Photos (Top to Bottom): Robert Lebski...an organiser at the back for Olympia; Kingborough's Tom McDonald...goals required from him; Shane Kent...an important cog in the Eagles wheel; Tony Dzelalija...experienced Knights defender; Ricky Self...creator and goalscorer for Zebras; Knights' Corey Smith...dangerous when in form; Kingborough's Greg Freeman...ace goal poacher; Craig Minty...should be fit to play for Eagles; Jonathon Ladic...play-maker in South Hobart midfield; Hugh Ludford...dynamic South Hobart central defender [PlessPix]
South Hobart should meet Glenorchy Knights in this season’s Summer Cup final.
Regardless of last year’s upset results - which saw Tilford Zebras come from an impossible situation on the last day to qualify for their third successive final because they won by the required margin of 6-0 and because other results went their way - this season’s situation appears more clear-cut.
South Hobart and Glenorchy Knights just need draws against New Town Eagles and Kingborough Lions United, respectively, to make it to the final.
Both sides should do better than that and win.
South Hobart take on New Town Eagles at 11.30am on Saturday at South Hobart, while the Knights meet the Lions at 2.30pm on Sunday at South Hobart.
South Hobart will probably field an unchanged side from last weekend, although Tom Roach may be included in the squad.
They have also recruited a 19-year-old left-winger from Korea who trained with Werder Bremen’s youth side in Germany when he was younger.
He has been here for two weeks but won’t feature this weekend, although he may be included in the squad for Sunday’s Steve Hudson tournament in Launceston.
Coach Ken Morton is keen to qualify for the semi-finals of the Steve Hudson Cup and will not be taking any chances. He will field the strongest side available in both tournaments.
“We’re confident, but respectful, of Eagles,” said Morton. “Look what happened last year when it went to penalties and we lost the game.
“We have to play our best, but we are in the prime position.”
In his third year at South Hobart, and with the club celebrating its centenary, Morton is making a concerted effort to win every trophy on offer.
Eagles will miss captain and central defender Chris Wass, who has a shoulder injury.
Goalkeeper Craig Minty suffered a corked thigh last weekend but should be fit to play, while Andrew Clark returns after missing the last game.
Former player Chris Jones may also make an appearance if the club can register him in time for the match. Jones has been interstate for more than a year.
“I think we’ll be all right,” said Eagles coach, George Krambousanos.
“The training session on Tuesday was unbelievable and our one-touch and two-touch play was tremendous.
“There was no talk of injuries and who is in and who is out and the vibes were good.”
Glenorchy Knights will have Daniel White back after suspension.
Coach Eamonn Kelly is not taking things for granted and said that Kingborough and Clarence were the Knights’ two bogey teams.
“We’re going for a win,” Kelly said. "But, we’re never over confident about winning against them.
“If we play good football, like we can, and put it together for 60 minutes, we’re in with a chance.”
The Lions will have defender Ross Hinkley back after he missed last week’s game and coach Geoff Freeman is looking to an improved performance compared to when the Lions beat Taroona 1-0 last weekend.
Kingborough could still qualify for the final if they beat the Knights and if Taroona hold Clarence to a draw.
It’s long odds, but football is unpredictable.
Similarly, Tilford Zebras could qualify for the final for the fourth year in a row if they thrash Olympia Warriors and if South Hobart lose to Eagles.
Zebras coach Romeo Frediani has not yet decided if Troy Kaden or Jason Voss will be in goal for this match, which kicks off at 11.30am on Saturday at South Hobart.
The rest of the squad should remain unchanged.
“We’ll be fine,” said Frediani. “If we play like we did last week I don’t see why we can’t come out with a win.
“But, South just need a draw to make it.”
Olympia will include Fletcher Tracy in their squad after he trained diligently, but Chris Tsakiris is unavailable.
Matthew Hedge, Aaron Smith-Richardson and Rory McCallum are all out through injury.
Adam Powell returns after recovering from a facial injury sustained against Eagles two weeks ago.
Justin Farrugia will be in goal ahead of Dmitri Nester, who will be on the bench.
“It’s going to be a tough ask but I think we can take the game to the Zebras,” said Olympia coach, Chris Hey.
“We need to be more disciplined in the way we play the ball as we tend to panic and lose possession too easily.”
Clarence United can also reach the final if Knights lose to Kingborough, providing they beat Taroona by a sufficient margin.
It’s a most unlikely scenario, but Clarence will give it everything at South Hobart at 2.30pm on Saturday and put the pressure on Knights, who don’t play until 24 hours later.
Clarence should be at full strength and may well have Chris Hunt back.
Gary Hamilton, formerly a striker with Somerset, will make his debut for Taroona, while former Somerset midfielder Jordan Wright will probably start on the bench.
“We always enjoy playing Clarence,” said Taroona coach, Ben Horgan.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for the way they’ve built their team by developing their young players and for what they achieved last season.
“We haven’t managed to beat them in the last few years, though, so we’ll need to be at our best and take our chances this week.”
26 comments:
great pick ups by taroona
Interesting that Olympia coach Chris Hey has gone on and on in his comments over the weeks about his team giving the ball away too much and not keeping possession yet two of his latest inclusions will be Fletcher Tracy and Jayden Wiggins for whom both are clearly not known for their passing ability.
Looks like they will continue to rely on long balls and spend most of the games without the ball against their coaches wishes.
Dmitri Nester to the bench after one bad performance? Quite consistently one of the top two keepers in the comp, big call.
fletch and jayden passing skills are average but do offer a bit of strenth and harder contests. should balance out quite well with the skills of c&p tsakiris, kosta g and Dipa. Olympia will get better slowly. they will beat zebras this weekend 2-1.
Tom Mcdonald would be in the top 3 srikers in the league. VERY underated by most.
Dmitri should not be dropped it ridiculous, at the moment there isnt a better keeper in the league
dimitri easly top 2 in hobart... could cost olympia....
it is a rotation policy?
you have got to be joking about tom macdonald
lol mcdonald, lets be serious
As i said VERY underated by most,
CJ is playing tomorrow for eagles. Walter I think he has been in Victoria now for over 2 years. Do you think he will make a difference, eagles must think so, if they have gone to all this trouble to sign someone who will only play one game?
league rosters out.
starts off with a cracker too with last years premiers playing 2nd place in week 1.
TIS playing mid week will add some interest to the reserves comp. Am interested to see how they go considering they only just won the u19s last year and reserves is a massive step up from huon valley!!
where is the roster? I couldnt see it on the FFT website.
CJ make a difference.......LMFA
anon 2:47
roster isnt easy to find!!
link below.
http://www.footballfedtas.com.au/
Competition/Generated/
Fixtures/SPL.html
The rules around the Summer Cup make it difficult to manage a squad at times. Olympia has continued its stated intention of using the competition to learn more and prepare for the season. Nesta and Farrugia have shared duties and its Nesta's turn to sit on the bench. He hasn't been "dropped" and he knows that.
As for supposed past habits of Fletch and Jayden - it's the coach's job to address that no problem there, they are very welcome additions as the Club prpeares for the season proper - Go Warriors!!
who is tom macdonald? which team does he play for?
top 3 in the competition? tom mcdonald? he wouldn't start in many sides!
why in the world would krambo play a guy for one game at the expense of a player that would be here all year? is that a joke? jones is second rate anyway and would not start in any of the top 4 sides so shows krambos desperation after his silly comments about zebras last week, yes yes krambo i think zebras really have something to think about if thats the best they have when you have star quality like chris jones.... give me strength
clearly people havent seen tom when he is on fire!! when tom does go crazy nothing can stop him!! easily the fastest person in the premier league and went he hit a ball it stays hit for a very very long time!! and his foot skill are very good too!!
Thanks for the link Ginger
granted tom is a fine player but will he match the aerial power of the big man from knights? it is rumoured that big oliver "equipped like chris gayle" adebayor will be FINALLY making his debut! this guy has shown plenty of size and strength at knights training and could be the difference if he starts, apparently it depends on availability of his mate mk?
Good photos Walter
Tom Mcdonald. lol.
Defiantly South and Knights 2 be in the final.
Nester surely is just been rested, he is a good keeper and would look a lot better behind a better defensive unit. Mcdonald had a lot of potential. Maybe he just needs some better players around him to improve his game, very good change of pace.
Just reading comments about Olympia's inclusions. From what i have seen, young Tracy has had quite accurate passing skills in the past and reads the game qutie well, whereas Jayden Wiggins, is very fit, does his job well and is solid in defence, not need for flair or over creativity from him, he gets the job done.
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