The Kingborough Lions have shown that their Summer Cup title was no fluke, taking down the defending champion Devonport Strikers in a 2-0 win. A pair of early goals saw the Lions race into the lead at UTAS Stadium, before they held their nerve late in what was a fairly dour affair.
Much like in the WSL game beforehand, both sides took their time as they adjusted to the bigger playing surface at UTAS Stadium. The Strikers looked to use the extra width to their advantage with long passes to space and the Lions tested goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford with a series of aerial balls, but neither plan had much effect through the first ten minutes.
All it takes is one good passage of play to change the game, though, and the Lions found theirs in the 12th minute. A midfield scrap eventually saw the ball spill free to Adam McKeown, and he played a centimetre-perfect through ball that bisected the defence and ran in front of Ben Hamlett. With Pitchford advancing quickly off his line, the Kingborough forward lofted a shot from outside the area that cleared the 'keeper and dropped into the back of the net to open the scoring.
The Strikers were suddenly caught on the back foot, and the Lions pounced to take advantage with a second goal four minutes later. Hamlett was again played through behind the defence, this time to the left of the goal. Rather than shooting from a tight angle, he squared the ball perfectly across the defence to McKeown at the back post and with time to shoot. While Pitchford was able to get a hand on the shot, he couldn't deny the Golden Boot leader as his side found themselves in a deep hole.
There were no signs of panic from the Strikers, and they stuck with their gameplan of playing long balls from the midfield. The problem was that those passes were easily picked off by the Lions defence time and time again. With a two-goal lead in hand Kingborough didn't press hard going forward, and yet they still had the best chances to score again before the break. McKeown looked to be in space in the area again before a lunging block forced the ball behind, and from the resulting corner Hamlett flicked a header that flew just barely over the crossbar.
It was more of the same as the second half got underway, with both sides keeping their defensive structure and locking down any attacking play. In fact, there was only one clear-cut shot for either team in the first 25 minutes of the half, with a long-range bomb for the Lions skied well over the crossbar. The Strikers began to chase the game a little harder as the clock ticked down, but that left them vulnerable as McKeown whistled a shot on the volley just wide with 20 minutes left. The chances were still scarce at the other end, with Lee Mackie putting in a commanding performance in goal and cutting out countless crosses in the air.
It was Kingborough that finished the game stronger with a pair of near misses in stoppage time, with a stinging Keenan Douce volley and a curling attempt from Jackson Khasif both brilliantly saved by Pitchford. Those efforts saw the game end in a 2-0 win for the Lions, a huge result that further tightens the title race.
All it takes is one good passage of play to change the game, though, and the Lions found theirs in the 12th minute. A midfield scrap eventually saw the ball spill free to Adam McKeown, and he played a centimetre-perfect through ball that bisected the defence and ran in front of Ben Hamlett. With Pitchford advancing quickly off his line, the Kingborough forward lofted a shot from outside the area that cleared the 'keeper and dropped into the back of the net to open the scoring.
The Strikers were suddenly caught on the back foot, and the Lions pounced to take advantage with a second goal four minutes later. Hamlett was again played through behind the defence, this time to the left of the goal. Rather than shooting from a tight angle, he squared the ball perfectly across the defence to McKeown at the back post and with time to shoot. While Pitchford was able to get a hand on the shot, he couldn't deny the Golden Boot leader as his side found themselves in a deep hole.
There were no signs of panic from the Strikers, and they stuck with their gameplan of playing long balls from the midfield. The problem was that those passes were easily picked off by the Lions defence time and time again. With a two-goal lead in hand Kingborough didn't press hard going forward, and yet they still had the best chances to score again before the break. McKeown looked to be in space in the area again before a lunging block forced the ball behind, and from the resulting corner Hamlett flicked a header that flew just barely over the crossbar.
It was more of the same as the second half got underway, with both sides keeping their defensive structure and locking down any attacking play. In fact, there was only one clear-cut shot for either team in the first 25 minutes of the half, with a long-range bomb for the Lions skied well over the crossbar. The Strikers began to chase the game a little harder as the clock ticked down, but that left them vulnerable as McKeown whistled a shot on the volley just wide with 20 minutes left. The chances were still scarce at the other end, with Lee Mackie putting in a commanding performance in goal and cutting out countless crosses in the air.
It was Kingborough that finished the game stronger with a pair of near misses in stoppage time, with a stinging Keenan Douce volley and a curling attempt from Jackson Khasif both brilliantly saved by Pitchford. Those efforts saw the game end in a 2-0 win for the Lions, a huge result that further tightens the title race.