South Down Valiant Taroona

South Hobart downed a valiant Taroona side 5-0 at Kelvedon Park on Saturday afternoon. It took until the 41st minute for the scoring to open, with Loic Feral heading in the opener. The lead would be extended in the second half via Isky Van Doorne, before Adam Gorrie made the score 3-0 in the 78th minute. Ben Hamlet and Sam Tooze then joined in on the scoring, seeing South run out 5-0 winners. The game begun fast with South on the attack, with an Adam Gorrie cross finding its way to Nick Morton in the middle. The visitors continued to push in the opening minutes, with Ewan Larby hitting one well over the bar. In the 15th minute Larby had another chance on goal, this time hitting the chest of opposing keeper James Cherry. Two minutes later and Taroona had a great chance, with Kanato Hamaguchi hitting the ball just over the bar from distance after spotting Kieran Brown off his line. Eleven minutes after Taroona’s chance and South almost found the opener. This chance came after some great skill from Van Doorne, with the Canadian crossing the ball onto the head of Oscar Thomas who hit just wide. South continued to push for an opener, but the home side defended well and looked like they could reach half time with the game locked at 0-0. However the visitors made the breakthrough just before half time when Adam Gorrie won a corner. The corner was then swung into the box and found Loic Feral, who did well to head it into the back of the net, putting his side 1-0 up. The second half began much like the first with Adam Gorrie hitting a powerful shot on target. Taroona then produced a good attacking opportunity, with Kanato Hamaguchi showing some great skill. In the 55th minute Loic Feral almost scored his second, heading just wide from a South freekick. Just past the hour mark and Taroona had a fantastic chance to equalise, with Hamaguchi finding himself through on goal. However, the number seven hit his shot just wide, in what proved to be a big missed opportunity from the home side. Just eight minutes after this chance and South found a way to double their lead and create some breathing room. Isky Van Doorne found himself with space at the top of the box and then took a touch before curling a shot into the top corner of the net, doubling his sides lead and seeing the score move to 2-0. Almost ten minutes later and South were celebrating again, this time through Adam Gorrie. Second half substitute Sam Tooze found himself with space on the left wing, using his pace to get the ball into the box. The ball then fumbled around before being struck into the goal by Gorrie, extending South’s lead to 3-0. As the game continued Taroona continued to defend well, however the superior fitness of South started to come to the fore. This fitness was clear to see in the 89th minute, with Ben Hamlet striking well to make it 4-0 before three minutes later, substitute Sam Tooze finished off a great South attack to round out the scoring at 5-0. Speaking post-match, South Coach Ken Morton said that Taroona is a “difficult place to come”. He said that his side had to be patient and that they “had a good feeling about being fitter than them” and this proved to be the case. Ultimately he was happy with his sides performance and that they had made it through to the next round. Taroona coach, Anton Rohner was proud of his team and how they stayed in the game for the majority of the contest. He said that his side played to their full capability and said it was a “good, fun game to watch”. The win sees South Hobart move on to the next round of the cup whilst Taroona are now knocked out. Next week in the NPL, South host Kingborough, 2pm at Darcy Street. Meanwhile in the Southern Championship, Taroona host Beachside, Saturday, 2:30pm at Kelvedon Park. [caption id="attachment_11328" align="alignnone" width="638"] Solstice Photography[/caption]