South Hold Off City To Claim Opener

South Hobart survived a spirited Launceston City fightback to claim a 3-2 win in their NPL Tasmania season opener at Darcy Street on Saturday afternoon. Kasper Hallam fired the hosts into a deserved half time lead before a Samuel Tooze brace had South cruising at 3-0 up midway through the second half. That all changed when Samuel Ridgard and Yasin Mohammadi responded for the visitors to set the stage for a grandstand finish. Ultimately South held on against City's late push to secure a valuable 3 points and start their season in the best possible fashion. The first 20 minutes hinted at a pretty open contest with both sides positive in possession and really looking to take the game on, but neither side was creating clear cut chances despite the obvious attacking intent. An injury to City's starting keeper Lachlan Clark,who pulled up lame when taking a goal kick threw a spanner in the works and forced him off to be replaced by Daniel Nash. There wasn't much he could do about it, but Nash soon found the ball in the back of his net when speedster Kasper Hallam tore past Charlie Dyer before placing home the games opening goal drawing a loud response from the South Hobart home faithful. The goal seemed to lift South, who completely took control of the game heading into the half and they really dialed up the pressure on the City defence. They couldn't produce a second goal before the whistle though and the score remained 1-0 at the break. City had a golden chance to get back on terms early in the second half when Jarrod Linger turned cleverly into the box and set up Noah Mies. Mies shot was denied by Moncur but the rebound fell to Samuel Ridgard sitting just 6 yards out who lent back and blasted it over the bar. Credit must go to Patrick Kibler who got a piece of the shot that may well have proved decisive in elevating it over the bar, but it was a prime chance gone begging for City and one they would rue almost immediately. A long ball over the top was misjudged by Rossetto and fell to Kasper Hallam in behind whose shot drew a sharp save from Nash, the rebound was then tracked down by Samuel Tooze, who turned back towards goal and let fly with an absolute scorcher of a shot that rocketed top corner. https://twitter.com/FootballTas/status/1284402219983360003 He had his second just a minute later when a lovely piece of play from Ewan Larby on the left saw him cutting back to the South striker who tapped home his second. From potentially 1-1 to being 3-0 down in the blink of an eye for City, it was a real reminder of how drastically games can change on small moments. City however were not going to go quietly and they fought doggedly to get back in the game as their English duo helped get them back into it. Following some dazzling Jarrod Linger footwork in midfield, Rob Gerrard skipped past Berezansky wide on the right and put in a perfect cross to an unmarked Ridgard in the middle who made no mistake this time, poking home from close range. South looked like they had responded quickly when Walpole finsihed off a slick looking passing move only for the offside flag to be raised denying them. City then cut the lead to just one when substitute Yasin Mohammadi blasted one home when the ball fell to him in the box following a Noah Mies flick on from a long Rossetto throw in. It ensured a nervy finish to the game as City flooded men forward in search of a leveler and the young South side looked to be tiring. It wouldn't eventuate however, as South held on to claim the 3-2 win and claim the first 3 points of the 2020 NPL season. https://youtu.be/ElHadPBFlR4 [caption id="attachment_14204" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The NPL is back for 2020- Solstice Photography[/caption]