Walter Pless on Football

South Hobart 3-2 Glenorchy Knights

By Walter Pless
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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.

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• 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.”

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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