Devonport City regained top spot on the NPL Tasmania standings with a 2-2 draw away to fourth-placed Hobart Zebras at KGV Park on Sunday.
Olympia Warriors had moved into
first place by a point after their 3-1 win over third-ranked South Hobart on Friday
night at Warrior Park.
Devonport and Olympia are now
level on 44 points, but Devonport’s superior goal-difference puts them on top
and they also have a game in hand.
The stage is now set for a mammoth
encounter at Valley Road next Saturday when Devonport host Olympia.
South Hobart arguably produced
the better football against Olympia, but their inability to score cost them
dearly.
Dominating possession doesn’t
always win football matches, and so it proved at Warrior Park, where Olympia’s American
defender, Bay Kurtz, was man-of-the-match.
Kurtz showed his versatility as a
defender and his reliability when under pressure.
Olympia hit the front when
Jonathon Mulungula netted in the 20th minute and they led 1-0 at the
interval.
Bradley Lakoseljac equalised with
a trailing leg after Loic Feral had nodded Nick Morton’s free-kick down inside
the box.
Joffrey N’Koso restored Olympia’s
lead in the 72nd minute, nodding home from close range after South
Hobart keeper Graeme Wright had parried his first effort from Jordan Scott’s
corner.
An opportunistic goal by Jack Ryan
in the third minute of stoppage time completed the Warriors’ win. Ryan and South Hobart defender Jack Bowman
chased a ball down the right flank and when Bowman lost his footing and went
down, Ryan gained possession. Looking
up, he saw Wright way off his line and he chipped the keeper from range to make
it 3-1.
Photo: Zebras' Jayden Hey holds off Devonport's Joel Stone [PlessPix]
Devonport regained top spot on
Sunday when two goals by substitute Daniel Syson gave them a point against
Hobart Zebras.
In an ill-tempered affair in
which Zebras finished the game with 9 men, Zebras took the lead on the stroke
of half-time with a brilliant attack.
Luke Huigsloot played the ball from midfield to the left to Nicky
Edwards, who was given time to stand on the ball and then back-heel it to the
advancing Mathew Sanders.
Sanders cut the ball in from the
left and Matthew Pace poked it home from close range before Keiran Mulraney
could tackle him, prompting a furious outburst by Devonport keeper Nathan
Pitchford, who directed his fury at his defenders for ball-watching and failing
to mark opponents.
Devonport should have scored 5 minutes before the break when an error by Zebras keeper Sam Whatman gifted the ball to the opposition, but Thomas Little was back to clear the shot off the line.
Zebras missed a great opportunity after the break to go 2-0 up when Pace was put through with only the keeper to beat, but Pitchford made himself big and saved in the one-on-one situation.
Devonport should have scored 5 minutes before the break when an error by Zebras keeper Sam Whatman gifted the ball to the opposition, but Thomas Little was back to clear the shot off the line.
Zebras missed a great opportunity after the break to go 2-0 up when Pace was put through with only the keeper to beat, but Pitchford made himself big and saved in the one-on-one situation.
In the 71st minute,
Zebras defender Jan Charuza, who was one of their better players, was shown a
second yellow card and sent off. It didn’t
take long for Devonport to take advantage of their numerical superiority.
Devonport substitute Daniel Syson
equalised in the 75th minute.
Miles Barnard got a head to Joel Stone’s free-kick and knocked the ball
skywards before copping a gloved fist to the head by Zebras keeper Sam Whatman. As the ball came down, Syson nipped in and
planted his header into the net from point-blank range to make it 1-1.
The game appeared destined for a
draw, but Zebras substitute Adam McKeown, making his first appearance for a couple
of weeks because of a hamstring strain, fired home from the left and into the
far right-hand corner of the net to give his side a 2-1 lead.
As Zebras celebrated, a sudden
rush of blood to the head must have affected Riley Dillon, who rushed at
Mulraney and flattened him. Mr White,
the referee, had little option but to produce a red card, reducing Zebras to nine
men.
That was like throwing a
life-line to the visitors and, in the 5th minute of stoppage time,
Devonport equalised again. A long
throw-in from the left was flicked on by Mulraney and Syson sent a powerful
header into the net to make it 2-2.
Photo: Devonport's Joel Stone fends off Zebras' Nicky Edwards and Jayden Hey [PlessPix]
“This game was always going to be
physical,” said Zebras coach, David Smith.
“We were very upset with what happened in the [cup] quarterfinal and we
came out today to prove it.
“Today, we just tried to keep the
ball a lot more, which we did much better than we have been.
“I thought, against the wind, we
were very, very good. We managed to play
out against the wind, which is bloody hard work, and we built things up. We created some good chances in the first
half, which we didn’t take.
“The second half, we knew we were
going to be under the pump and we got too deep.
Matthew [Pace] missed a one-on-one.
The boy got into a good position to finish it and he didn’t.
“The send-off obviously changes
everything, but losing Jordan Muller early changed everything.
“The equaliser was fair. There was noting wrong with that. We then pinched one to go 2-1 up and then you
lose it again, but that’s football.”
Devonport coach, Rick Coghlan,
was disappointed at earning just a point.
“It certainly boiled over [the
last 5 minutes], and I think it shows the rivalry between the clubs,” Coghlan
said.
“I’m all for it. Maybe not to that extent, but there has to be
healthy rivalry in top-flight competitions.
“Bring it on. It was a wild game with a crazy finish.
“I’m massively disappointed. Away from home against a rival, we’re here to
win games. We’re not here to play for a point. I won’t speak for oppositions, but we’re here
for three points and so to leave two on the table is massively disappointing. I thought we were the ones looking for the win.
“Our objective was three points, and
we didn’t achieve it.”
Photo: Kingborough goalkeeper Kenneth Perkinson punches clear [PlessPix]
Sixth-placed Launceston City
downed fifth-ranked Kingborough Lions United 2-0 away at Lightwood Park through
second-half goals by Thomas Ottavi and MacKenzie Hancox.
Second-last Riverside Olympic
also beat bottom-side Clarence United 2-0 at home at Windsor Park, with Englishman
Chris Wademan netting both goals.
Photo: Kingborough keeper Kenneth Perkinson takes a cross while under pressure from Launceston City's Scott Murray [PlessPix]
NPL Tasmania (As at 21 July 2019)
TEAM
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
Pts
|
Devonport City
|
17
|
14
|
2
|
1
|
64
|
14
|
44
|
Olympia Warriors
|
18
|
14
|
2
|
2
|
58
|
18
|
44
|
South Hobart
|
17
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
54
|
23
|
33
|
Hobart Zebras
|
18
|
8
|
6
|
4
|
53
|
36
|
30
|
Kingborough Lions
|
18
|
7
|
1
|
10
|
34
|
39
|
22
|
Launceston City
|
17
|
6
|
3
|
8
|
28
|
30
|
21
|
Glenorchy Knights
|
17
|
5
|
2
|
10
|
39
|
37
|
17
|
Riverside Olympic
|
16
|
3
|
1
|
12
|
15
|
46
|
10
|
Clarence United
|
18
|
1
|
0
|
17
|
5
|
116
|
3
|
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