Launceston City and Kingborough played out an entertaining 1-1 draw on City’s training ground at the newly named ‘Buckby Land Rover Park’ for round 1 of the 2017 NPL Season on Saturday afternoon.

The first half started off at a frenetic pace with both teams eager to show how far they’ve come since last season. The first half threatened to be the Benny Kovadio show. He continuously threatened City’s back three of Butler, Frost and Goold from the right wing, at times slicing them apart and getting into good areas of City’s 18 yard box but on a number of occasions failed to pull the trigger. Jack Gates from left full back was also creating numerous chances for Kingborough but finding Danny Cowen or any other Lion in the box was proving a tough ask with City’s back three being able to track back and keep the Lions at bay.

It took until the 28th minute for either side to get a threatening strike at goal and it fell to the home side. Compagne crossed to the back post where City’s Jarrod Linger was lurking. Linger controlled the ball, his curling shot took a deflection off a Kingborough defender and was heading towards the far post until Sheku Kamara popped up out of nowhere in the Kingborough goal to keep it out.

Shortly before the break Benny Kovadio decided it was his turn to try and steal the show getting a shot off straight at David Smith and then in the 39th minute hitting the near post after another one of his runs cutting in from the right. The scores remained 0-0 going into half time with it all to play for in the second half.

The second half started much like the first with neither team having the upper hand and it was a real end to end battle. City were trying to play it through the dynamic Dylan’s (O’Connor and Williams) in the middle of the park whereas Kingborough took a more wider, long ball approach. Benny as fit as a fiddle was continuing his darting, mazey runs into the City box but unable to find the finish to give the Lions the lead.

Kingborough’s Danny Cowen and City’s Andy Compagne aerial duel. Photo courtesy of Nathan Jones

Finally the deadlock was broken, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again proved to be the tonic for Kingborough. A long ball from defence this time was played straight up the guts into Danny Cowen’s path and with only the oncoming Smith to beat. Cowen made no mistake and smashed his volley past Smith and into the net to make it 1-0 to the visitors from ‘The Den’.

Kingborough’s goal then sparked City into action for the next 10 minutes as they went into a frenzy trying to claw that goal back. The ball fell to one of the more unlikely players on the park to score for City in Nathan Butler. Aaron Campbell’s cross from the right found the head of Nathan ‘Butsy’ Butler and he powered it towards goal but it whistled just wide of the post. Anything City could do Benny could arguably do better though, finding himself in a two on one situation cutting through both City defenders. With only Smith standing in his way from making it 1-2 to Kingborough, he attempted to round the City keeper but Smith was up for it and gathered well from Benny’s feet to thwart the danger and keep it one all with 17 minutes left on the clock.

City’s new American import Dylan Williams was a bit of a thorn for Kingborough trying to get at them from a central attacking midfield position. One of his runs ended up in the first Slice of Cheese as he was chopped down and the same happened when Nathan Bartlett drove through Kingborough defence only to be brought down.

The foul on Bartlett 25 yards from goal proved costly though. Five minutes from time, Dylan O’Connor, who had a relatively quiet game for City stepped up to make his mark on the game. He didn’t disappoint and dispatched his free kick, clearing out the cobwebs from the top right corner, leaving Kamara with no chance as it nestled in the back of the net.

City and Kingborough then frantically searched for a winner with only minutes left on the clock but even though they both huffed and they puffed but neither could find the killer touch, pass or shot to strike with the knockout blow. End result Launceston City 1 – Kingborough Lions 1 with City taking on Devonport at Valley Rd next week and Kingborough hosting Olympia down at ‘The Den’.

City coach Benjamin Brookfield laments what could have been. Photo courtesy of Nathan Jones

City’s coach Benjamin Brookfield lamented his team’s lacking of finishing off chances, while conceding Kamara for Kingborough was a class act,

“If you look at the chances it should have been 7 – 4 to us or something like that, it was a really good advert for the game in the state I thought, both team looking to attack.”

“I thought their keeper pulled off two ‘worldies’ I would call them, just how he got them out I don’t know.”

Kingborough’s coach Gabriel Markaj highlighted the need for his side to focus for the full 90 minutes of the match,

“We must focus for 90 minutes, we must be ruthless in front of goal, we can’t create 55,000 chances and score a (one) goal, that’s the only positive I took”

“The boys already had in their head thinking we’re going to come to Launceston and win the game before we even played it and me as a coach as well. What they did is take it easy and think about the next game which in football you can’t but we learned the lesson and we’ll be ready for the next game.”