They were made to work for it, but South Hobart climbed to third on the NPL Tasmania table with a 3-1 win over Launceston City at Buckby Landrover Park.
Kasper Hallam was the star scoring all three goals for the visitors, and South could have easily won by a larger margin as they dominated the play from start to finish. The hosts hung in grimly and pulled back a goal through Josh Bula, but the class of South's senior players and the finishing of Hallam shone through against a less experienced opponent. The final 20-4 shot count, as well as South's 14 corners, tell the story of a game that possibly should have been decided much more emphatically.
Launceston's Noah Mies fired the first shot of the day inside the opening two minutes, but that would be their only sight of the goal in the first half. South owned the middle of the park from the opening whistle, with Andy Brennan and Nick Morton both at their best and involved in every play. It was Morton that created the first goal less than 15 minutes in, with a long ball from the defensive half clearing the defence and giving Hallam something to chase. With plenty of pace to burn, he beat his marker to the ball and easily finished past City goalkeeper Daniel Nash.
South continued to create bulk chances for the rest of the half, but they couldn't quite find the finishing touches. Hallam went closest with a close-range effort that thumped into the underside of the crossbar and out, while Brennan consistently beat the defence but couldn't finish from a trio of shots. While City never looked like scoring themselves, they managed to get to the half time break relatively unscathed and still within touching distance on the scoreboard.
Their resistance was broken just minutes after the restart, though, as Hallam grabbed his second. Again it was Morton providing the assist, with a pass flicked between defenders finding Hallam in the area. He controlled it on his chest, turned and fired past Nash to give the visitors a little more breathing room.
It seemed inevitable that their lead would only grow further, as Morton and Brennan continued to combine and run riot. Both had chances to add to the lead early in the half that went begging, and they would be left to rue those misses as City pulled a goal back against the run of play. As the ball bounced around the midfield area, Matthew Oh hit a first-time pass on the volley that seemed to catch the South defence by surprise. As it drifted over their heads Launceston substitute Josh Buga was the first to react, and he finished well with the outside of the boot past the advancing Nathan Reid.
Suddenly sensing the chance to cause an upset, City continued to work and finally found a little reward with some forward possession. Rob Gerrard and Noah Mies both got on the end of some delivery into the area, but neither could trouble Reid with their headed efforts on goal.
That resurgence proved to be short-lived, as Hallam sealed the win for South with his third goal of the day. It was a hat-trick of assists for Morton as well, with a drilling cross to the near post finished emphatically by Hallam with his first touch. Substitute Sam Tooze went close to adding a fourth with a shot that hit the woodwork, but it would end in a 3-1 win for the visitors.
After Kingborough's thumping loss to Glenorchy and Olympia's shock defeat against the Zebras, the result saw South leapfrog both and move into third on the NPL Tasmania table. They will look to hold that position when they host the Warriors in round ten, while City will continue to search for their first win of the season against the Knights.
https://youtu.be/NoGrhTrGWn4