Walter Pless on Football

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

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

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

“Igor tore us apart.

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

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

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

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

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

“Absolutely thrilled with the win.

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

“So, I’m totally happy with it.

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

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

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

“All credit to the boys.

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

ZEBRAS KNIGHTS

8 Goal Attempts 19

4 Shots on Target 7

7 Corners 5

12 Fouls Committed 6

0 Off-Sides 6

7 Yellow Cards 4

1 Red Cards 0

Tilford Zebras:

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

Glenorchy Knights:

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