Saturday, July 31, 2010

Saturday results




Photos: New Town Eagles goalkeeper Nathan Pitchford takes a cross ahead of Clarence United's Luke Cripps; Clarence's Ben Parker slides in on Eagles' Jacob Clamp; Clarence's Joseph Stevens goes for a run in midfield and is about to encounter Eagles' Andrew Clark [PlessPix]


Forestry Tasmania Southern Premier League


New Town Eagles 3 (E Menzie 56, A McKeown 81, D Cox 83) b Clarence United 0


Kingborough Lions United 2 (M Marchioli, A Davies) lost to Olympia Warriors 3 (B Cronk, B Phillips pen, C Kumpulainen)


Glenorchy Knights 0-1 Tilford Zebras (J Ladic 71)


Reserves


New Town Eagles 1 (M Fennell) lost to Clarence United 2 (E Tsakiris 2)


Kingborough Lions United 4-0 Olympia Warriors


Glenorchy Knights 2 (N Vavoulas, C Paite) lost to Tilford Zebras 3 (O Bird, S Hall, A Fisher)


Under-19s


New Town Eagles 1-2 Clarence United


Kingborough Lions United 6-1 Olympia Warriors


Glenorchy Knights 2-3 Tilford Zebras


Southern Division One


Metro 4 (Cowen 2, Dawes 2) b Hobart United 3


FFT/Under-15s 3-13 University


Reserves


Metro 4 (Chaffey 2, Alston, Leek) b Hobart United 2


Under-19s


Metro 1-2 Beachside


Forestry Tasmania Northern Premier League


Devonport City 1-3 Burnie United


Somerset 4-3 Launceston United


Ulverstone 0-2 Riverside Olympic


Launceston City 4-5 Northern Rangers

Colin Shepherd to play his 500th game on Sunday


Photo: Colin Shepherd...will make his 500th senior appearance on Sunday [PlessPix]


Colin Shepherd will play his 500th senior football match when he takes the field for Beachside in their home match against DOSA at Sandown Park on Sunday.


The veteran has starred in the past for University, New Town Eagles, Caledonians and now Beachside, who are on top of the Division One ladder and favourites for the title.


“That’s a great achievement for a player and we hope to mark it with a victory,” said Beachside coach, Nathan Robinson.


Luke Atkin will start for Beachside because Jason Harvey has family commitments and is unavailable.


The rest of the line-up is unchanged from that which played Metro in Beachside’s previous outing.


Beachside should win comfortably and may well increase their lead at the top to 13 points with five matches remaining.


Second-placed Metro entertain fourth-placed Hobart United at North Chigwell on Saturday and this promises to be yet another cracker, as games between these sides always are.


Jason Dawes, the league’s leading marksman, will pose a huge danger to United and they will need to keep him under control to have any chance of winning.


Fifth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs host sixth-ranked Southern FC at North Warrane on Sunday.


Defenders Matt Fone and William Stalker are back in the Nelson line-up after missing the defeat to University weeks ago.


Bill Hanley has returned from a New Zealand holiday and will be on the bench, but he will play in the reserves beforehand.


Nick Roberts, Max Caulfield and Ollie Ireland will also be on the bench, while Cody Flynn has recovered from an ankle injury and will start in midfield.


“We have a full-strength squad available this week so there are no excuses if the team doesn’t perform,” said Nelson coach, Michael Roach.


“I’m sure Southern will give it everything and, as usual, we’ll have to put in a solid performance to get a result.”


The remaining match of the round is at Olinda Grove on Saturday, where bottom-side FFT/Under-15s take on third-placed University.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Taroona to fight tooth and nail against league champions as relegation looms


Bottom-side Taroona and second-last Olympia Warriors continue their battle against relegation this weekend and both sides face tough encounters in the Forestry Tasmania Southern Premier League competition.


Taroona face the daunting task of meeting league champions South Hobart away at South Hobart on Sunday, while Olympia may have a slightly easier task away against third-last Kingborough Lions United at Lightwood Park on Saturday.


If Olympia win or draw, that will place added pressure on Taroona to perform on Sunday. And, Olympia have a significantly better goal-difference than Taroona, which is one more cross for Taroona to bear as the league season winds to a close.


South Hobart will be without State representative, Daniel Brown, who is carrying an injury after Tuesday’s game against the Central Coast Mariners.


Coach Ken Morton will introduce some youngsters on the bench, but his starting eleven will be close to the strongest side South have.


With seven South Hobart players having represented the State against the Mariners, they will be the better for the experience and Taroona could be in for a hiding.


They will not surrender meekly, however, and will fight tooth and nail to maintain their Premier League status, but it is doubtful that they can earn even a point against South Hobart.


Marc Iseli and Marcello Marchioli will also have benefited from representing the State on Tuesday and they will be key players for the Lions against Olympia.


Olympia have the ability to get three points from this encounter, as long as they are not complacent and content to rest on their recent laurels.


The battle for second place also continues this weekend, with second-placed Tilford Zebras meeting third-ranked Glenorchy Knights at KGV Park on Saturday at 6.30pm.


The teams are level on 31 points, but Zebras have a five-goal advantage in goal-difference over their rivals.


Matches between these sides are always fiercely contested and this one will be no different.


The remaining match of the round is at Clare Street on Saturday, where home-side New Town Eagles entertain fourth-ranked Clarence United.


Eagles are fifth and 6 points adrift of Clarence, but a win would keep them in contention for a top-four finish.


Clarence will miss striker Ben Hamlett, who is in the United States on a sports scholarship, while Andy Barron is likely to be absent after suffering facial injuries last weekend against Burnie United in the semi-final of the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy competition.


Eagles will be without midfielder Simon Strang, but Blayne Hudson has resolved his differences with coach George Krambousanos and will play.


Krambousanos knows his side has a tough schedule remaining, but a win against Clarence will put his team in the right frame of mind for the more difficult encounters to come.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Hamlett leaves for sports scholarship in USA


Photo: Ben Hamlett after Tuesday's game against Central Coast Mariners [PlessPix]


Ben Hamlett, the 18-year-old Clarence United striker, left for the United States on Wednesday to take up a sports scholarship at Mountain State University in West Virginia.


“The scholarship will enable me to play soccer and to study,” said Hamlett, who came on as a substitute for Tasmania against Central Coast Mariners at KGV Park on Tuesday night.


Hamlett scored twice for Clarence last Saturday as they beat Burnie United 4-3 away to qualify for the final of the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy.


He is Clarence’s top scorer in the league with 11 goals, which makes him equal third on the Premier League goalscoring chart, and so will be missed by the Eastern Shore outfit.


“We’ll be training twice a day, five days a week, and playing twice a week, so this is the next step in my career,” Hamlett said.


“I’ll come back, maybe, after a couple of years, but you never know because after the four years, if you’re good enough, you are put in the draft for the MLS.


“Hopefully, I’ll make that.”


Tasmanian fans will watch Hamlett’s progress with great interest as he is a product of the State development programme.