They left it late and it wasn't pretty at times, but the Hobart Zebras eventually prevailed 3-2 over Riverside Olympic to consolidate their place in the NPL TAS top four.
Facing a side with just two wins for the season, the Zebras took a slim lead into half time before two minutes of magic from Chris Wademan grabbed an unlikely lead for the underdogs. His quickfire brace wasn't enough, though, as a Riley Dillon free kick and an 86th-minute winner from Matthew Pace stole victory and the three points for Hobart.
Kicking off in strong winds at KGV, both sides struggled to adjust to the conditions early. It was more than 20 minutes before either had a shot on target, and it took even longer to see a string of more than five forward passes on target.
The Zebras tried to stay patient and play out from the back but constantly turned it over, and Riverside constantly turned it over straight back. That saw 20 minutes tick away without any real action, before the opening goal came from nowhere and finally injected some life into the contest.
A long ball from the Zebras defence looked innocuous enough, but it landed in front of Adam Mckeown with an acre of space to work into. He brought it down well, advanced at Riverside 'keeper Jarrod Hill and slid it past him into the bottom corner.
The goal sparked both sides into motion, and the ensuing minutes saw more action than the all the previous ones combined. Riverside's Aaron Campbell forced a save from Samuel Whatman at close range, and Dillon went close to doubling Hobart's lead with a shot that thumped off the inside of the post and out.
The Zebras looked to have finally found their rhythm as the first half wound down, while Riverside continued to struggle to keep possession. While the home side's lead was still just a single goal at half time, it felt inevitable that they would add to it sooner rather than later.
That made what happened immediately after the restart even more surprising, as Riverside had the lead less than three minutes into the second half. It was English import Wademan that did the damage, as a two-minute brace dragged his side into the lead.
It was a stunning first goal that got Riverside on the board, as Wademan made a run behind the defence and was played in from the midfield. His first touch bobbled and killed his momentum, and rather than taking off again he stopped, steadied and hit the bouncing ball from long range. Whatman managed to get a hand on it, but the ball looped past him and into the back of the net.
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One minute later Wademan had his second, and while it wasn't as spectacular as the first it was just as important. This time the ball was played to his feet inside the area, and he had time to line up a shot and finish with ease to take an unexpected lead.
Riverside's stunning burst came completely out of the blue, and the Zebras continued to look like the better team afterwards. No longer holding a lead to protect, though, they struggled to find the shots on goal that they desperately needed. Riverside too had very few promising forward plays, but they fought hard to stifle the Zebras attackers and cleared the ball long time and time again.
It wasn't until more than 70 minutes had passed that Hobart really threatened the Riverside goal again, but there were some ominous signs of what was to come from Pace. He had two near misses in a two minute span, with a shot from a tight angle rolling just across the face of goal and a first-time hit from a corner whistling over the crossbar.
It was Dillon who struck to level the scores, though, and it was a brilliant set piece that finally broke through. With a Zebras free kick won around the edge of the area, the winger stepped up and hit a curling shot that beat the wall low and snuck past a diving Hill at the near post.
Already in survival mode, Riverside struggled adjust to being back on level terms as the Zebras continued to push for a winner. They found one with just four minutes left, and fittingly it was a turnover in the middle of the park that opened the door for them.
Mckeown won the ball in the middle and drove towards the penalty box, where he played a tidy one-two with Matthew Sanders and got the ball back deep in the area. His shot from a tight angle was bunted into the post by Hill, but the rebound spilled across the goal and into the path of a wide-open Pace who tapped it home into the open net.
Stoppage time provided two chances for Wademan to again be the hero for Riverside, but he couldn't quite grasp either to steal a result at the death. A volley from the top of the area missed high and wide, while a second shot moments later was well hit but straight at the goalkeeper.
Those misses sealed the result for the Zebras, as the final whistle saw them emerge with a 3-2 win. Now seven points clear inside the top four, they'll take on the Glenorchy Knights next Friday night, while Riverside will host South Hobart at Windsor Park.
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One minute later Wademan had his second, and while it wasn't as spectacular as the first it was just as important. This time the ball was played to his feet inside the area, and he had time to line up a shot and finish with ease to take an unexpected lead.
Riverside's stunning burst came completely out of the blue, and the Zebras continued to look like the better team afterwards. No longer holding a lead to protect, though, they struggled to find the shots on goal that they desperately needed. Riverside too had very few promising forward plays, but they fought hard to stifle the Zebras attackers and cleared the ball long time and time again.
It wasn't until more than 70 minutes had passed that Hobart really threatened the Riverside goal again, but there were some ominous signs of what was to come from Pace. He had two near misses in a two minute span, with a shot from a tight angle rolling just across the face of goal and a first-time hit from a corner whistling over the crossbar.
It was Dillon who struck to level the scores, though, and it was a brilliant set piece that finally broke through. With a Zebras free kick won around the edge of the area, the winger stepped up and hit a curling shot that beat the wall low and snuck past a diving Hill at the near post.
Already in survival mode, Riverside struggled adjust to being back on level terms as the Zebras continued to push for a winner. They found one with just four minutes left, and fittingly it was a turnover in the middle of the park that opened the door for them.
Mckeown won the ball in the middle and drove towards the penalty box, where he played a tidy one-two with Matthew Sanders and got the ball back deep in the area. His shot from a tight angle was bunted into the post by Hill, but the rebound spilled across the goal and into the path of a wide-open Pace who tapped it home into the open net.
Stoppage time provided two chances for Wademan to again be the hero for Riverside, but he couldn't quite grasp either to steal a result at the death. A volley from the top of the area missed high and wide, while a second shot moments later was well hit but straight at the goalkeeper.
Those misses sealed the result for the Zebras, as the final whistle saw them emerge with a 3-2 win. Now seven points clear inside the top four, they'll take on the Glenorchy Knights next Friday night, while Riverside will host South Hobart at Windsor Park.