South Hobart have defeated the Kingborough Lions 5-2 and earned their spot in the Lakoseljac Cup semi-finals. The quarter-final replay proved a memorable game but at times not for the right reasons. Both teams will be thankful for the final whistle as we saw a lot of brutal knocks and near injuries, namely Lion's Kenneth Trac and South's Riley Morton who both went down during the match.
Kingborough looked to have the early advantage through Chris Downes's goal but that was erased almost instantly by an equaliser from South's Bradley Lakoseljac. South's Andy Brennan produced a well needed form boost with a handy brace before half-time while Kobe Kemp also chimed in from the penalty spot. Joel Sammut looked to give his side a possible sniff after his goal in the second-half but any hope of a comeback was soon dashed after teammate Chris Downes was sent off for a second yellow. South's Sam Berezansky put the game to bed shortly after that with some lovely footwork round keeper Lee Mackie.
Selection news saw Lions bring the experienced Nick Cuthbertson into the fray after impressing in socials competitions with Davis Bryan unavailable due to suspension. Striker Adam McKeown was cup-tied and could not be selected due to playing in the R16 Lakoseljac Cup match with his former side Clarence Zebras at Lightwood Park. South also made some interesting inclusions with veteran keeper Mark Moncur chosen over their regular keeper Nathan Reid while Kobe Kemp also passed his fitness test after sub-staining a knock last weekend v Olympia Warriors.
It was Chris Downes who opened the scoring in the 5th minute after some lovely foot-work from James Hall who sent in a great cross to Downes. Downes tapped it in safely past Moncur and the Lions had the early lead.
Bradley Lakoseljac canceled out that lead within moments after getting onto a long ball from the right wing. Nick Morton was able to bring the ball down to Lakoseljac who finished with power past Lee Mackie.
They struck again soon after when Gilly De Souza sent in a great bouncing through ball to the waiting striker Brennan. There was Three Lions defenders that appealed for the offside flag but as they say "play to the whistle" and that's exactly what Brennan did slotting it home after Mackie committed to running out to make the scores 2-1 . Kasper Hallam almost made it three shortly after the flag once again staying down much to the displeasure of Lions fans but his efforts narrowly missed the mark.
Mackie was very fortunate not to be sent off after making two challenges in quick succession with one being on Hallam and the other on Lakoseljac. Hallam was cruising down the center when Mackie shouldered him off the ball but not before Lakoseljac was about to run into an open goal. Mackie slid in from behind and took down Lakoseljac prompting referee Nathan Coad to point to the penalty spot. Hallam laid on the ground receiving treatment while Mackie was given a yellow card rather than red, much to the anger of South's fans in the KGV stands. Up stepped Kemp who finished with ease into the bottom left and South had a 3-1 lead.
This game probably saw more knocks and near injuries than anything we have seen in recent times. Moncur hit the ground hard head first after palming away a Lions attack. Moncur was able to recover but only a minute later we saw a real hard clash of heads with Brennan and Lions' defender Trac. There was immediate attention received with the concussion protocol always being in place but Lions assistant coach Garry Upton was not impressed with Brennan escaping with a warning. Upton launched his rage at assistant referee Stratos Plomaritis to make a firmer judgement but true to the words of being firmer, Stratos told Upton to calm down and order was restored. Trac received some medical attention and made his way back onto the pitch. Reilly Morton was the next to go down after being on the wrong end of Lion's Danny Cowen's challenge, Morton went off the field for treatment and South momentarily played with ten before Morton made his return.
After the action resumed, Kemp and Brennan combined for a freakish goal right before the half-time break to make it 4-1. Andy Brennan took a short corner to Kemp who back-heeled the return ball to Brennan, from outside the box he drove a low ball into the penalty area that skipped through a sea of bodies and past Lee Mackie, who was screened by Nick Morton and the ball wound up in the back of the net.
Both clubs elected for substitutes for the second half with Hallam and Lion's midfielder Simon Vivarelli being replaced by Berezansky and Vincent Turner respectively.
Barely a minute was played when Downes earned a slice of cheese after a takedown challenge on Kemp who was racing through the midfield. It would prove significant later in the half when Downes hacked down Morton which led to a second yellow and red card in the process. It was horrible timing too as Joel Sammut had just pulled a goal back for the Lions, picking up the pieces after Douce sent in a long ball to the mixer which ricocheted off the woodwork.
Berezansky sealed the result in the 79th minute after combining nicely with Lakoseljac, Mackie to his credit made a good initial save, but Berezansky picked up the rebound and put South into the semi-finals.
Mackie was then withdrawn from the game late on after coming off with what looked to be a hand related injury as the injury carnage continued. Backup keeper Jake Hayers made his way onto the KGV pitch and made a couple of nice saves. Hayers would of been happy to return behind the sticks after being in midfield last weekend v NPL TAS title leaders Devonport Strikers
My standout player for the night was South's Patrick Kibler. Kibler never looked uncomfortable on the ball and sent in some fantastic deliveries which proved pivotal for his sides win.
South will now play NPL TAS title contenders and 2nd placed Glenorchy Knights on October 31st. They will get a better look at their opposition this weekend in the league when they will be once again away to Knights on Saturday afternoon. Kingborough with their exit in the cup will turn their focus to the 'Safari Derby' with Clarence Zebras on Saturday night.