Walter Pless on Football

New Town Eagles versus Metro Match Report [Premier League, Clare Street, Sunday, 27 July 2008]

By Walter Pless
_____________________________________________________

New Town Eagles 2 (Vernon 47, O’Brian 86)
Metro 2 (S Kent 90 pen, Chaffey 95)

HT: 0-0 Att: 100 Ref: K Barker

New Town Eagles: Pitchford - Page, Nidorfer, Clark, Pope - Whitehall, O’Brian, Malakoff, Ferrall - Leszczynski, Vernon (Cox 85) [Substitutes not used: Shackcloth, Rybak, Johnston] [Coach: I Parker]

Metro: McKenna - Farley (T Kent 60), Chaffey, Rahni, Curran - Lawler, Hope, Cairns (McQueen 60), Marney - Dawes, S Kent [Substitutes not used: Hawkins, Land] [Coach: A Abdaltam]
______________________________________________________

In some ways, this game did not have the atmosphere of a relegation battle.

I have never seen the goalkeepers in any game warming up with the opposing teams, yet this is what Eagles’ Nathan Pitchford and Metro’s Michael McKenna did.

McKenna was, incidentally, ill and should probably not have been playing. He had a tooth infection and a slight fever.

Metro keeper Michael McKenna…should not have played

There was a sense of camaraderie evident. Perhaps it was also a sense of gloom and resignation about the ultimate fate of both sides come the end of the season.

One is certainly doomed to relegation, while the other may face a play-off, although this is looking increasingly unlikely as New Town Eagles’ Division One team edges closer and closer to the title.

Should they win, and should Eagles’ Premier League side at the same time finish eighth, there will be no promotion/relegation play-off.

Eagles, incidentally, played Marty Nidorfer in this match. He is the joint player-coach of their Division One side.

He was called in because of a number of injuries and suspensions and it was ironic that he gave away the penalty that led to Metro’s first goal in the final minute of the match.

Eagles’ Alex Leszczynski (left) and Metro’s Mohand Rahni

It was slack defending, too, which allowed Darrin Chaffey to head Metro’s equaliser in the 5th minute of stoppage time.

Eagles’ supporters complained about the added time, but the players trooped off knowing they had fluffed it and lost two points rather than earned one.

Metro had plenty of the play in the first half, but it was largely unproductive. When they did create chances, Martin Cairns and Jason Dawes squandered them.

Eagles, on the other hand, were dangerous on the counter-attack, but their finishing was also poor.

Eagles’ Damien O’Brian on the attack

Alex Leszczynski fired a great shot over the bar in the 24th minute, while in the 38th minute, Andrew Clark displayed superb ball control on the left of the box to get in a shot, but it was straight at McKenna, who parried.

The ball fell to Leszczynski, who blazed over the bar.

Two minutes into the second half, Eagles won a corner on the left. Leszczynski floated the ball into the box and the unmarked Jamie Vernon rose to head it home.

A minute later, Eagles had the ball in the net again, but the effort was disallowed for off-side.

Metro’s Jason Dawes goes for a header

Metro made a crucial change on the hour, bringing on the experienced but unfit veteran, Terry Kent, who was to have a decisive influence on the end result.

In the 61st minute, Jacob Malakoff put Leszczynski away on the right, but he fired low and wide of the far post.

Nick Ferrall then missed an absolute sitter for Eagles 10 minutes later, much to the relief of the Metro rearguard, who had been found wanting.

Eagles’ Jacob Malakoff (left) duels with Metro’s Adrian Lawler

In the 77th minute, Shane Kent broke through the Eagles defence and had the ball in the net, only to be denied by the assistant referee’s flag.

Four minutes from the end, Vernon flicked a great ball through from the left for Damien O’Brian to chase and he beat the advancing McKenna to make it 2-0 for Eagles.

Metro were not about to give up, however, and their hopes were increased further when Shane Kent pulled a goal back from a penalty, awarded for Nidorfer’s gratuitous foul on Dawes in the 90th minute.

Metro’s Chaffey on the back foot

It seemed ages before the game resumed, and when it did, it was Metro that went all out in attack.

In the 95th minute, Shane Kent received the ball wide on the left but had nowhere to go as Eagles blocked his path.

Responding to his father’s call, Shane Kent played the ball back to Terry Kent, who sighed audibly as he centred the ball towards the penalty spot with his last ounce of strength.

Chaffey, who had roamed forward in search of just such an opportunity, outjumped the Eagles defenders and directed a powerful header into the left-hand corner of the net to make it 2-2.

Eagles’ Jamie Vernon pursued by Metro’s Phil Curran

The draw left Eagles one point adrift of seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United and 5 points ahead of second-last Metro, who are 5 points clear of bottom-side Taroona.

Next week’s matches are intriguing, with Eagles away to Glenorchy Knights and Metro at home to Kingborough Lions United.

_______________________________________________________

• New Town Eagles coach, Ian Parker, said:

Ian Parker…playing for Calies (circa 1981)  [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

“I was utterly disappointed in the end result.

“I mean, 2-0 up and doing okay and then we did some silly things such as slack marking at the back and it cost us at the end.

“It was a needless penalty because the boy was running into players and there was no need to sweep his legs away or make a tackle. Just stand up with him.

“It was a silly penalty from a defensive point of view.

“A point is better than none, but it feels like a loss, especially against this side.

“I thought we dominated most of the game, apart from probably the last ten minutes.”

Metro coach, Ahmed Abdaltam, said:

Ahmed Abdaltam

“It was a vital point.

“In the first half, we weren’t playing as well as we should have been.

“In the second half, we fought back from 2-0 down and we have to give credit to the boys for their hard work.

“We just kept working and never gave up.

“There were two goals disallowed and we’ll just have to look at the video to see what happened.

“It was exactly the same last week, but hopefully, things will get better.”

_______________________________________________________

STATISTICS

NEW TOWN EAGLES METRO
13 Goal Attempts 7
5 Shots on Target 4
6 Corners 2
16 Fouls Committed 8
1 Off-Sides 2
1 (Leszczynski 32) Yellow Cards 4 (S Kent 77, T Kent 87, Chaffey 87, McQueen 89)
0 Red Cards 0

New Town Eagles:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Whitehall 2 1
Leszczynski 3 0
Clark 1 1
Vernon 2 2
O’Brian 3 1
Ferrall 2 0

Metro:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
S Kent 2 1
Cairns 2 1
Dawes 1 0
Hope 1 1
Chaffey 1 1

South Hobart 3-2 Glenorchy Knights

By Walter Pless
__________________________________________________

There was an atmosphere about this game which seemed to indicate the Knights could not pull off the same type of shock win they did in the league a couple of weeks ago.

The score-line was the same, but it was South Hobart who took the honours this time to reach their very first State-wide Cup final in the 98 years of their history.

One had the feeling that South had worked out the Knights’ strengths and weaknesses in that league meeting on 6 July at the same venue and had carefully designed the tactics to adopt for this Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy semi-final.

It worked, and South were in front from go to whoa and won comfortably.

South’s Julius Ross (left) takes on Knights’ Tony Dzelalija

South were missing two players - Greg Downes and Tom Roach - from that league meeting between the sides, enabling Julius Ross to finally start a match. He didn’t let the team down and scored the opening goal after just two minutes.

Ross also showed clever thinking and good technical skill as his feints and flicks set up team-mates. He is difficult for a defender to pin down because he knows when to flick away the ball and when to control a pass or hold the ball.

The Knights were also a changed team from the league meeting. Jayden Wiggins was absent as he was cup-tied, while Marcus Burn was on the bench and saw no action.

South midfielder Jonathon Ladic…a former Knights player

Knight’s midfield star, Igor, was carrying an injury but played. His second goal was pure Brazilian magic. A bouncing ball 25 metres from goal, a sliced shot to put height and spin on the ball, and everyone was left gasping as it sailed over Mark Moncur’s head and dipped under the crossbar at the last moment.

Igor had scored the winner against South in the league meeting, but was carrying an injury in this game. Knights’ joint-coach, Josh Fielding, was critical of the timing of the North versus South match, which was the curtain-raiser to the A-League pre-season cup match the previous weekend.

He reckoned that Igor played in that representative match whilst injured and that such intrastate games should be played at the end of the season.

Igor had also been to Melbourne Knights all week for a trial and was obviously an injured and very tired player in this game.

The way in which he scored that second goal indicated his high level of technical skill because it required no physical feat, but rather, supreme technical execution. He is certainly worth his place in the side, even if ‘only on one leg’, as Fielding later described it.

Igor is congratulated by the provider of the pass, Janko Begovic

South hit the lead in the 2nd minute when Billy Gasparinatos’s shot was deflected wide to Ross, who fired low and across keeper Ben Peter and inside the far post.

Knights were almost level when Jade Clay’s excellent shot hit the bar and the ball bounced down and back into play for Moncur to snatch and clear up-field.

Midway through the first half it was 1-1 as Janko Begovic released Igor down the inside-right channel and the Brazilian placed a low shot past Moncur and inside the keeper’s far right-hand post.

Three minutes before the interval, Tony Dzelalija body-checked former team-mate Jonathon Ladic on the edge of the Knights’ box and conceded a free-kick as well as earning a yellow card.

South defender Hugh Ludford beats Josh Fielding to the ball

David Abbott rifled home the low free-kick just inside the left-hand post to give South a 2-1 lead at the break.

A clever back-heel by Shae Hicky, also a former Knights player, set up David Cooper for South’s third goal in the 65th minute. Cooper drove home powerfully into an unguarded net from the edge of the box, Hickey’s second of inspiration having wrong-footed the Knights defenders.

A minute later, Igor produced his moment of magic to make it one goal the difference again, but one’s sense that South were cruising and that the Knights could not equalise was proven correct.

Knights defender Jacob Gordon tackles David Abbott

South Hobart will meet Devonport City in the final at KGV Park on 30 August, the North-West Coast outfit having beaten Clarence United 4-2 away at Wentworth Park the same afternoon, courtesy of a Chris McKenna hat-trick and a goal by Simon Wilson.

Ben Hamlett and Dwayne Walsh netted for Clarence, who trailed 3-0 at half-time.

__________________________________________________

• South Hobart coach, Ken Morton, said:

Ken Morton

“I thought we were comfortable.

“We let them back into it twice, but I think we played quite well over the 90 minutes.

“We had good possession and territorial advantage and I was happy with the performance.

“I felt we had a couple of big opportunities that we should have done better with, but Ben Peter has done great with them in the games against us.

“He’s been in outstanding form and credit to him.

“It should be a good final [against Devonport City]. They’re undoubtedly the best team in the north and have been playing really well and scoring goals.

“They’re well organised and they’re a fit young side and they’re obviously a force up north and we’re a force down here, so I expect it to be a good game of football and may the best team win.”

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

Josh Fielding

“A hard-fought game. It always is between our two sides here.

“We came here pretty confident, but unfortunately, things didn’t go our way.

“Congratulations to South and, hopefully, they can win the cup for the south.

“Igor’s goals were absolutely sensational, particularly considering he was playing on one leg.

“This is the second time we’ve gone down in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to go the next step.

“But, we’ve got some young kids coming through, which is great, and, hopefully, the future is going to be strong at the club.”

___________________________________________________

South Hobart: Moncur; Cooper, Ludford, Holmes, Scott; Ross (Pearce 87), Beecroft, Ladic, Hickey (Franklin 79); Gasparinatos, Abbott (Substitutes not used: David, Burrett)

Goals: Ross 2, Abbott 42, Cooper 65

Glenorchy Knights: Peter; Gordon, Grundy, Dzelalija, Millington; Clay, Begovic, Igor (Daniels 74), Minnucci (Green 74); Huigsloot, Fielding (Substitute not used: Burn)

Goals: Igor 24, 66

Booked: Dzelalija, Fielding, Grundy

Sent-off: Grundy

HT: 2-1

Att: 200 (Washington Street, Saturday, 26 July 2008)

Ref: S Collins

By Walter Pless

A header by Darrin Chaffey, from Terry Kent’s deep cross from the left in the 5th minute of stoppage time, earned Metro a 2-2 draw away to New Town Eagles in Sunday’s only Premier League match.

In what was a dour relegation battle that was goalless at half-time, Eagles led 2-0 with only 4 minutes remaining, but Metro then struck twice to earn a valuable point.

Metro remain second-last with 8 points, 5 ahead of bottom-side Taroona and 5 adrift of third-last Eagles, who are only a point behind seventh-placed Kingborough Lions United with four rounds remaining.

Eagles’ Ben Whitehall shoots for goal

Metro held a territorial advantage in the first half, but Eagles looked the more dangerous on the counter-attack and went close through Alex Leszczynski, twice, and Andrew Clark.

Metro’s Martin Cairns and Jason Dawes might have done better with chances that came their way.

Two minutes after the break, Jamie Vernon headed Eagles in front from Leszczynski’s corner, while in the 86th minute, Vernon flicked the ball through for Damien O’Brian to run on to and score Eagles’ second.

Metro’s Darrin Chaffey stoops for a header

Both sides then had efforts ruled out for off-side, while Leszcynski and Nick Ferrell missed good chances for the home side.

Metro refused to surrender and, when Marty Nidorfer conceded a penalty by bringing down Dawes in the 90th minute, Shane Kent scored from the spot to set the stage for a dramatic finish.

In the 95th minute, Shane Kent played the ball back for Terry Kent to cross and Chaffey rose high in a packed penalty area to power a header past Nathan Pitchford for the equaliser

Darrin Chaffey blocks Alex Leszczynski’s shot

In the Reserve League, Eagles came back from 2-0 down to beat Metro 3-2, goalkeeper-turned-striker Michael Duval collecting a hat-trick, and Paul Kelly and Scott Bagorski replying for Metro.

In Division One, second-placed Hobart United kept to within 4 points of leaders New Town Eagles by downing fourth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs 2-0 away at North Warrane, both goals coming from Akuel Guot in the first half.

Guot’s first came from a 30-metre pile-driver, while his second was an accurate chip over the keeper.

Huon Valley moved off the foot of the ladder with a 2-1 away win over third-last Kingborough Lions United at Lightwood Park.

Wayne Quinn gave the Lions the lead, but Anthony Dare equalised before half-time. Ross Elliott hit Valley’s winner in the second half to leave Christian United propping up the table.

Match Summary for Saturday, 26 July 2008

By Walter Pless

South Hobart and Devonport City will meet in the final of the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy State-wide competition.

South Hobart beat Glenorchy Knights 3-2 in one semi-final at South Hobart, while Devonport City downed Clarence United 4-2 away at Wentworth Park in the other.

This will be the first appearance in a State-wide final for South Hobart.

South Hobart’s Julius Ross wheels away after scoring the opener

South Hobart were well worth their win and might easily have scored more goals but for some good saves by Knights keeper Ben Peter, and some poor shooting.

Knights keeper Ben Peter tips shot over the bar

Julius Ross justified his inclusion in the South starting line-up by opening the scoring after just two minutes.

South Hobart’s Julius Ross lets fly

Billy Gasparinatos’s shot took a deflection and found Ross free on the right and he beat Peter with a low drive inside the far post.

Jade Clay was then unlucky for Knights when his shot hit the woodwork and bounced back into play, enabling South goalkeeper Mark Moncur to gain possession.

Midway through the first half, Janko Begovic released Igor down the middle and he equalised for the Knights with a low drive inside Moncur’s far right-hand post.

Knights’ Tony Dzelalija is booked after conceding a free-kick

Three minutes before the break, South was awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Knights’ box for Tony Dzelalija’s foul on former team-mate Jonathon Ladic.

David Abbott scored South’s second from a free-kick

Abbott scored with a low shot past the defensive wall and inside Peter’s right-hand post to give South a 2-1 lead at the interval.

David Cooper extended South’s lead to 3-1 in the 65th minute when he drove home Shae Hickey’s back-heel pass from the edge of the box.

Igor is congratulated by team-mates Anthony Grundy and Lindsay Millington

Igor pulled a goal back a minute later with his second of the game, this time with a splendid sliced shot from 25 metres that flew over Moncur and dipped under the bar.

Knights had defender Anthony Grundy sent off 5 minutes before the end for a second yellow card, this time for a terrible tackle on Abbott, who was threatening to break through on the left.

Knights’ defender Anthony Grundy…sent off for crude foul on David Abbott

Devonport did it easily against Clarence, leading 3-0 at the break.

Chris McKenna hit a hat-trick for the North-West Coast outfit, while Simon Wilson netted the fourth.

Clarence replied through Ben Hamlett and a late strike by Dwayne Walsh.

A hat-trick by Richard Leszczynski gave Division One leaders New Town Eagles a 3-2 away win over third-placed Beachside at Sandown Park on Saturday.

Eagles trailed 2-0 to goals by Sebastian Milford in the 1st minute and Ben Davis in the 16th minute.

Leszczynski then struck in the 27th and 35th minutes to make it 2-2 at the break, but Eagles had Sam Calvert sent off just before half-time when he collected a second yellow card.

Despite Eagles playing with 10 men throughout the second half, Leszczynski snatched the winner for the visitors 15 minutes from the end.

Beachside had the territorial advantage in the second half, but could not break down the Eagles’ rearguard.

Eagles brought on Damien Bones to partner Leszczynski up front and dispensed with a sweeper and this adventurous approach brought them victory.

Eagles extended their lead at the top to 7 points as a result of the win.

Two goals by John Demir and one each by Zac Thomas, John White and Akhilan Krishnan powered fifth-placed Kingston Cannons to a 5-2 away win over second-last Christian United at Sherburd Park.

Jodie Kirkpatrick and Jesse Arnold netted for Christian United, who remain one point ahead of bottom-side Huon Valley, which are in action on Sunday away to third-last Kingborough Lions United.

Second-placed Hobart United can move to within 4 points of Eagles by beating fourth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs away at North Warrane, also on Sunday.

Preview for the Weekend of 26-27 July 2008

By Walter Pless

South Hobart and Devonport City are the favourites to reach the final of the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy State-wide competition following Saturday’s semi-finals.

South Hobart should be too good for Glenorchy Knights at 2pm at South Hobart, while the visiting Devonport City has the experience to topple Clarence United at Wentworth Park at the same time.

Knights beat South in their recent league meeting, but subsequent form favours the home side, who beat Hobart Olympic 1-0 in the league last weekend, while the Knights were held to a 2-2 draw by bottom-side Taroona.

Julius Ross will make a start for South Hobart in place of Greg Downes, who has left for the UK for trials with Sunderland and Walsall.

Ross scores regularly in the reserves and has been coming on as a substitute in recent senior games, so this will be his chance to impress in the top flight.

This will be South coach Ken Morton’s last game in charge before he goes to the UK for two weeks and this trophy means a lot to him as he has previously won it as coach of Knights.

The trophy is named after one of the Knights’ famous players and the side usually steps up a gear when playing in this competition.

Clarence will be without defender Nick Mayne because of an ankle injury, while goalkeeper Michael Moschogianis is doubtful because of tendonitis.

Midfielder Jacob Huigsloot and defender Nathan Cashion return to bolster a side that has conceded 8 goals in the past two weeks.

Devonport will be at full strength and coach Tom McGinn, who once played for Clarence, is quietly confident.

“I’m excited about it and I have good memories of my time at Clarence,” McGinn said.

“It’ll be a challenging game and it’s our third trip south in the competition this year, but that’s not a problem for us.

“We’d have preferred playing at our own Valley Road ground, where we haven’t been beaten in ages, but we’re looking forward to this game.”

The only Premier League match this weekend is at 2.30pm on Sunday at Clare Street, where eighth-placed New Town Eagles entertain second-last Metro in an important relegation battle.

Eagles are in dispute with Football Federation Tasmania about the availability of former Metro player Adam McKeown, who is suspended because of an accumulation of yellow cards.

FFT have advised the club that McKeown should have missed the South Hobart game on 7 July, which resulted in a 1-0 loss for Eagles.

It seems that, because of an administrative error, it was not noticed that McKeown had accumulated five yellow cards, so he was allowed to play but must now sit out this game.

Eagles, who are furious and say that South should be awarded a 3-0 win from the 7 July game and that McKeown should be permitted to play against Metro, are threatening legal action.

They argue that South may be disadvantaged on goal-difference in what is a very tight premiership race because they should be credited with a 3-0 win rather than a 1-0 win, while the absence of McKeown for them could be crucial in this relegation dogfight against Metro.

FFT CEO Martin Shaw said there had been a ‘glitch’ with the system.

Metro will miss suspended striker Wayne Jackson and must win to have any chance of avoiding the drop to Division One.

Third-placed Beachside must beat Division One soccer leaders New Town Eagles at home at Sandown Park on Saturday to stay in the title race.

Eagles are 4 points ahead of second-placed Hobart United and 7 in front of Beachside, so a Beachside loss would shatter any title hopes the home side might still have.

There is hope for Beachside in this encounter as the teams have met twice before, with Eagles winning 1-0 and Beachside winning 3-2.

Sam Calvert and Richard Leszczynski return to the Eagles line-up, which is bad news for Beachside as they are two players capable of scoring goals.

Nathan Stingle and Brent Leonard are the two players who will make way.

“We haven’t been on the training track this week because of ground closures, but secured a nearby school gym to work on fitness,” said Eagles joint-coach, Marty Nidorfer.

“Tactically, we will revert back to the diamond system which was successful against them at home, and are wary of their abundance of playmakers who can be dangerous.

“Having Leszczynski back from injury is important as he is the heartbeat of the team and plays with pure spirit.”

Beachside will miss David Chadwick and Daniel Gardner, who will be replaced by Joe Vanderslink and Liam Sprod, while Adam Smee will replace Michael Soszysnki, who is working, in goal.

“We are intent on finishing the season strongly and there is no better opportunity for us to show this than knocking off the league leaders,” said Beachside coach, Tony Kavanagh.

“We know how much the Division One title means to Eagles with the club’s current premier league position being so poor, so we are expecting to play a team fired up and desperate for the points.

“However, our pride is on the line after two disappointing games and we  will be more than ready to take the game to them.”

Second-placed Hobart United must beat fourth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs away at North Warrane on Sunday if they are to keep the pressure on Eagles.

“It’ll be a tough game,” said United coach, Tony Tarros.  “They like to play on the counter-attack, so we’ll be as prepared as best we can be.

“They kept us scoreless the last time and are the only team to have done so, but, they haven’t faced our new signings Jacky Kuel and Akuel Guot yet, so we’ll see what happens.

“The team went to the Savoy Baths on Monday and we had a light training session on Wednesday to get over some injuries.”

Hobart United will miss injured defender Alex Bellini (twisted an ankle while walking from the pitch to the change rooms at Kingborough last weekend), while Emmanuel Otto is unavailable, so Mark Broadbent will come in and Thom Youl will start on the bench.

Nelson will be without defender Rowan Sakul, midfielder Adam Mills and Natsuki Futumura, so Gareth McMahon and Dean Melville will come in as replacements.

“We’re expecting another tough match against Hobart as they play a similar style to us, keeping the ball on the ground, and they have good pace throughout the team,” said Nelson coach, Michael Roach.

“We’re a bit weakened with a couple of key players out, but their replacements are good players.

“Despite the fact that Hobart President, Adrian Pickin, is the nicest bloke in Southern Tasmania, and we’d rather Hobart win the league than Eagles, we’ll be going all out for a win.”

In other games, second-last Christian United entertain fifth-placed Kingston Cannons at Sherburd Park on Saturday, while bottom-side Huon valley travel to Lightwood Park on Sunday to take on third-last Kingborough Lions United.

Hobart Olympic v South Hobart Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Saturday, 19 July 2008]

By Walter Pless
________________________________________________

Hobart Olympic 0
South Hobart 1 (Downes 39)

HT: 0-1 Att: 200 Ref: S Collins

Hobart Olympic: Nester (Iaonnou 66) - Mohamad, P Tsakiris, Vavoulas, Tsimiklis - Richardson, C Tsakiris, Mason, Djekanovic - Backhaus (Meredith 89), Bulis [Substitutes not used: Lebski, Assenheimer] [Coach: F Shaw]

South Hobart: Moncur - Cooper, Ludford, Holmes, Scott - Downes (Ross 63), Beecroft, Ladic, Hickey - Abbott, Gasparinatos [Substitutes not used: Franklin, Pearce, Kruijver] [Coach: K Morton]
__________________________________________________

South Hobart dominated this match and one goal was all they needed to collect the three points and move three points clear of Tilford Zebras at the top of the Premier League ladder.

The goal came from 15-year-old Greg Downes, the youngest player on the field, who leaves in a few days’ time for the UK, where he will have trials with English Premier League side Sunderland and Division One outfit Walsall.

Olympic missed injured striker Kosta Grillas. He has not been in the best of form lately, but his mere presence would have given South the jitters.

It was Grillas who sparked Olympic’s comeback from 2-0 down in the first-round meeting. He scored twice in the 3-3 draw.

Olympic’s goalkeeper, Dmitri Nester, sustained a back injury midway through the second half after an aerial clash with Billy Gasparinatos. Nester received treatment for several minutes before continuing, but he soon had to be replaced by John Iaonnou.

South pinned Olympic into their own half for much of the opening 45 minutes and went close to scoring on several occasions through Shae Hickey, Jonathon Ladic, David Abbott and Billy Gasparinatos.

Olympic’s only response was a long-range effort by Chris Tsimiklis, which Mark Moncur had covered.

In the 39th minute, South launched a marvellous attack down the left. Gasparinatos played the ball to the right where Ladic, in midfield, played a one-two with David Abbott wide on the right.

Ladic received the return ball in the inside-right channel and advanced into the box before releasing Downes on the right and the youngster placed a low shot beyond Nester and inside the far post for the only goal of the match.

Olympic fashioned a few half-chances in the second period, the best of which came in the 73rd minute when Danijel Djekanovic floated over a tantalising cross from the left which Moncur could not reach. Chris Tsakiris, at the far post, could only prod the ball wide as it fell at his feet.

Olympic were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box in the closing minutes, but Chris Tsakiris drove the ball into the wall and South were able to hold on comfortably for an important win.

____________________________________________________

• Hobart Olympic coach, Farrell Shaw, said:

“We were always up against it.

“I mean, missing Kosta Grillas was a big loss for us to start with because he’s our leading scorer and that left us with a huge hole.

“The lads competed well.

“The first half, we looked a bit shell-shocked and frightened to play.

“Second half, we came out and played and matched them.

“But, full credit to them. They’ve been the best team all year, the team we’ve all been chasing all year.

“They’ve just got one big hurdle to get over - the Zebras. If they get over that, the title is theirs.

“This result won’t dent our morale. We knew we were up against it.

“The boys are a little disheartened, they’re upset, and you want them to be.

“This was a huge chance for us to actually try and win something this year.

“It’s a team that we are developing over the year. We haven’t had the star players, we haven’t had the youth academy that other clubs have had.

“We’ve gotten players and developed them into something else and we’re nearly there.

“Peter Tsakiris played very well. He’s a class player.

“There’ve been rumours of him quitting this year. I hope he doesn’t. It’d be a big hole to fill.”

• South Hobart coach, Ken Morton, said:

“I felt all the time we were in a good position.

“First half, I thought we knocked the ball around, played with a good tempo and rhythm.

“We had some good attacking moments and we maybe should have got some more.

“The goal we got was a great goal from a good move and a good finish by young Gregory, and I’m happy for him and happy for the team.

“I still think the three top teams, Zebras, Olympic and us, it’ll be a fight to the wire.

“Obviously, we’re in a good position now. We’ve got to keep going.

“We’re playing consistently now. We’re not conceding a lot of goals. As long as we can keep doing that it’ll be fine.

“Gasparinatos is back, so we’ve always got goals in us. I think we can go on from here, but it’ll be tight.

“I thought the players stood up and were counted. We’ve had other games before where perhaps we’ve fallen short, but today, for the 90 minutes, we were full of good spirit and we played with a passion, desire, and we played some quality football.”
_________________________________________________

STATISTICS

HOBART OLYMPIC SOUTH HOBART
7 Goal Attempts 9
4 Shots on Target 6
4 Corners 10
9 Fouls Committed 7
2 Off-Sides 1
2 (Vavoulas 49, P Tsakiris 70) Yellow Cards 1 (Gasparinatos 88)
0 Red Cards 0

Hobart Olympic:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Tsimiklis 1 1
Djekanovic 1 1
Bulis 1 1
Backhaus 1 1
Vavoulas 1 0
C Tsakiris 2 0

South Hobart:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Abbott 1 0
Hickey 2 2
Holmes 1 1
Gasparinatos 1 0
Ladic 1 0
Downes 2 2
Cooper 1 1

Clarence United 1-4 Kingborough Lions United

By Walter Pless
________________________________________

Kingborough Lions United had to win this game to creep away from the relegation zone and the three points enabled them to leapfrog New Town Eagles and move into seventh place.

The Lions are now two points ahead of Eagles, seven points above second-last Metro, and a massive 11 points ahead of bottom-side Taroona.

Sixth-ranked Clarence United are now within range, being only three points ahead of the Lions.

Referee Kim Barker tosses the coin

Clarence missed Jacob Huigsloot, who was unavailable because of work commitments when the game was suddenly brought forward from the Sunday because of the North-South clash and the A-League cup game between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United in Launceston, scheduled for Sunday.

Huigsloot has provided the side with plenty of drive down the right in recent weeks and his influence was sorely missed.

Leading 2-0 after a mere 7 minutes lightened the Lions’ hearts and gave them the confidence to play the type of football of which they are capable.

The home side prepares for battle

Clarence, on the other hand, were devastated at these early setbacks and they never recovered.

The home side did have some half-chances, and they did hit the post and also squandered a penalty, but Kingborough’s 2-0 lead did not turn out to be ‘the most dangerous lead’, as the well-known cliché goes.

The reason for this was that the Kingborough defence stayed on its toes for the whole game - apart from goalkeeper Jason Voss, that is, who allowed Jacob Kavanagh’s speculative but accurate cross from wide on the right in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half to drift over his head and lodge inside the far post for Clarence’s solitary goal.

Kavanagh, to his credit, did not celebrate the goal because he knew he was lucky, although he must be admired for his initiative in trying the shot.

Voss did contribute to the win, however, as he displayed courage in several tight situations, he did block Dwayne Walsh’s penalty in the 39th minute when Kingborough were still leading 2-0, and it was from his clearance that the Liosn scored their third goal.

Jason Voss blocks Dwayne Walsh’s penalty

Marc Iseli was superb in defence and his example inspired those around him.

Charles White’s header from beyond the far post, following Ryan Bevan’s corner from the left, put the visitors in front.

Charles White heads the Lions in front

Two minutes later, the Lions’ captain, Marcello Marchioli, made it 2-0 from a penalty.

Marcello Marchioli slots home his spot-kick

In the 44th minute, a long clearance by Voss resulted in Tom McDonald gaining possession on the left and he added the visitors’ third with a low drive past Michael Moschogianis. Game over!

A minute into stoppage time, it could have been 4-0, but Moschogianis did well to block a fierce drive from McDonald.

Kavanagh’s goal a minute later made it 3-1 at the interval, but Clarence were unable to make up the lost ground in the second half and it was Kingborough who went further ahead early in the second half through Ross Hinkley.

Marc Iseli heads clear

Clarence, who pride themselves in their depth of young talent, surprisingly brought on Alan Jablonski in the second half.

Jablonski is a good player and never really got the opportunities he deserved in the senior side when he was in his prime. Bringing him on in this game, at a time when he now largely graces the social leagues, was odd.

_________________________________________

Clarence United coach, Andrew Brown, said:

“I thought Kingborough played very, very well, fought desperately hard and got their noses in front and then kept going.

“As far as Clarence go, that was probably our worst game of the year.

“There was just no intensity whatsoever and we were very flat.

“The team that wanted the game the most won it easily.”

Kingborough Lions United coach, Geoff Freeman, said:

“It was pleasing to get a win on the board. It’s been a little while coming.

“I think we started really well and to be two-nil up after seven or eight minutes was probably the key to the game.

“We were then able to try and pick them off on the breaks.

“I was pleased with the performance.”

_________________________________________

Clarence United: Moschogianis; Ling, Wise, Walsh, Kamba, Hunt, Kavanagh, Rees, P Bremner, Parker, Toghill (Substitutes: Sweetten, Chapman, L Huigsloot, Jablonski)

Goals: Kavanagh 47

Kingborough Lions United: Voss; Marchioli, White, Iseli, Palmer, R Hinkley, Freeman, Brown, McDonald, Wells (Substitutes: M Bremner, Leamey, Beaumont)

Goals: White 5, Marchioli 7 pen, McDonald 44, R Hinkley 55

Ref: K Barker

Att: 80 (Wentworth Park, Saturday, 19 July 2008)

North versus South

By Walter Pless

South beat North 2-1 in the intrastate representative match played at Aurora Stadium in Launceston on Sunday as the curtain-raiser to the A-League pre-season cup match between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United.

South took the lead on the quarter-hour mark when Ricky Self tapped home a low pass from the left by Ben Crosswell.

The goal followed what was probably the best attacking move of the half by South.

Chris McKenna equalised for North 5 minutes after the interval, heading home a powerful cross.

Dwayne Walsh, who came on as a second-half substitute for Liam Scott, immediately posed problems for the North with his speed and willingness to run at defenders and it was he who hit the winner.

He netted with an excellent half-volley following a cross.

Nathan Pitchford also replaced Frank Mainella in the South goal for the second half.

Billy Gasparinatos, one of the South’s best strikers, played in an unusual role - he was assigned to man-mark the North’s Chris McKenna.

“I was not happy with our first-half performance, but we played a lot better in the second period,” said South coach, Eamonn Kelly.

“The introduction of Dwayne Walsh made a difference as he ran at the opposing defence and he scored our winning goal.

“I took keeper Frank Mainella off despite the fact he’d done nothing wrong and was playing well so that Nathan Pitchford could also play at this level.”

The sides will meet again twice in September on a home-and-away basis.

Match Summary for 18-19 July 2008

By Walter Pless

South Hobart opened up a 3-point lead at the top of the Premier League ladder when they beat second-placed Hobart Olympic 1-0 at KGV Park on Saturday night.

Hobart Zebras moved into second place after downing fifth-ranked University 7-2 at KGV on Friday night.

Bottom-side Taroona caused an upset by drawing 2-2 at home at Kelvedon Park with fourth-placed Glenorchy Knights on Saturday.

Eighth-placed Kingborough Lions United leapfrogged seventh-ranked New Town Eagles by scoring a 4-1 win over sixth-placed Clarence United away at Wentworth Park, also on Saturday.

Clarence’s Paul Bremner crosses despite Michael Wells’s tackle

South Hobart produced a commanding first-half performance against Olympic and rarely allowed the home side a look at goal.

With defenders Liam Scott, Alex Holmes, Hugh Ludford and David Cooper in complete control at the back, South launched attack after attack through the midfield and had Olympic on the back foot for the first 45 minutes.

A near full moon rises above the floodlights at KGV illuminating Olympic v South Hobart

South took the lead in the 39th minute after a passing movement that involved Billy Gasparinatos, Jonathon Ladic and David Abbott and which led to Ladic releasing Greg Downes on the right of the box.

The youngster, who leaves for trials with Sunderland and Walsall next week, finished clinically with a low shot past Dmitri Nester.

Olympic badly missed injured striker Kosta Grillas, while goalkeeper Nester had to be replaced by John Ioannou midway through the second half after sustaining a back injury.

Clarence’s John Wise gets in a cross

South also went close to scoring through Shae Hickey, Ladic and Cooper, while keeper Mark Moncur was not tested once by an Olympic side that was always second best.

Zebras and University were level at 1-1 at the interval, but the Zebras then trailed 2-1 before hitting six goals in the second half to run out easy winners.

Aaron Brazendale and Josh Thorpe both scored twice for Zebras, whose other goals came from Ricky Self, Michael Connolly and Henry Fagg, while Alexis Bull and Julian Proud replied for University, who also hit the post through Luke Temby in what was the turning point of the match.

Had that shot gone in, University might have held their lead.

But, it did not go in and Zebras scored immediately from a counter-attack and then went on from there to gallop home.

Kingborough’s Michael Wells (right) tackles Clarence’s Mnyonge Kamba

Toby Dove and Tom Sherman gave Taroona a 2-0 lead against the Knights, but late goals by Tom Huigsloot, with a penalty, and Josh Fielding salvaged a point for the visitors.

A header by Charles White and a penalty by Marcello Marchioli gave the Lions a 2-0 lead after just 7 minutes against Clarence, while Tom McDonald added the third just before half-time.

Charles White heads home Ryan Bevan’s corner to put the Lions in front

Jacob Kavanagh pulled a goal back for Clarence in injury time at the end of the first half, but Ross Hinkley netted the Lions’ fourth early in the second half to kill off the match.

Marc Iseli of the Lions (right) about to tackle Jacob Kavanagh

Other Details: [Reserves] Clarence 2 (Ben Hamlett 2) b Kingborough 0; Taroona 1 (Alex Edwards) dw Glenorchy Knights 1; Olympic 0 lt South Hobart 2 (Rowan Franklin, Kennedy). [Division One] New Town Eagles 4 (Chris Stingle 2, Tommy Fotak, Matt Fennell) b Christian United 0; Kingborough 3 lt Hobart United 8 (Akuel Guot 3, Aymen Abdalla 2, Peter Otto, John Otto, Jackie Kuel); Kingston Cannons 3 b Huon Valley 1 (Anthony Dare); Beachside 2 (Patrick Biggs, Sebastian Milford) dw Nelson 2.

Tilford Zebras v University Match Report [Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 18 July 2008]

By Walter Pless
_____________________________________________________

Tilford Zebras 7 (Self 13, Connolly 57, Brazendale 58, 70, Fagg 75, Thorpe 82, 85)
University 2 (Bull 29, Proud 47)

HT: 1-1 Att: 90 Ref: K Barker

Tilford Zebras: Mainella - D Cox, Telega, Symmons, Connolly - Brazendale, Cairns (Thorpe 75), Fagg, Self - D Lapolla (Fennell 57), Crosswell (L Engels 82) [Substitute not used: Kaden] [Coach: N Lapolla]

University: Matsuo - Manaka, Jackson, Merry, B Griffiths (Fletcher 75) - Foley-Donoghue (S Griffiths 71), Bull, Hindmarsh, Teale - Proud (Buxton 60), Temby [Substitute not used: Piesse] [Coach: S Gallacher]

____________________________________________________

Third-placed Tilford Zebras, the reigning Premier League champions, went to the top of the ladder on goal-difference after this 7-2 win over fifth-placed University at KGV Park.

Zebras seemed in trouble early on and, after taking the lead in the 13th minute through Ricky Self, trailed 2-1 early in the second half as University struck through Alexis Bull and Julian Proud.

Michael Connolly made it 2-2 in the 57th minute, but then came the turning point of the match.

In the 58th minute, Brook Teale played a fine pass through to Luke Temby, who failed to control the ball. But, that put off the Zebras defender who was moving in to intercept and Temby regained possession and advanced on goal.

Temby beat Frank Mainella with his low shot, but the ball came back into play off the left-hand post.

Zebras counter-attacked immediately and Brazendale scored to put them in front 3-2.

The University defence then collapsed completely and Zebras piled on four more goals.

Self and substitute Dylan Fennell squandered great scoring opportunities before Brazendale netted to make it 4-2 with 20 minutes remaining.

Henry Fagg, playing in midfield instead of defence because of the absence of Brett Pullen, added the fifth in the 75th minute before substitute Josh Thorpe rammed home two more goals, in the 82nd and 85th minutes, to complete the rout.

____________________________________________________

• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

“In the end, it was a convincing score.

“I wasn’t too concerned when it was 1-1 at half-time.

“We do concede easy goals, but the ability of the side to come back and put pressure on sides is our main strength.

“In the second half we knocked six in, and that’s a pretty good effort.

“With Brett Pullen being away in Melbourne we made a decision to put Henry Fagg in the middle of the park.

“In the first half he was settling in, but he improved a lot in the second half.

“We’ve now put pressure on South Hobart and Hobart Olympic.”

• University coach, Scott Gallagher, said:

“I thought for 60 minutes we were really competitive.

“Fitness in the end let us down.

“I think the turning point was when we hit the post. If that had gone in it would have given us a real adrenelin boost, but, unfortunately, I thought we were on top for long stretches of the game.

“I think Taka Manaka ran out of puff. He’s not been training much as he’s been away most of the time.

“Great player. I mean, if he was fit, it would have been a different story.

“The boys are obviously disappointed. They haven’t been beaten 7-2 for a long time.

“On the whole, they’re a good team and if you’re going to have a go at them you’ve got to do it for 90 minutes. You can’t go for 60 minutes.

“For 60 minutes, we showed we could play.”

______________________________________________________

STATISTICS

TILFORD ZEBRAS UNIVERSITY
22 Goal Attempts 15
13 Shots on Target 9
5 Corners 3
8 Fouls Committed 5
2 Off-Sides 3
2 (Connolly 50, Lapolla 55) Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Cairns 2 1
Fagg 3 1
Brazendale 4 4
Self 5 3
Crosswell 2 1
Lapolla 1 0
Connolly 1 1
Fennell 1 0
Thorpe 3 2

University:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Proud 4 3
Bull 3 2
Hindmarsh 2 1
Teale 1 1
Temby 2 2
S Griffiths 1 0
Merry 1 0
Buxton 1 0