A gutsy display by Riverside Olympic saw them claim a 0-0 with South Hobart to all but end the Cup Champions league title aspirations.
On the park the two sides brought two very different philosophies. The aim of the game for South Hobart was possession as they searched for the golden opportunity to break the deadlock. As for the home side, Riverside brought defensive discipline in the style of a moving brick wall, giving away very few clean opportunities at goal while venturing forward on the odd counter attack to give their opponent moments of fright.
Early on South sent off early warning signs, with some glancing shots at goal. However despite the dancing motions and cutting passes from the South front trio, Riverside’s defence took heed and soon shut up shop. While large spells of play seemed to be a drill in keeping possession for the away side, there were moments where the Roos were able to arm wrestle their way to holding the ball, normally through Sam Davis orchestrating play in the final third.
With Darcy Hall and Benjamin Hamlett causing havoc in the final third in the first twenty minutes, it was only time before something fell the attackers way. Shaking things up, Hamlett received a long ball in the hopes of catching Riverside’s defence napping. While the South forward had a player nipping at his heels, the bouncing ball saw a Roos defender concede a handball in the box.
Up stepped Hamlett, but he failed to find the far corner with power as Jarrod Hill guessed right to come up with the initial block from the penalty. With the ball not dead, Hamlett then had an attempt at the rebound, however it was a recovery run by Jonathon O’Neil that proved crucial. The defender making a super goal line clearance to keep the game scoreless.
Riverside, buoyed by the penalty save started to look to create some opportunities of their own, however the homeside were up against an equally stellar defence. Up the other end, South continued to chip away, hoping to find a crack in their opponents defensive block. However impatient finishes and keen defending to protect the goal ensured it remained 0-0 at half time.
An early combination in the second half between Nick Morton and Hamlett through the guts of the field provided some form of hope South could find something they were unable to in the first half. However, Hamlett being unable to shrug off his defender or pull off a meaningful shot would instead set the tone for the second half. As South looked increasingly lost for answers, Riverside looked more and more likely to produce something from the counter.
Perhaps the side to come out stronger after the break, Riverside earned a couple of dangerous free kicks in dangerous attacking areas on the flanks. The result demonstrating the prowess of Graham Wright in goal, who pulled out a diving save to deny William Humphrey, as well as commanding the area to punch the ball out of harm's way from another opportunity.
In the same vein as the first half, South were up against a sea of orange they just couldn’t find the right combination to split. The spectacular couldn’t be found from 30 yard attempts, while Riverside remained organised until the last moments of the match to deny anything penetrating the area with purpose.
A stalemate was the end result in a match unable to find clear cut opportunities, despite the double digit shot count South conjured. The marathon effort of in concentration in defence saw Riverside fully deserve their point and their best result since earning promotion.
The result leaves South some 10 points adrift of the leading Devonport Strikers, and with both sides having 9 games remaining, it surely now looms as an insurmountable gap. It leaves the Olympia Warriors as the last likely remaining challenger to defending Champions.