Olympia make shaky start against Zebras before salvaging a 3-3 draw

Photo:  Zebras' Jayden Hey (left) clears from Olympia's Paul Stevens [PlessPix]

Hobart Zebras and Olympia Warriors drew 3-3 in a pre-season friendly at KGV Park tonight.

Zebras raced to a 3-0 lead within the opening 12 minutes and it seemed as if they would demolish the Warriors, but a brilliant goal by Jack Ryan put Olympia back in the hunt.

In the 6^th minute, Lachie Burt finished off a clinical Zebras attack down the right to put his side ahead from close range.

In the 10^th minute, Matthew Pace showed speed and good finishing to make it 2-0 and really put Olympia on the back foot.

Photo:  Zebras' Jordan Muller rides a tackle [PlessPix]

Things got worse for Olympia in the 12^th minute when the speedy Pace attacked down the left and scored with a low drive that hit the base of the far right-hand post and rebounded into the opposite corner of the net.

Pace might have had a hat-trick when he gained possession 20 metres out, but with Olympia keeper Kyle McDonald way off his line, Pace chose not to chip and squandered the chance when he tried to advance on goal but was off target with his shot.

Photo:  Olympia's Jack Ryan (right) tightly marked by Zebras' Jan Charuza [PlessPix]

Olympia pulled a goal back in the 38^th minute.  A magnificent pass out of midfield by English import Jordan Scott found his fellow import Jack Ryan, who chipped a wonderful goal to make it 3-1.

Ryan is going to be an important player for Olympia.  Last Saturday, he netted all four goals as Olympia beat South Hobart 4-2.

Olympia had goalkeeper McDonald sent off just before the interval after he handled the ball outside the box to halt a Zebras attack.

Photo:  Olympia keeper Kyle McDonald takes off his short after being sent off [PlessPix]

Zebras coach, David Smith, appealed to referee Tony Peart to allow Olympia a replacement keeper so that they wouldn’t be reduced to 10 men and the official agreed, given that it was only a friendly.

Veteran keeper Michael Moschogianis, who was on the bench, came on and produced several important saves in the second half to restore his team’s morale and enable them to work their way back into the game.

The second half saw Olympia have more of the play and their perseverance told as they fought back to draw 3-3 with almost the last kick of the game.

Photo:  Zebras keeper Sam Whatman about to foil Olympia's Jack Ryan [PlessPix]

Fifteen minutes from the end, the excellent Joffrey N’Koso made it 3-2 when he drilled a low shot from the right into the net.

In the final minute, Jonathan Mulungula grabbed the equaliser to salvage some pride for the Warriors, who had looked very lost after the first half an hour.

Neither side was at full strength, with Zebras missing Luke Huigsloot, Mathew Sanders and Luke Bighin, while Olympia were without new signing Jonathon Ladic as well as Nick Mearns, Warren Wadawu and Lucas Hill.

In another pre-season friendly played tonight, Metro downed University 9-1.

Photo:  Zebras coach David Smith (right) with his thinking cap on [PlessPix]

Knights wipe Clarence off the park

Photo:  Daniel Goodluck (No.11) scores the opener for Knights [PlessPix]

Glenorchy Knights easily accounted for fellow NPL Tasmania side Clarence United 8-0 in a pre-season friendly at KGV Park this evening.

The alarm bells must surely be ringing at Clarence and new coach Warren Burt has a huge job ahead of him to make them competitive.

Clarence had just one substitute and used goalkeeper Matt Dyson in the outfield, while newly signed goalkeeper Jake French played between the sticks for the entire 90 minutes.

French was very busy in the first half and he conceded just once.

That goal came in the 26^th minute from Daniel Goodluck, who swept the ball home after collecting a through ball inside the box on the right.

Photo:  Sam James about to scored the Knights' second goal [PlessPix]

The Knights could have led by four goals by that time, but French produced some outstanding saves to deny the Knights attackers.

It was a different story in the second half.  Something had to give, and it did, with the Knights netting seven times.

Declan Brown hit a hat-trick, Sam James grabbed a brace, and Alex Bellini netted once.

The remaining goal was an own-goal.

Photo:  Daniel Goodluck winds up and shoots [PlessPix]

Knights were without several regular first-team players.

Jonathon Ladic signed this week with Olympia Warriors, Mathew Nowicki was injured, and Thomas Bellini, Tom Young and Callum Brown were all absent.

New signing Lachie Hart, from South Hobart, was in goal in the first half for Knights, while James Wilson took over in goal for the second half but barely touched the ball.

Clarence were missing two or three players from last year who are expected to front up for the league season, but the omens are not good.

Photo:  A Knights defender clears while under pressure [PlessPix]

They have now conceded 9 goals and scored just one in two recent friendlies.

The irony is that Clarence replaced Glenorchy Knights three seasons ago in the NPL after the Knights finished last with a horrific goal-difference.

Tonight, the Knights thrashed a Clarence outfit that finished last in 2018 with an abysmal goal-difference but survived in the NPL, probably because the competition was to be expanded to 10 teams for 2019.

Northern Rangers subsequently withdrew, making it a 9-team competition for 2019.

Photo:  Knights keeper Lachie Hart eyes the ball as Clarence keeper but outfielder in this match, Matt Dyson, moves in [PlessPix]

Clarence can consider themselves fortunate that Football Federation Tasmania didn’t subsequently decide that the competition would remain an 8-team league and that Clarence’s results were not worthy of them retaining their place.

Such a decision would probably not have been fair as Clarence would not have had sufficient notice.

But, after results such as tonight’s, one must wonder if they are worthy of a spot in the top flight.

Photo:  Declan Brown and George Hallard challenge Jeremy Price in the air [PlessPix]

More pre-season games scheduled

There are two pre-season friendlies this week.

On Wednesday, Glenorchy Knights take on Clarence United at KGV Park at 7.30pm.

On Thursday, Hobart Zebras play Olympia Warriors at KGV Park at 7pm.

Olympia Warriors will visit Melbourne from 1-3 February and play Moreland City, of the Victorian NPL2 competition, and Boonerong Eagles, of the State League 2.

Former Olympia players Manuel Tsakiris and Zac Piesse play for Boonerang.

“We’re trying to start a relationship there to benefit both clubs,” said Olympia Warriors coach, Rob Clarke.

Olympia Warriors will play Keilor Park at Warrior Park on Saturday, 9 February 2019, at 3pm.

Keilor Park are coming to Hobart to play Glenorchy Knights.

South Hobart will host Pascoe Vale on 2 February.

South Hobart are also scheduled to take on Launceston City away in Launceston.

North Sunshine Eagles beat Zebras by a single goal

Photo:  Zebras' Dwayne Walsh grapples with Eagles' Ardi Ahmeti as Zebras' Jordan Muller watches [PlessPix]

(Interstate Friendly, South Hobart Oval, Saturday, 19 January 2019)

Hobart Zebras 0

North Sunshine Eagles 1 (Simon Tolli 53’)

HT:  0-0   Att:  120   Ref:  N Coad

Hobart Zebras:  Sam Whatman  -  Dwayne Walsh, Luke Bighin, Jan Charuza, Riley Dillon  -  Daniel Lapolla, Jordan Muller, Jeyden Hey  -  Matthew Pace, Luke Huigsloot, Mathew Sanders  (Subs:  Nathan Reid, Lachie Burt, Jonny Jones, Jimmy Ackerley, Nicky Edwards, Ryan Backhouse, Adam McKeown)

North Sunshine Eagles:  Zaim Zeneli  -  Yoshitatsu Itano, Darren Lewis, Besnik Kutleshi, Edison Ponari  -  Ilir Pali, Shane Rexhepi, Simon Tolli, Adnan Jumeri  -  Ardi Ahmeti, Kazuki Okada  (Subs:  Nicholas Bilchardz, Robert Zadworny, Deillon Memishi, Durim Acura)

Photo:  The North Sunshine Eagles players get a feel for the South Hobart pitch before the game [PlessPix]

North Sunshine Eagles beat Hobart Zebras 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at South Hobart Oval on Saturday.

The first half was goalless, but the Victorian visitors could have been three goals in front by the time the half-time whistle went.

Kazuki Okada missed a good chance early on, as did Ardi Ahmeti, as the visitors put together some excellent passages of play utilising the width of the pitch and interchanging positions seamlessly.

On the half-hour, Yoshitatsu Itano, who was excellent in defence, ventured forward but blasted his shot high over the goal.

Photo:  Simon Tolli is congratulated by team-mates after scoring the decisive goal [PlessPix]

The breakthrough came 8 minutes after the resumption when an attack down the right by Itano cut open the Zebras defence.  The ball reached Simon Tolli and he netted from dead in front and 12 metres out past a static rearguard.

Zebras did not drop their heads, however, and they created at least three excellent chances of their own.

Matthew Pace was thwarted by Eagles keeper Zaim Zeneli when presented with a one-on-one situation in which a goal seemed inevitable.

Photo:  Zebras' Jayden Hey (left) in a tangle with North Sunshine Eagles' Adnan Jumeri [PlessPix]

Zebras substitute Lachie Burt had two great chances, but the youngster fired narrowly wide on both occasions.

Eagles had a fine chance late in the match to kill off the game when they beat the off-side trap, but the attacker was bundled over and was unable to get in a shot.  There were, however, no penalty appeals by the visitors and they seemed happy to settle for the 1-0 win.

Photo:  Kazuki Okada gets past Zebras' Victorian defender Riley Dillon [PlessPix]

Hobart Zebras coach David Smith said:

“I was pretty happy, to be honest.  It was a really good workout to play against a team that attacked fairly well and took the game to us.

“We tried to play a 4-4-2 diamond in the first half, but probably got exploited a little bit because we just didn’t quite cover the width.  Their wingers hurt us a little bit and their fullbacks pushing on.  But, we’re trying this system and seeing what we can do and where we can go.

“I was pretty happy with the majority of it, but we didn’t get enough support in and we weren’t confident enough on the ball.

“Second half, I thought we came out and played a little bit better, backed ourselves a little more and went to a 4-3-3 and created a couple of chances.  They had a few more chances but the result was probably fair in the end.

“For us, there were lots of little positives.  I was really happy with Jayden [Hey].  That was his first game for the year.  Sammy [Whatman] played his first game in goal and I was pleased with that.  I thought it was the best I’ve seen Jan [Charuza] play since I’ve been here.  There were lots of little positives out of it.

“It’s great to play someone else, a team not from here and who want to play football. They’re an adult team.  We’re a young team.  They’re spending a fair amount of dollars trying to win the league this year and this is their big year, so they’ve got some good players and they’re men, and we don’t have the men to physically match them.”

Photo:  North Sunshine Eagles starting line-up against Hobart Zebras [PlessPix]

North Sunshine Eagles coach Arben Isai said:

“We were very happy.  A lot of us got off the plane three or four hours ago. It was a tough ask to come down here with not our entire squad.

“Especially the first half, in my opinion, we were quite good.  We created a lot of chances.  I said to the boys I would have taken two, potentially three, in that first half.  I was very happy,

“Second half, obviously, Hobart, to their credit, made some changes and went more attacking and they probably had the ascendancy, but we defended well.

“Zaim [Zeneli] had to save a couple of one-on-one chances, which he saved quite well.  You need that as it’s important to keepers.

“We’re very happy with that.  We ground out the last 15 minutes and probably could have snared a couple of the counter ourselves.  I’m very happy with the boys.”