Written by Jacob Batt

A ten man Hobart JEEP Zebras atoned for last week’s Lakoseljac Cup loss, getting revenge with a hard fought two-nil victory over Kingborough Lions at Lightwood Park.The win keeps Zebras atop the PS4 Victory League, while the Lions claw to fourth on goal difference, and left to rue missed opportunities today. Changes were made to the Zebras side that fell 4-2 in extra time to the Lions last week. Kurt Engels missed this match through suspension and was replaced by Callen Griffin, while coach Chris Hey favoured the bigger body of Grant Malcolm to start over goal sneak, Ethan Engels. Kingborough Lions gloveman Andrew Duncan was cleared fit following the clash with Kurt Engels last week and took his position between the sticks. Free flowing football was hard to come by in the beginning, but Kingborough began to find their groove, playing some neat balls out wide with solid build up play. Jack Turner asserted himself on the match in the middle, linking up well with Dean Watkins on the left and Joel Schuth on the right, creating problems for Zebras early on.

Despite some bright moments for the Lions, it was the Zebras that opened the scoring, striking in the 27th minute with a through ball from Callen Griffin finding Dwayne Walsh on the right. Walsh squared the ball to Adam McKeown, who side footed it into the back of the net to give Zebras a valuable lead. Lions Joel Schuth, Dean Watkins, Danny Cowen and Michael Palmer all had golden opportunities to equalise in the first half. Unfortunately for the home side they couldn’t convert their chances, either missing the target or Zebras ‘keeper Graham Wright making the save when called upon. Just before half time, controversy struck for the second time in as many weeks for Zebras, English central defender Nathan Cook was given his marching orders for violent conduct and Zebras were reduced to ten men.

Referee Ivan Jozeljac showed the straight red for Cook lashing a boot out to the back of Jack Turner’s neck, Zebras players were visibly frustrated with the decision, but it was difficult to clearly see how the incident played out from the press box. Zebras began to outplay their opposition in the second half, going a man down seemed to only spur the ladder leaders on. Full back Dwayne Walsh stood up when needed and was electric on the right, he doubled the visitors advantage in the 61st minute with a fantastic run and shot across the goal that went in off the post to make it 2-0. Kingborough weren’t about to lie down without a fight and applied immense pressure in the final 15 minutes. Scotsman Graham Wright pulled off some incredible saves, including a double save, denying Danny Cowen, Michael Palmer and Lewis Verdouw to ensure Zebras took home all three points. Hobart JEEP Zebras coach Chris Hey was happy with his teams discipline in their shape and the determination they showed after being reduced to ten men. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202617878" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /] “It wasn’t a pretty game, it was ground out and it was fought with heart, especially after going down to ten. Proud as punch of the boys,” said Hey.

Hey was mindful his team has now received two red cards in consecutive matches and the stretch suspension has on his squad. “We’ve got a bit of an injury list at the moment, we’ve got guys out there that are playing with injuries. "We don’t have Kurt for the Devonport game, and we have now lost Nathan. Devonport are a good side, it’s an away game and that could hurt us,” said Hey. Kingborough Lions coach Colin Robbins gave credit to Zebras for holding them out with ten men, but was also disappointed his side could not make the most of the opportunities they created. [soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202617879" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /] “We created some good chances in the first half and they need to get converted," said Robbins. "We would’ve been probably three goals up going into half time if they had been converted. It’s hard, when you play top teams like that you’ve got to put those away,” said Robbins.

“I actually liked the way we played today. We played discipline to the team roles we’ve spelt out to the guys. Some of the players’ tasks were a little disappointing in the second half and we’ll address those this week,” said Robbins. Top of the table Hobart JEEP Zebras now have a week off, while Kingborough Lions face Northern Rangers next Saturday at Lightwood Park in the semi-finals of the Lakoseljac Cup. Kingborough Lions 0 Hobart JEEP Zebras 2 (Adam McKeown 27′, Dwayne Walsh 61′) (HALF TIME 0-1) (LIGHTWOOD PARK, KINGSTON) MORE INFO