Launceston City have secured their first win of the season and northern bragging rights, downing Riverside Olympic 3-1 at Windsor Park on Saturday afternoon.
The game had it all, with a brace to Sam Ridgard, a penalty, a red card, and an outfield player pulling on the keeper shirt all contributing to a famous derby win.
City began the game well, with Dyer and Mohammadi combining on the left wing. Shots fell to Ridgard and Mies before the men in black and white opened the scoring. The visitors first goal came in the 18th minute when Lindsay Millington played a long ball down the pitch. Riverside’s defence then failed to clear the ball well, with it spilling into the path of Sam Ridgard. Ridgard then placed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal, putting his side one goal up.
Just six minutes after the opening goal City had another and this time Ridgard was the provider. Ridgard attacked the goal line with pace before cutting back to Noah Mies in the box. Mies then took a touch before striking the ball into the back of the net and doubling his sides lead.
The home side began to make their way back into the contest as the half wore on, with Nil Sanz forcing a big save from Lachlan Clark. However, ultimately it was the visitors who dominated the first half, with City looking likely to make another breakthrough, yet the score remained 2-0 as the halftime whistle blew.
The second half began more even than the first, with both sides creating chances. Fleming hit a header straight to Hill, Ressig had a cross cleared and Sanz hit over the bar. In the 57th minute Sanz hit what would have been a goal of the season contender when he struck a bicycle kick, however it went over the crossbar.
Five minutes after Sanz’s bicycle, drama struck down the other end of the pitch, with Jarrod Hill being judged to have touched the ball outside the box. This gifted a dangerous chance to the visitors; however, it was the home side who would score next.
In the 66th minute Humphrey whipped a ball into the box that struck the hand of a City defender. This led the referee to point to the spot and Sanz made no mistake, hitting home and moving the score to 2-1 with plenty of time left to play.
This goal brought life back to the contest and tensions rose as the game drew closer to a conclusion. The team that scored next would have all the momentum, and it was the visitors that hit home.
Launceston’s third goal came once again through Sam Ridgard. This chance came after Mies broke through in the middle of the pitch, playing a ball through to Ridgard who finishes well, moving the score to 3-1 with 82 minutes played.
Despite being two goals down the home side refused to give up, and in the 93rd minute a dramatic red card gave them a small amount of hope. This red card went to Launceston keeper Lachlan Clark who was shown a straight red for his challenge on Fletcher Fulton. This red put the visitors down to ten men, and Robert Gerrard pulled on the keeper’s shirt to end the game. Despite consecutive corners and a freekick following the red, the home side were unable to score again, leaving Launceston to run out 3-1 winners.
The win sees Launceston remain in eighth on the table, now just one point off Riverside in seventh.
Next week City play host to Olympia at Buckby Land Rover Park whilst Riverside travel to KGV to take on Glenorchy Knights, both on Saturday at 4:30pm.