South locks up title with smashing of Lions

SOUTH Hobart has claimed the NPL Tasmania in style with three rounds still to play after dismantling the Kingborough Lions 5-0 in a dominant display at Darcy Street.

South has won 16 of their 18 league games to date this season, and hold an unassailable 10-point lead over both the Olympia Warriors and Devonport Strikers.

After finishing runner-up to Olympia in 2015 and third last year, South has been the dominant team in 2017.

It was a shaky start to the season, going down 3-0 to the Hobart Zebras in Round 3 and 2-0 to the Strikers in Round 6, but since then South has strung together 12 wins on the trot to comfortably win the title.

South coach Ken Morton said he was “very proud”of the way his players bounced back from the early losses.

“We got ourselves into a hole, but we’ve dug ourselves out of that quickly and along the way we’ve played some wonderful football and scored some cracking goals and entertained the crowd,” Morton said.

It was another dominant performance yesterday, with the Lions rarely even crossing the halfway line in the first 45 minutes as South pinned them back.

Nick Morton opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a low shot into the corner after he was picked out by a clever Darcy Hall back heel.

Morton doubled his tally four minutes later when fullback Adam Gorrie whipped in a low cross from the right for him to bury from close range.

Gorrie was again the provider in the 42nd minute when Hall made it 3-0.

The Lions put up more of a fight early in the second half, but it was 4-0 in the 50th minute when a long free kick from Kobe Kemp found defender Daniel Brown, who scored from close range.

Alex Walter rounded out the scoring in the 62nd minute, tapping home at the back post after he was picked out by a pinpoint low cross from Hall.

After a poor first half, Kingborough coach Mark Broadbent was pleased with the way his side responded in the second, but believes there is plenty of work to be done.

“I know that we’ve got a couple of lads in there – well, a few lads in there – that are probably not up to this level at the moment but … there was not an understanding to the level that I expect,” Broadbent said.

As NPL Tasmania champions, South Hobart will take on the state champions of Queensland in the NPL Finals Series quarter-finals at Darcy Street on September 17.