South Hobart has moved into third on the NPL Tasmania table after a comfortable 5-0 win over the Clarence Zebras at Darcy Street.
The hosts grabbed a 3-0 lead inside the first half an hour and never looked back, with a second-half brace to Bradley Lakoseljac putting the result beyond doubt. That result saw them leapfrog the Olympia Warriors into third place with just one round left in the season. The Zebras looked off the pace from the first whistle to the last, and their difficulty in keeping possession allowed South to control the game and attack constantly.
The visitors had the first sight of goal, with Riley Dillon forcing a save from South goalkeeper Mark Moncur inside the first five minutes. That would be as good as it got for them in the first half, though, and they found themselves behind on the scoreboard just moments later. A low cross from Nick Morton on the right looked destined to find an open attacker in the middle, forcing Simon Stankovich to slide in and intercept. Unfortunately he could only bundle the ball into his own net, with that early own-goal putting the visitors on the back foot.
That sparked South into action, as they peppered the goals before doubling their lead ten minutes later. Samuel Berezansky's delivery from set pieces was threatening throughout the contest, and he swung an outswinging corner that drifted just short of the penalty spot. Guilherme Desouza timed his run perfectly, rising to meet it and thumping a header into the back of the net.
They had their third right on the half hour mark, and again it started with a corner from Berezansky. This time his delivery was helped on by a pair of touches inside the area, as it was helped all the way to the back post where Patrick Kibler was waiting for an easy tap-in. There was some confusion from players and fans alike, with the linesman momentarily raising his flag for offside before the goal was eventually allowed to stand.
It was all South Hobart for the rest of the half, as they continued to take the lion's share of possession and attack with vigour. Morton and Andy Brennan consistently beat their markers with the ball at their feet, but they and their teammates couldn't quite find the finishing touches needed to grab a fourth goal before the break. The Zebras would have been relieved to hear the half-time whistle, with a 15-4 shot count telling the story of a dominant half for the home side.
Brennan was replaced by Kasper Hallam at the break, but the young winger picked up the slack and forced a save from Nicholas O'Connell minutes after the restart. That was an ominous sign for the Zebras, and they failed to heed the warnings as they conceded two more inside the first ten minutes of the half. Both goals were scored by Lakoseljac, the first a volley at the back post from a Morton cross, and the second a close-range shot at the end of Hallam's delivery from the right.
As both teams dipped into their benches, Clarence finally found some attacking thrust in their best period of the game just after the hour mark. A cross from substitute Jake Thompson drifted toward goal and skimmed off the crossbar, while a tidier delivery from Sam Hills very nearly found Jayden Hey unmarked in the middle. Their best chance of the day followed from Dillon-- after collecting a stray corner at the back of the area, he somehow squeezed a shot through traffic that forced a sharp save from Moncur.
With that, though, the Zebras had just about emptied their clip. With South still holding the ball and Clarence struggling to break them down, the game petered out and crawled toward the final whistle. It mercifully sounded after one last chance for the hosts, with Berezansky going close from short range with almost the last play of the afternoon.
It ended at five, though, more than enough to see South claim third place on the table. They will look to hold that position at season's end with a win over Riverside last week, while the Zebras will be hoping to finish their year on a high when they host Launceston City.
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