March

Photo:  Knights' Aaron Marney (right) takes on Eagles' David Cox [PlessPix]

(Southern Premier League, KGV Park, Friday, 30 March 2012)

Glenorchy Knights 2 (Dawes 42, Marney 65)

New Town Eagles 3 (McKeown 36, 74, Whitehall 86)

HT: 1-1   Att: 120   Ref: K Barker

Glenorchy Knights: Peter  -  Hey, Johnson, Holmes, Clay  -  Robb (Roberts 87), Griffin, Huigsloot, Marney  -  Dawes (Letiko 91), Strang  (Subs not used:  Marsh, Smith, Le Rossignol)

New Town Eagles: Pitchford  -  Clark, Page, Cox, Collins (Hudson 69)  -  Whitehall, Marshall (Quan 91), Anderson  -  Leszczynski (Scott 46), J Clamp, McKeown  (Subs not used:  T Clamp, Ayres)

Photo:  The Glenorchy Knights squad for tonight's match [PlessPix]

New Town Eagles went to the top of the Southern Premier League standings with this 3-2 win over Glenorchy Knights.

It was a fierce contest that was eventually settled by a goal from Ben Whitehall direct from a corner from the right 4 minutes from the end.  Knights goalkeeper Ben Peter misjudged the flight of the ball and virtually palmed the ball into his own net.  There were defenders nearby and it was amazing that no-one covered the near post.

Knights should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Jade Clay picked out Jayden Hey with a cross from the left, but Hey chested the ball against the crossbar and it rebounded into play.

Two minutes later, Peter did well to deny Adam McKeown in a one-on-one after the Eagles striker had shown the Knights defence a clean pair of heels.

McKeown again broke clear on the half-hour and looked as if he might score, but Callen Griffen recovered his ground and dispossessed McKeown in the nick of time.

Photo:  Eagles' Ben Whitehall (left) and Knights' Callen Griffin in a battle for possession [PlessPix]

Simon Strang, the former Eagles player, chipped just over the bar in the 33rd minute, but it was Eagles who took the lead 3 minutes later.  Alex Holmes failed to shut down McKeown on the right of the box and he curled a low shot beyond Peter and inside the far left-hand post.

Knights were level in the 42nd minute when Jason Dawes played a neat one-two with Aaron Marney and fired home from the edge of the box, beating Nathan Pitchford at his left-hand post.

Liam Scott made his senior debut for Eagles at half time.  The former South Hobart defender replaced the injured Alex Leszczynski and played in midfield.

Pitchford tipped a stinging shot from Griffin over the bar in the 57th minute, while at the other end a couple of minutes later, Peter acrobatically turned Whitehall’s effort over the bar.

Photo:  Ben Whitehall of Eagles shields the ball from Knights' Jade Clay [PlessPix]

Knights hit the front in the 65th minute when Peter punched a corner clear and Marney collected the ball on the half-way line.  He made a beeline for goal and then made a diagonal run from right to left, beating five opponents on the way before shooting inside Pitchford’s left-hand post.

Eagles equalised in the 74th minute when Peter fluffed Sam Johnson’s back-pass and gifted the ball to Jacob Clamp, who squared it for McKeown to slam home from close range.

In the 78th minute, Eagles almost took the lead, but Michael Anderson’s header, from Whitehall’s free-kick from deep on the right, came back off the crossbar.

Peter denied Scott in the 86th minute, turning the midfielder’s effort over the bar for the fateful corner from which Whitehall scored the winner.

Photo:  Eagles' Mark Page clears upfield before Knights' Jason Dawes can intervene [PlessPix]

Glenorchy Knights assistant coach, Anthony Grundy, said:

“Obviously, very disappointed tonight.  I thought we played well enough to beat Eagles.

“In fact, I think we lost it as opposed to Eagles winning with just silly mistakes.  Definitely, the two goals in the second half were from our mistakes.

“I even thought the first goal was from an error which allowed McKeown to score from a one-on-one with Holmes.  Quality finish, obviously, but it was just the little things that led up to it.

“If you don’t capitalise and put goals away, you don’t win games and that’s what happened today, unfortunately.”

Photo:  The New Town Eagles' starting eleven for tonight's match [PlessPix]

New Town Eagles coach, Stephen Pitchford, said:

“It was what we expected.  It was always going to be a hard game.  We knew they’d run at us.

“Chris [Hey] had his midfielders working overtime, backwards and forwards, one side of the ground to the other, moving our defence around and our midfield around.  Obviously, that made us work very, very hard.

“I think the couple of goals we leaked were poor goals on our part.  For a bloke to run around five blokes almost from the half-way line isn’t good from our defensive point of view.

“But, the boys showed that they’ve got that fighting spirit and that they will work for each other.”