The Devonport Strikers came from behind to win a huge clash against the Hobart JEEP Zebras to go back to the top of the PlayStation 4 NPL Tasmania ladder.
Nugent heads Lions past Rangers
Northern Rangers 1 (Bruce Bown 76’)
Kingborough Lions 2 (Tom McDonald 81’, Jackson Nugent 87’)
Kingborough Lions weathered a first half barrage of Northern Rangers attacks to come away from the NTCA with all three points in their basement battle on Saturday afternoon. Rangers appeared to be on their way to a first win of the season when they scored in the 75th minute through Jorge Palacio, but the Lions rallied to get two goals back in the final 10 minutes to win the game 2-1.
With Nick Cutherbertson and Jack Gates recovering from concussion and an ankle injury, respectively, and Sam Conway starting on the bench the Lions were up against it playing a team desperate for a win.
Rangers, under acting coach Marshall Pooley, were looking to improve their possession, decision making and finishing. In this match they did the first two admirably, dominating territorially in the first half. Indeed, the first 10 minutes saw several corners won with the Lions defence battling to clear the ball. Matt Youd picked up the ball from 30 yards out and lined up a worldy but he couldn’t keep his shot down. Moments later Geoff Wani reacted quickly to a scramble in the box but couldn’t connect cleanly with his acrobatic, sideways volley.
The three stats that were increasing at a fast rate were the fouls committed by Kingborough, corners won by Rangers and shots off target by Rangers.
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South smash City to move into second
South Hobart 8 (Liam Quaile 2’, 48’, Alex Leszczynski 11’, 86’, Nick Morton 34’, Alex Walter 66’, 90+3’, Pajari Sculthorpe 81’)
Launceston City 1 (Aaron Campbell 74’)
South Hobart wiped the floor with Launceston City at Darcy Street this afternoon, sending 8 goals past David Smith on the way to a thumping 8-1 victory. South had fielded a lineup consisting of at least half of a second string eleven and it proved no hindrance to being able to perform fluently. Alex Leszczynski was the star for South, notching two stunning goals and setting up at least one more as they moved up to second on the NPL TAS table.
South got off to a blazing start, scoring in the 2nd minute. Alex Walter leapt high in the middle of the park, heading a goal kick from Smith back towards their attacking half. A City defender tried to header it away, only managing a glancing effort that Liam Quaile ran onto before hitting a blistering strike from 25 yards out that cannoned sweetly into the bottom left of the goals.
It was 2-0 in the 11th minute after Leszczynski hit a curling, dipping free kick into the top left window with Smith only able to watch as it hit the underside of the crossbar before nestling in the back of the net.
In the 34th minute it was 3-0, this time Leszczynski turned provider, knocking a powerful cross into the danger zone that was met by Morton, who side footed home from 6 yards out to cap off what was a stellar opening half from the hosts.
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Centuri-Mann keeps Strikers on top
Hobart Zebras 1 (Adam Mckeown 57’)
Devonport Strikers 2 (Brayden Mann 59’, 70’)
In a pulsating game with few great chances for either side Brayden Mann struck a brace to lead his side from a goal down to win 2-1. In the process, the prolific striker registered his 100th goal in Victory League/NPL history, remarkably achieving the feat in just 73 games.
The opening 55 minutes were an absolute arm-wrestle with both teams defences well on top. The Zebras looked to be holding possession better of the two sides, whilst the Strikers looked the more dangerous on the break. Both teams had shouts for penalties turned away in amongst half chances created by small defensive errors.
In the 14th minute, Mann had a shout for a penalty turned down as he looked to have been impeded in the box after chasing a loose ball that bounced past Graham Wright. The Zebras keeper stepped into his path and blocked him, however the referee waved play on.
In the 51st minute, Luke Huigsloot, deployed in the midfield this week, looked like he was going to gather a cross that had gone long. As he streamed through the 18 yard box he looked to have his ankles clipped and went down. The Zebras crowd begged for a penalty but again, the referee waved it on.
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Leaman runs riot as Warriors smash Clarence
Olympia Warriors 5 (Zachary Drake 42’, Jacob Leaman 58’, 67’, Graham Glynn 61’, 85’)
Clarence United 0
The Olympia Warriors made it 2 from 2 in the Eastern Shore Derby this season as they eased to a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Clarence at Warrior Park. The Reds were resolute for 40 minutes before Zachary Drake opened the scoring shortly before half time and from there it all unfolded. The Warriors dominated the contest in the second half, running riot and scoring four more times in a very one sided game. Jacob Leaman was the star of the show, scoring two and registering two assists in a glistening display.
The Warriors could have taken the lead all of 20 second into the contest when Irishmen Graham Glynn was played through on goal but youngster Darby Randall made a strong save to deny him. It would be the first of several key stops from the debutant, who impressed under fire and kept his side in the game early on.
On return Warren Wadawu was looking lively down the right and all the Warriors best play was coming through him and the ever reliable Nick Mearns. They probed the Clarence defence as they monopolized possession but the Reds back four was holding firm with Joey Stevens and Adam Hedge cutting attacks out and Naden dropping back to provide solid coverage. Wadawu then set up Glynn with a golden chance but he fired straight at Randall from 10 yards out, who was once again strong to deny him.
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