The Glenorchy Knights have continued their undefeated start to the season, holding off a Kingborough Lions fightback to win 5-2 at Lightwood Park. A hat-trick to Alex Walter kept the Knights in front despite a brace from Kingborough's Adam McKeown, before a pair of late goals made the final margin more comfortable.
It was the Lions that looked more comfortable from the opening whistle, moving the ball well and locking the ball in their attacking half for almost the entire first five minutes. They couldn't convert that into scoring chances, though, and the Knights quickly settled and took the ascendency. Walter sent an ominous warning shot that was saved by Sheku Kamara, before capitalising on a horrific error from the Lions goalkeeper to open the scoring in the 15th minute. Kamara came outside his area to deal with a long ball from the Knights defence, but rather than clearing the area his header sent the ball even further behind him and towards goal. That left Walter with space to run onto it, and he finished into the open net to give the visitors an early lead.
The momentum continued to run their way, with Jack Bowman forcing another save from Kamara shortly after. The Knights looked almost certain to double their lead when Nick Mearns went down in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot, but after a quick consultation with the assistant he reversed the decision and gave the Lions a brief reprieve. Glenorchy had the better of the play for the rest of the half, but both defences held strong to see the score remain at 1-0 at the break.
After pressing hard for much of the first half it took just three minutes after the restart for the Knights to finally add to their lead. Nick Mearns collected a loose ball on the right and played Luttmer through down the wing. With space to run into he carried the ball at Kamara and drew the 'keeper off his line, before squaring the ball for Walter to shoot past his marker and in for his second of the day. That gave the Knights a two-goal buffer, but that was only short-lived as the Lions scored with their first play from the resulting kick-off. They shifted the ball onto the right from the restart, and a tidy one-two saw Keenan Douce played in down the line. His low cross found Adam McKeown in the middle, and his first-time shot from close range found the back of the net.
Those two goals inside the first four minutes of the half set the tone for a second period played at a frenetic pace, and the Lions suddenly had the momentum on their side. Over the next 15 minutes they had Andy Taylor curl a shot just over the top, one shot from Douce go just wide, and a second effort from the captain saved by Lachlan Hart. They were unable to find another breakthrough, though, and that wastefulness came back to bite them in the 68th minute when the Knights pulled away once more. A turnover from the Lions in the middle gave possession to substitute Adam Gorrie, and he played it quickly through to Walter. Staying a step ahead of his defender, he found time to shoot and sent the ball across the face of goal and into the far bottom corner to complete his hat-trick.
Once again, though, the Lions found a quick response just three minutes later. It started with a defensive scramble, as Shane Cartwright's clearance flew long and high into the attacking third. Hart came off his line to collect but was beaten to it by McKeown, and the Kingborough forward hit a high lob that drifted over both the goalkeeper and the waiting defenders before bouncing over the line.
That gave the home side a glimmer of hope, but that proved to be short-lived as the Knights showed their class to put the game away. They had their fourth with 15 minutes remaining, as Walter went looking for his own fourth goal but had it saved by the foot of Kamara. The rebound looped to the near post where Mearns was waiting, and his header snuck past the helpless Kamara and in at the far post. They continued to press while doing the bulk of the attacking, and they added a fifth goal late when Eduardo Castaneda played Gorrie through for a simple one-on-one finish to round out the scoring.