Brayden Mann hit a hat-trick inside the first seven minutes of the second half and fired the Devonport Strikers to a comfortable 5-0 win over the Kingborough Lions.
Zebras leave it late to close gap to Strikers
The Hobart JEEP Zebras overcame the Olympia FC Warriors 1-0 under the Friday night lights of KGV to move within a point of top spot. In a free flowing affair of good quality, the Zebras had all the running after half time but took till the 78th minute to score from the penalty spot and had to endure some nervous minutes at the end against a 10 man Warriors.
The opening half was open, but neither team was able to break the deadlock. Some inspired defending by Thomas Little and Paul Stevens kept their respective teams in it with timely interventions.
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City grind out win against Rangers in Launceston Derby
Launceston City have won bragging rights after they overcame Northern Rangers 1-0 at the NTCA in the second of the three game Launceston Mitsubishi-Mazda Derby Cup series. The narrow victory sees City go within five points of Olympia in the hunt for 4th on the ladder, while Rangers are still searching for their first win of the season.
The game was a real battle for each of the sides for much of the game and interestingly both Lanau-Atkinson boys started on the bench. City shaded the play in the first half with greater territorial possession but still failed to find a way to break down the Rangers back four. The majority of the play was breaking down in the central third of the ground, with each team battling and turning the ball over.
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Understrength South overcome dogged Clarence
South Hobart put in a completely dominant performance over Clarence United FC tonight at Wentworth Park but were made to work hard for their 3-1 win. In blustery and cold conditions, the somewhat second string South Hobart eleven eventually put three goals past Clarence in a game that their territorial domination was clearly evident in. Clarence to their credit battled out well and scored one of their own early in the second half to breathe some life into the match but South always looked the more likely side.
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Mann inspires second half blitz
After a tightly contested first 45 minutes in which the Lions probably shaded the contest, the Strikers, led by the irrepressible Brayden Mann, came flying out of the blocks in the second half and never looked back. They dominated the second half to restore their four point lead atop the NPL TAS table with a comprehensive victory.
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