Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Steady as she goes in NPL Tasmania competition


Photo:  South Hobart's Andy Brennan lets fly at goal [PlessPix]

It was business as usual in the NPL Tasmania competition last weekend with the three leading teams winning comfortably.

That meant that leaders Devonport City stayed top of the pile after downing the visiting Kingborough Lions United 3-1 at home at Valley Road.

Brodie Denehey and Joel Stone gave Devonport a 2-0 lead at the interval before Danny Cowen pulled a goal back for the southerners 10 minutes after the resumption.

Todd Hingston scored just past the hour-mark to make the points safe for the North-West Coast outfit, who are the reigning champions and who are inching their way towards the title.

Second-placed Glenorchy Knights stayed 4 points adrift of Devonport after beating bottom-side Launceston City 3-1 away at Buckby Land Rover Park.

The Knights went ahead after just 3 minutes when the unfortunate Jarrod Linger put the ball into his own net.

Alex Walter increased Knights’ lead 10 minutes into the second half before Charlie Dyer pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 75th minute.

Ryan Backhouse made the game safe for Knights with a goal 6 minutes from the end.

Photo:  South Hobart's Kobe Kemp tackles Olympia's Nick Mearns.  Kemp was later injured and had to be replaced. [PlessPix]

There was a goal feast at South Hobart Oval, where Olympia demolished South Hobart 6-3 to move into third place on the standings.

It was quite an occasion for Olympia.  Their coach. Rob Clarke, announced before the game that he was getting married, while Olympia president George Mamacas sought me out and confided in me that he would be resigning as president and as a member of the club’s Board on Monday.

On the field, Olympia got stuck onto their task early and Nick Mearns fired them into the lead after just 13 minutes.

Nick Morton equalised for South Hobart from a penalty in the 25th minute.  Morton showed brilliant skills in flicking the ball up with his heel to beat the last man and head for goal, but he was upended by Olympia goalkeeper Darby Randall before he could shoot.  Morton took the spot-kick and sent Randall the wrong way to make it 1-1.

Photo:  South Hobart's Kasper Hallam gets past Olympia's Loic Feral, but Brayton Allan is waiting [PlessPix]

Olympia then scored three goals in 6 minutes, two of them in stoppage time at the end of the first half, to bury South Hobart at 4-1.

Declan Brown made it 2-1 when he raced down the left and drew keeper Nathan Reid before placing his shot inside the far post, while Mearns rose to a cross from the right by Adam Gorrie to head home his side’s third in the first minute of stoppage time.

Four minutes into time added on, Reid conceded a penalty and Jake Vandermey scored the spot-kick to send Olympia into the break with an unassailable 4-1 lead.

Callum Brown netted in the 70th minute to increase the visitors’ lead to 5-1 before substitute Guilherme de Souza netted for South in a goalmouth scramble to reduce the arrears.

Photo:  Olympia's Callum Brown tackles South Hobart's Tobias Herweynen [PlessPix]

Declan Brown grabbed his second goal for Olympia in the 79th minute to make it 6-2 for the visitors before South Hobart’s Morton completed his brace and make the final score 6-3 for Olympia.

Olympia’s biggest win over South Hobart dates back to 1995, when Olympia won 7-1.

South Hobart are shipping goals at an alarming rate and have now conceded 11 goals in three games.

Clarence Zebras moved further away from second-last Riverside Olympic by beating the northerners 4-1 at Wentworth Park through two goals by Riley Dillon and a goal apiece by Ryan Cook and James Ackerley.

Fletcher Fulton netted Riverside’s consolation goal 15 minutes from the end.

Photo:  South Hobart's Declan Foley beats Olympia's Nick Mearns to the ball [PlessPix]


NPL Tasmania details

South Hobart 3 (N Morton 25 pen, 87, G de Souza 73) lost to Olympia Warriors 6 (N Mearns 13, 45+1, D Brown 43, 79, C Brown 70, J Vandermey 45+4 pen)

Devonport City 3 (B Denehey 13, J Stone 32, T Hingston 62) Beat Kingborough Lions United 1 (D Cowen 55)

Clarence Zebras 4 (R Dillon 15,72,  R Cook 17, J Ackerley 89) beat Riverside Olympic 1 (F Fulton 75)

Launceston City 1 (C Dyer 73) lost to Glenorchy Knights 3 (J Linger 3 og, A Walter 55, R Backhouse 84)

Photo:  South Hobart's Kasper Hallam evades a tackle by Olympia's Joseph Mwarabu [PlessPix]

NPL Tasmania Standings (As at 26 September 2020)

TEAM
P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
Devonport City
10
9
1
0
19
6
28
Glenorchy Knights
10
8
0
2
29
8
24
Olympia Warriors
10
5
1
4
25
19
16
South Hobart
10
5
0
5
20
19
15
Kingborough Lions
10
4
3
3
16
24
15
Clarence Zebras
10
3
2
5
15
20
11
Riverside Olympic
10
1
2
7
13
26
5
Launceston City
10
0
1
9
9
24
1

Photo:  South Hobart's Kobe Kemp receives treatment from the club's physiotherapist Matt Lancaster [PlessPix]

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lots of detail as usual Walter. 1 exception, the Clarence Zebras game.Your blog but I can see how some claim bias. Keep up the good work. Between you and slice of I'm kept informed.

Anonymous said...

The NPL has only 4 games to go and the Southern Champ has 6 games left Is the Laka Cup played after the Southern Champ has finished?

Anonymous said...

Anon 9.08pm.
Really ? Complaining about report on the Clarence game?
A team in sixth position versus a team in seventh with a handful of points between them ?

Walter said...

Anonymous 8.18pm. Let me explain. I was not at the Clarence Zebras game and so had sparse details. That is why not much is said about the game. The same applies to games up north, which I am rarely able to attend. I attended the South Hobart v Olympia game and so had more information and lots of photos. Bias does not come into it. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Walter yo do not have to explain to nuff buffs who probably can’t tie up their shoe laces

Anonymous said...

Clarence Zebras people always wanting to complain about something. Don't worry Walter, most of us know you cant attend more than one game at a time. You do a great job.

Anonymous said...

It's a tough crowd out there Walter.

Anonymous said...

Sadly it's not South Hobart anymore Morton Incorporated sad times at Darcy St !

Anonymous said...

8:18Pm your a low life, bias. If you had some brains you would understand.

Anonymous said...

There goes Kingborough down to fifth.
A few more games and they may hit sixth.