They were given a mighty scare, but the Devonport Strikers have moved eight points clear on top of the NPL TAS ladder after a 3-2 win against the Kingborough Lions.
Both sides were well below their best for much of the day at Lightwood Park, but in the end the class of the Strikers was enough to overcome a late charge from the Lions. An electric performance from winger Max Fitzgerald helped them to a three goal lead, before some stout late defending saw them limp to the finish line.
Surprisingly, it was Kingborough who made the more composed start as they controlled the first ten minutes. The Strikers struggled to move past the halfway line with the ball, but an early set piece headed wide by Danny Cowen was the only chance the Lions could create as reward.
From there the Strikers slowly began to assert their dominance in general play, and the goal scoring opportunities followed soon after. Ignacio Giampaoli and Joel Stone both forced saves from Lions gloveman Kenneth Perkinson, before the visitors opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Jack Dance played the ball out to Eddie Bidwell, who fired home through the arms of Perkinson, who would want to have that moment back to make it 1-0.
The Strikers continued to control the game across the park and Fitzgerald beat his markers down the wing time and time again, but some gritty defending from the Lions meant chances were few and far between. Just as it looked like the half would end with barely a whimper, though, Devonport's big guns combined to double their lead just before the break.
A tidy counterattack through the middle ended with Stone playing a lovely through ball for Giampaoli, who made his run behind the defence and finished easily past Perkinson. That gave the Strikers a deserved buffer heading into the break, and they added to it further almost immediately after the restart.
Again it was Giampaoli making things happen, this time with the assist. He won a loose ball on the left-hand edge of the area, turned back between two defenders and slid it across goal where an open Fitzgerald easily tucked it away.
With a three goal lead and their opponents still looking for a spark, it seemed like the Strikers would cruise to the final whistle. But football's a funny game, and all it took was one goal against the run of play to awaken the hosts.
The Lions chipped the ball forward and worked it down the right, before the cross in found Horatio Gutierrez around the penalty spot. He finished well into the top corner to give the home fans a glimmer of hope with 25 minutes left.
The goal seemed to energise the Lions as they seized the momentum and pressed forward in numbers. They continued to leave themselves open on the counter, though, and it was only another fantastic one-on-one save from Perkinson to deny Daniel Syson that kept them in the contest.
Just minutes later that save looked to be even more crucial, as Jack Turner buried a shot from close range. The celebrations of the Lions soon turned into angry protests, as they saw the linesman's flag raised and the goal disallowed.
That anger seemed to spur them on even more, but the first-class defence of the Strikers held true until just minutes before the final whistle. Some sloppy play out from the back left the door open for Turner once again, and he pounced on the loose ball and and tucked it away off the far post. That left a nervy few minutes of stoppage time for Devonport, but they managed to negotiate it safely to just barely claim the three points.
After an uninspiring performance for much of the day, new Lions coach Jez Kenth would surely be happy with his side's fightback in his first game in charge. The Strikers, meanwhile, move eight points clear of the chasing pack on the NPL TAS table and are firmly in the box seat in the title race. They'll now turn their attention to next Monday's Lakoseljac Cup final against South Hobart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk2AojtG_Jg