Welcome to the Weekend-Washup for Round 3 of the McDonald’s NPL Tasmania. It was an entertaining weekend of action, but it was also one filled with the type of storylines that would be very familiar to followers of the league.
The Devonport Strikers reestablished themselves atop the standings by displacing Launceston City with a 2-0 win at Valley Road. As they have done so many times in these big games, they just took care of business with a minimum fuss and when the final whistle rang out they were back in the position they’ve frequently occupied in recent seasons.
At Floorworld Park, some David Owusu magic had Launceston United on course for a shock result against South Hobart, only for Nick Morton to once again intervene with a brace to save his side and secure the three points.
At Wentworth Park there was a truly stunning collection of goals scored (I strongly urge you to check out the highlights) but most crucially the Lions, led by another fine display from reigning MVP Kobe Kemp, cut down the Zebras in the Safari Derby to bring them crashing back to earth after their hot start.
Then over at Windsor Park it was an unfortunately familiar story for the hosts, as they faded out late and were overrun by Glenorchy Knights who ran up the score late on to win 5-0.
It leaves just a solitary point between the competition’s top five sides as we pause to break for the Round of 16 of the Lakoseljac Cup supported by McDonald's which is the Preliminary Round 4 of the Australia Cup. The Strikers and South both have 7 points, with Devonport leading by lieu of goal difference, then City, Kingborough and Knights all have 6 points. It’s mighty tight at the top!
Strikers Reclaim Top Spot
The Devonport Strikers moved back to the summit with a 2-0 victory over Launceston City, who had been occupying top spot heading into the game. A brace from Spanish marksman Roberto Fernandez Garrido got the job done in a match the Strikers always seemed firmly in command of.
This really was an exercise in control. The Strikers dominated possession and won the midfield battle convincingly. It allowed them to control the tempo and flow of the match as well as restrict the chances generated against them.
At the back the Strikers were as solid as ever, led by their skipper Kieran Mulraney playing his 300th game and they ensured a very quiet afternoon for Keegan Smith in net. Mulraney was his usual imperious self, playing the game in the commanding manner he has played most career and demonstrating just why he is so highly regarded.
The Strikers took the lead early on from the penalty spot after Fahim Moradi was clipped just inside the penalty area by Wilcox. Up stepped Garrido who made no mistake.
The second arrived shortly after the restart and really cut down any hope of a second half fightback. Lachie Clark was caught dwelling on the ball for a second too long as in swooped the hard working Brody Denehey. He managed to sneak in from the blindside of Clark, impacting his kick which fell straight to the Spaniard who gratefully accepted the gift he had been offered.
For City this will be a disappointing one, they didn’t really fire a shot here, but I suspect they would have taken 6 points from their opening three games if they had been offered it preseason. The Strikers meanwhile continue to give every indication they are still the team to beat.
Morton Pulls South out of the Fire
South Hobart overcame Launceston United 3-2 at Floorworld Park in a game that saw all five goals coming prior to halftime.
Making their home debut, David Owusu had United on course for a shock result with a first half brace including a goal of the season contendor from 40 yards out before Morton got South back on track with a brace of his own to secure the win.
There was an element of fortune about how South took the early lead, as Ewan Sloane’s cross took a deflection off Connor Reading and the ball slid in behind Aidan Piper who had committed to a dive to try and intercept the cross.
But Owusu responded with a moment of pure inspiration, skipping past a pair of South players before launching an audacious blast from range that lobbed the South keeper and squared the game at 1-1, delighting the home crowd.
They were even more delighted minutes later when he stormed in behind the defence and buried the go-ahead goal. The boisterous crowd was loving it and making some great noise, but ever the pantomime villain, up stepped Nick Morton to rain on their parade.
First he prodded home from a yard out after Lancaster had headed a corner back across the goal, as United's desperate pleas for an offside flag went unheeded. Then he skipped in behind the defence in the final minute of the half and slid home his second to make it 3-2 at the break, as once more United's offside protests were waved away.
Remarkably that was where the goal scoring action ended as South killed off the contest off in a second half largely devoid of scoring chances.
A late free kick from Aidan Rigby drew a save from Nicholas O’Connell but it was one you’d expect the keeper to make and was ultimately as close as United would get.
Despite the loss this was comfortably United’s best performance across the opening three weeks and gives them something to build from. South will be glad to have dodged the bullet and whilst they aren’t making things easy for themselves, looking somewhat shaky at the back, they are still getting results to keep themselves in the mix early on.
Knights Cruise Past Riverside
The Glenorchy Knights bounced back from defeat with a thumping 5-0 win over Riverside Olympic, consigning the Roos to a third consecutive loss to start the campaign.
Knights were ahead early in this one via Tyler Harrison, who swept home a chance that fell to him following a corner.
There were few genuine chances in the first half, though it would’ve been 2-0 at the break if not for some fine work from Daniel Nash who made a wonderful save to keep out Sagno’s free kick before denying Eli Luttmer’s header from the ensuing corner.
It gave his side a chance if they could turn things around further up the pitch, but instead it was the Knights who ran all over them in the second half.
Jack Turner got thing going just before the hour mark and he was soon joined on the scoresheet by Dzalagowski, Brkic and an exuberant Daniel Sagano who treated the crowd to a display of acrobatics in the celebration following his late header that made it 5-0.
It was a a relative cruise for Knights here as they got themselves back on track following last week's painful last minute defeat.
Lions Dine Out on Zebras
The Kingborough Lions burst the Clarence Zebras bubble with a thumping 6-3 victory in a goal fest at Wentworth Park on Sunday.
This just felt like one of those street games where everybody is just constantly trying to one-up each other with the spectacular, such was the consistency of ridiculously good goals scored. Do yourself a favour and check out the video below, it was quite remarkable just how many amazing strikes were scored in this one single match.
The Lions were good value for their victory though and fully deserved the three points. They raced away to a 3-0 lead after just 21 minutes of play and were never going to lose after such a start. The Zebras simply got jumped and once the Lions had sunk their claws in, it was only ever ending one way.
Burgess’s unfortunate own goal gave the Lions the dream start before Kobe Kemp stepped up with a brace, the first a deft chip over the advancing keeper, the second also a chipped effort but this time from miles out.
The Zebras hung in there and managed to pull one back with Xuan Cappellino’s classy free kick that sparked some hope before halftime, but Greg Downe’s top-drawer stoppage time response quelled any hopes of a revival.
Benjamin Tilley cut the margin once more in the 56th minute, before Noah Mies continued the trend of top class strikes by picking out the top window to perfection. Declan Taylor pushed the lead out to 6-2 as Kemp added an assist before a late Riley Dillon goal made the final score slightly more palatable for the hosts at 6-3. It was thoroughly entertaning stuff, though the result was never really in doubt any point.
Round 3
Devonport 2 (Roberto Fernandez Garrido 9' 52')
Launceston City 0
Launceston United 2 (David Owusu 31' 33')
South Hobart 3 (Connor Reading OG 18', Nicholas Morton 39' 45')
Riverside 0
Glenorchy Knights 5 (Tyler Harrison 5', Jack Turner 58', Lucas Dzalakowski 71',Matthew Brkic 74', Daniel Sagno 86')
Clarence Zebras 3 (Xuan Cappellino 38' Benjamin Tilley 56' Riley Dillon 90')
Kingborough Lions 6 (Josh Burgess OG 4', Kobe Kemp 18'21', Greg Downes 45+3' Noah Mies 66', Declan Taylor 72')