Slick South piles on pain

A SECOND-half hat-trick from Brazilian striker Renato De Vecchi Marins has helped South Hobart storm into the Lakoseljac Cup semi-finals with a 5-1 win over NPL Tasmania leader Hobart Zebras.

De Vecchi Marins was instrumental as South piled on the goals in the second half at Darcy Street, after it had the better of the opening 45 minutes but only went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

South will be joined in the semis by the Devonport Strikers, who beat the Olympia Warriors 4-3 in extra time yesterday, the Northern Rangers, who beat Taroona 6-0, and Launceston City.

South coach Ken Morton said De Vecchi Marins, who joined the club about two months ago from a club in Denmark, had been building towards a standout performance.

“We always had faith in his ability and every game he’s shown improvement, and today he was special,” Morton said.

South took the lead in the seventh minute after De Vecchi Marins was brought down in the box by Zebras keeper Sheku Kamara, with Adam Gorrie scoring the resulting penalty.

The Zebras were struggling to find a way through the South press, and their task was made harder midway through the first half when former Mitsubishi medallist Dwayne Walsh hobbled off.

De Vecchi Marins doubled South’s lead in the 51st minute with a moment of individual brilliance, beating two defenders in the box before firing past Kamara. It was 3-0 five minutes later when De Vecchi Marins played Isaac Degetto in on goal before receiving it back and netting his second.

South was marching towards the semi, but Mathew Sanders gave the Zebras hope in the 58th minute when he was first to a headed flick-on and picked out the bottom corner.

Nick Morton restored South’s three-goal buffer in the 67th minute, though, before De Vecchi Marins sealed the win and completed his hat-trick nine minutes later with another fine strike.