Zebras make hard work of progressing to next round of Cup

Photo:  Adam McKeown heads home his first and Zebras' fifth [PlessPix]

(Lakoseljac Cup, KGV Park, Tuesday, 9 April 2019)

Hobart Zebras 6 (M Sanders, og, M Pace 2, A McKeown 2)

Clarence United 0

HT:  4-0   Att:  80   Ref:  M Piesse

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

Clarence United:  French  -  Ebini, Palmer, Price, Kannegiesser  -  Randall, Burt, Cannamela, Hatcher  -  Moynihan, Reibel  (Subs:  Amani, Marsh, Downham, Dyson, Houston)

Photo:  Adam McKeown bends his shot around Sam Cannamela to gran his second goal and Zebras' sixth [PlessPix]

Clarence were again no match for Zebras and trailed 4-0 at the interval.

Mathew Sanders fired Zebras ahead and an own-goal then made it 2-0 before two goals by Matthew Pace made it 4-0 at the break.

Zebras were terrible in the second half.

Their passing was woeful and their finishing had players, coaching staff and supporters tearing their hair out.

Photo:  Clarence keeper Jake French saves Riley Dillon's free-kick [PlessPix]

Some of the misses were unbelievable.  Over the bar from the edge of the 6-yard box and wide from close range were just two examples.  Another effort came back off the angle of crossbar and post.

Clarence defended desperately and goalkeeper Jake French did well when he turned a stinging Riley Dillon free-kick over the bar.

The pressure told in the end, however, and two goals in 3 minutes by substitute Adam McKeown made the final score 6-0.

Photo:  Paul Palmer (left) foils Zebras' Adam McKeown [PlessPix]

Being a cup match, the number of goals was not as important as the result.

Zebras won and scored half a dozen, but it should have been many more.

That’s irrelevant, however, and the record books will show that Zebras and not Clarence progressed to the next round of the Lakoseljac Cup.

Photo:  Zebras' Ben Robinson goes for a header in a crowded Clarence penalty area [PlessPix]

Interview with Hobart Zebras coach, David Smith.

Interview with Clarence United coach, Warren Burt.