South Sneak Home Against Plucky Zebras

South Hobart managed to steal all three points in a tight 1-0 win against the Clarence Zebras, but it may have come at a cost with an injury to Kobe Kemp and a late red card to Andy Brennan. A Kasper Hallam goal on the stroke of half time was enough to split the two sides, and it came after midfield maestro Kemp had been helped from the field after a heavy knock to the leg. The Zebras fought hard and looked the more likely side in the second half, but they couldn't break through a South backline marshalled brilliantly by goalkeeper Mark Moncur. A second yellow card for Brennan in the dying minutes, and the suspension that will come with his sending off, would have left a bitter taste in coach Ken Morton's mouth, but his side held on for their second win in as many starts. South Hobart controlled the tempo from the opening whistle, keeping possession well and waiting for the chance to spring forward. Sam Berezansky loomed early with a pair of good chances, but those quick forays forward left them somewhat open at the back. Clarence struggled to move the ball forward with any real purpose in the first half, but they still threatened the South goal by breaking quickly on the counter at every opportunity. Ryan Cook and Lachlan Burt both found some space behind the defence in the first half, but both were foiled by Moncur's judgement to come off his line. Just as it looked like the sides would remain at an impasse heading into the break, the game sprung into action late in the half. Unfortunately that started with the injury to Kemp, as a hard tackle in the middle of the field left him down for several minutes. It took two South staffers to help him to the sideline, and his replacement Brennan was immediately shown a card for entering the field of play too soon-- a harmless enough decision at the time, but one that would come back to bite him before long. Deep into the stoppage time caused by the injury delay, South managed to scramble home a decisive goal. It started from a long ball into the area, which was met well by Zebras 'keeper Nicholas O'Connell. The follow up from Berezansky forced another good save from the gloveman, but he couldn't recover in time for a third effort. Hallam collected the ball at the back post and blasted a shot that hit a little of a defender, a little of the woodwork and a lot of the back of the net. Conceding that goal visibly demoralised the Zebras as they went into the sheds, but they looked revitalised once the game restarted. Matt Pace went close in the opening minutes, and his side pushed hard for an equaliser while keeping South's attackers fairly quiet. That task became a little harder when Noah Sharples was forced from the field with an injury, but South failed to fully capitalise and the Zebras continued to threaten. A pair of chances for Luke Huigsloot and a set piece set-up from Riley Dillon all went begging, leaving them scrambling in the final moments as South ran down the clock. Both Nick Morton and Thomas Walpole should have doubled the lead in the dying minutes, but those misses mattered little in the end. It was Brennan that had the final real action of the game, as he recklessly and needlessly slid in for a tackle that saw him cop his second yellow card which will rule him out of next week's huge game with Knights. South would be thrilled to keep their winning start to the season rolling, but they will have to wait and see how much it could cost them in the longer run. [caption id="attachment_14374" align="alignnone" width="1022"] Veteran Mark Moncur made some crucial saves for his side[/caption]