Lions keep top four hopes alive by breaking Darcy St hoodoo

Kingborough coach Alfred Hess hailed the display of two of his youngsters in Sunday’s huge win at South Hobart, which broke one of NPL Tasmania’s biggest hoodoos.

Kingborough Lions celebrate their first win over South Hobart at home since 2006. Picture: Anthony Corke

Kingborough coach Alfred Hess lauded the displays of two youngsters after they help withstand a second half barrage to secure a first win at South Hobart in close to two decades on Sunday.

The last time the Lions grabbed three points at Darcy Street was 2006. But Kingborough held onto a 2-1 half-time lead to move to within just a point of fourth-placed Launceston City, whose match against Riverside was abandoned due to poor weather.

Hess said the history-making result was a collective team effort, but singled out 17-year-old Eli Wright in his first game at fullback and young keeper Eisa Azizi for their efforts.

Nick Morton put South Hobart in front after 15 minutes, but an own goal and Noah Mies’ strike right on half-time handed Kingborough the win.

“I think it’s the first time in NPL history the club’s beaten South Hobart at Darcy St, so it was quite nice to share that moment with so many club members and supporters,” Hess said.

“I thought we defended really well in the second half. We organised well and limited their opportunities, but they certainly had some and on another day might have taken them.

“It’s hard to talk about individuals in a real collective performance, but if I name two I thought young Eli Wright at fullback did exceptionally well.

“It was his second start for us this year but first time in that (fullback) role, and he was marvellous in curtailing some threatening South Hobart front unit players.

“Azizi came up big on occasions with a few stops. It was a collective performance but it was nice to see those two do well.”

t Nick Morton of South Hobart and player/coach Alfred Hess of Kingborough Lions lock horns during Sunday’s game. Picture: Anthony Corke

Hess said Wright’s display was reward for his preparation through the week.

“He worked particularly hard this week to know what was required of him in that role,” he said.

“He’s a thoughtful footballer and he delivered. There was some serious questions asked of him in that match, but he answered those with a fair bit of distinction.”

After grabbing three difficult points at a tough venue, Hess is aware it will count for little if they don’t beat strugglers Riverside Olympic at home this Saturday.

“The match sets a platform for these subsequent matches but for us to get full value out of it, we have to go on with it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Glenorchy coach James Sherman admitted it’s unlikely they will chase down ladder leaders Devonport despite a 5-0 win over Launceston United.

The second-placed Knights are seven points behind the Strikers, and Sherman is determined to at least secure a top two spot and a subsequent home semi final.

“Every week we look to improve and make sure we do our bit, and if Devonport slips up we keep them honest,” Sherman said.

“I don’t see it happening, I think they’re too organised and have too much quality there an Tom (Ballantyne, coach) will do too good a job.

“We want to finish as high as possible. I won’t sleep any better than if we finish second instead of third, we want to be winning.

“But going into the finals series, if you finish second you get a home game which would be great for the club, and we have a responsibility to try and make it happen.”

Meanwhile, Clarence is on the lookout for a new NPL coach after the club announced on Monday Brett Pullen has resigned, effective immediately.

The Zebras offered no clarification for the reasons behind Pullen’s decision, posting on Facebook they “thank Brett for his work and with him the best for the future.”

The Zebras are currently sixth on the table and two points outside the top four.

NPL

Devonport Strikers 5 (N.Lanau-Atkinson 14”, R.Garrido 38”, T.Last 63”, L.Bennett 68”, B.Denehey 69”) def Clarence Zebras 1 (B.Tilley 33”); Glenorchy Knights 5 (E.Luttmer 44” N.Mearns 47” 62”, T.McTigue OG 76”, A.Gorrie 84”) def Launceston United 0; South Hobart 1 (N.Morton 15”) def by Kingborough Lions 2 (J.Bowman OG 24”, N.Mies 45”)

* Riverside Olympic v Launceston City was postponed due to a wet field