The night George Best played in Devonport

Photos (top to Bottom): White Eagle...State League champions in 1989; Ken Morton with George Best...clipping from The Advocate; The author with George Best; George Best and the author in the dressingroom; Carlo Ambrosino...with Olympia at the time; A Caledonian team of that era, with Glenn Stewart in goal

George Best first came to Tasmania in 1989.

Ken Morton, who was coaching Devonport City that year, arranged the visit.

Best played for Devonport City XI in a friendly against a Tasmanian XI at Valley Road at 8pm on a weeknight in early July before a crowd of 1,800.

He conducted coaching clinics that day from 4.30pm to 5.30pm for selected youngsters and spectators were welcome.

A function for players and sponsors was held at the Valley Road clubrooms from 6pm to 6.45pm.

A couple of friends and I drove to Devonport after work to watch the game and we got home some time after midnight.

It was the first time I’d interviewed Best. I was to do so again a couple of years later when Morton, now at Olympia, brought Best and Denis Law to Hobart for an all-star friendly at South Hobart.

The squads for the game at Devonport were:

Devonport City XI: Smith, Chilcott, Rimmer, K Smith, Hendey, Best, Gleeson, Boyd, Nethery, Morton, Sawdon, Frame, Pizzerani, Oliver, Jones, Mann, Meldrum

Tasmanian XI: Connell, P Davidson, Monagle, M Leszczynski, Foote, Howe, Crosson (capt), Goldmsith, Nichols, Parker, Heys, Stoddart, A Guilbert, T Compagne, Di Pietro [Coach: A McDonald; Trainer: P Goldsmith]

The match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Anthony Rimmer netted the first for Devonport in the 18^th minute after Neil Connell could only parry a shot from George Best, but Ian Parker equalised in the 28^th minute.

Sawdon restored Devonport’s lead from Ken Morton’s corner a minute before the break.

Craig Nichols grabbed an equaliser for Tasmania midway through the second half.

The thing I will never forget was David Crosson’s challenge on Best, the first time he touched the ball in the opening minutes of the game.

Crosson, a former Newcastle United player, upended Best without a second thought and, for a few seconds, it was feared he had put the star performer out of the match before it had even properly started.

Fortunately, Best was able to resume, and Crosson was told, in no uncertain terms, by Morton and a few other senior players, to calm down and let the ageing genius show some of his stuff.

It was a good era for Tasmanian football at the time, with the Cadbury State League in existence.

Here are some of the squads that played in that league in 1989. They are listed in finishing order, with White Eagle having been crowned the Cadbury State League champions:

White Eagle (52 points): Groenewoud, Nicholson, Banasik, Driessen, M Leszczynski, A Leszczynski, Previdi, Stoddart, R Leszczynski, Harwood, C Pitt, Hildyard, Ketchell

Hobart Juventus (37 points): Neil Connell, Michael McIntyre, Nick Di Martino, John McIntyre, Frank Genovesi, Romeo Fabrizio, Steve Kannegiesser, Kelly, Billy Stanford, Romeo Frediani, Bruce Pears, David Nicholls, Tickner

Olympia (36 points): P Kannegiesser, Thompson, Hey, Berwick, G McNeil, Goldsmith, Ambrosino, Xanthopoulos, Koch, Nichols, Munro, Edwards, Crosson

Launceston Juventus (32 points): Warren Dent, David Craig, Paul Gimpl, Ewert, Liam Monagle, Luigi Gugliotti, Peter Savill, Roger Mies, Heys, Mark Nikolai, John Visentin, Jens Streit, Don Gardner

Devonport City (31 points): Bob Smith, Darren Chicott, Ian Hendey, Anthony Rimmer, Kevin Smith, Stewart Oliver, Wayne Boyd, Peter Sawdon, Tim Jones, Billy Frame, Noel Nethery, Fabio Pizzerani, Ken Morton

Ulverstone (21 points): Rod Andrews, John ‘Snow’ Compagne, Michael Foote, M Bertucci, David Mitchell, Andrew Howe, Tom Compagne, Anthony Guilbert, M Jones, John Sallese, Fred Guilbert, L Jones

Caledonian (20 points): Stewart, Paplos, Grainger, Fenlon, Huigsloot, Connell, Pullen, Calvert, Wesson, Sherman, D Anderton, Salter, Parker

Launceston (18 points): Q Darby, G Pennicott, P Davidson, J Smith, G Reading, P Davis, M Graccogna, D McNeil, B Barac, C Hughes, A Fraser, N Strickland, A Wayne

Burnie United (7 points): Mark Overton, Ricky Joseph, Howard Edwards, L Dyer, Pat Troughton, Russell Troughton, S Foley, Hugo Luttmer, Kevin Considine, Scipio Luttmer, Andrew Starick, D Timms, Steven Eastley, Mike Denton

Croatia (4 points): Z Belanic, I Eyles, M Begovic, Brian, Bessell, C Barrell, T Hussein, B Davidson, R Huigsloot, Zajec, T Dzelalija, C McKenzie, N Thomas

Beachside victorious over Olympia in friendly

Division One club Beachside beat Premier League outfit Olympia 2-1 in a practice match at Wellesley Park this morning.

Bernhard Klasen and Sebastian Milford were Beachside’s marksmen.

Kim Barker was the referee.

Tactical changes at half time by Culina give the Jets victory over the Roar

Newcastle Jets scored an important 2-0 away win over Brisbane Roar before a crowd of 6,680 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last night.

After a goalless opening half, the tide turned in favour of the visitors as Matt Thompson was pushed forward by Jets coach Branko Culina.

Thompson gave Newcastle the lead in the 50^th minute from a clever and well-timed pass by Michael Bridges.

Bridges made it 2-0 five minutes later from a penalty, awarded for a handball offence by Matt Mundy.

Tempers flared on several occasions, with several players shown the yellow card, but there were no send-offs.

The result puts Newcastle fourth and leaves Brisbane in eighth place.

Melbourne glory in 6-2 victory over Perth

Photos (Top to Bottom): Rodrigo Vargas...scored own-goal against Perth; Victory coach Ernie Merrick was delighted with the win; Leigh Broxham played well at left-back and took some dangerous corners for Melbourne [PlessPix]

Melbourne Victory are second on the A-League ladder after a convincing 6-2 mauling of sixth-ranked Perth Glory on a shocking surface at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne last night.

Indeed, Perth coach Dave Mitchell almost refused to play the match on a surface that looked like a farm paddock after a New Year Eve concert on the ground.

The crowd of 20,448 were eventually treated to a goal avalanche and the playing conditions were forgotten.

Archie Thompson fired Victory into a 4^th-minute lead after a superb through-ball by Carlos Hernandez.

Robbie Kruse made it 2-0 in the 12^th minute.

A minute later, only a fine save by Tando Velaphi denied Thompson a second goal.

An own-goal by Rodrigo Vargas following a corner in the 20^th minute put Perth back into the game, but Kruse got on to the end of a marvellous Victory move involving Nick Ward, Thompson and Tommy Pondeljak to restore Victory’s two-goal buffer in the 26^th minute.

In the 29^th minute, Velaphi again produced a first-class save, this time to deny Hernandez.

Kruse completed his hat-trick in the 39^th minute and the Melbourne players trooped to the dressing rooms with a 4-1 lead at half-time.

Mile Sterjovski made it two goals the difference when he hit a wonderful low drive from just outside the box as the Melbourne defence retreated and failed to shut him down as he ran through from midfield.

But, a 79^th minute penalty, awarded for Jacob Burns’s foul on Thompson, was converted coolly by Kevin Muscat to make it 5-2 for the home side.

Hernandez capped an excellent display with Melbourne’s sixth goal 8 minutes from the end. He beat the Perth off-side trap and rolled the ball through Velaphi’s legs and into the net.