Photo: Marconi Stallions players (L-R) Nathan Millgate, Zac Cairncross, (?), Anthony Frangie and Brandon Vella after breakfast this morning at Hobart's Ibis Hotel [PlessPix]
It’s a perfect winter’s day in Hobart.
The temperature is 12C as I write in the
early afternoon and the sun is smiling down from a cloudless, bright blue sky.
The pitch at Blundstone Arena is nicely mowed
and perfect for a game of football.
The pitch will probably be watered a bit
before the game to make it slick and to allow the ball to move quickly over the
surface.
The stage is set, then, for the FFA Cup
Round-of-32 clash between the home side South Hobart and the visiting Marconi
Stallions.
South Hobart sit in third place on the 9-team
NPL Tasmania ladder, while Marconi Stallions are fifth in the 12-team New South
Wales NPL standings.
The Stallions are staying at the Ibis Hotel
in Macquarie Street and have a free-day until tonight’s game.
They’ll probably have a team meeting where
tactics will be discussed, but the only physical preparation before the 7.30pm
kick-off will probably be a group walk taking in some of the sights of this
beautiful city.
There’ll also be time for an afternoon nap, and
then it’ll be down to business.
For South Hobart, it’ll probably be a team meeting
at some time, followed by a meal together.
Playing at home means the players will be relaxed
and comfortable in familiar surroundings.
Photo: South Hobart's Nick Morton and Bradley Lakoseljac rocked up to Blundstone Arena this morning in a sponsored Mazda 3 [PlessPix]
“It means an awful lot to be back on this big
stage [FFA Cup] under the eye of all of Australia,” said South Hobart attacker,
Nick Morton.
“It’s exciting and it’s a game we’re looking
forward to.
“Closer to kick-off I think there’ll be the
feeling of pressure and a bit of nerves going around.
“Whoever can deal with that the better should
be off to a good start.
“The venue us unreal. It’s an absolutely beautiful surface and we
had a light run on it last night to get a feel for it and the ball was moving around
unreal.
“We’re looking forward to playing on it.”
Young striker-cum-midfielder Bradley
Lakoseljac said it will be the biggest game he has played in.
“This is my first time in the competition and
it’s the biggest competition in Australia and so it’s a great opportunity for
myself and for my team and I’m really looking forward to it,” Lakoseljac said.
“They play in one of the hardest competitions
in Australia and I’ve never experienced that but I’m looking forward to the
challenge.
“I think it’ll be tough, but we’ll just have
a crack and see how it turns out.
“We’ll just play our own game and hope it turns
out okay in the end.”
“We’re focusing on playing our game and not
playing into their hands.
“We believe our style of football is good
enough to compete with the best around Australia, so we’re hoping to go out there
and show a good representation of Tasmanian football tonight.”
Photo: Nick Morton, Bradley Lakoseljac and coach Ken Morton inspect the Blundstone pitch this morning [PlessPix]
South Hobart coach Ken Morton said the size
of the pitch was determined by the club so that it was a good size for his
team.
“It’s a little bit wider than Darcy Street and
maybe a yard shorter than KGV,” Morton said.
“The length is pretty much the same.
“Those are two grounds where we’ve had a lot
of success and where we play well, so we’re hoping we’ve got the pitch
dimensions right and it suits us.
“They [Marconi] looked quite fresh and lively
at training last night and so it’s up to us to look after ourselves and to go
out and put in a good shift and see if we can do Tassie proud.
“We’ve got injuries and, unfortunately, the
back-line is a new back-line and there are changes there.
“The midfield and up front are pretty experienced
players in those positions so we’re just hoping we can play as high up the
field as possible and playing in the opponents’ half as much as possible and
get some pressure on them and their weaknesses and see if we can get something
from it.
“They play a physical game and they’ve got
good aerial players and they’re very skilful and sharp on the ground.
“The wingers are very sharp, but I do believe
if we press them high up the pitch then it will be difficult for them to do
that long ball, so maybe we need to stop that and se what they do after that.
“I think the name of the game tonight is
applying early pressure.
“They’ve got players right around the park
who could hurt us if they’re given time and space.”
Morton said pre-ticket sales were going well
and he hope people would come out to support the round-ball game and give his
side support on the night.
“If they don’t like us, come and support
Marconi, but I just hope we get good numbers here tonight and that they enjoy the
good football on show,” he said.
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