Tilford Zebras 3-1 New Town Eagles
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Tilford Zebras moved 6 points clear of second-placed South Hobart at the top of the Forestry Tasmania Southern Premier League ladder as a result of this 3-1 win over second-last New Town Eagles.
But, South Hobart have three games in hand over Zebras.
Eagles are now in dire straits as they are just 4 points ahead of last-placed University, who have two games in hand.
Zebras were without defender Henry Fagg, but they had midfielder Paul Cairns and striker Ben Crosswell back and both played a part in this win without actually scoring.
Both had dangerous shots that had Eagles worried, but it was their distribution and reading of the game which helped their side to victory.
Eagles started with Andy Clark shadowing Crosswell and he did the job in keeping the league’s leading marksman scoreless.
Newcomer Michael Anderson man-marked Dwayne Walsh but was unable to prevent him scoring once and going close on several other occasions.
Zebras almost took the lead in the 18th minute when the Eagles defence allowed a corner from the right to pass uncontested across the face of goal.
They should have scored in the 23rd minute when Jayden Welch crossed low from the left and picked out Walsh inside the 6-yard box. But, Walsh failed to connect cleanly and goalkeeper Michael Soszynski was able to clear with his feet before the ball dribbled across the line.
It was an incredible miss and Eagles were very fortunate to escape unscathed.
Two minutes later, however, Zebras did hit the lead when Ryan Smith’s long ball out of defence found Welch on the left and he raced towards goal and slotted the ball past Soszynski from inside the box and just inside the far post.
Eagles had the ball in the net in the 33rd minute when Adam McKeown’s header put Clark clear, but he was adjudged off-side.
Seconds later, Mark Page saved the day for Eagles when he blocked a shot at the left-hand post, but his fellow defenders’ hearts were in their mouths as he miskicked and almost fumbled the ball into his own net before diverting it for a corner.
In the 36th minute, Crosswell outran Nick Ferrall and Chris Wass through the middle, but he fired over the bar.
Zebras pressed from the start of the second half and Crosswell’s clever lay-off in the 51st minute put Ricky Self through on goal, but he shot into the side-netting.
Eagles hit back in the 53rd minute, but Zebras keeper Troy Kaden saved Alex Gordon’s shot in style.
Zebras should have punished Shane Kent’s error a minute later, but when Welch gained possession, he fired over the bar.
Andrew Telega made it 2-0 on the hour when he headed home Kurt Engels’s corner from the left and this highlighted poor defending by Eagles.
Mark Page was replaced by Ben Whitehall immediately after the goal and Whitehall went on to produce a couple of dangerous crosses that Eagles might have scored from.
In the 63rd minute, a stinging free-kick from 25 metres by Alex Leszczynski was deflected for a fruitless corner.
In the 70th minute, a terrible error by Soszynski enabled Walsh to make it 3-0, the keeper allowing a harmless shot to slip through his grasp.
To show how easy it could be, a Jacob Malakoff cross from the right was headed home by McKeown in the 75th minute to reduce the arrears.
That woke Zebras up and Self hit the post a minute later and Soszynski was lucky the ball ricocheted off him and out for a corner rather into the net.
In the 77th minute, Engels fired just over as Zebras continued their onslaught and ran out comfortable winners.
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· Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:
“I thought we played well in patches. It looked pretty some times.
“With Cairns coming back in the middle of the park, it sort of stabilised us a bit.
“He’ll get good for the next three or four games.
“In the end, it’s three points, and that’s what we needed.”
· New Town Eagles coach, George Krambousanos, said:
“It was a bit of a surprise to see Cairns and Crosswell play.
“I reckon that side would beat Kelly’s southern side.
“They needed to play the way they did to beat us.
“The last 20 minutes, any other side would have copped about three or four goals.
“But, congratulations to them. They meant business today. We did, too, and I’m proud of my lads, and I think Nick is proud of his lads, too.”
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Tilford Zebras: Kaden - Telega, Fotak, Smith, Pace - K Engels, Self, Cairns (Hall 82), Welch - Walsh, Crosswell (Thorpe 73) (Substitute not used: Connolly)
Goals: Welch 25, Telega 60, Walsh 70
New Town Eagles: Soszynski - Page (Whitehall 61), Anderson, Wass, Ferrall - Leszczynski, Kent, Clark, Malakoff - Gordon, McKeown (Substitutes not used: Fennell, Wilson, Minty)
Booked: Kent 89
Goals: McKeown 75
Att: 90
Ref: K Barker
40 comments:
Surprised by the lack of chatter on the blog recently people I normally leave the comments to others and enjoy the reading!
To try and start the ball rolling, does anyone have any suggestions as to how we could possibly boost spectator numbers at all Premier League games, especialy Friday nights, as there seems to have been a large and disappointing drop in attendance.
Free entry cheaper beer , better weather , more competative games ? better facilities , take your pick Pitchy , i am sure the list could be so much longer but i have to go out to the youth game . Attendance will be about 20 + possible dog .
state leauge will answer that question
More Suport from FFT is what we need. if FFT don't do anything about it soccer will be a boring game. FFT is just supporting the premier as Michael is from Clarence he is looking to it. just look at the structure, if you are a premier league club you have the opportunity to put a team playing against premier name if not bottom of the priorities, in other world left over, rather than mixing it,That is how it look or feel to me, so people do get sick of the of the luck of support, I my self say (why should i go pay $6 dollar to support premier if premier don't support my team or club)But if fft would mixed up i would say a better go watch this game coming up. as we will be playing then soon? well at least on the lower divisions. where the got 3-5-6 team. fft should mix those kid to play the play the premier name in more regular bases no just now and them. well the are my though of why i don't go watch premier games and i am shore i am not the only one that feel that way by conversation i do have with then
All very fair comments lads, except at kgv $4 a can of beer isnt too bad but Im sure that they need to make profit like all other bars an would run a loss if it was anymore expensive. Weather is also out of our control. Entry is a home team issue not FFT (my understanding) and im sure the players go out and do their best to provide competition!
In terms of state league, if we cant show support for our local leagues then who is gonna travel for hours to play in front of 20 ppl? we cant expect a state league to fix all our problems!
I do agree that youth will be the answer but the mix of youth and experience is what makes a game, U/19 games can be painful to watch!
On the game last night, what r ppls thoughts???
Hey Pitchy definitely the crap weather has affected attendances and as someone mentioned a while ago the unsatisfactory state of KGV facilities.
Not much fun sitting in last night's garbage in the old stand and the loos are rank. Wouldn't be tolerated in most other sports.
The turn up was vg early in the season - 600 in summer cup final to watch probably lesser quality than league games. People on the hill with blankets etc.
good to see fft advertising games now.
anyone going to a game cos of cheep beer is a moron and we don'
t need them there anyway.
a league model is get the families there.
Clarence ressies had 4th win out of last 5 game today beating 3rd placed knights 4-1. It was knights 1st loss since 15 May.
Go boys!!!
reds, tell someone who cares
hey captain i will take my tounge out of my cheek now, who really cares about the beer i was taking the piss . If we are to improve the state of the game here then we need to : 1. promote the game better thean we do , 2.Make FFT and there decisions more transparent , 3. and i beleive this is the most important , we need to stop sniping at the game from within the football community .
I saw with some sadddness comments aim at John Raymond and his offspring, while i agree that his appointment is puzzeling and his selections, interesting !! Do we need to rip into him here ?
The same could be said for the mens coach , he is not well liked and the team is again interesting , but we should be supporting not trying our hardest to tear it apart.
We need a state leauge , Googles is spot on the standed has dropped measurably since its demise .
We need to work together and then maybe the game can move forward !!!
Walter
Uni must go down. no good in 1s or 2s, pretend u19s. Swap them with metro and make them build up again in div 1.
Should be all over in a couple of weeks
benchie - not one to be lecturing about supporting the coach
not directed at you Benchie - just not a big fan of (some of) the beer drinkers at kgv.
Steve Johnson, i wasn't talking to you - just the army of reds supporters. another great day out vs knights today
Pixel 40 - what??
captain - is Walter making that decision, who stays up or is relegated? You're funny!
As an observer of this blog, there seems to be a lot of criticism of FFT but nothing constructive. I expect that those involved are attempting to do their best with the resources available. There also seems to be a common denominator with those continually criticising. Poor grammar.
FFT - easy target for the uneducated!
Walter said Eagles were in dire straits. My comment was in relation to that.
Is that OK DB or am I also not educated enough for your liking?
Reds, try playing on an underage ground - terrible. We were disgusting all over the park and deserved to lose by more. When you don't have people goal side you are always going to be punished.
there should be a 8 team state leauge, 4 from each end of the state as there is only enough decent players to make a maximum of 4 teams from each end,this would also strengthen the reserve comp
its ok captain , i agree with you , umm sceptic what are you trying to say????
Not so quiet now Pitchy lmao
fair enough reds
it must be so thrilling when the reserves win....
2 wins & a draw mate and Crispy's 4th hattrick of seaon - not a bad day??
Chalky23 was that u with the knee in the back. how are you walking tonight mate?? hope ure feeling ok
Benchie, im nice and happy now that we have some conversation and discussion!
I agree that we need to offer support and encouragement to FFT as Im more than sure they do their best with limited resources, budgets etc and i do think that a state league would be a fantastic step for Tassie football/soccer (whatever you want to call it).
I wouldnt say Eagles are in dire straights just yet but in terms of the our performances in my opinion zebras had just as many chances as eagles over the entire games, yet for some reason they resorted to long shots that rarely troubled SOS. Zebras are all class and had more experience all over the pitch compared to us and their discipline got them the win. Our boys battled just like they do every week and were an absolute credit to themselves and the club. Unfortunately we lacked a bit of class and quality that is the same story for the past 3/4yrs!
The finals series will be the test of a possible state-league in terms of attendance and community response!!!
DB
If comment and public opinion hurt you or can't understand the comments don't Bother reading it. Have you hear of free expression LOL
Chalk 23 - not just an underage pitch, but a very friendly size for all the " older" boys still having a kick. LOL
I support a statewide competition . However the best 8 not governed by locality.
I watched Metro v Beachside Saturday . A personal observation , neither as presently formated would be competitive in Premier League . Nevertheless they should be given the opportunity to show their mettle
brian,division 1 is really 2 separate leagues made up out if 3 premier league reserve standard teams and four whipping boys.you only have to look at the goal averages of the top 3.hopefully next year that will be rectified
Yeah mate that was me, she's pretty sore going to the physio tomorrow to get it checked out, hopefully all good! Cheers buddy, was a 50-50 ball nothing dirty about it!
Jerrie, how do you suggest FFT rectify the situation??
marty,i believe that the premier league reserves shouls really be div 1 if we judge teams by standards.the top 3 dont belong in their present company.they dont get proper competition.the other four would get more then they can handle from the better div 2 sides.i honestly believe we should make the leagues up from teams that have earned their spot on the park,no matter wich club they come from.it is not the clubs that make the leagues competetive but the teams in it. i know the purists are horrified at the idea of two teams of the same club in the same comp,but we are allready doing it in div 3 and 4.no matter what anyone says the backbone of tassie football is not the elite but the thousands of not very talented plodders who play their heart out every week.they are the ones that keep it all financially viable.marty we lots of good plasyers being stored away in reserve leagues that really only keep them occupied,why not make sure they get used properly.there are a few clubs overloaded with talent and others are struggling.with a small population like ours we have to make the best of what we have.maybe fft and the clubs could be looking at the distribution of the talent we have and we have plenty.we should aim to end up with leagues where every team capable beating the other teams in that league.8-0 scorelines is good for a laugh,but not good for competition. any way good to hear from you again marty i missed ya
Cheers Jerrie,
Here is my possible solution to the current situation.
It is based on a perception that the South can accomodate 6 quality teams, and no recent knowledge of Northern clubs.
Premier League North (same as current)
Premier League South 6 Clubs
Div 1 6 Clubs
Div 2 (and reserves)Open to any Club to enter and subject to Promotion IF not involved in the higher leagues.
No Statewide Cup. To be replaced with 2 seperate comps.
Statewide Champions League: 8 teams
To qualify, MUST finish in the top 3 of S or N Premier League the year before.
The remaining 2 spots are filled with the Cup winner of the previous year and a playoff between the 2 4th placed teams of the north and south.
2 groups of 4 (home and away)with semi and a final.
To minimalise travel, selected league games N or S will carry points for both comps. When N and S teams must play, so to the cup below.(this may be complicated with cup ties, suspensions etc)
Cup: For every club team (Premier reserves, Div 1 to Div 4etc) that is not represented in the Champions League, regardless of Division. Clubs with multiple teams down the Divisions can enter. The Winner will have an automatic place in the Champions League the following year.
This creates a dilemma of a possible State Championship playoff between 2 teams of the same club, but, hey if the second side gets through that cup scenario, plus the group stages they deserve it.
I reckon this will create quality at the top end, a stable and competitive "middle" and the "dream" for smaller clubs and old blokes like myself.
that has a lot merit marty,but i would simply prefer to see the team that wins the comp go up regardles of what club they belong to.it would not be difficult to stop clubs swapping players if they had teams in the same comp,but force them to get players from their lower leagues to serve as subs. by the way marty i understand caused my little boy a bit of grief today lol
hey pitchy,how is your leg mate? any progres?
Jerrie,
thanks for the interest! Leg is going well but very slowly as expected as my trusty surgeon has advised me to not run until october, a concpet I am struggling with to be honest! I am more then pumped for next year and i hope I can play at a level close, if not higher to what I have done previously!
Interesting ideas about league structures are being floated around and Marty; sounds a little complicated and you'll have to explain it to me in person mate!
Still no comments on the eagles game in this slot... odd as this is where they should be! My fault for starting these posts off on the foot haha
after watching the game on friday night between zebras and eagles I have came to the conclusion that kim barker is the worst referee i have ever seen. Some of his calls and card desicions left me scrathing my head and thinking that he has his favourite players and least favourite that he will protect during the game. please retire kim
nothing like a bit of ref bashing to encourage people to take the job on.we complain because we dont have enough refs and then clobber the ones we have.kim has served tassie football very well for years and hopefully will contibue to do so
Yes I admit that it is a hard job to do but at the end of the day referee's are there to make calls about the game being played and not just give out free kicks against players he doesnt like. there were many times during the game and also season where kim especially has given out cards because he does not like the players game or they arent one of his favourites. it is just too obvious and I still think he is useless plain and simple
you said it bystander,they are there to make the calls.once he has made the call he cant change it.they can only call it as they see it.
What a ridiculous comment bystander!!!
Kim Barker has been the top and still is the top ref in the whole state and your comments are more than biast! Just because a player that you may support may have copped one slightly harsh or 50-50 decision doesnt make him a bad referee! I have refereed before and I know how hard it is, try holding a whistle in your hand and still have the same opinion!!!
Im still dissapointed at the lack of comment on the actual game tho haha oh well!
pitchy,not having been there i could only comment on george the coach"s sense of fashion
i dont know about you guys but i think after coreys suspension, hes been playing womens premier league lol
Launceston City
(C. Smith 4 A. Jones C. Storay 2 K. Jones 3) 10 D Burnie United
Pitchy. NTE - second best all night. Only once zebras dropped a gear did eagles look like a draw was a slim posibility. With the introduction of Whitehall NTE finally had some drive and produced some chances that unfortunatly wasted, sorry squandered from less that the 6 yard box. NTE Goal keepers unfortunate tunnelball experience didnt help. But all in all result was a true reflection of the contest. As for the refs game no real concerns, but the linesmen would worry sheep.
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