The Clarence Zebras have claimed the first edition of the new look Eastern Shore Derby, as they overcame a 10 man Olympia outfit at Wentworth Park. In a physical game, Lachie Burt scored the lone marker against a Warriors side who were reduced to just 10 men following Callum Brown's dismissal in the 37th minute.
The win represents a big turnaround for the competition newcomers, who were humbled 5-1 by the Kingborough Lions last week in the Lakoseljac Cup, but they put in a much better shift and made the Warriors pay for their ill discipline to deal a big blow to their rivals in the process.
It was Olympia who started the brighter of the two sides and they had early chances to Hamlett, Ryan and Brown which failed to hit the mark.
It was clear from the outset there was plenty of feeling in this game, with the new look Eastern Shore Derby looking like it will be a heated one. Plenty of spot fouls around the ground and chirp from the players was evident as the game edged towards half time locked at 0-0.
The Zebras looked a compact unit in defence and were dealing well with the threat posed by the likes of Hamlett and Ryan leading the line for the Warriors.
Then the game turned as Callum Brown found himself given his marching orders on 37 minutes. Having been booked, albeit somewhat harshly earlier in the half, Brown was walking the disciplinary tightrope when he arrived second to the ball and collected Zebras centre back Byungtae Ahn in the shins, earning a second yellow from referee Brenton Kopra and seeing him sent from the pitch.
[caption id="attachment_14249" align="alignnone" width="1049"]
Brown's sending off turned the game- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Shortly after the restart and Darby Randall had his blushes spared after almost gifting a goal just two minutes into the half, rolling the ball far too close to Lachie Burt forcing a scrambled clearance that fell right back to Burt, who couldn't direct his volley and put it wide of a gaping net.
Fortunately for Burt he got a second crack at it when Ryan Cook slid him through on goal just two minutes later. One on one with Randall, Burt made no mistake this time, calmly placing his shot past the keeper and chalking up the Clarence Zebras first ever NPL Tasmania goal.
From there the game developed into a physical slug out, with the Zebras happy to absorb pressure and Olympia not looking overly like breaking them down. The Zebras defence did well with the rather direct style being implemented by the 10 man Warriors and shackled the powerful Ryan up top.
There were plenty of spot fire and yellow cards issued as the game approach the end and a frustrated Warriors side simply couldn't find the breakthrough. The final whistle rang out and the NPL newcomers celebrated a famous first up win over their local rivals, the final score 1-0.
Speaking post game, Coach David Smith told The Mercury's Daniel Thurley he was proud of his sides work rate in the win.
“We have 11 workers, and those 11 guys keep on working for one another,”
"The system worked for us and we thought it would. We created a few chances and we were able to hang on in the end.”
https://www.facebook.com/Clarencezebrasfc/videos/2656111554647836/
https://youtu.be/eVQYBrJ7X0M
Brown's sending off turned the game- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Shortly after the restart and Darby Randall had his blushes spared after almost gifting a goal just two minutes into the half, rolling the ball far too close to Lachie Burt forcing a scrambled clearance that fell right back to Burt, who couldn't direct his volley and put it wide of a gaping net.
Fortunately for Burt he got a second crack at it when Ryan Cook slid him through on goal just two minutes later. One on one with Randall, Burt made no mistake this time, calmly placing his shot past the keeper and chalking up the Clarence Zebras first ever NPL Tasmania goal.
From there the game developed into a physical slug out, with the Zebras happy to absorb pressure and Olympia not looking overly like breaking them down. The Zebras defence did well with the rather direct style being implemented by the 10 man Warriors and shackled the powerful Ryan up top.
There were plenty of spot fire and yellow cards issued as the game approach the end and a frustrated Warriors side simply couldn't find the breakthrough. The final whistle rang out and the NPL newcomers celebrated a famous first up win over their local rivals, the final score 1-0.
Speaking post game, Coach David Smith told The Mercury's Daniel Thurley he was proud of his sides work rate in the win.
“We have 11 workers, and those 11 guys keep on working for one another,”
"The system worked for us and we thought it would. We created a few chances and we were able to hang on in the end.”
https://www.facebook.com/Clarencezebrasfc/videos/2656111554647836/
https://youtu.be/eVQYBrJ7X0M