Second-placed Olympia Warriors host leaders Devonport City at Warrior Park at 2pm tomorrow [Saturday] in what should be an enthralling top-of-the-table NPL Tasmania clash, with rich rewards for the victor.
If
Olympia win, they will take over at the top and be a point ahead of Devonport.
If
they lose, Devonport will open up a 5-point lead at the top.
The
Olympia camp is confident, despite the fact they lost 1-0 to Devonport away at
Valley Road in the first round.
The
Warriors will welcome back captain Lucas Hill from suspension, while Jonathon
Ladic also returns after being rested for last week’s Lakoseljac Cup game, in
which Olympia beat Riverside Olympic 3-1.
Photo: Bay Kurtz, who is from Chicago, is loving life in Tasmania and is hitting top form for Olympia [PlessPix]
Versatile
American import, Bay Kurtz, who has played at fullback, in midfield and on the
wing, said this game against Devonport is crucial for his side’s title chances.
“I
think it’s a defining moment for our team,” Kurtz said.
“We
haven’t played our best game yet and that’s still to come, and if we can make
that against Devonport, we’ll be heading in the right direction.
“We’re
not far off it at all. There’s just a
few pieces of the puzzle left.
“Training
has been solid in the last couple of weeks and we’re doing the right things.
“We’re
creating an environment where we’re pushing each other and it’s encouraging and
it’s positive.
“Once
we get all the pieces together, I think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
“In
the previous game against them, we had a few chances that we were just unlucky
with.
“If
we put pressure on them early in the game and put them on their heels a bit, we’re
in with a chance.”
Photo: Olympia coach Rob Clarke will have his team well prepared for Devonport tomorrow [PlessPix]
Olympia
coach, Rob Clarke, knows what his side are up against.
“We’re
looking forward to getting then onto our pitch, having been up there a couple
of times this year,” Clarke said.
“We
went there pre-season as well. It’ll be
nice to get them to come and play at our place.
“They’ve
always been close games [at Warrior Park].
I think we’re travelling a bit better this year, so we’ll be trying
everything we know to get a result, obviously.
“They’re
very good defensively. We’ve tried to play
with two strikers a lot this year so we’ll be trying to do that again.
“We
felt we let ourselves down a bit when we went up there.
“It’s
probably my fault, too. We didn’t know
much about them and we didn’t challenge them enough when we went up there.
“We
were disappointed with that, so we want to do better this time.”
Devonport
are expected to be at full strength and will be confident going in to this
game.
If
they can shake Olympia off their heels, the defence of the title will be
looking good.
Third-placed
South Hobart entertain sixth-placed Kingborough Lions United at South Hobart
Oval at 2pm on Sunday.
Lions
will be coached by Cameron Ellis following the departure of Greg Calvert.
He
will be looking to make the Lions more consistent and it will be interesting to
see his team selection, formation and player positions.
South
Hobart probably have little to fear against the Lions and will be hoping that
Olympia and Devonport have drawn the day before because a win will edge them
closer to the leading pair.
In
other games on Saturday, fifth-ranked Glenorchy Knights welcome fellow
newcomers to the NPL, Riverside Olympic, to KGV Park at 4.30pm, while at the same
venue at 6.45pm, fourth-placed Hobart Zebras tackle bottom-side Clarence
United.
Knights
beat Riverside 5-1 away the previous time the teams met and it should be much
the same this time around.
Knights
are likely to be strengthened by the inclusion of striker Alex Leszczynski form
South Hobart.
Zebras
demolished Clarence 9-0 in the first round and another heavy defeat is on the
cards.
Zebras
will be without the suspended Jayden Hey, who was sent off in the Lakoseljac
Cup defeat to Devonport last weekend.
Hey’s
suspension is for three weeks, but the club is considering an appeal to reduce
this to one week.
Given
the fact that the semi-finals of the Lakolseljac Cup are coming up, and Zebras
are not in those, and that Zebras also have a bye in the league, it could well
be six weeks before Hey plays again, which seems a travesty of justice.
NPL
Tasmania (As at 5 May 2019)
TEAM
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
Pts
|
Devonport City
|
10
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
32
|
6
|
25
|
Olympia
Warriors
|
10
|
7
|
2
|
1
|
32
|
10
|
23
|
South Hobart
|
10
|
6
|
2
|
2
|
38
|
13
|
20
|
Hobart Zebras
|
10
|
4
|
5
|
1
|
35
|
14
|
17
|
Glenorchy Knights
|
9
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
20
|
19
|
11
|
Kingborough Lions
|
10
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
16
|
24
|
10
|
Launceston City
|
10
|
2
|
3
|
5
|
19
|
19
|
9
|
Riverside Olympic
|
9
|
2
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
31
|
6
|
Clarence United
|
10
|
1
|
0
|
9
|
2
|
65
|
3
|
Photo: The Portuguese freighter ZAMBESI at the zinc works this week.. She is registered in Madeira, the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo. Her master and officers are Russian and her crew are Filipinos, but there was no sign of CR7 on board [PlessPix]
1 comment:
Maybe her had already DIVED off the back
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