The Olympia Warriors are through to the Lakoseljac Cup final for the first time since 2017 after a thumping 7-0 win over Launceston City.
In glorious sunshine and with strong support from the crowd at Warrior Park, Olympia were far too strong and ran away with the game in the second half. A late penalty to Jake Vandermey was all that separated the two sides at the break, but the home side kicked into gear and quickly buried the game after the restart. It was a balanced performance on the scoresheet, with six goalscorers led by a brace to Callum Brown.
There were no signs of the blowout that was to come in the game's opening minutes as Launceston City very nearly stole an early lead. They fired the first shot of the day less than two minutes in before a huge double chance went begging moments later. A cross to the back post found their skipper Samuel Ridgard, but his shot was batted away from close range by Warriors goalkeeper Elliot Hoysted. From the rebound and recycled possession the ball worked its way to Noah Mies unmarked in the middle, but again Hoysted was on guard and parried another point-blank shot up onto the crossbar and out.
That was as close as City would come for some time, as Olympia worked their way into the contest with methodical ball movement across the park. Both Brown brothers loomed large, firing multiple shots on goal before half time, but some wayward finishing looked set to keep the game deadlocked at the interval. City defended resolutely against a feeling of inevitability as they fought to make it to the half time whistle unscathed.
It was another whistle that brought them undone, though, as the Warriors opened the scoring from the penalty spot. After picking up possession on the left of the area, Ben Hamlett tried to wriggle his way through a trio of defenders before going down among the traffic. Referee Stratos Plomaritis showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Vandermey blasted his shot into the top corner despite a touch from the glove of Lachlan Clark.
Such a late goal was a demoralising blow for the visitors, and their pain was quickly doubled after the restart as the Warriors struck again early in the second half. A raking aerial ball from Joseph Mwarabu dropped in front of Callum Brown, and while his first touch took him to the left of the goal he was still able to slide a shot across the face of goal and in at the far post.
Even after conceding that second goal, Launceston continued to battle in defence while looking to attack on the counter. A storming run down the wing from Will Fleming set up another clear-cut chance for Ridgard, but once again Hoysted was up to the task and saved the initial close-range shot and the follow-up effort. He was one-upped not long after by his goalkeeping counterpart, as Callum Brown won a second penalty for the Warriors when he was brought down in the area. Again Vandermey stepped up to the spot, but this time his effort was smothered away by the dive of Clark.
That missed chance mattered little in the end, as the hosts promptly added three goals in four minutes to bury the contest. A coast-to-coast move started the rot, as the ball swiftly moved from Vandermey at the back to Mearns in the middle, and then on to Callum Brown behind the defence with a simple finish for his second. Adam Gorrie snuck forward down the right flank and buried a shot through the goalkeeper's legs, before Declan Brown joined his brother on the scoresheet with a tidy first touch and finish.
That torrid pace was not sustainable, though, as the Warriors took a whole five minutes to add their sixth. Young gun Austin Yost had entered the game as a substitute just after the hour mark, and he left his mark on the game less than ten minutes later. A smooth turn at the edge of the box took him past his defender, and his shot curled across the goal, past the dive of Clark and in at the far post.
Maybe the Warriors briefly took their foot off the pedal, as City enjoyed their best period of play with chances from Ridgard, Noah Mies and Charlie Dyer. None could find the target, and those misses were only amplified when Ben Curtis thumped home a header from a Gorrie cross to further add to Olympia's lead.
With a 7-0 buffer as the game moved into stoppage time, the only thing on the line was a clean sheet for Olympia and Hoysted. The gloveman was one of his side's best all game, and he was tested mightily as the game wound down. Ridgard found himself in a one-on-one in acres of space, but Hoysted left his line and made another excellent save. That was followed by the third penalty of the game, this time for Launceston City, after the captain again took the ball in the area but this time was cut down and fouled. Rob Gerrard looked certain to break his side's duck on the scoreboard, but Hoysted was up to the task and produced one last save to keep the final score at 7-0.
With the win, Olympia will now face the Glenorchy Knights in the Lakoseljac Cup final next Saturday evening.
https://youtu.be/h_JGM_P0eQA