Friday, August 21, 2009

Metro should stay clear at top of Division One










Photos (A glimpse into Taroona's past) Top to Bottom): Kelvedon Park today; Taroona at South Hobart in the 1980s; A 1980s shot of Taroona at South Hobart; Taroona striker Neil Bishop after a Summer Cup Final with Lyndon Adams and (partly obscured) Mr Vic Tuting; Taroona at North Chigwell in the 1990s; Taroona in the 1980s at KGV Park; (L-R) Brian McKay, Gwyn Richards and John Ross; Brian McKay and John Ross with a Summer Cup trophy; Brian McKay receives a medal at South Hobart from Lyndon Adams (Vic Tuting MBE partly obscured at extreme right)


Division One leaders Metro should keep their 3-point lead at the top of the ladder intact when they host fourth-placed Nelson Eastern Suburbs at North Chigwell on Saturday.


Second-placed Taroona entertain third-placed Beachside at Kelevdon Park on Saturday and the outcome could benefit Metro if it is a draw or if the visitors win.


Hobart United and Christian United clash at Pontville on Saturday at 7.30pm in a bottom-of-the-table game that should be fiercely contested as both sides try to avoid the wooden spoon.


Metro should be at full strength, but Nelson will be missing key players Tom Roach, Rowan Sakul, Jayden Andrews, captain Adam Mills, Joe Vanderslink and Natsuki Futumura.


Defender Craig Stockdale is also doubtful because of work commitments.


Cameron Rush will come in to the side, while 16-year-olds Oliver Ireland and Max Caulfield, as well as former captain, Richard Flood, will be on the bench.


“Current captain Tom Gordon is in good form up front and, with our young keeper Nic De Carpentier also in good form at the moment, we should be up for this match,” said Nelson coach, Michael Roach.


“It’s really good to get Cameron Rush in the starting 11 as he’s a good young defender who is strong in the air and with plenty of pace, so he'll be very handy for this game.


“We’ve got nothing to lose as we’ve been smashed twice by Metro and the players have one last opportunity to prove to themselves that they can compete.


“It’s a very different team for us this time around and a bit of a preview of next season with six youth players starting or on the bench.”


Taroona will be unchanged from their last outing for the game against Beachside, with striker Chris Cox again on the bench.


Beachside are without Sebastian Milford and Ben Davis, but Luke Atkin returns.


Christian will miss Jesse Arnold through injury for the game against Hobart United and he will be replaced by Angus Livingstone.


Wilson Lumago and John Mannaseh are also out injured.


Hobart United are confident of winning and moving further away from bottom-side Christian.


“We played well last time we met, but this time I think we can also come away with the three points,” said Hobart United’s Pedro Ramirez.


“The home-ground advantage should make us more relaxed.”

1 comment:

Unknown said...

lovely comb over there by mckay