An inspired South Hobart side has stormed into the Lakoseljac Cup final with a 5-2 win over the Olympia Warriors at Darcy Street.
Dominant for most of the afternoon, they struck twice early and were able to steady after a Joffrey Nkoso wonder strike threatened to pull Olympia back into the contest. Nkoso finished with a brace for the visitors, but it was South's Ben Hamlett who stole the show with a hat-trick and a gut-busting performance up front.
The hosts looked the more likely side right from the kickoff, as Hamlett had two shots on goal in the first six minutes. He had his first goal of the day served up on a platter moments later after some clumsy defending saw Olympia concede an early penalty.
After being played through on the right, Isky Van Doorne drove into the 18-yard box and was cut down by a sliding challenge from Warriors defender Bay Kurtz. After some consultation with his assistant, the referee pointed to the spot, and Hamlett made no mistake with a bullet into the bottom corner.
Their lead was doubled just minutes later, as the forward pressure of South paid off in a big way. Pressing inside their forward half, they won the ball through Nick Morton and he moved into the area after a tidy one-two with Hamlett. With defenders swarming he somehow played the ball across goal, where Samuel Berezansky was waiting to poke it home.
Even with a two goal buffer South Hobart continued to press relentlessly in an all-out blitz. A mad goalmouth scramble should have seen them further ahead, but a reflex save from Warriors gloveman Kyle McDonald on one shot and a rebound off the crossbar from another saw the ball stay out.
South continued to dominate the play, despite Nkoso lurking dangerously up front and getting his side's first shots of the game away after half an hour. Despite this, Olympia's first goal of the day came against the run of play and from one moment of brilliance from their star striker.
A long ball to Jack Ryan was chested down in the middle of the park and fell at the feet of Nkoso. From thirty-plus yards out he took a touch, steadied and let rip with an thunderous strike into the top corner of the net. It left Graham Wright motionless in goal and had the Warriors back in the fight despite a lacklustre performance.
With ten minutes until half time, both sides seemed content to slow the game down and take the 2-1 scoreline into the break. That wasn't to be the case though, as some sloppy defending from the Warriors sapped their newfound momentum in stoppage time.
An aerial ball fell to Adam Gorrie on the right, and from the edge of the box he hit a hopeful ball goalward with little pace on it. With a deflection from Olympia's Paul Stevens and a flying boot from Hamlett that didn't look to connect, the ball somehow rolled straight past McDonald and into the back of the net for a potential own goal.
If the Warriors were hoping to restructure and settle after the half time break, they were in for a rude shock after the restart. It took just three minutes for South to add their fourth goal, and it came from a brilliantly worked set piece straight from the training ground.
A short corner was played to Morton around the corner of the area, and he hit a curling ball at pace and on target. As McDonald set himself in line with the ball, Hamlett rose in front of him with a glancing header that completely wrong-footed the keeper and made it 4-1.
With a seemingly unassailable lead South were able to slow the pace of the game down, and their defence gave Olympia very few chances to claw back into the contest. They continued to look for Ryan with long balls forward, but he was given no room to operate all day and struggled to make an impact.
When the next clear-cut chance came, it fell once again to the hosts and the inspired Ben Hamlett. Tobias Herweynen played a through ball in front of him, forcing McDonald to come well outside of his area to clear. He and Hamlett hit the ball simultaneously, and the South frontman came out stronger with the ball before finishing into an open net for his third goal of the day.
With a 5-1 lead and a spot in the cup final secured, South started to ease off the gas and rotate their stars onto the bench. Chances were few and far between as both sides seemed resigned to the end result.
With ten minutes left, a rare foray forward for Olympia found Nkoso one-on-one with Wright in goal. The young forward was good enough to round the keeper and tap home his second to complete a good performance on an otherwise disappointing day.
Some late pushing and shoving and a healthy helping of yellow cards aside, that proved the be the last action of the game as South advanced with a 5-2 win. Hamlett was the star with three goals, while his forward partners Van Doorne and Morton were also immense.
South Hobart will now take on Devonport in the Lakoseljac Cup final, with a spot in the FFA Cup on the line.
https://youtu.be/xZNXqCsR2cc
https://youtu.be/lVYy7sZqSgc
Images from Solstice Photography
Images from Solstice Photography