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Pre-season Friendlies (28 January 2023)
(South Hobart Oval)
South Hobart 3 (Jackson Dent 12, Iskander Van Doorne 26, Sam Lancaster 69) drew with Dandenong Thunder 3 (Joshua Meaker 20, Seva Ismali 60, Grad Daman 76)
(Under-21s)
South Hobart 1-0 Riverside Olympic
(Pembroke Park, Sorell)
South East United 1-0 New Town White Eagles
South East United 2-4 Launceston City
New Town White Eagles 1-2 Launceston City
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South Hobart will host Victorian side Dandenong Thunder at 2pm at South Hobart tomorrow.
Dandenong finished 8th in the 14-team Victorian NPL last season.
Former ace Tasmanian striker Brayden Mann plays for them, but he is currently injured and won’t face his former side tomorrow.
One former South Hobart player who will face his former club is winger Kasper Hallam.
Hallam left South Hobart at the beginning of last season to join A-League club Melbourne Victory, but has now signed for Dandenong Thunder for the 2023 NPL Victoria season.
South Hobart have signed former keeper Nick O’Connell after he competed a season with A-League outfit Brisbane Roar.
He will vie for the number one goalkeeping berth with last year’s senior keeper Jake Hayers.
Centre-back Luke Bighin has left South Hobart and signed for Brunswick Juventus in Melbourne. They are in NPL Victoria 2.
His fellow centre-back Loic Feral will not play as he is due to return to France on holiday for a period.
South Hobart will also be without precocious striker Josh Divin, who has joined A-League club Western United’s under-23s.
Utility player Jayden Hey will be another absentee as he is in Europe on a delayed honeymoon.
South Hobart were beaten 2-1 a couple of weeks agon by Glenorchy Knights in a pre-season friendly and tomorrow’s game will be tougher, especially in the expected high temperatures.
“We’ve got some players away but I’m happy where we are at this stage of pre-season,” said South Hobart coach, Ken Morton.
“We’re probably not as advanced as in other years because we started a little bit later.
“This will be our first practice game in a while against interstate teams because of COVID.”
Morton said he would be looking to give his more experienced players plenty of game time and he would also play some youngsters to give them experience.
“If I get an hour in with the top players, then I’ll be quite happy,” Morton said.
The curtain-raiser at 11.45am will be between South Hobart’s Under-21s and Riverside Olympic’s Under-21s.
In other pre-season friendlies, Launceston City will travel to Sorell to meet New Town White Eagles at 2pm and South East United at noon.
Glenorchy Knights 4 (Mearns, Schmidt, Dzelakowski 2)
New Town White Eagles 2 (Taylor, Huigsloot)
HT: 2-1 Ref: Z Van Toor
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Glenorchy Knights looked as if they may have a good 2023 NPL season as they beat New Town White Eagles 4-2 in a pre-season friendly on the new artificial KGV Park pitch tonight.
Knights had much the same line-up as last season, but Nick Mearns was back and opened the scoring with a neat finish from the right early in the game.
Tyler Harrison and Eli Luttmer were at the heart of their defence and looked very fit.
Youngster Angus Burdon was between the sticks and did well, but Knights are sure to have a more experienced keeper by the time the season starts.
Andy Taylor was a new signing for New Town White Eagles and scored an excellent equaliser, following a fine build-up, shortly after Knights had taken the lead.
Daniel Schmidt put Knights ahead with a low shot through a wall of players to send the Knights in at the first break [the games consisted of three-half-hour thirds).
The Knights kicked towards the AFL ground for the first two thirds, before finally kicking towards the River Derwent end in the final third.
Dzelakowsi increased Knights' lead to 3-1 before scoring his second to make it 4-1.
Luke Huisgloot pulled a goal back for Eagles to make it 4-2 for Knights at the end.
Knights should have led by more than 2-1 after the first third. Nick Naden hit the crossbar and also fired over when well-placed, as did several of his team-mates.
Knights looked much fitter than Eagles. Their 2-1 win over South Hobart a few weeks ago augurs well for the season ahead.
Football was the winner when A-League club Western United, the reigning champions, sent their men’s and women’s sides to Hobart on the weekend.
The club ran a junior coaching clinic at North Hobart Oval on Wednesday and Thursday last week and it was very well attended.
The men’s and women’s teams did light training sessions at North Hobart Oval on Friday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s games.
The double-header attracted 5,127 fans, which is, I think, a record for an A-League game in Hobart.
It was a game for points and not just a friendly, as has been the case in the past, so it bodes well for a Tasmanian A-League team in the future.
*****
North Hobart Oval was looking a picture for Saturday’s games.
The pitch was in excellent shape and the organisation by the A-League was first-class.
It must have been a huge logistical exercise, but credit must go to the Australian Professional Leagues, who run the A-League and the Liberty League (Women’s A-League), as well as to Western United.
It all went off without a hitch. Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar must also be commended for coming to the party and making the day such a success.
There is something exciting about watching professional football live rather than on television. It enables one to soak up the atmosphere and realise how good the players are.
There is on-going debate about the pros and cons of rectangular stadiums as opposed to ovals.
I concede that the action is often far away on an oval, but to say Tasmania needs a rectangular ground for us to have an A-League side is disingenuous.
A-League games are often played on ovals interstate, so to say that we must have a rectangular ground before we can be granted an A-League licence is misleading.
Overseas, football at the top level is often played in stadiums that have Olympic running tracks around the perimeter, so what’s the problem here?
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Of course, a rectangular boutique stadium would be ideal, but to say the absence of one precludes Tasmania from being granted an A-League licence is putting the cart before the horse.
AFL is facing the same situation. In a time when money is scarce, why should Tasmania be denied having an AFL team just because there is not a new stadium? Blundstone Arena at Bellerive and UTAS Stadium in Launceston are more than adequate. That is an aside, though.
Judging from the number of youngsters who showed interest in Western United’s visit, football can be king in Tasmania if things are handled properly.
*****
The two games were exciting, if not exactly brilliant.
Western United’s women’s team is top of the league and they beat Brisbane Roar 2-0.
United were under pressure early on but survived and went on to win with goals just before half-time and shortly after the resumption.
Photo: Aimee Medwin (right) as Western United women come in at half-time. [PlessPix]
It was nice to see our own Tasmanian player, Aimee Medwin, in action for Western United.
Another pleasing aspect was that Tasmanian referee Claire Green was assistant referee for this game.
All we really need to complete the trifecta was for Tasmania’s FIFA-listed referee Lauren Hargrave to have been involved.
In the men’s game, there was plenty of great action, including some fine shooting and superb saves by the goalkeepers.
Western United went close to scoring when midfielder Tongo Doumbia fired just wide with an absolute bullet. Seeing such a shot in real life showed its power and speed, which might be a bit deceptive on television.
Sydney FC’s Adam Le Fondre produced a magnificent overhead scissors kick in the second half which brought out a wonderful save from Western United keeper Jamie Young.
Socceroos keeper Andrew Redmayne was also in fine form, saving brilliantly from Dylan Pierias in the second half.
Redmayne was caught slightly out of position when late substitute Alessandro Diamanti scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute.
Diamanti, who had only come on in the 80th minute, spotted Redmayne slightly off his line and chipped the ball from the left and 45 metres out over the keeper and inside the far right-hand side of the net, to the jubilation of his team-mates and the Western United supporters.
It was a goal worthy of deciding the match and it will go down as one of the goals of the season in the A-League. It may even be the goal of the season.
*****
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Sydney FC did bring some supporters down with them.
A small but vocal group sat at the eastern side of the ground and chanted and waved flags during the game.
A lone drummer at the other end was obviously supporting Western United and it all added to the atmosphere on a very successful day for football in Tasmania.
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*****
On a personal note, I suffered a misfortune when attending Friday’s training sessions. My youngest grandson had wanted to watch with his mates so I took him.
I had parked the car and we were watching the training when I heard a rather loud crunching noise and people started yelling.
What had happened? Western United’s team bus had hit my car as the bus was backing out of the ground.
I walked over to see what the damage was and was somewhat relieved that the bus had not hit the body of the car. It had neatly shaved off the front number plate and scratched a bit of the grille.
I’m having it repaired this week. I guess it could have been much worse. But, I’ll always remember this Western United visit to Hobart because they certainly left their mark.
*****
As I entered the ground on Saturday, a friendly Western United official asked me why I wasn’t wearing my Western United cap.
I replied that, as a reporter, I had to remain neutral.
I was soon given a lovely Western United scarf.
It was a nice gesture and I thank Western United for that kindness, and for the access they gave me to players and officials.
At training on Friday, I spoke briefly to Alessandro Diamanti and told him that I thought he was the best player in the A-League the previous season.
After his goal on Saturday, I spoke to him again and complimented him on the superb goal.
He smiled and said: “Thank you very much. You gave me the vibe at training yesterday.”
I knew he was joking, but this interaction
capped off a very enjoyable day personally, and atoned slightly for the mishap
involving my car the previous day.
