The Glenorchy Knights produced an emphatic performance to down South Hobart 3-1 at Darcy Street on Saturday afternoon.
The return of a number of ex-South players was met with hostility from the home faithful, however it was the Knights who had the last laugh. Goals to Bellini, Schmidt and Walter proved to be enough for the visitors, with a Kasper Hallam strike the only one on the scorecard for the home side.
As soon as the game kicked off it was clear the Knights were ready to play and it was not long before they were creating chances. In the third minute, Alessandro Bellini played a fantastic ball into the box onto Joffrey Nkoso’s head, however the former Warrior headed just wide. This early chance let everyone know that the Knights were here to win, and just 12 minutes into the contest they found the opener.
In the 12th minute Nkoso found himself with the ball on the left of the pitch and he played a great ball into the box to Bellini. Bellini had plenty of time to measure his shot, slotting home into the top corner with a laser of a shot to put the visitors one goal up.
Just a minute after their first the Knights almost had a second when Reilly Morton took a heavy touch. Nkoso pounced on the opportunity but failed to take it, with his shot tamely rolling straight to the goalkeeper Moncur.
After the early domination from the Knights, South began to create some chances of their own, with Larby whipping in a great ball, and Nick Morton hitting a shot wide three minutes later. In the 26th minute Sam Berezansky created their best chance of the game, whipping a ball in and forcing a point blank save from Lachlan Hart, however South would soon break through.
Three minutes after their missed chance, South found their equaliser, with some fantastic passing leading to the Knights scrambling in defence. When the ball was chipped into the box the Knights back four failed to clear it and Kasper Hallam came steaming in, winning the ball well and finishing clinically to level the game.
Despite South making their way back into the contest, it was the Knights who would find the back of the net again, when Connor Schmidt hit home. The move started when the ball found Joffrey Nkoso on the left, with the number 10 producing a wonderful stepover before finding Schmidt at the top of the box. Schmidt then hit an absolute peach into the top corner, and all South keeper Moncur could do was watch. This goal moved the score to 2-1 and this was how it remained as the teams went into the rooms for half time.
The second half kicked off much like the first, with the Knights in search of a goal, and six minutes in they almost had one with Nick Naden producing a great run down the right of the pitch. Naden then whipped in a dangerous ball to find Alex Walter who had drifted into the space between the centre backs, however Walter’s shot only managed to find the crossbar.
As the half wore on both sides battled for possession, and after a period of good passes it was South with a chance in the 67th minute. This chance came after the home side held possession, playing the ball, and moving it around before Toby Herweynen hit a shot just wide from the top of the box. This missed chance proved to be costly as the Knights struck a third goal in the 80th minute to kill off the contest.
The Knights third goal was another that was easy on the eye and it came when Backhouse played it to Bellini who whipped in a perfectly weighted ball for Walter to finish first time, past Moncur and into the back of the net.
It could have been even better for Knights, as Moncur was called on two more times including stopping a rocket from substitute Cade Smith. These saves saw the score stay at 3-1 and that was how it remained, with the Knights running out 3-1 victors.
Speaking post-match Glenorchy coach James Sherman thought his side did the basics well and earned the victory. Sherman said that the focus for his side was on “good solid performances” as opposed to just winning, and his team worked hard and got the result.
South Hobart coach Ken Morton was “disappointed” with his side’s performance. He said that “we didn’t turn up today and put in a good shift, we were second best around the ground and credit to James and his boys, they played well and got a good result”. Morton also mentioned that Kasper Hallam is set to have x-rays on his ankle after hurting it just after half time.
The win sees Knights equal South Hobart on six points behind league leaders Devonport. Next week South Hobart travel to Valley Road to take on the league leading Strikers, Saturday at 2pm. Meanwhile the Knights play host to the Clarence Zebras at KGV, Saturday at 4:30pm.