Sunday, August 15, 2010

Weekend summary of matches









Photos (Top to Bottom): South Hobart captain Bart Beecroft holds the league championship trophy; South Hobart's Jonathon Lo and New Town Eagles' Andrew Clark vie for a header; Eagles' Jacob Clamp towers above South's Hugh Ludford; South's Daniel Brown tries to get the ball while under pressure from South's Daniel Brown; South's Daniel Brown clears the ball as Eagles' Jacob Clamp rushes in; Mr Phillips shows Eagles keeper Nathan Pitchford a yellow card; Eagles' Michael Anderson also sees yellow and later red as South's Mizael Linhares Caires looks on; South's Liam Scott (left) in a duel with Eagles' Alex Leszczynski [PlessPix]


Taroona were relegated from the Forestry Tasmania Southern Premier League after just one season in the top flight after they could only draw 1-1 away with third-placed Glenorchy Knights on Friday evening at KGV Park in their final league game of the season.


The draw moved them up a place to second-last and dumped Olympia Warriors to last place, but only for 24 hours.


The pressure was really on Olympia in their final game on Saturday night against second-placed Tilford Zebras, but they managed a 2-2 draw at KGV Park to move level with Taroona on points.


Olympia’s better goal-difference meant they were second-last and safe from relegation, to the great relief of their fans, who turned out in large numbers to watch their final league match against traditional rivals Zebras.


Olympia president George Mamacas was one of the most relieved people in attendance and he could be seen wiping his brow in relief after the final whistle as the Olympia fans streamed on to the pitch to mob their players and as sky rockets whizzed into the night sky and crackers exploded on the ground.


Taroona got off to a good start against Knights when Toby Dove put them ahead in the 33rd minute with a long-range strike that deceived Knights keeper Ben Peter and whizzed into the net.


Brendan Garth then fired against the Taroona woodwork and Josh Fielding nodded Jade Clay’s cross just wide as the Knights searched for an equaliser.


That came from Clay 7 minutes after the break when he battled furiously to retain possession on the right of the penalty area before netting with a low shot inside the far corner that caught keeper Robert Hortle flat-footed.


Both sides had chances before the end, one of the best falling to the Knights’ Matt Nowicki, who pulled his shot at an open goal just wide of the left-hand post.


It ended 1-1, however, and this meant Olympia had to earn at least a point against Zebras the following evening.


Olympia started in determined fashion and Alex Nandan fired them ahead in the 16th minute from Kosta Grillas’s left-wing cross, which eluded two defenders inside the box.


Zebras were level three minutes later when Jayden Welch found space down the left and crossed low to the far post, where Ben Crosswell smashed the ball into the roof of the net from close range.


Olympia goalkeeper Dmitri Nester rescued his side in the 24th minute when Dwayne Walsh broke clear on the right. Nester came off his line quickly to block at the striker’s feet and concede a corner.


Welch let Olympia off the hook on the half-hour when he broke through and had a clear sight of goal but skewed his effort wide.


Five minutes later, Chris Kumpulainen, who had squandered two efforts early in the match, put Olympia 2-1 up when he miskicked, but, in so doing, also fooled Zebras keeper Jason Voss. Kumpulainen managed to get around the keeper and atone for his error by reaching the ball and hammering it home.


Olympia substitute Warren Wadawu, who had replaced Youssef Mohamad after just 25 minutes, was proving a thorn in the Zebras’ side and his skills benefited Olympia greatly throughout the rest of the match.


Ricky Self netted in the 50th minute from Walsh’s low right-wing cross to make it 2-2 and Olympia survived a torrid second half to earn the point that saved them from the drop.


Substitute Nick Meredith almost gave them all three points, but his shot from the left late in the game came back off the woodwork.


League champions South Hobart set a new club record of 29 games without defeat when they beat New Town Eagles 4-1 on Saturday afternoon to finish 19 points ahead of second-placed Zebras.


Tom Roach netted twice and Andy Brennan and Jonathon Lo once each, while Adam McKeown replied for Eagles.


In the remaining match, goals by Joel Schuth, Tom McDonald and Damien Pearce gave Kingborough Lions United a 3-1 win over Clarence United, whose goal came from Luke Huigsloot.


Beachside must wait another week before wrapping up the Division One title after they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Olinda Grove by University.


Bernhard Klasen netted for Beachside and Julian Proud for University.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel for Taroona this morning. Understanding the repercussions of this weekends final scores I can say that the system is profoundly unfair. There is no doubt and the evidence will show that Taroona and or Olympia are light years ahead of ANY Div 1 side at the present time. It is disgusting that Taroona are not given the opportunity to consolidate and dig their feet in to the SPL. History has shown that the team coming up is odds on favourite to go down the following year. What needs to be done is an examination of why. Notionally I think it is simply that Clubs need to get traction in the league. The first year it is very difficult for the new club to attract players. However the 2nd year it is a must. One fix maybe is that Relegation applies if a Club finishes last 2 years in a row. Promotion from Div 1 should also be available through a license application agreement with the applying club meeting set criteria. Beachside will finish last in 2011 although FFT may through them a lifeline and make a play off rule with the Div 1 winners in 2011. This of course means a double whammy to the Taroona Club. My best wishes to them going forward.

Anonymous said...

The div 1 title can be decided today if metro do not beat nelson.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

rumor has it that there will be a hobart street party for all clubs (world cup winning celebration style) through the mall and franklin square with live dj's and music and free drinks put on by the hobart city council and fft if olympia go down

this is at the request of all other clubs due to them thinking it would be too hard for them to each organise their own personal olympia relegated celebration and rather have one unified event

August 13, 2010 2:30 PM

A lot of noise from the Greek Club last night. Was this the party you were referring to???

Now altogether....

Give me an : O L Y M P I A !!!!!!

Anonymous said...

How many spectators were at the Olympia game?

Old Man River said...

How does relegating a club like Taroona with a strong youth structure and growing support help Tasmanian football? The gap between Premier League and Division 1 is too great; look at Metro as an example of a club that was relegated and lost momentum.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

rumor has it that there will be a hobart street party for all clubs (world cup winning celebration style) through the mall and franklin square with live dj's and music and free drinks put on by the hobart city council and fft if olympia go down

this is at the request of all other clubs due to them thinking it would be too hard for them to each organise their own personal olympia relegated celebration and rather have one unified event

August 13, 2010 2:30 PM

A lot of noise from the Greek Club last night. Was this the party you were referring to???

Now altogether....

Give me an : O L Y M P I A !!!!!!

August 15, 2010 12:51 PM

your club came second last.....is this cause for a party???

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:08 AM and anon 4:19 PM i do not agree with you comments about the big gap between div 1 and premier Beachside are as good if not better than any of the bottom 4 sides in premier league and i do believe nelson beat olympia in a friendly match not long ago and olympia were full strength and nelson are currently 4th in div 1! having said that the div 1 game today metro vs nelson was of a very poor standard, both teams abit out of character

Anonymous said...

I wouldnt be to sure Beachside will finish last in 2011. They would beat the bottome 4 sides in PL this year.

Anonymous said...

metro had no momentum to start with since smithers, sanders, pullen etc were there. fact

Pixel 40 said...

Cry me a River

I'm Back said...

Anonymous at 11.08 am. I didn't see too much evidence of the system being profoundly unfair after the game at Metro last year when united beat Metro and the Taroona players who were there to watch ran out onto the ground to party with their mates from United. Get over it, do what Metro are doing and try and get on with it without blamimg anything else including the system and see if you can beat the current top 3-4 in Div 1 now that your back down there.

And Old Man River, I can look back through the archives but I can't remember you posting a blog when Metro went down last year. Don't you think they had a strong youth structure and growing support? And where do you get the idea that Metro lost momentum ? At this current time I believe they are
2nd on the ladder behind what must be one of the strongest Div 1 sides to be put on the park for many years.

I'm Back said...

Anonymous at 6.38, how far do you want to go back, some of those blokes you mentioned have less hair than me. I'm from Metro. Do you want to do us the honour of telling us all what world beater side your from ? Don't keep the blokes you just mentioned up too late waiting for an answer !

Anonymous said...

yes the game may of been scrappy, but dont forget metro had a guy sent off and alot of the games at this time of the year arent the best to watch, lets be honest.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Chris Hey and his Warriors and to George Mamacas and his committee on avoiding relegation. It must have certainly been a tough and frustrating season for all, including the supporters! However, the fighting spirit was evident, ecspecially last night, what a game, I thought it had it all - good crowd, nice goals, lots of cramps, lots of emotion - well done Olympia, may success come your way next season. Bye bye Taroona - thanks for the memories!

Anonymous said...

your club came second last.....is this cause for a party???

August 15, 2010 6:05 PM


YES IT IS YES IT IS> Not getting relegated to the apathetic Div 1 and keeping our players together is cause for a huge celebration. Perhaps the consequence of Div 1 and what it can do to a club and all with in it escapes you. Clearly it did not escape the Olympia Players Board and supporters. Ask Metro what it has done to them!!!Oh and one more thing 2nd last is no different to finishing 5th. Same prize money I believe!

Rocket said...

Does beachside really want to play in the premier league.

Would be shocked if Brett,Nathan ect. would want to play in this league.

Once again to delevop the game in Tas. we need a max 8 team state league which would see the better players in the state playing each other on a regular basis.
All other comps outside this would be social which the majority are.

Wake up fft and the majority of stakeholders and finally start to delevop our wonderful game.

Rocket

Anonymous said...

anon 9.20.I agree there is not much difference in finishing 5th as finishing second last. One big difference though is that your pants would have been full for a while and you were very lucky to have stayed in Premier League.What if Taroona won the previous night ???????????It would have been bye bye. You cant say that Olympia would have tried harder had Taroona won .7 players going down with cramp proved they had no more to give. They were not up to it.

Anonymous said...

What if what if.... We can start that conversation from the first whistle of the first game. A million what if's through the season could change the top four ! What if is baby talk.

Anonymous said...

They were not up to it.

August 15, 2010 10:33 PM

LOL Clearly Taroona were not up to it either.

Brian Roberts said...

Anonymous 11.08 am .

Promoted Clubs have little chance of surviving in an 8 team league .

Some prospect of survival in a 10 team league

Anonymous said...

I watched both the Taroona / Knights and Olympia / Zebras games as an independent viewer and wanted to congratulate the Referees and Assistants on two sensational games. I watched the games because I knew Taroona and Olympia would be putting it all on the line and it was great to watch a couple of games played with true passion. The Refs were consistent, and kept cool heads when the games heated up. Well done. (from not a Ref)

Anonymous said...

I would say Olympia were more up to it than Taroona.
Knights sat out players and had others that were playing with injuries and could only manage a draw even after Knights gifted them a goal.
Zebras had what Walter described as one of their strongest lineups for the year and scored two good goals. Olympia's 16 year old players stepped up and outplayed their opposition.
In the end Olympia were the better team than Taroona, plain and simple, and deserved to stay up.
They will definately be a finals contender next year.

tea leaves said...

Simply solution, Taroona should merge with Beachside next year which would be Win-Win for both clubs.

IT MAKES SENSE,PEOPLE

Anonymous said...

I personally would like to see the continuation of automatic promotion of div 1 leader and premier league looser but then add a play off between second last premier league and 2nd in div 1. I think it would add a bit more spice and interest to Tasmanian soccer, which is sadly lacking. Adds more excitement to the top of div 1 and bottom of premier league. For instance uni in div 1 would have something to play for. Lets face it the title race in Premier League hasn't really added any excitement.

Mike (from beachside)

Anonymous said...

Simply solution, Taroona should merge with Beachside next year which would be Win-Win for both clubs.

IT MAKES SENSE,PEOPLE

August 16, 2010 10:03 AM


Hmmmm...yes, and then Kingoborough can merge with Southern FC, the knights with Olympia, South Hobart and Newtown eagles, Clarence and Nelson.

What a silly statement.

beachside will do just fine next season in the premier league, in fact, they would have done so this year too!

Anonymous said...

Let's see how Beachside do next year in Premier.

I think some people have their blinkers on if they think Beachside would of finished mid table in Premier this year.

Looking forward to them being in the competion next season.

Anonymous said...

can't wait to play premier league games at sandown park, what a joke! I wonder if the chicken man will be there?

tea leaves said...

Anon 11.08am

not silly at all - beachside will need to recruit next year just to compete in SPL and I'm guessing some of the current Taroona outfit will be tempted dowon the road. In the meantime, Taroona will suffer just when they were a chance to attract the Foleys and Will Abbott from the TIS - wont happen now!

Anonymous said...

Beachside are going to raid Knights and take their fringe players and a few who used to play there surely!!!

Anonymous said...

I watched Univeristy V Beachside last Saturday. It sounds like Beachside are going to appoint Nik lapolla as their senior coach for the 2011 season.

They will be dangerous in the premier league if they can attract a few more players like Dunne, Pennicott, McGuire, Laoplla junior and Pullen from the Zebra's. These blokes are good players.

A combination Beachside / Taroona would be great for the league and the future of both clubs. The young Taroona players need the challenge of SPL not Div 1 rubbish. There is no future in that division, it should just be a social league.

I'd like to see the a 16 team state league but FFT would need to show some vision and expertise in adopting the this model. Guess we are stuck with the great divide.

Anonymous said...

Div 1 rubbish Anon 3:11pm. Get a grip of yourself. The state of football in Tasmania is well below par for perhaps 80% of the clubs, regardless if they are in the Premier league or DIV1, men or women.
However what automatic/relegation does provide; it gives players and spectators entertainment and overall improves the standard across the board. It can only be good for the game

If we can only get it mandatory for age restrictions in the top tiers the game would improve for the better.

Finally, to improve what we have in Tasmania, time for FFT to change the constitution and stop clubs voting for their own agenda's. Clubs seldom if ever vote for whats in the best in interest of the game, they vote for whats right for their club, a total joke

Anonymous said...

word is franko previdi might be on his way to beachside also

Anonymous said...

OK Tasmania - Let me unleash some genius upon you all. It goes like this:

Forestry Tasmania Premier League (FTPL)

12 teams - 22 games.

South Hobart
Glenorchy Knights
Hobart Zebras
Clarence United
New Town Eagles
Olympia Warriors
Kingborough Lions
Northern Rangers
Devonport City
Burnie United
Riverside Olympic
Prospect Knights

Forestry Tasmania Division 1 (FTD1)

10 teams - 18 games.

Ulverstone
Somerset
Launceston City
Launceston United
Beachside
Taroona
Nelson
University
Hobart United
Metro

2 up. 2 down.

Clearly this won't happen ever but as far as entertainment value - this would be the ideal. I can dream.

Anonymous said...

Div 1 is a joke of a league, Southern, DOSA and Hobart are social teams.

Still looking to win but currently not even close to the others.

10 team prem is the way to go!

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:40 you couldn't be more right.
Great set up it would be great to watch.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...August 16, 2010
8:40 PM

OK Tasmania - Let me unleash some genius upon you all. It goes like this: etc etc



Well I love it !!! very good!!

Anonymous said...

great thinking anon. 8.40, would be great to see some investment into fft and the clubs to make this possible

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

Anon 840pm would this be reserves and seniors??

Anonymous said...

Rangers President:

I did think about that and it would be tricky. Definately keep the U19s and U18s to their existing setups (ie - no intrastate travel). As for reserves - well ideally yes but obviously travel and time logistics would make it hard. So maybe might have to keep the reserves in their existing structures too. But ultimately that type of choice would be up to the clubs and how much they would be willing to commit to it, but i wouldn't blame any club for not committing to ressies, and just keeping that league how it is.

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

From a nothern perspective we wouldnt be able to seperate our reserves and seniors, just too thin on the ground.

Idea has some merit however

Brian Roberts said...

I have an idea this or a variation has been mooted before .

If I recall from the mists of time it was felt that it fragmented the North / North West Clubs to the extent that it impacted on their Home gates and Finances .

Not so in Hobart as under 13 upward could provide the pre match entertainment.

Not so up North and North West juniors live a seperate life.

Anonymous said...

Too thin on the ground Rangers President ?If so attract more players or miss out ( unfortunately)
State League , Tasmanian Premier League, whatever you wish to call it needs to happen.It should consist of the BEST 10 sides in the state. If there are 8 from the south and 2 from the north or vice versa ,then so be it.It MUST be the best league available. How are these sides selected then ? Decision to be made by FFT and may be based on results / positions from the previous season possibly .
Lets say that a decision is made that 2012 will be the year that the Tas Premier League (say) is launched. Clubs will have next year to sort out their clubs , attract players, coaches etc etc to ensure they perform well enough to be considered. At the end of 2011, the top 5 clubs from north play the top 5 clubs from the south on a home and away basis.That will mean that there will be an additional 10 games at the end of 2011 season. Do away with the summer cup and start the leagues earlier for one year only.
Then once teams have played each other , it shouldnt be too hard for FFT to decide the best 10 teams in the state based on results.Obviously rules will need to be set in the event of identical results /points / goal difference etc , but we must start somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:41pm -

While I agree with what you are saying mostly (and ladder positions are indeed how I came to split the two division in my setup) I feel that a 12 team league is viable and would better accomodate a 2 up, 2 down system which in my opinion makes for a more exciting setup. But as I said - we are mostly of one mind and I think there are many out there who would love to see a state league with 10 or 12 teams!

To Rangers President - Player numbers is a valid issue and one that would need to be discussed with FFT and the clubs. As to the solution...well I'm not sure.

Perhaps we in the current folds at all levels should just indoctrinate the next generations with football being a religion. Overwhelming player numbers, big crowds, lots of passion. That's where we WANT our football to be. A state league is a start I think. It's an amateur league but that doesn't mean we can't aim higher.

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

Anon 4.41pm its not OK just to say recruit more players or you miss out. My comments firstly related to the fact that Northern clubs I would suspect (and we would), would expect any state league to include reserves as well, as we would not have the people to run these teams should we be split, no good having your seniors in Hobart whilst yor reerve team is in Launceston.

Any move towards a state league would need a meeting on the NPL clubs on their own. As the ramifications of a state league, could well be devastating on our clubs up here, those not involved in state league would wither and die. I have stated this before on here many many times.

Secondly the idea put forward on here has merit as it involves all clubs and therefore gives those clubs not in state league a chance to participate without being left in the footballing abyss.

I think you will find (and again I cant speak for everyone, but I do get around the northern clubs a bit) that the northern clubs are happy with the current structure where we have our individual leagues, a state knock out cup and then a state championship series at the end. It was the northern clubs after all who lobbied for the current end of season final series.

State leagues in Tasmania whether they have football, AFL or whatever have generally been failures as a northern political candidate reminded on the weekend.

Anyway we shall see what comes out in the mix over the next few months/years, and Northern Rangers will certainly listen to all proposals, however keep it as is I say

Maxi said...

Would this league have promotion and relegation?

JA said...

To Maxi - yes. 2 down from the Prem. 2 up from Div 1. I think 10 is a good number to keep up at the top each season and I think while 1 team up and down would be a little dull, and 3 would be excessive given the numbers then 2 would be the ideal.

To Rangers President - I think you speak a lot of sense. When I originally posted that as an idea (and I admit, it's hardly original nor genius) I knew it wouldn't be viable right now. Your points are absolutely correct and I hasten to add I was not the author of the Anon 4.41pm post. The strength of the structure, as you pointed out, is that almost no team misses out (and the few who do could apply to enter Div 1 if/when they shape up a little more). But I completely respect your comments and again I agree they are valid. But I think that a state league should be the ultimate goal in the long term. Anyway, food for thought.

All the best.

JA

RANGERS PRESIDENT said...

Thanks JA, may I say that the proposal you put forward is probably the best model as it gives state football to all and gives the teams in div 1 (especially from the north)a meaningful comp to play in.

May I add that in principal in a perfect world I agree in whole with a state league concept. However Tasmania is very much a regionalised state and travel etc always pull things up. And its is an 8 hour round trip from Burnie to Hobart. We were talking about this at training the other night and we worked out that under your format we would have to travel outside Lton 9 times in a season, this after a while would where thin, at the moment we do it 4 times a season plus cup.

Finally one other point is that even under your proposal, the best players from the Div1 teams would leave their current clubs to play at the highest level. Brayden Mann would go to Devonport the better players from Lton Utd and Lton City to Rangers, Riverside or Prospect. The same in Hobart

Anyway my 2 bobs worth keep up the good work thinking outside the square.

Cheers

MA