Mark White. IC- Northern Rangers FC

Reigning champions Olympia collected a hard fought three points on the road away at Northern Rangers in a match which swung back and forth until the final minutes when Nick Mearns bobbed up to seal a dramatic come from behind victory. The midfielders 91st minute header completed a magnificent hat-trick, as his side came from 2-1 down in the second half to win 3-2.

Rangers have had a torrid start to their season conceding over five goals per game on average while garnishing just a solitary point.  Prior to the game expectations of this match ranged from a steely low scoring draw to an Olympia goal fest.

The home team welcomed Nick Lanau-Atkinson back in to the fold after serving his suspension and gave Geoff Wani his starting debut.  At the back Rangers had to adjust to life without Aiden Rigby who has left the team due to work commitments.

Olympia too were adjusting to some big changes with  Jacob Collard having been picked up by A-League outfit Melbourne City FC.  Pasquale Gioffre was also playing his last game before shipping off to the Victorian NPL to join Heidelberg Warriors.

From the first whistle Olympia flexed their muscle and dominated possession.  On the right for the Warriors Gavin Hoy and tormented Joel Griffioen with his overlapping runs while on the left the battle between Borbor Sam and Pat Lanau-Atkinson proved most entertaining.  Olympia displayed a range of attacks involving short one-two passing down the right, lobbed balls over the top to an on-rushing Sam and driving runs through the middle to find Nick Mearns.

Sam was a frequent target for Warrior attacks showing deft skill in killing long crosses with a single touch and finding a yard or two to distribute the ball around the box.

After nice work by Shae Hickey, Hoy swung in one of his numerous crosses from the right which fell to Mearns, striking it well, low and hard across goal only to see the ball bounce away off the bottom of the upright.

The constant bombardment by Hoy down the right side of the field paid dividends in the eighth minute.  A nimble turn by Hoy in the corner left his marker on the ground and he fed a strong pass to the feet of Warren Wadawu on the edge of the box.  Wadawu looked to be contemplating a turn and shot but instead layed the ball off to the awaiting Mearns.  Mearns’ shot rocketed off his boot straight to the top left corner of the goal giving Luigi Cordova no chance of getting near the ball.

The hope for Rangers seemed to be to hold out for as long as possible without conceding and from that goal onwards there was a sense that the flood gates could open.  Ranger’s had possibly two foray’s in to the Olympia half until that point. One drawing upon the out-going Gioffre to race off of his line and clear from 10 yards outside his area.

The visiting team continued to dominate, giving Rangers little respite.  Sam and Pat Lanau-Atkinson continued their fight on the left with each showing their skills to overcome each other on roughly alternating occasions.

Thirteen minutes in and Ranger’s best chance came Pat Lanau-Atkinson’s way as he found himself in the Warriors’ penalty box, running one on one at Gioffre.  His attempted to dink the ball to Gioffre’s left but the keeper did superbly to rush out, make himself as wide as possible and smother the shot with his chest.

Near the 20’ minute mark Sam was shepherded away from goal by Tenzing Anderson but still managed to make space for a pass to Callan near the corner of the penalty box.  Callan launched a looping drive at goal which Cordova acrobatically tipped over the bar.

Not long afterwards Rangers seemed to settle and started to calmly pass out of defense through the centre of the park.  Nick Lanau-Atkinson emerged as a presence in mid-field and Geoff Wani showed boy-ish energy to pressure the Olympia defense whenever possible.

And in the 29^th minute a Harry Thanhauser ball to Wani spurned a Rangers attack.  Nick Lanau-Atkinson collected Wani’s through ball on the right-hand side of the box.  The Olympia defense were on him in a second but he cut back, looked to shape for a left-footed curling shot but instead squared it to Wani who made no mistake.  Cue the ecstasy from the home crowd.  Northern Rangers 1, Olympia Warriors 1.

The remainder of the first half was fairly even with the Warriors just edging Rangers by showcasing some sharper attacks and clinical passing movements.

The teams went to the break at half-time and from there it seemed the match could swing either way.

The second half started much like the first had ended.  Hoy and Sam switched wings and Griffion and Pat Lanau-Atkinson did likewise to maintain the match ups. The Warriors regained some of their early dominance but could not make the most of the chances they were creating.

And then the unthinkable happened.  Nick Lanau-Atkinson found himself as the lone Ranger near the edge of the Warriors box with four defenders between him and the goal, and a bouncing ball down the centre fast approaching him.  Lanau-Atkinson held off his defender, nudged the ball to the right with his forehead, continued to keep the the defense at bay while shepherding the bouncing ball and then somehow lobbed the ballover a hapless Gioffre into the corner of the net to give his side a 2-1 lead.

Yosuke Takatsu was brought on for Olympia and immediately was making in-roads, curling in three floating crosses in a matter of minutes.  It was the third that brought Rangers undone.  From wide on the right just over the half-way line, Takatsu sent the ball in to the centre of the box.  Mearns, chested the ball down while spinning and volleyed past Cordova to level it at 2-2.

The last 20 minutes of the match were a mirror of the first 20 minutes.  Only Geoff Wani was further than 30 yards from Rangers’ goal. The  Warriors had three corners in quick succession as Rangers desperately looked to be cling on to a point.

The pressure continued to mount and the visitors finally broke through the determined home defense in stoppage time.  A ball in from the right was headed around the Rangers’ box, making its way out to Hoy, lurking by the side of the goal where he returned it with a header back in to the six yard box.  Mearns leapt highest and, unable to add power to the looping ball, nodded the ball slightly towards the left-hand post with enough effort for it to slide the despairing Cordova.

Olympia exercised caution in the last four minutes by keeping the ball in the corner.  Rangers had one last attack but couldn't find a goal and when the final whistle rang out, Olympia could breathe a sigh of relief.

Rangers started the match with trepidation but showed that they have talent, passion and the work rate to lift themselves from the lowest rung of the ladder.  Coming away from this match with no points is a tough pill to swallow but the club will take a lot of heart from the way they battled.

Olympia demonstrated time and time again their superb skill and team work to dominate large parts of the game but they’ll need to work out how to break down teams who mount a stubborn and deep defense if they’re to keep pace with the leading pack.

Next week presents a big test for each of the clubs.  Olympia host their big rivals Hobart Jeep Zebras while Rangers play their second locally based game at Mitsubishi Park, up against Launceston City.