Hobart Olympic suffer their biggest loss in the club's history

Forestry Tasmania Southern Premier League, KGV Park, Saturday, 16 May 2009
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Tilford Zebras 11 (Crosswell 9 pen, 30 pen, 68, Cairns 15, Welch 21, 43, 92, Walsh 47, Fagg 51, 77, Brazendale 63)
Hobart Olympic 0

HT: 6-0 Att: 120 Ref: K Barker
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Tilford Zebras: Kaden - Fagg, Telega, Smith, Pace - Brazendale, Cairns, Self (F Lapolla 64), Welch - Walsh (Hall 68), Crosswell [Substitute not used: Thorpe] [Coach: N Lapolla]

Hobart Olympic: Nester - Lebski, Mohamad, P Tsakiris, Kaproulias - C Tsakiris, Richardson, Mason (Tsimiklis 46), A Hedge (M Hedge 70) - Bulis, Kunwar (E Tsakiris 77) [Substitute not used: Plomaritis] [Coach: F Shaw]
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This was Hobart Olympic’s biggest loss in the club’s history.

The previous biggest loss was also to Zebras, in 1994, in the days of the Summer State League, when the score was 8-0.

The win lifted Zebras 5 points clear of second-placed South Hobart and the title is now well and truly Zebras’ to lose, given their goal-difference of plus 24.

One sensed that this was not going to be Olympic’s day when they conceded a penalty after just 9 minutes.

It is difficult to judge what possessed Youssef Mohamad when he jumped into the air with a raised arm and deliberately handled Jayden Welch’s cross from the byline on the left aimed at the lurking Ben Crosswell. Even his team-mates seemed perplexed.

Crosswell was on the edge of the box and the goal-mouth was crowded, limiting the possibility of a clear shot at goal.

Mr Barker had no choice but to point to the spot, and Crosswell duly despatched the penalty to make it 1-0 for Zebras.

Olympic were almost back into it in the 14th minute when Michael Bulis’s excellent shot produced a magnificent save from Troy Kaden, who somehow got an arm to the ball and deflected it over the bar for a corner.

A minute later, however, it was 2-0 as Aaron Brazendale raced down the right and crossed for Paul Cairns to glance a header inside the far post.

In the 21st minute, it was 3-0 as Crosswell’s fine pass found Welch free on the left. Olympic goalkeeper Dmitri Nester was caught in two minds. He first went for the ball, then decided against it, and retreated. It was too late, however, and he was caught in No-Man’s Land. Welch easily rounded him and stroked the ball into the net.

On the half-hour, another sudden rush of blood to the head saw Mohamad bring down Crosswell on the right of the box and the Zebras striker slotted home his second spot-kick of the match to give Zebras a commanding 4-0 lead.

If that did not signify the end of Olympic’s challenge, the events that unfolded four minutes later did.

Mohamad wiped out his own goalkeeper, Nester, as he went for a cross, and as the ball fell loose, Welch’s shot clipped the crossbar. Mr Barker awarded a goalk-kick, which Peter Tsakiris prepared to take.

Before he could, Mr Barker, who had been running up-field, stopped, turned and ran back to Tsakiris and showed him the red card.

Mohamad and Robert Lebski then approached and there seemed to be a verbal exchange between the players and the official, whereupon Mr Barker showed Mohamad a second yellow card, followed by a red.

After the match, Mr Barker explained that he had shown Tsakiris the red card because he had uttered words in Greek that appeared to him to be abusive and directed at him. Mohamad had been shown a second yellow for dissent.

Tsakiris said later that he had indeed uttered a phrase in Greek, but as a gee-up to his team-mates, and that it was not offensive or directed at the official.

If Olympic appeal, it will be up to FFT to sort out.

Be that as it may, the outcome was that Olympic were down to nine men and had no hope of getting back into this contest.

That was made clear as the Zebras scored twice more before going in at the interval with a 6-0 lead.

In the 43rd minute, a deep cross from the right by Henry Fagg was spilled by Nester, and Welch was left to roll the ball into the net for goal number five.

In the 47th minute, Brazendale cut the ball back from the right and Dwayne Walsh netted the Zebras’ sixth.

Six minutes after the resumption, Nester could only parry Welch’s low shot from the left into the path of Fagg, who netted goal number seven.

Lebski went on a rare forward foray for Olympic in the 62nd minute, but fired harmlessly wide.

A minute later, as if to punish Olympic for their impudence, Zebras added their eighth goal. Walsh’s initial shot was blocked, but the ball came back to him, and he squared it for Brazendale to hammer home.

Crosswell completed his hat-trick in the 68th minute when he scored from close range after a fine run down the right and cross from Brazendale.

Fagg made it 10-0 in the 77th minute when he stooped low and looped a header, from Brazendale’s right-wing cross, over Nester and inside the far post.

Two minutes into stoppage time. Welch completed his hat-trick with an easy goal to complete a black day for Olympic.

It was certainly not the type of traditional derby one expects from these two sides.

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• Tilford Zebras coach, Nick Lapolla, said:

“Three points and goal average. We did what we had to do.

“Eleven nil. Between these two sides, it shouldn’t have been, but it was.

“It was a good run out for us. That’s all you can say.

“I think we had the majority of play and things well under control before the send-offs.

“I didn’t think that made a great difference to the game, other than to the score. Possession-wise it didn’t.”

• Hobart Olympic coach, Farrell Shaw, said:

“The game was over in the first half, really.

“It was over before the send-offs.

“It just makes it hard to bring a club back up again after that sort of loss.

“I’m proud of the players who finished the game off. They battled hard.

“Yeah, it’s tough at the moment.

“There’s a lot of people at this club who have to sit down and think about the future.”
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STATISTICS

TILFORD ZEBRAS HOBART OLYMPIC
27 Goal Attempts 3
19 Shots on Target 1
2 Corners 4
10 Fouls Committed 6
12 Off-Sides 1
0 Yellow Cards 4 (Mohamad 30, 34, Lebski 49, Richardson 74)
0 Red Cards 2 (P Tsakiris 34, Mohamad 34)

Tilford Zebras:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Crosswell 7 6
Welch 7 6
Cairns 2 1
Self 1 0
Walsh 1 1
Fagg 5 4
Brazendale 3 1
F Lapolla 1 0

Hobart Olympic:

PLAYER GOAL ATTEMPTS SHOTS ON TARGET
Bulis 1 1
Lebski 2 0