Glenorchy Knights 1-0 Olympia Warriors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5jKccTU4ks
The Glenorchy Knights have started their season with a win, overcoming a stubborn Olympia Warriors defence to prevail 1-0 at KGV. It was an admirable performance from a youthful Warriors side, but 2020 Golden Boot winner Alex Walter broke through to score the game's only goal in the second half.
After plenty of player movement during the offseason, the Warriors entered round one with a starting lineup made up mostly from their Southern Championship-winning side from a year ago. The Knights, on the other hand, were able to keep the bulk of their NPL squad intact. That saw the home side enter the game as firm favourites, but they were frustrated early by Olympia's deep defensive line. With only a handful of half-chances on offer and none seriously threatening the goal, the game crawled to half-time without any score.
The young Warriors continued to work tirelessly into the second half, but with the league's most potent attacking lineup constantly driving at them, a clean sheet always seemed like an impossible dream. They held on into the final 20 minutes, but a turnover on the left gave Nick Mearns a chance to cross for the Knights. Olympia's Brayton Allen attempted to clear the danger in the middle, but he could only scuff the ball straight to the feet of Walter at the top of the penalty area. With time on the ball, he was able to skip past his marker before shooting across the face of goal and into the far bottom corner.
That was one of the few mistakes that the Warriors made in a promising season opener, but it proved to be a decisive one as they were unable to find an equaliser late. Banking the full three points was crucial for a Knights side aiming to challenge for the title, but they would be hoping to be back at their high-scoring best in the coming weeks.
Kingborough Lions 3-1 Riverside Olympic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TOxYSqA5WA
One week after claiming the 2021 Summer Cup title, the Kingborough Lions continued their winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Riverside Olympic at Lightwood Park. It wasn't all smooth sailing as the home side fell behind in the first half, but a goal from captain Keenan Douce sandwiched in the middle of an Adam McKeown brace saw the Lions run away with the result.
The Lions did the bulk of the attacking early, crossing often from the wings but struggling to find the finishing touches. While Riverside were restricted largely to attacking on the counter, they still found chances to score and forced Kingborough goalkeeper Sheku Kamara into action on occasion. Those efforts were rewarded in the 35th minute when an in-swinging corner was headed home at the near post by Tom Prince. That lead lasted just five minutes, though, as Kingborough also struck with a ball from the corner. Keenan Douce's delivery was allowed to drop into the middle of the area, where Adam McKeown was waiting to poke it home and level the scores.
That was the spark that the Lions needed, and they grabbed the lead less than five minutes into the second half. A long throw into the area couldn't be cleared further than the edge of the box, where it looped high and fell towards Douce. With time to steady he hit a first-time volley that bounced awkwardly in front of goalkeeper Dan Nash, with the gloveman diving but failing to do enough to keep the ball out of the net.
Kingborough continued to push for a third, and they were denied on multiple occasions by some sharp work from Nash. The visitors had chances to score themselves, albeit less than the Lions, but Kamara was tidy between the posts and kept them out. The Riverside backline held strong right up until the dying minutes of the game, when the Lions added a third goal to remove any doubt about the result. A long-range effort from Kobe Kemp was blocked off the boot, and from the high rebound and with his back to goal McKeown was able to flick a header past Nash and into the bottom corner. There would be no further score, giving the Lions a winning start to the new season.
Launceston City 0-1 Devonport Strikers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE-BIcKuF98
A typically robust performance saw the Devonport Strikers claim a 1-0 victory over Launceston City at Buckby Motors Park. A one-goal margin against last year's wooden spooners might seem underwhelming, but the Strikers did what they do best and ground out a win thanks to new signing Nick Lanau-Atkinson's second-half strike.
As expected, it was the Strikers that had the bulk of the possession and the best of the chances, with City goalkeeper Lachlan Clark called into action early and often. His safe hands and some poor finishing from the opposition saw the game remain goalless through the first half. While the home side had less traffic heading towards their end they did have perhaps the best chance of the half, with a close-range shot from Will Fleming forcing an acrobatic save from Golden Glove winner Nathan Pitchford.
It was more of the same early in the second half, and Devonport finally found a breakthrough in the 59th minute. After beating his man on the right and driving inboard with the ball, Eddie Bidwell played in Brody Denehey towards the byline. His first touch cut it back to the near post, where Lanau-Atkinson was able to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and poke a shot home from point-blank range.
Launceston City doubled their efforts but continued to struggle moving the ball into attack, while Devonport could have easily grown their lead with some improved play in the final third. Still, this is a Strikers team built to collect clean sheets and premiership points, and they were able to do both in their opening game of the season. A late injury to senior player Matthew Oh would be a huge concern for City, and they will be hoping for some more luck in round two and beyond.
South Hobart 6-2 Clarence Zebras
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rei9O7xWhU
There were goals aplenty at Darcy Street on Sunday, as South Hobart opened their season with a 6-2 win over the Clarence Zebras. It was anyone's game at half time with the scores locked at 1-1, but five second-half goals led by a Nick Morton brace saw South run away with the result and move to the top of the NPL Tasmania table.
Coming off an impressive pre-season campaign, South quickly settled into their high-possession style of play. They were in no hurry when moving the ball forward, but they still found an early goal and took the lead in the 11th minute. Some fancy footwork from Sam Berezansky saw him beat his man along the byline, and with time to cross he picked out Sam Tooze at the back post for an open header and the opening goal.
South continued to play with confidence and looked the more likely team to score again, but the Zebras tried to break quickly where possible and threatened with their pace in the final third. They found reward for that effort right on the stroke of half time, as Matt Pace drove into the area and crossed to the middle just before being taken down by a sliding Jayden Hey. The referee whistled the foul and awarded the penalty, and Zebras captain Riley Dillon stepped up and calmly rolled the ball into the back of the net to level the scores at the break.
That lasted for less than two minutes in the second half, as just after the restart Berezansky slid a perfect through-ball behind the defence for Kasper Hallam to run onto and score with a simple finish. Another couple of minutes later, Berezansky got the ball wide on the left and threaded a low cross through a crowd of defenders, finding Nick Morton for a point-blank finish. The Zebras had done well to go into half time level; suddenly, they found themselves two goals behind and with none of the momentum.
Already in the frame for man of the match honours with a hat-trick of assists, Berezansky looked to have killed the contest with a goal of his own just before the hour mark. This time it was Hallam turning provider, spinning past his man in the area and drilling a cross that just eluded the goalkeeper before being thumped home by Berezansky. A 4-1 lead should have been safe, but when Matt Pace zig-zagged his way through the entire South defence just moments later and scored a sensational solo goal, he gave the visitors a tiny sliver of hope.
In the end, though, that goal would be the highlight for the Zebras as South added on two late goals to blow out the margin. Some sloppy defending saw them give up a tap-in to Morton for his second, before Lachlan Semmler beat the goalkeeper at the near post with a low shot from the right of the area in the stoppage time. That made the final score 6-2, a resounding victory for South Hobart to start their season.
