It was chaotic, it was exciting and it was controversial at times, but at the final whistle South Hobart were the Lakoseljac Cup champions after a 2-0 win over Devonport.
In a game where the momentum swung wildly and both teams had their fair share of chances, it was a 90th minute volley from Tobias Herweynen that won the cup for Ken Morton's men and sent them into the FFA Cup round of 32.
While the Strikers may have had some grounds to complain with a strong penalty shout turned down in the dying minutes, they were ultimately left to rue their earlier missed chances as South stole the cup late.
The game's opening exchanges were a sign of the chaotic end to come, as both teams threatened to take the lead in the first ten minutes. Devonport's Daniel Syson just barely poked a shot wide from a Joel Stone cross, while South Hobart front man Ben Hamlett forced a pair of acrobatic saves from Nathan Pitchford.
From there, the defences settled at both ends and the scoring chances dried up for much of the half. The Calgary Flyer, Isky Van Doorne, terrorised the Devonport defence with his hard running down the wing, while Stone and Syson continued to combine and threaten for the Strikers.
[caption id="attachment_11907" align="alignnone" width="608"]
Isky Van Doorne played a starring role- Solstice Photography[/caption]
For all that endeavour, though, both sides only had one definitive look at the goal before half time. A cheeky long-range chip from Max Fitzgerald almost caught South goalkeeper Graham Wright off his line, and Bradley Lakoseljac had the Cup's fairytale script denied by a goal-line block at the other end.
The sides went into the half time break still locked at 0-0, and the slower tempo looked set to continue after the restart. The game wasn't kicked up a gear until just after the hour mark, when some end-to-end action saw both teams threaten to break the deadlock.
Fitzgerald again went close after a deflected pass found him in space, but his shot from close range whistled over the bar. An immediate South counter saw the ball fly straight down to the other end, where a long ball from Van Doorne found Nick Morton with space to shoot. His shot from the back of the area forced another good save from Pitchford, who put in a typically solid performance between the sticks.
That back-and-forth set the pattern for the rest of the game, as the ball was whipped from one end to the other and both teams looked likely to score at any moment. Devonport controlled the play more and looked composed on the ball, but the constant threat of South's star attacking trio made them dangerous going forward.
It was a frenetic run of near-misses, as Hamlett and Morton for South and Stone for the Strikers all couldn't quite find the target from some golden opportunities.
[caption id="attachment_11906" align="alignnone" width="633"]
The physical battle was intense- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Even when the ball did hit the back of the net they couldn't break the deadlock, as Devonport had a goal disallowed with 15 minutes left. Fitzgerald looked to have muscled South's Adam Gorrie off the ball before finishing well past Wright, but the referee had already blown the whistle for a foul on the Strikers winger. He and his teammates protested, but replays showed that he had clipped the ankle of Gorrie in the build up.
The tempo and play from both sides continued to build as the half progressed, and it reached a magnificent crescendo in the game's last five minutes. The madness started with what seemed like a certain goal for the Strikers, as Fitzgerald created their best chance of the game with some individual brilliance.
A perfectly timed run saw him break down the left, and as Wright advanced to shut him down he made a fantastic fake that wrong-footed the keeper. With clear space in front of him, he drove to the byline and played a cross that crawled along the goal line to an open Giampaoli at the back post, who somehow hit a simple tap-in into the post and out of play.
Three minutes later, in the 90th minute, that huge miss looked even more costly as a beautiful South Hobart play was finished by Herweynen. They pinged a series of passes around the forward third before Morton played in Van Doorne behind the defence. From the byline on the right he crossed over the waiting pack in the middle to Herweynen at the back of the box, and the young midfielder's volley crashed into the underside of the net and sent the South faithful into raptures.
The game's major controversy came just minutes later, as Devonport had a strong claim for a stoppage-time penalty turned down. A long ball from the backline came down just inside the area, and Strikers substitute Miles Barnard looked to have won the header before being clobbered by Wright as he tried to punch it away. It looked to be a clear-cut foul, and replays certainly seemed to confirm that, but the referee remained unmoved and the Strikers remained behind.
They pushed their whole team into the box for the resultant corner, including the goalkeeper Pitchford, and once South cleared the ball away they had their chance to kill the game. The long clearance landed in front of Van Doorne at halfway, and with an open paddock in front of him he raced into the attacking third and calmly slotted it home into an open net to seal a famous victory for his club.
[caption id="attachment_11908" align="alignnone" width="586"]
Van Doorne celebrates the sealer- Solstice Photography[/caption]
The dying moments saw some frustration boil over for Devonport as Syson was shown a red card for a cynical kick at the leg of Hugh Ludford. That didn't bother South one bit, though, as the final whistle sounded soon after and confirmed their status as Lakoseljac Cup champions once more.
With one trophy now safely in the cabinet at Darcy Street, they'll wait to find out their fate on the national stage with a place in the FFA Cup Round of 32 secured. Whatever happens next, though, they'll know that they were once again the Cup kings of Tasmania.
Isky Van Doorne played a starring role- Solstice Photography[/caption]
For all that endeavour, though, both sides only had one definitive look at the goal before half time. A cheeky long-range chip from Max Fitzgerald almost caught South goalkeeper Graham Wright off his line, and Bradley Lakoseljac had the Cup's fairytale script denied by a goal-line block at the other end.
The sides went into the half time break still locked at 0-0, and the slower tempo looked set to continue after the restart. The game wasn't kicked up a gear until just after the hour mark, when some end-to-end action saw both teams threaten to break the deadlock.
Fitzgerald again went close after a deflected pass found him in space, but his shot from close range whistled over the bar. An immediate South counter saw the ball fly straight down to the other end, where a long ball from Van Doorne found Nick Morton with space to shoot. His shot from the back of the area forced another good save from Pitchford, who put in a typically solid performance between the sticks.
That back-and-forth set the pattern for the rest of the game, as the ball was whipped from one end to the other and both teams looked likely to score at any moment. Devonport controlled the play more and looked composed on the ball, but the constant threat of South's star attacking trio made them dangerous going forward.
It was a frenetic run of near-misses, as Hamlett and Morton for South and Stone for the Strikers all couldn't quite find the target from some golden opportunities.
[caption id="attachment_11906" align="alignnone" width="633"] The physical battle was intense- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Even when the ball did hit the back of the net they couldn't break the deadlock, as Devonport had a goal disallowed with 15 minutes left. Fitzgerald looked to have muscled South's Adam Gorrie off the ball before finishing well past Wright, but the referee had already blown the whistle for a foul on the Strikers winger. He and his teammates protested, but replays showed that he had clipped the ankle of Gorrie in the build up.
The tempo and play from both sides continued to build as the half progressed, and it reached a magnificent crescendo in the game's last five minutes. The madness started with what seemed like a certain goal for the Strikers, as Fitzgerald created their best chance of the game with some individual brilliance.
A perfectly timed run saw him break down the left, and as Wright advanced to shut him down he made a fantastic fake that wrong-footed the keeper. With clear space in front of him, he drove to the byline and played a cross that crawled along the goal line to an open Giampaoli at the back post, who somehow hit a simple tap-in into the post and out of play.
Three minutes later, in the 90th minute, that huge miss looked even more costly as a beautiful South Hobart play was finished by Herweynen. They pinged a series of passes around the forward third before Morton played in Van Doorne behind the defence. From the byline on the right he crossed over the waiting pack in the middle to Herweynen at the back of the box, and the young midfielder's volley crashed into the underside of the net and sent the South faithful into raptures.
The game's major controversy came just minutes later, as Devonport had a strong claim for a stoppage-time penalty turned down. A long ball from the backline came down just inside the area, and Strikers substitute Miles Barnard looked to have won the header before being clobbered by Wright as he tried to punch it away. It looked to be a clear-cut foul, and replays certainly seemed to confirm that, but the referee remained unmoved and the Strikers remained behind.
They pushed their whole team into the box for the resultant corner, including the goalkeeper Pitchford, and once South cleared the ball away they had their chance to kill the game. The long clearance landed in front of Van Doorne at halfway, and with an open paddock in front of him he raced into the attacking third and calmly slotted it home into an open net to seal a famous victory for his club.
[caption id="attachment_11908" align="alignnone" width="586"] Van Doorne celebrates the sealer- Solstice Photography[/caption]
The dying moments saw some frustration boil over for Devonport as Syson was shown a red card for a cynical kick at the leg of Hugh Ludford. That didn't bother South one bit, though, as the final whistle sounded soon after and confirmed their status as Lakoseljac Cup champions once more.
With one trophy now safely in the cabinet at Darcy Street, they'll wait to find out their fate on the national stage with a place in the FFA Cup Round of 32 secured. Whatever happens next, though, they'll know that they were once again the Cup kings of Tasmania.