IC South Hobart FC

By James Ower 

South Hobart decimated Launceston City at Mitsubishi Park in this afternoon’s PS4 NPL Tasmania fixture, scoring double figures for the second game in a row in a convincing 10-0 victory.

The home side came into the game missing some key players and it really showed, this encounter being the polar opposite of the tight battle that saw City victorious in the same fixture last year.

South Hobart look absolutely lethal at the moment and they opened the scoring in the 11^th minute, Darcy Hall doing brilliantly on the left wing before sending in a low cutback which Alex Leszczynski coolly slotted home from seven yards out.

In the 18^th minute they doubled their lead, Hall raced onto a Nick Morton long ball before beating his man and laying it back to Alfred Hess who sent a beautiful side footed effort high into the net.

Just four minutes later the in-form Leszczynski grabbed his second to make it 3-0, receiving the ball on the edge of the box with his back to goal he used his strength and skill to make space for himself before lashing the ball home.  The way he plays is very reminiscent of former Wales’ striker John Hartson at his peak, and this goal was a prime example of that.

South were absolutely dominant, the movement and passing of Hall, Morton and Hess in particular was a joy to watch and proved a nightmare for City to deal with.  In the 42^nd minute they made it 4-0 with an absolute peach of a goal, Hall received a curling pass from Morton at the far side of the box and he let the ball bounce before smashing it home with his right foot.

The last few minutes of the first half were a disaster for City as they conceded three in quick succession to go into the half time break 7-0 down.  Hess grabbed the fifth with a nice finish from the left side of the box before Morton took a Hall pass in his stride and slotted home for their sixth.  Then with the final kick of the half Jack Turner found himself with space 12 yards out and he hit a volley into the turf which bounced up and over the despairing Andrew Garwood in the City goal.

City came out of the sheds in the second half with a bit more fire in their belly and they started to compete more effectively, shutting down the space in the final third.  They managed to hold off South until the 67^th minute when Hall made it 8-0 with another glorious goal.  The home team allowed him too much space in the middle of the park and he hit a thunderbolt from 25 yards that flew past the helpless keeper into the net.

South had perhaps taken the foot off the gas slightly but this goal sparked them back into life and in the 73^rd minute they heaped further misery on City by making it 9-0.  Substitute Alex Walter showed great composure to ghost past one defender and play in Morton who strode into the box before slotting the ball home.

The rout was complete in the 86^th minute and it was yet another screamer from the visitors, this time Kobe Kemp found himself with plenty of room and he rifled a shot home from 25 yards to make the final score 10-0 to South Hobart.

Although the home side will be devastated with such a big loss, it really was a majestic display from South Hobart, their speed, passing, off the ball movement and finishing was just too much for City to cope with.  Morton, Hess and Hall in particular were absolutely superb and the rest of the team, including those who came off the bench, looked a class above their opponents today.  There’s a long way to go yet in this PS4 NPL Tasmania season but if they keep putting in performances like that South Hobart will be very difficult to catch.