Shooting practice will be at the top of the agenda for the Kingborough Lions and Glenorchy Knights after they played out a 0-0 draw in their Summer Cup clash at KGV on Thursday evening. The scoreless result was not through a lack of chances as both sides freely created chances but failed to convert them in what was an overall scrappy encounter. Knights ultimately walked away with the bonus point from the game after winning the penalty shootout 4-3 following six rounds of spot kicks, giving them the edge in what is looming as a battle for second place to meet Olympia in the Summer Cup final.
It was a lack of polish and cutting edge in front of goal that most stood out from this game, and whilst signs of rust are hardly surprising given the time of year, the inability to convert gilt edge chances would've been a source of frustration for both managers.
Out of the blocks it was the Knights who looked the more likely to score, controlling the first 30 minutes and peppering the Lions area with plenty of crosses and balls into the box. Nowicki came close to scoring a spectacular solo goal after monstering both Lions central defenders, but as would so often be the case throughout the game, the final shot was directed straight at the goalkeeper.
Ryan Backhouse looked particularly lively for the Knights, and Verdu Sanchez did some nice things for the Lions, but the moments of individual skill were broken up by both sides frequently turning the ball over with sloppy passing.
After the first 30 minutes, the Lions grew into the game just as they did against the Warriors the week prior, producing some nice slick attacking moves with some skillful pieces of play out wide, that would then be brought undone by the end product in the penalty area.
The best chance of the half came right on the half time whistle as Phil Kantzos beat his man before being denied by a wonderful piece of keeping from Lachlan Hart with a kick save.
The second half saw a similar pattern with the Knights having the better of the early exchanges before the Lions worked their way into the contest and began to create chances of their own.
As the game wore on, the space opened up for both sides and the fresh legs off the bench looked as though they would break things open and deliver a long awaited goal. Both sides pushed hard for the goal and threw bodies forward, showing good attacking intent but finding themselves unable to find that elusive finish.
Moses Khasif looks like being a key player for the Lions this season, and his injection provided them with their most threatening moments of the game as he left his Knights markers in his wake on a number of occasions. He nearly scored what would have been the match winner with a blistering run in the 94th minute, but he fired wide of the mark.
Nick Naden played a similar role for the Knights, driving the play and makings things happen, but the end product just wasn't there, despite coming close on multiple occasions. Backhouse smashed a powerful shot that narrowly missed and Castaneda squandered a great chance late on as it remained locked at 0-0 and into a penalty shootout it went for the bonus point.
The wait for the back of the net to bulge continued into the shootout, as the first 3 penalties were missed or saved before George Hallard finally broke though, albeit with Hayers getting a big hand on it to make it 1-0 Knights after 2 rounds.
Danny Cowen and Verdu Sanchez both fired home for the Lions, but so too did Tyler Harrison and Eduardo Castaneda to give Josh Burgess the chance to win it for the Knights with the 10th kick of the shootout. He blasted his shot into the post however, sending it to sudden death where Jackson Nugent then smashed one over the bar. Giving Jack Bowman the chance to win it. The former South stopper stepped up and tucked his shot away to secure the extra point for Knights.