The first round of the PlayStation 4 Victory League is complete with an interesting series of results to kick off the season.
South Hobart 0 defeated by Hobart Jeep Zebras 2 (Ethan Engels 53', Adam McKeown 83') HALF TIME 0-0
Hobart Jeep Zebras kicked off their season with a bang, trumping reigning Champions South Hobart 2-0 under lights at KGV on Friday night.
The Zebras made South pay for missed opportunities, netting two second half goals to run over their fierce rivals. Ken Morton's men dominated the first half but squandered their opportunities on goal and two masterstroke substitutions from Zebras Coach Chris Hey shifted the momentum the Zebras way.
Bringing on Mattias Toghill at left back and sharpshooter Ethan Engels up front, the changes released Kurt Engels onto the wing to combine with his brother.
The changes had nearly immediate results for Hey, with Ethan Engels scoring in the 53rd minute.Netting an instinctive goal, finishing off an Adam McKeown header from a deep Ben Whitehall corner.
With South chasing the game,The first round of the Playstation 4 Victory League is complete with an interesting series of results.
Hobart Jeep Zebras kicked off their season with a bang, trumping reigning Champions South Hobart 2-0 under lights at KGV on Friday night.
The Zebras made South pay for missed opportunities, netting two second half goals to run over their fierce rivals. Ken Morton's men dominated the first half but squandered their opportunities on goal and two masterstroke substitutions from Zebras Coach Chris Hey shifted the momentum the Zebras way.
Bringing on Mattias Toghill at left back and sharpshooter Ethan Engels up front, the changes released Kurt Engels onto the wing to combine with his brother.
The changes had nearly immediate results for Hey, with Ethan Engels scoring in the 53rd minute.Netting an instinctive goal, finishing off an Adam McKeown header from a deep Ben Whitehall corner.
With South chasing the game in a race against the clock, Zebras killed off the game with Engels adding an assist to his goal, forcing a superb stop from Kane Pierce that McKeown followed up and finished past Pierce with a diving header.
Glenorchy Knights 4 (Phin Aldridge 30', Aaron Wilson 37', Jade Clay 61', 80') defeated Launceston City 1 (Trent Mitchell 90+2) (HALF TIME 2-0)
The shock results continued in the next game, with Glenorchy Knights upsetting Launceston City.
Despite back to back wooden spoons, City came into the contest in the unusual position as favourite and they certainly looked the better game at the start of the contest.
The northerners had the better of the opening exchanges and had the match on their terms, they should have shot ahead when Bradley Martin found the goal frame with his shot in the 24th minute.
Midfielder Phin Aldridge, a standout performer all game, tucked home in the 30th minute, before Aaron Wilson buried a penalty seven minutes later following a handball in the box to double the advantage.
Omar Murati had a great chance to cut the deficit to one on the stroke of half time, but he lacked composure and his volley flew over the crossbar.
The second half continued where the first left off, with the Knights again creating the better of the chances.
Jade Clay scored a header from a corner in the 61st minute, his goal ending City’s resistance.
Clay scored again in the 82nd minute after beating his defender for pace and coolly slotting past Launceston goalkeeper David Smith from the angle.
Trent Mitchell scored for City in stoppage time, but it was merely a consolation goal.
Kingborough Lions 3 (Lewis Verdouw 46', Danny Cowen 52', Joel Schuth 90’+7) defeated Devonport Strikers 1 (Michael Holden 18’) HALF TIME 0-1
Kingborough Lions recovered from a slow start to comeback from 1-0 at half time and defeat the Devonport Strikers 3-1 at KGV in Hobart.
Devonport opened in the 18th minute through Strikers’ winger Michael Holden, who outpaced his defender down the left flank and, with pressure coming from both defender and goal keeper, turned inside and finished somewhat unconvincingly into the bottom left corner of the goal with his non-preferred right foot.
The second half was of stark contrast to the first, Kingborough Lions came out in a different frame of mind and, even though the whole side had lifted, the crowd were treated to what could only be described as the ‘Schuth Show’. In the first minute after the restart, Joel Schuth muscled past Ben Andrews, whom up until that point had the measure of Schuth, and hit a pinpoint cross to Lewis Verdouw. Verdouw simply couldn’t miss from the six yard box.
In the 52nd minute chaos reigned over KGV. Schuth was again the provider, this time delivering a cross from the right to the back post, where Danny Cowen nodded home to give Kingborough the lead. When the goal was scored each team had a player on the ground injured. Verdouw was over the sideline on the right wing with a knock to his right ankle. Devonport’s captain and coach, Bobby Eaves, was lying near the halfway line clutching his knee ominously and had to be carried from the field on the stretcher.
In the 7th minute of injury time the Lions, added salt to wound by making it 3-1. Schuth applied the icing to his own celebratory cake, when he worried the last defender, Gorrie, off the ball and skilfully slipped the ball under the advancing Tom Pearce.
Olympia FC Warriors 4 (Warren Wadawu 60', Emmanuel Tsakiris 72', 79', Nick Mearns 81') defeated Northern Rangers 1 (Tenzing Anderson 23') (HALF TIME 0-1)
Olympia carried their preseason form into Round 1, with the Summer Cup champions Olympia FC Warriors prevailing 4-1 in a hard fought battle against an understrength Northern Rangers at KGV Football Park.
Against the run of play Tenzing Anderson got the decisive touch to put Rangers up one nil in the 23rd minute.
Wadawu equalised for Olympia on the hour mark, and with ten minutes to go Olympia found themselves leading 3-1 thanks to two quick goals from Emmanuel Tsakiris. Mearns put the icing on the cake when he added a fourth nine minutes from time.