Launceston City were too much for the travelling Kingborough Lions in their Round 11 clash at Buckby Land Rover Park. The win comes less than two weeks after the first meeting between the two sides which ended in a stalemate. This time, however, Launceston City prevailed and in spectacular fashion. A brace from Mies and one each from Linger and Dyer was the difference between the two sides this time around.
The game was evenly matched inside the first 15 minutes, with both sides exchanging attacks in an end-to-end battle. Mies was the one to break the deadlock with a well-placed strike from just outside the area to beat Perkinson. The City striker's goal seemingly sparked newfound confidence in his teammates and throughout the rest of the half, they were able to pressure Kingborough's defence more consistently.
The problem for the Lions was that they could not find an avenue to goal throughout the entirety of the first half. City gave away no less than six free kicks inside the first 20 minutes of the match, providing set-piece specialist Chris Downes with a plethora of opportunities to make something happen for his team. However, none came to fruition and Kingborough's struggles would continue.
City doubled their lead shortly after the break with some brilliant link-up play between some of their young stars. Joe Dorazio threaded a through-ball in behind of the Lions' defence which Mies latched on to. Mies calmly cut it back from the byline to Linger who was waiting to tap it home from inside the six-yard box.
The Launceston side's third goal was less elegant and there was some contention about who can claim it. After winning a free-kick, Mitreski lobbed the ball to the back post where Charlie Dyer was waiting to head it back into the middle. Perkinson came out to claim it but was put off by Degetto who went up to challenge the keeper. Neither player could get a touch and it will go down as Dyer's goal.
City's fourth and final goal came less than ten minutes later with Mies grabbing a second. Linger held his pass to give Mitreski time and space in behind of the Kingborough defence before playing him through. Mitreski held the ball up just before the byline and scooped the ball centrally onto the chest of Mies. The centre forward brought it down and powerfully volleyed it, leaving Perkinson with no hope of keeping it out.
The credit does not lie solely with City's attack, but also with their defence who managed to keep an impressive clean sheet. As we've come to expect, Lachlan Clark performed in the most critical of times. There were times that the Lions could have grabbed themselves a goal and changed the shape of the match. Clark stood up and kept them at bay to ensure his attackers had the freedom to express themselves in front of goal.