Lions Into Second As Hawks Season In The Balance
- Report and photos: Ian Judd
- Jul 15, 2017
- 5 min read
Holland Park Hawks 0 Lions FC 2 (Carlos 45+1'; Butters 85') HT 0-1 Played at: Whites Hill Reserve
Shaun Carlos's first goal for Lions since his recent return to the Richlands based club from Brisbane Strikers, helped steer his side to a scrappy 2-0 win over Holland Park Hawks and complete a league double over them following their catch-up game success last week. Substitute Michael Butters sealed victory late on to help Lions leap frog Peninsula Power into second spot on the ladder after Power could only draw away at Albany Creek. The opening stages were certainly less than flattering for both sides with the bumpy Whites Hill Reserve surface non-conducive to the flowing football that both teams are capable of producing, making control difficult and a bouncing ball tricky to judge. The first chance of the game fell to the hosts when Manabu Ishimoto played a neat ball to Josh Sherwood but the Hawks number nine spurned what was a good opportunity for a shot on goal from a good position. Midway through the half, Awards and Trophies Player of the Month for June, Sekou Jomanday, did well to guide a difficult header on goal but was thwarted by the upright twice as his follow up effort also cannoned off the post. With the half close to conclusion, Lions FC's Ryan Cokell was left prone after copping a full bloodied Mark Rasmussen ball into his head with the Lions defender left staggering after contact and perhaps fortunate to continue when looking visibly dazed from the incident. As the half entered added time, largely for Cokell's treatment, the visitors conjured a goal. A Tynan Diaz corner saw Jomanday flick the ball into the six yard box with a deft header and with Holland Park unable to deal with the loose ball, Carlos was on hand scramble the ball home from close range to give Lions the advantage going into the break. The second half saw the visitors take the initiative and less than ten minutes into the half they thought they'd extended their lead following another corner. The ball played to the back of the box where it was headed back by Nathan Reardon in to the six yard area where Jomanday pounced to head past Hawks keeper Denver Crickmore. But the assistant referee's flag was up and celebrations cut short, although it looked a very tight call. Hawks defender Nick Robinson went close moments later with his side's best effort of the game, powering a shot on goal from a Hawks corner and forcing Lions stopper Luke Borean into his first save of the game. Midway through the half and the assistant's flag again denied the visitors. This time it was Michael Butters who thought he'd struck when following up on Jomanday's shot that Crickmore could only parry into Butters path, but he was adjudged to have been in an offside position from the initial shot before slipping the ball past Crickmore into the back of the net. Coach Warren Moon made an appearance with just under ten minutes remaining, replacing Jomanday who had done well to last as long as he did considering some pretty close attention and solid challenges from the Hawks defence. Moon's presence helped steady the ship and just moments later the visitors sealed victory. A throw in from the right found Butters at the edge of the six yard box and just when it looked like he'd been hauled down by Robinson, he managed to flick the ball over himself from off the ground, beyond Crickmore and the desperate effort of substitute Yusuke Ikeda who was unable to clear it off the line. It proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Hawks as they were unable to find a way back into the game from that point. Jack Webb's late effort comfortably dealt with by Borean as the visitors saw out the final moments untroubled. Defeat for Hawks leaves them in 8th on the ladder and finals now becoming a tough assignment. There is no doubting that a long injury list which includes Andrew MacAskill, and player departures have proved a major influence on Holland Park's season, and with Anth Smith in charge for the last time before heading to Thailand, there season is in danger of fizzing out quickly. Dan Smith moving to Peninsula Power and Luke Carr returning to the UK have taken their toll along with Marek Madle who was suspended for this clash. For Lions, they remain four points behind league leaders Rochedale Rovers and must now rely on Rovers slipping up and dropping points in their final four league fixtures if they're to retain their title from 2016. With the title race the closest it has been in decades, there's sure to be a couple more twists and turns to come yet.
Coaches Remarks:
Anth Smith - Holland Park: "It's not really a 2-0 loss - when you look at the team sheet compared to the start of the season with all the personnel changes, it's been very very difficult few weeks. The lads that have come in have given us everything, but the wheels fell off six weeks ago with injuries and visa problems. It's been difficult to get your head round. The game today was what it was. Probably the most boring game I've been involved with to be honest with the fouls, stopping and starting, it was a horrendous affair. Lions came and have done a job. They've slowed the game down, got the goals and managed the time well. It was a dull affair, it was dissapointing and it's been disappointing how things have been the past few weeks. We were in with a shout at one stage and had we kept the personnel who knows. It's frustrating." Warren Moon - Lions FC: "A completely different game to last week. It's impossible to play football on this pitch. We played to the conditions probably better than they did. We managed to scrap and fight and get the win."
FB Media Player of the Match: Tommy Jarrard (Lions FC)
Tommy Jarrard is becoming Mr Dependable alongside team mate Matija Simic in Lions central defence. Hawks rarely looked like penetrating them and when they did, Jarrard was on hand to mop up, giving keeper Luke Borean a relatively quiet game.
FB Media Match Stats:
Overall Possession: 47% - 53% Shots on target: 2 - 8 Shots off target: 1 - 3 Shots off woodwork: 0 - 2 Corners: 4 - 9 Free kicks: 13 - 13 Penalties: 0 - 0 Offsides: 0 - 4 Yellow cards: 3 - 0 Red cards: 0 - 0
Team Line-ups
Holland Park Hawks: Crickmore (gk), Basnett, Gore, Gourley, Ishimoto, McKenna, Rasmussen, Robinson, Sherwood (Hastings 61'), Takemotto (Ikeda 61'), Webb.
Subs: Short (rgk), Hastings, Ikeda, Tominaga.
Lions FC: Borean (gk), Carlos, Cokell (Gaffney 60'), Diaz, Hore (Butters 65'), Jomanday (Moon 83'), Jarrard, Jomanday, Reardon, Shepherd, Simic, Thompson.
Subs: Long (rgk), Butters, Cosgrove, Gaffney, Moon. Referee: Anton Shchetinin
