Sunday, June 30, 2019

Zebras just get home against Riverside


Photo:  Zebras' Riley Dillon hits the post as Riverside keeper Jarrod Hill dives too late [PlessPix]

(NPL Tasmania, KGV Park, Sunday, 30 June 2019)

Hobart Zebras 3 (A McKeown 26, R Dillon 78, M Pace 86)
Riverside Olympic 2 (C Wademan 47, 48)

HT:  1-0   Att:  90   Ref:  N Coad

Hobart Zebras:  Whatman  -  Clark, Yonezawa, Charuza, Dillon  -  Hey, Muller, Walsh  -  McKeown, Sanders, Pace  (Subs:  Ackerley, Fagg, Robinson, Stankovich, Jones)

Riverside Olympic:  Hill;  Campbell, Coert, Davis, Gilmore, Humphrey, Monticchio, O’Neill, Olner, Vigilante, Wademan  (Subs:  Kinslow, Prince, Spanos, Murfet)

Photo:  Riverside's Aaron Campbell and Zebras' Jordan Muller battle for the ball [PlessPix]

Hobart Zebras earned a much-needed win to keep them ahead of the pursuing Kingborough Lions United and to within range of third-placed South Hobart.

Adam McKeown gave Zebras the lead in the 26th minute with a neat finish after being put through on goal with only the keeper to beat.

Riley Dillon  nearly added a second, but his shot struck the post.

Both sides found the windy conditions difficult to master and the number of inaccurate passes was astounding.

Photo:  Riverside's Michael Monticchio and Zebras' Jordan Muller collide and fall to the ground [PlessPix]

The game changed completely in the opening 5 minutes of the second half.

Chris Wademan made it 1-1 in the 46th minute with a lob that Zebras keeper Sam Whatman got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.

In the 48th minute, Wademan gave Riverside the lead with a powerful drive into the left-hand corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Zebras had been well held by Riverside’s resolute and intelligent defending, but they drew level with 12 minutes remaining when Dillon curled a free-kick inside the left-hand post.

Photo:  Zebras' Jan Charuza clears the ball [PlessPix]

It looked as if Riverside would hang on for a point, but Zebras managed to find a winner with 4 minutes remaining.  McKeown’s shot from a tight angle on the left was deflected against a post and parried by Jarrod Hill, but the ball fell perfectly to Matthew Pace, who netted easily to give the home team a 3-2 lead.

Zebras continued to search for more goals and McKeown and Pace both had the ball in  the net, only to be denied by the off-side flag.

Mathew Sanders, who was tightly marked throughout, flashed two shots centimetres wide of the far right-hand post, and he had several other shots charged down and blocked when they would have spelled danger had they got through.

Photo:  Zebras' Adam McKeown (left) and Riverside's Michael Monticchio contest possession [PlessPix]

Photo:  Zebras' Matthew Pace wins a header against Riverside's Liam Gilmore [PlessPix]

 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Attendance of 90 when there are no other games scheduled...

Anonymous said...

Shows you how much interest is in the NPL

Anonymous said...

Bring back markaj

Anonymous said...

Could do a lot worse that Markaj. Potentially the best coach ever to coach in Tassie. Just has a few issues to resolve which will come with age.

Anonymous said...

Surely you are joking, every bit of youth talent Zebras had has left largely due to the destruction of the fabric of the club that Markaj oversaw, his appointment has set that club back 5 years, they are in complete rebuild mode now with no real talent to call on, i feel for David and the job he has in front of him, he did not create this situation but has to clean it up, watched on by those who did create the situation but are never held accountable, have a look at the Challenge, Under 18 and Under 16 ladders if you want proof!

Anonymous said...

The back four were dominant against a solid Glenorchy Knights team in the challenge league on Saturday, maybe David Smith was just putting the acid on a couple of under performing lads with some of his earlier comments. Perseverance from Enzo Botte paying off.

Anonymous said...

Cannot even put challenge league and npl in the same sentence the gap is that far apart it's not funny