Knights reach Summer Cup Final

Photos (Top to Bottom): Knights in a pre-match huddle: The Lions kick off against the Knights in wet conditions; Kingborough's Isaac Lucas stops a Knights attack with a clearing header; Knights' Jacob Huigsloot tackles Brett Andrews; Knights Anthony Grunby tangles with Brett Andrews in midfield; Knights' Anthony Grundy clears his lines; Kingborough's Brett Andrews controls the ball before Anthony Grundy can intervene [PlessPix]

Premier League Section Summer Cup (Group B, Sunday, South Hobart, 28 February 2010)

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Glenorchy Knights 1 (D White 28)

Kingborough Lions United 0

HT: 1-0 Att: 80 Ref: K Barker

Glenorchy Knights: Tatnell - Dzelalija, Grundy, Holmes, J Huigsloot - Garth, Fielding, Smith, J Sherman, Koroma - White [Interchange: Hope, Roberts, Robb, T Sherman] [Coach: Eamonn Kelly]

Kingborough Lions United: Leamey - Palmer, Lucas, Davies, R Hinkley - Bevan, Iseli, McDonald, T Pearce - Andrews, Greg Freeman [Interchange: Bremner, Marchioli] [Coach: Geoff Freeman]

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Glenorchy Knights qualified for the Summer Cup final with this 1-0 win over Kingborough Lions United in Group B of the Premier League section of the competition.

Both teams observed a minute’s silence before the game in memory of the late Jack Huigsloot, the grandfather of Knights’ Jacob Huigsloot. Knights also wore black armbands.

The early stages of the game were fairly even, but Knights should have scored midway through the half when David Leamey committed himself and came off his line, only to fail to win the ball from Josh Fielding.

Fielding managed to get a touch and deliver the ball to James Hope, but he somehow scuffed his shot and the ball rolled across an empty goalmouth and to safety beyond the far post.

Three minutes later, Brendan Garth released Fielding down the inside-right channel and he fired a low shot centimetres wide of the far left-hand upright.

Two minutes before the break, a neat attack initiated by James Sherman and involving one-twos between Amadu Koroma, Corey Smith and Daniel White resulted in White shooting for goal from close range.

Leamey beat out the shot, but the ball rebounded to White, who smashed it home from 5 metres for the only goal of the game.

Two minutes after the interval, youngster Andrew Robb flashed a cross over from the right and the ball glanced off the Kingborough crossbar and back into play before being cleared.

With six minutes remaining, Kingborough were offered the chance to equalise when Tony Dzelalija tackled Greg Freeman and was adjudged to have brought the Kingborough striker down.

Mr Barker sent off Dzelalija and awarded a penalty.

But, Alex Tatnell came to teh Knights’ rescue by saving Trent Pearce’s soft spot-kick.

Knights coach Eamonn Kelly maintained that Dzelalija had got the ball, a view that Dzelalija insisted was correct.

Kingborough coach Geoff Freeman felt it should never have got to that as Greg Freeman should have shot much earlier.

Dzelalija later lamented the fact that he would miss the final at this late stage of his career and after making his senior comeback this season.

Knights will meet South Hobart in next Saturday’s final at 7pm at KGV Park.

Kelly will not be there as he has a wedding to attend in Newcastle.

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· Glenorchy Knights coach, Eamonn Kelly, said:

“It was a good performance and the 2-1 scoreline was good enough to get us into the final.

“It was a pity we’ve lost Tony Dzelalija for the final now.

“It wasn’t a penalty because he got the ball.

“It’s now between a champion team and a team of champions.

“I’ll let you figure out which is which.”

· Kingborough Lions United coach, Geoff Freeman, said:

“I was a bit disappointed with our first half. We let ourselves down in skill areas.

“We didn’t hit targets and we didn’t create anything from the potential that we sort of had a couple of times, particularly in the first half.

“We had the potential to break well down this right channel and sort of missed our targets so it didn’t eventuate into anything.

“Second half, I thought we improved. We seemed to have, because we changed formation this year, and we seemed to be getting a better understanding as we go along, and the second definitely was an improvement on that.”