was a penalty.”
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STATISTICS

HOBART OLYMPIC GLENORCHY KNIGHTS
10 Goal Attempts 18
7 Shots on Target 7
5 Corners 8
13 Fouls Committed 11
2 Off-Sides 5
2 (Kaproulias 54, Mohamad 68) Yellow Cards 3 (Dzelalija 55, Begovic 69, 94)
0 Red Cards 1 (Begovic 94)

Hobart Olympic:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Grillas 5 4
Bulis 2 1
Lebski 1 1
Djekanovic 1 0
C Tsakiris 1 1

Glenorchy Knights:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Guma 3 2
Clay 2 0
Fielding 2 0
Igor 4 2
Huigsloot 3 1
Dzelalija 2 1
Begovic 1 1
Pringle 1 0

Taroona v Kingborough Lions United Match Report [Premier League, Kelvedon Park, Saturday, 7 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
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Taroona 1 (Cox 66)

Kingborough Lions United 4 (McDonald 28, 78, Schuth 32, Greg Freeman 83)

HT: 0-2 Att: 80 Ref: S Collins

Taroona(4-4-2): Bigg, - R Brown (C Carey 38), Holmes,
Flonta, Roberts - Allie (Tubb 80), Szoka, Elliot, D Carey - Sherman
(Cox 35) , Atkinson [Substitute not used: Wyatt] [Coach: B Horgan]

Kingborough Lions United (4-4-2): Coleman - J Brown, A Kerr,
Iseli, R Hinkley - Correy (Palmer 80), Marchioli, Andrews (Bremner 89),
Schuth (Ryan 72) - Greg Freeman, McDonald [Substitute not used: Voss] [Coach: Geoff Freeman]
____________________________________________________________

Taroona and Kingborough Lions United both urgently needed a win from
this encounter as they sought safety from relegation, or a relegation
play-off.

Kingborough’s greater experience at this level told in the end and
they won 4-1, although Taroona fought back splendidly when they
introduced substitutes Chris Cox and Cian Carey ten minutes before the
interval for the injured Tom Sherman and Roger Brown.

Cox and Cian Carey almost turned the game around. Cox scored in the
66th minute after Adam Coleman was unable to hold Cian Carey’s fierce
shot, while two minutes later, Cian Carey thumped a magnificent drive
against the underside of the bar, the ball bouncing down and back into
play.

The small ground made for a very physical contest and one requiring
excellent technique and five players - two from Taroona and three from
the Lions - were cautioned by Mr Collins.

Kingborough’s Brett Andrews was dicing with a red card at one stage,
while Taroona’s Jason Szoka was very lucky to stay on late in the match
when he received a yellow card for what might easily have been a red.

Joel Schuth should have put the visitors ahead midway through the first half, but he missed an easy header.

The Lions did take the lead five minutes later, however, following a
free-kick from deep on the right by Marcello Marchioli. The Taroona
defence only partially cleared the ball and Tom McDonald turned and
sent in a low shot from just outside the box that beat Alex Bigg.

A minute later, Jarod Allie showed his youth and inexperience when
he missed a cross from the left completely at the far post. He should
have at least worked the goalkeeper with a header on target.

Schuth made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when he showed considerable
skill in wriggling past three defenders on the left side of the box
before shooting just inside Bigg’s near post.

Cox curled a shot just wide near the hour-mark after Cian Carey has put him through as Taroona rallied in the second half.

Cox then scored in the 66th- minute and Cian Carey hit the woodwork
shortly after, but Kingborough recovered and McDonald restored their
2-goal buffer in the 78th minute.

Greg Freeman out-paced Alex Holmes down the right and fired against
the base of the far post, leaving McDonald to shoot home his second
goal and Kingborough’s third of the match.

Bigg blocked an effort by substitute Ryan Bevan in the 81st minute
as the Lions sought to kill off the match, and that point came two
minutes later when Marchioli’s free-kick from deep on the right was
headed home by Greg Freeman to make it 4-1 for the visitors.

Bigg had to be at his best in the 85th minute to block another
dangerous Freeman header on the line following Bevan’s right-wing cross.

The win gave Kingborough 9 points, 5 behind sixth-placed Clarence United and 4 points ahead of third-last New Town Eagles.

Taroona are stranded at the bottom of the ladder with just 2 points
from 9 games and a point adrift of second-last Metro and 3 behind
eighth-placed New Town Eagles.
_____________________________________________________________

• Taroona coach, Ben Horgan, said:

“We didn’t work hard enough and we didn’t tackle hard enough.

“We were more interested in getting guys booked than in winning the game.

“We were wondering why it takes two old blokes who can hardly run [substitutes Chris Cox and Cian Carey] to get us going.

“I think it was because they had to work hard to get into the Premier League.

“Some of the young guys probably don’t appreciate how hard they need to work to stay here. They take it for granted.

“I thought we were in with a chance when it was 2-1 and we hit the crossbar.

“We certainly sparked up for the first 20 minutes of the second half, so we weren’t out of it.

“I don’t think we were out of it until towards the end of the game.”

• Kingborough Lions United coach, Geoff Freeman, said:

“It was a good game between two young sides.

“It’s hard to come here and play on this narrow, tight ground, which is a little but bumpy through the middle and in places.

“We defended well and limited their opportunities and probably
managed to get in behind them a little and make the most of our
opportunities.

“It was a fair strike, the one that hit our bar. It was a great strike.

“I think for that brief period afterwards, I was a little bit
concerned, although whenever a side gets one, you think, that sort of
lifts their spirits and then they have a bit more of a crack.

“But, once we got the third one, I think it was all over then.

“We deserved the points today, I think.”

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STATISTICS

TAROONA KINGBOROUGH
14 Goal Attempts 15
4 Shots on Target 9
1 Corners 3
13 Fouls Committed 11
2 Off-Sides 6
2 (Szoka 81, D Carey 86) Yellow Cards 3 Iseli 71, Andrews 76, R Hinkley 80)
0 Red Cards 0

Taroona:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Atkinson 4 0
Sherman 2 0
Szoka 1 0
Allie 2 1
Cox 2 1
C Carey 3 2

Kingborough Lions United:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Correy 2 0
Andrews 1 1
Iseli 1 0
Schuth 2 1
McDonald 2 2
R Hinkley 1 0
G Freeman 3 3
Bevan 1 1
Palmer 2 1

Match Report for “The Sunday Tasmanian” of 8 June 2008

By Walter Pless

Reigning Premier League soccer champions Hobart Zebras moved from third place to the top of the ladder after beating eighth-placed New Town Eagles 3-1 at KGV Park on Friday night.

Ricky Self put the Zebras ahead in the 12th minute, tapping home the loose ball after Eagles goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford had blocked his first attempt from close range.

Ben Crosswell made it 2-0 in the 19th minute with a header at the far post after an excellent run down the right and an accurate cross by Brett Pullen.

Pitchford produced fine saves from Self, Aaron Brazendale, Paul Cairns and Crosswell in the first half, while Eagles Jacob Malakoff, Mark Wakefield and Chris Stingle squandered half-chances for Eagles, also in the first period.

Five minutes after the resumption, Crosswell headed his second goal, and the Zebras’ third, from Self’s corner to give the champions a commanding 3-0 lead.

It was Crosswell’s 21st league goal of the season and gave him an 11-goal lead over the league’s second-ranked marksman, the Glenorchy Knights’ Brazilian midfielder, Igor.

Pitchford continued his fine form for Eagles in the second half, denying Self and Crosswell with excellent saves.

Adam McKeown netted a consolation goal for Eagles 15 minutes from the end, heading home Ben Whitehall’s corner.

Seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United beat bottom-side Taroona 4-1 away at Kelvedon Park yesterday after leading 2-0 at the interval.

The visitors took a 28th-minute lead when Taroona failed to clear Marcello Marchioli’s free-kick and the lurking Tom McDonald turned sharply and smashed home a low shot from just inside the box.

Joel Schuth, who had earlier missed a good chance with a header, made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when he wriggled past three defenders on the left of the box and squeezed his shot inside the near post.

The introduction of substitutes Chris Cox and Cian Carey revitalised Taroona and it was Cox who reduced the arrears in the 66th minute, firing home the rebound after Lions goalkeeper Adam Coleman failed to hold Cian Carey’s shot.

Two minutes later, Cian Carey unleashed a thunderbolt that rebounded into play off the underside of the crossbar.

Taroona may have pulled the Lions’ tail with this effrontery, but the visitors regained their composure and goals by McDonald and Greg Freeman killed off the Taroona challenge.

McDonald tapped home in the 78th minute to make it 3-1after Freeman had eluded Alex Holmes down the right and fired against the base of the far post, while Freeman headed the fourth from Marchioli’s free-kick from deep on the right in the 81st minute.

Other Details: [Premier Reserve League] Hobart Zebras 5 (Josh Thorpe 2, Luke Engels, Kurt Engels, Patrick Dunne) b New Town Eagles 1 (Alec Johnston); Taroona 0 lt Kingborough Lions United 5 (Marcus Bremner, William Walker, Ryan Bevan, Peter While, Phil Cooper); [Division One] Kingston Cannons 4 (John Demir 2, Steve Giudici, John Prichard) b Christian United 0; Kingborough Lions United 4 (Warren Iles 2, Charles White, David Rietveld) b Huon Valley 1 (own-goal).

Match Report for “The Mercury” of Monday, 9 June 2008

By Walter Pless

South Hobart and Hobart Olympic remained the joint leaders in the Premier League soccer competition when they won their ninth-round matches handsomely.

South was untroubled in beating second-last Metro 5-0 at North Chigwell yesterday in the 132nd meeting between the sides, while Olympic overcame fifth-placed Glenorchy Knights 5-1 in a thriller at KGV Park on Saturday night.

University held on to fourth spot despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home at Olinda Grove by sixth-placed Clarence United yesterday in match that was also played for the Andrew Hoppitt Memorial Trophy, named after University’s late goalkeeper.

Jonathon Lo hit a hat-trick for South against Metro, the other goals coming from Hugh Ludford, with a penalty, and substitute Greg Downes, the win giving South the Steve Robins Memorial Trophy, named in honour of a past player of both clubs.

Metro goalkeeper Michael McKenna pulled off a string of excellent and brave saves to keep the score below double figures.

Igor set up Edward Guma for the Knights’ opener against Olympic, but Kosta Grillas levelled just before the break and then displayed tremendous skill and pace to set up Robert Lebski for Olympic’s second soon after the resumption.

Igor had a penalty saved by Dmitri Nester midway through the second half and that was the signal for Olympic to take command, with Grillas going on to complete his hat-trick and Chris Tsakiris scoring the fifth with a free-kick that beat Ben Peter at the near post.

The Knights had joint player-coach Janko Begovic sent off in the 90th minute when he collected a second yellow card.

In the Premier League Reserves, two goals by Simon Burrett and one apiece from Alex Gordon, Julius Ross and Rowan Franklin gave league-leader South Hobart a 5-1 win over Metro, which replied through Matthew Gasparin.

Two goals by Sam Jones and one each by Takayuki Manaka and Patrick Brealey gave University a 4-0 win over Clarence United.

In Division One, Hobart United, which had Thom Youl sent off for serious foul play a minute before the interval, drew 0-0 with Nelson Eastern Suburbs at home at Pontville yesterday.

A last-minute goal by Josh Hadfield gave league-leaders New Town Eagles a 1-0 win over second-placed Beachside at home at Clare Street to increase their lead at the top to 4 points.

Tilford Zebras v New Town Eagles Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 6 June 2008]

By Walter Pless
__________________________________________________________

Tilford Zebras 3 (Self 12, Crosswell 19, 50)
New Town Eagles 1 (McKeown 75)

HT: 2-0 Att: 150 Ref: K Barker

Tilford Zebras (3-5-2): F Mainella - H Fagg, A Telega, D Cox - A Brazendale, P Cairns, B Pullen, D Lapolla, R Self - D Fennell, B Crosswell [Substitutes not used: J Welch, F Lapolla, T Kaden] [Coach: N Lapolla]

New Town Eagles (3-5-2): N Pitchford - C Wass, M Page, A Clark - B Whitehall, M Wakefield, A McKeown, J Malakoff, A Leszczynski (W Savage 72) - N Ferrall, C Stingle (J Vernon 54) [Substitute not used: J Hyland] [Coach: S Pitchford]

_________________________________________________________

Reigning Premier League champions Tilford Zebras went to the top of the ladder on goal-difference as a result of this comfortable 3-1 win over eighth-placed New Town Eagles at KGV Park.

Zebras, South Hobart and Hobart Olympic all have 19 points, but the Zebras have played one match more.

Ben Crosswell netted twice to take his personal tally to 21 goals. He is the league’s leading marksman and is 11 goals ahead of second-ranked Igor of Glenorchy Knights.

Brett Pullen had an excellent first-half for the Zebras. He played just in front of the back-three but continually pushed forward and his passes regularly set up chances for his team-mates.

It was Pullen who made Crosswell’s first goal with an electric run down the right and a perfect cross to the far post, where Crosswell lashed home a powerful header to make it 2-0.

Eagles goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford produced some outstanding saves. He denied Ricky Self twice in the first half, saved at the feet of both Aaron Brazendale and Paul Cairns, and then blocked a Crosswell header.

In the second half, Pitchford again thwarted Self and Crosswell, the latter twice with marvellous saves.

Pitchford might have done better at the opening goal. In the 12th minute, Self cut in along the byline on the left and Pitchford smothered his first attempt, but the ball rebounded to Self, who scored.

In the 19th minute, he had no hope of catching Pullen’s cross to the far post, nor the resulting header from Crosswell which made it 2-0.

Eagles had some good chances. In the 32nd minute, Andrew Telega inexplicably gave the ball to Jacob Malakoff inside the box and, although the youngster made space for a shot, he drove over the bar when he should have worked Frank Mainella.

Four minutes later, Mark Wakefield was presented with a wonderful chance, but he skewed his effort over the bar.

Eagles’ best chance of the opening half came on the stroke of half-time when Malakoff fed Chris Stingle, but he shot wide.

Five minutes into the second half, Crosswell forced a corner, from which he scored with his head to make it 3-0.

In the 72nd minute, Mainella was finally called into action as he spread himself beautifully to save from substitute Jamie Vernon, who had broken through the Zebras defence.

Wade Savage came on in the 72nd minute in place of Alex Leszczynski and he livened up the Eagles attack with some clever touches and penetrating runs.

With 15 minutes remaining, Adam McKeown forced a corner when his shot received a slight deflection, and it was McKeown who headed home Ben Whitehall’s corner for a consolation goal to the visitors.

This was probably Stephen Pitchford’s final game in charge of Eagles’ senior side before the return from overseas of Ian Parker.

He has had the team playing adventurously and was unlucky not to have earned more than three points during his time in charge.

__________________________________________________________

• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

“I’m happy to get the three points.

“I think we panicked in front of goal and definitely missed chances, but I was happy with the first-half penetration.

“In the second half, for the first 20 minutes, we pretty much had control of the game, but then we started to do the extra thing that we’re not supposed to be doing. We took the extra touches.

“I was never worried at any time.

“Pullen played well. He’s not bad for an old man. He adds stability to the side.

“That second goal he set up for Ben [Crosswell], I didn’t think he was going to get there. Yes, he’s doing well.

“I was very happy with Crosswell. He’s knocking in the goals, and that’s his job. He knows what he’s got to do and he’s got 21 goals.”

• New Town Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford, said:

“Yes, we could have scored more goals. Especially in the first half, we had lots of potential goals.

“[We could have had a goal] just before half-time, but Stingle leant back a bit on his shot and kicked a chance wide. That would have made it 2-1 at half-time and would have put the pressure on them.

“At three nil down it could have been any number, but they kept in there and kept going and scored a goal and, at the end, probably could have sneaked one or two more, which would have made a real game of it.

“I think they knocked the ball around really well. I think Crosswell scored a couple of goals from headers and the like, but in reality, he didn’t do a lot in the game today and I think they missed him, but they have enough other players to make up for that.

“I think we’ll continue to play the way we play. We create plenty of chances and we’ve just got to learn to convert more.

“Against the lower teams, their defences aren’t quite as drilled as the top teams we’ve met over the last four or five weeks, and I think that’s been a good lead-in to the next three or four games.”

________________________________________________________-

STATISTICS

TILFORD ZEBRAS NEW TOWN EAGLES
21 Goal Attempts 10
10 Shots on Target 3
13 Corners 6
13 Fouls Committed 8
0 Off-Sides 2
1 (Fennell 24) Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Self 5 5
Crosswell 5 5
Fennell 2 0
Cairns 1 0
Fagg 3 0
Lapolla 3 0
Brazendale 1 0
D Cox 1 0

New Town Eagles:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Stingle 2 0
Leszczynski 1 1
Malakoff 2 0
Wakefield 1 0
Vernon 1 1
McKeown 2 1
Savage 1 0

Division One Preview for 7-8 June 2008

By Walter Pless

Division One leaders New Town Eagles face a difficult match against previous front-runners Beachside at home at Clare Street on Sunday.

Eagles took over at the top from Beachside in midweek when they downed Kingston Cannons 3-1 at KGV Park through two second-half goals by Sam Calvert, including a penalty, and one by Matthew Williams.

Stewart Collins replied for the Cannons.

Eagles’ Damien Bones, Richard Ketchell, Tommy Fotak, Daniel Verdouw and Richard Leszczynski are not fully fit and players from the club’s Ptremier League side have been placed on standby.

“After Wednesday night’s game against the Cannons, there were more tight hamstrings than the strings on Andre Rieu’s violin.

“The lads are tired from a busy schedule, which could count against us, but I’m sure they still have some petrol in the tank.

“We will look to control the tempo of the match, which won’t be easy against the reigning champions.”

Beachside will have captain Ben Davis back in place of David Chadwick, and goalkeeper Michael Soszynski also returns.

Davis has not played since round one because of injury and has made his way back through the reserves, where he scored twice last weekend.

“Eagles are now ladder leaders and we find ourselves having to come at them if we are to remain in contention for the title,” said Beachside’s Daniel Gardner.

“After watching them play the Cannons on Wednesday, we are expecting a tough encounter, with Sammy Calvert and Tommy Fotak ones to watch.

“For the last few weeks they have used their experience to over-run teams in the second half, so for us to even have a chance, we are going to have to string together 90 minutes of competitive football.

“Given the terrible surface in the middle of Clare Street and the challenge of changing your playing style to keep the ball away from this area, this may be a hard task.”

Hobart United take on Nelson Eastern Suburbs at home at Pontville on Sunday and the visitors will have Nic De Carpentier back in goal after a knee injury ruled him out last weekend.

Ben Gibson returns to midfield, but 15-year-old Angus McIlhenny is unavailable despite impressing last weekend when he replaced Richard Flood.

Fourth-placed Kingston Cannons host bottom-side Christian United at Sherburd Park on Saturday without John White, who has a calf injury, and he will be replaced by John Prichard.

Saturday’s remaining match is between Kingborough Lions United and Huon Valley at Lightwood Park.

Premier League Preview for the Weekend of 6-8 June 2008

By Walter Pless

South Hobart should easily retain top spot on the Premier League ladder this weekend by beating second-last Metro away at North Chigwell on Sunday.

The league-leaders will be at full strength, whereas Metro just cannot seem to score enough goals to mount a serious challenge against their opponents.

There is no doubt that Metro will come out fighting, but the class of South Hobart should tell in what will be the 132nd league meeting between these two clubs, the oldest clubs in Tasmania.

Metro have not beaten South in the past 10 meetings and the trend is unlikely to be reversed this time around.

Hobart Olympic must beat Glenorchy Knights in an evening game at KGV Park on Saturday if they are to maintain second spot.

Olympic are in fine fettle, whereas the Knights came unstuck against Clarence United last weekend and will have to improve if they are to win this encounter.

Janko Begovic’s return should strengthen the Knights, but Igor has been unwell in recent days and may not be at his best.

The Knights’ defence is shaky, and facing strikers such as Kosta Grillas and Michael Bulis may not be the ideal way to spend a Saturday evening.

Reigning champions Hobart Zebras entertain third-last New Town Eagles at KGV this on Friday night and must be expected to win, despite Eagles’ recent good showing.

The Zebras should be at full strength and, unless Eagles can shackle Ben Crosswell, they won’t stand a chance.

But, the threat comes from other areas, too, with Aaron Brazendale a danger down the flanks and Ricky Self probing for openings in midfield.

Chris Wass returns for Eagles in place of Wade Savage, while Chris Stingle may partner Alex Leszczynski in attack. Jamie Vernon may have to be content with a place on the bench.

“Zebras could not defeat us last year and, after winning 1-0 in the this year’s Summer Cup, we will be looking to extend our unbeaten run against them on Friday night,” said Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford.

Bottom-side Taroona fancy their chances against seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United at home at Kelvedon Park on Saturday in what is likely to be a dour encounter.

Taroona will be without midfielder Hamish Macgregor, who is interstate, and Jarrod Allie is likely to make his debut.

Striker Toby Dove is also unavailable and Tom Sherman is likely to be his replacement.

Fourth-placed University host sixth-placed Clarence at Olinda Grove on Sunday and the prize for a win is three league points as well as the Andrew Hoppitt Memorial Shield, a trophy named after the Students’ late goalkeeper, who had connections with both clubs.

Clarence coach Andrew Brown has huge selection problems with Chris Nicholson, Joseph Stevens and Dwayne Walsh among those unavailable, while Jacob Kavanagh, Toby Ling, Nathan Cashion and Mnyonge Kamba have not trained.

Ben Hamlett, Jon Darby, Luke Huigsloot, Jarrod Bugg and Nicholas Mayne are in line for call-ups.

University are a no-nonsense outfit that have skill and strength and will make Clarence work hard for any reward.