A stunning Danielle Kannegiesser brace fired the Hobart Zebras to a 3-1 win over the Kingborough Lions in the Women’s Statewide Cup Final edition of the Safari derby at KGV on Monday afternoon. The victory coming after the Lions had controlled much of the match.
The cup-specialists Kingborough had got themselves to the final for the second-year running and found themselves underdogs in this year’s edition also.
And it certainly wasn’t the start they wanted when Kannegiesser’s 30-yard strike hit the top-right corner to put the Zebras one-nil up in just the 5th minute.
It looked as though the Zebras had doubled their lead when Allie Berry hit the back of the net with a brilliant volley following a free-kick, but it was ruled out for offside.
The early goal looked to result in the Zebras letting the foot of the gas, with the Lions continually growing into the game as the half wore on. But when Laura Davis went off for some attention after what looked like a serious head-injury it looked like they may struggle to find an avenue to goal.
Davis returned five minutes later though and had an instant impact as she managed to cut-inside the defence to muster a strike that Shelley Cook managed to deal with well in goal.
The half time whistle came as a relief for the Zebras, with Kingborough dominating the game territoriality and having the majority of the possession.
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Horgan had the Lions midfield well on top at half time- Solstice Photography[/caption]
The Zebras came out looking a little more fired up in the second-half but chances from Kannegiesser and Zoe Nichols fell to the wayside as they tried to double their lead.
In the 52nd minute Cook made an unorthodox save with her leg to deny Davis and the Lions of an equaliser, but five minutes later she could do nothing when Davis expertly turned her marker before firing home from inside the box to get the Lions back in the game.
Davis was everywhere and nearly put the Lions ahead two minutes later but her shot from inside the box struck the side-netting.
[caption id="attachment_11911" align="alignnone" width="546"]
Laura Davis levelled things up with a stunning goal- Solstice Photography[/caption]
10 minutes of Lions dominance came to a halt however when Lily Hulton drove into the Lions penalty-area before cutting it back to Berry who curled a measured strike into the far corner from just inside the box to put the Zebras back in the lead.
A minute later and dreams of cup final redemption for the Lions were all but over when Kannegiesser’s cross-turned-shot, although she may tell you otherwise, hit the inside of the near-post before hitting the back-of-the-net to put the Zebras two goals ahead.
The Lions started to look tired and a little broken as the game dropped in intensity with the Zebras happy to try and knock the ball around.
In the 90th Nichols ran-in on goal but her strike could only hit the side-netting, but it mattered little as four minutes later the full-time whistle was blown, and Zebras would become state champions.
“The girls worked hard, it probably wasn’t our best performance, but that’s cup football,” admitted Zebras coach Chris Hey. “Kingborough probably played the better football on the day possession-wise.”
“We have a great comradery going on at the moment amongst the girls, you can see it there.”
[caption id="attachment_11891" align="alignnone" width="503"]
The battle was fierce- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Horgan had the Lions midfield well on top at half time- Solstice Photography[/caption]
The Zebras came out looking a little more fired up in the second-half but chances from Kannegiesser and Zoe Nichols fell to the wayside as they tried to double their lead.
In the 52nd minute Cook made an unorthodox save with her leg to deny Davis and the Lions of an equaliser, but five minutes later she could do nothing when Davis expertly turned her marker before firing home from inside the box to get the Lions back in the game.
Davis was everywhere and nearly put the Lions ahead two minutes later but her shot from inside the box struck the side-netting.
[caption id="attachment_11911" align="alignnone" width="546"] Laura Davis levelled things up with a stunning goal- Solstice Photography[/caption]
10 minutes of Lions dominance came to a halt however when Lily Hulton drove into the Lions penalty-area before cutting it back to Berry who curled a measured strike into the far corner from just inside the box to put the Zebras back in the lead.
A minute later and dreams of cup final redemption for the Lions were all but over when Kannegiesser’s cross-turned-shot, although she may tell you otherwise, hit the inside of the near-post before hitting the back-of-the-net to put the Zebras two goals ahead.
The Lions started to look tired and a little broken as the game dropped in intensity with the Zebras happy to try and knock the ball around.
In the 90th Nichols ran-in on goal but her strike could only hit the side-netting, but it mattered little as four minutes later the full-time whistle was blown, and Zebras would become state champions.
“The girls worked hard, it probably wasn’t our best performance, but that’s cup football,” admitted Zebras coach Chris Hey. “Kingborough probably played the better football on the day possession-wise.”
“We have a great comradery going on at the moment amongst the girls, you can see it there.”
[caption id="attachment_11891" align="alignnone" width="503"] The battle was fierce- Solstice Photography[/caption]