There were plenty of goals scored across Round 3 of the Preliminary Rounds in Tasmania.
Catch up on all of the results below.
It was relatively smooth sailing for the NPL sides in Round 3 of the Preliminary Rounds and Round of 16 of the Lakoseljac Cup supported by McDonald’s, with some thumping victories and no close games in sight.
The action kicked off on Friday night where the 2020 Cup champions Glenorchy Knights cruised to a 7-0 victory over Hobart City Beachside. Lucas Dzalakowski got the scoring started inside of five minutes and it was a sign of things to come, as he duly added another three goals to finish with a four-goal haul in the thumping.
It was the same 7-0 scoreline up at Valley Road, where the defending Champions Devonport made light work of the Olympia Warriors. Star striker Roberto Fernandez Garrido bagged a hat-trick whilst Brody Denehey continued his strong start to the season with a brace.
Continuing the theme of NPL side scoring big wins, the Clarence Zebras made sure they avoided any slip ups against Taroona, racing to a 4-0 lead at halftime. A goalkeeping howler didn’t help Taroona’s cause but even without it, they were outmatched by the Zebras who took the lead just three minutes in via Xuan Cappellino who continued his streak of scoring in every game he has started. Dwayne Walsh grabbed a brace in the 50th minute, which is when the scoring stopped as the Zebras eased off the accelerator and Taroona probably should’ve got themselves a goal.
Riverside have had a tough start to their NPL campaign but took full advantage of a helpful draw against Social League side Barnstoneworth and claimed a 6-1 win. Barnstoneworth put in a commendable performance and it was fantastic to see them in the competition, but they were ultimately outclassed by the Roos. New Portuguese import, Andre Chamusca made his mark, scoring a hat-trick for the hosts, whilst Jake Pullen got the visitors on the scoreboard.
The most entertaining of the Saturday ties was at Ulverstone where Hobart United claimed a 5-2 win on the road, propelled by braces to Buga and Riak. Hobart United had the better of the first half but needed a penalty just before the break to reflect that on the scoreboard and went in with a 2-1 lead Eventually their control of the contest told and they got the goals that their play had warranted as Moses Khasif put them out of sight in the 71st minute to make it 5-2 and ensure United would be the lone Championship side through to the Quarter Finals.
In Easter Monday action the one sided results continued as South Hobart put the New Town White Eagles to the sword with a comprehensive 9-1 drubbing. South shaded the early exchanges, but a blowout didn’t appear on the cards from the opening half hour, with Brett Andrews getting on the scoresheet for the Eagles and the score at 2-1. The game then swung upon Ben Whitehall’s dismissal shortly before half time as from there South completely dominated the contest. They turned a 3-1 half time lead to a 9-1 final score as Morton and Van Doorne ran riot. Morton helped himself to four goals, whilst the Canadian also managed a hat-trick with three goals of his own.
In the only NPL v NPL game of the Round, it was a Launceston derby as United played host to City and it was City who punched their ticket through to the next stage with a 4-1 win. United took the lead early on through an Aidan Rigby free kick, but City responded quickly via Toby Anderson. The game was then locked at 1-1 till the final half hour where City ran away with the game. A brace from Mason Smith and long range bomb from William Humphrey getting the job done and saw City safely through.
