A favourable 4-1 result against Clarence United at home on Saturday has Launceston City sitting equal top of the NPL Tasmania table two rounds in.
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The Jez Kenth outfit was almost clinical in victory with the only blemish coming in the 67th minute, when Cody Snell scored a consolation goal for Zebras on a boggy Prospect Park pitch.
City boasted a two-goal advantage at the interval thanks to last week’s scorer Noah Mies (25’) and Tyler Fischer (38’) as the hosts controlled most of the play.
The second half produced much of the same with Jarrod Linger capping off an end-to-end play started by keeper Nikolaos Giantsopoulos at the 58-minute mark, only for Fischer to strike yet again 120 seconds later to put the new-look Launceston 4-0 up.
Shane Egan’s passing was exploratory while the flare of City’s front half looks set to hold them in good stead throughout the season.
Launceston had 10 more shots on goal and 11 comers for the match.
NORTHERN RANGERS suffered a frustrating loss at the hands of a 10-man Hobart Zebras at KGV.
Playing in the same late-afternoon time slot, Rangers would have been cock-a-hoop after 26 minutes as they found themselves 2-0 up during their second-consecutive Southern Tasmanian road trip.
The Zebras lost their keeper in the 12th minute when he was given a red card for charging at Rangers’ Mitchell Jones as he scored the opener.
And it did not take long for visitors to capitalise with Daniel Cristy hitting the back of the net 14 minutes later to have his side leading 2-0 at half-time.
But from there it got ugly as Hobart flexed its might to score four times in 30 minutes through Sklenar (47’), Van Doorne (55’ and 79’) and Sanders (78’) to grant it full points.
It was the Rangers’ second defeat to start the season with a clash against traditional rivals City looming next Saturday at Prospect Park.
Reigning champions SOUTH HOBART remain winless following an opening-round loss and a 2-2 draw with Kingborough Lions at Darcy Street.
All four goals were scored in the first 45 minutes with South’s Nicholas Morton tapping one in from close range to start the goal-feast early on.
Phil Kantzos headed one through in the 27th to draw the Lions level, only for Pajari Sculthorpe to capitalise on a sloppy piece of play to put the hosts 2-1 up five minutes later.
The final goal of the match came via a sensational strike from Kingborough’s Chris Downes, which ensured the points were shared despite plenty of opportunities in the second half.
OLYMPIA Warriors host Devonport on Sunday.
Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
