Bentleigh run out comfortable 3-0 winners against South

Photo:  Bentleigh's Ryan Losty is helped off the pitch after being injured in the opening minutes. [PlessPix]

(NPL Friendly, South Hobart Oval, Saturday, 13 January 2024)

South Hobart 0

Bentleigh Greens 3 (Mitchell Rooke 27, Lars Kinnander 56, Manase Abandelwa 53)

HT:  0-1   Att:  250   Ref:  B Kopra

South Hobart:  O’Connell  -  Gorrie, Reynolds, Kokubo, Verdouw  -  N Morton, J Lancaster, Berezansky  -  Oates, Walter, Yost  (Subs:  Hayers [GK], R Morton, Feral, Oh, L Morton, Castaneda, Herbert, Hallam, Maddock)

Bentleigh Greens:  Withers  -  Lambropoulos, Doyle, McDonald, Yildiz  -  Rooke, Losty, Pavlou  -  Cavallo, Lino, Dover  (Subs:  McCauley [GK], Droutsas, Hilliar, Morgan, Lochhead, Abandelwa, Kinnander)

Photo: South Hobart's Musashi Kokubo (left) pursued by Bentleigh's Geofrrey Lino.  Kokubo had an excellent first half in defence before being replaced at half-time. [PlessPix] 

 Bentleigh Greens last visited Hobart in 2018, when they beat South Hobart 4-1.

Since then, they have been relegated to Victoria NPL 2 (at the end of the 2023 season), but they were still impressive this time against South Hobart.

They suffered an early blow when Ryan Lost was helped off after only a couple of minutes because of a calf injury.

But, their one-touch football, mobility and technical qualities had the home side on the back foot.

The visitors used the width of the pitch effectively and they kept the ball on the ground for much of the time.

Photo:  South Hobart's Eduardo Castaneda (left) fights for possession with Bentleigh's Manase Abandebwa. [PlessPix] 

South Hobart’s first shot did not come until the 25^th minute, when Alex Walter drove high and wide.

Two minutes later, Bentleigh took the lead when Mitchell Rooke snapped up a loose clearance and fired a thunderbolt into the top right-hand corner of the net.  O’Connell could only stand and watch as the ball rocketed past him.

South Hobart were not down and out, however, and they started to press dangerously and force Bentleigh into errors at the back.

Austin Yost demonstrated some clever individual play in building up attacks, while Owen Verdouw was excellent at left-back and continually thwarted Bentleigh’s fast and tricky wingers.

Photo:  South Hobart's Musashi Kokubo (left) pressured Bentleigh's Mitchell Rooke. [PlessPix] 

It was only 1-0 to the visitors at half-time, but analysing the second half is almost pointless because, as in most friendlies, there were constant substitutions.  This disrupts a team’s style and makes the game more of an exhibition match.

Bentleigh netted a second goal in the 56^th minute.  Rooke broke down the right and played a perfect low ball into the 6-yard box, where substitute Lars Kinnander tapped it into an empty net.

In the 63^rd minute, another substitute, Manase Abandebwa fashioned a chance on the left and beat substitute keeper Jake Hayers to complete the scoring at 3-0.

Photo:  Bentleigh's Jack McDonald was excellent in defence. [PlessPix] 

Photo:  South Hobart's Alex Walter shields the ball from Bentleigh's James Doyle. [PlessPix]