Devonport Strikers, the reigning NPL Tasmania champions and current league-leaders, will beat bottom-side Riverside Olympic away at Windsor Park tomorrow, so it will be up to the chasing pack to win also in order not to allow the Strikers to increase their lead.
Second-placed Glenorchy Knights are under huge pressure to beat Kingborough Lions United away at Lightwood Park in order to stay within striking distance of Devonport.
The Knights were comprehensively beaten by Devonport last weekend. It was their first league defeat of the season and they went down 4-0.
For a team that had only conceded 11 goals in 11 outings to then ship 4 goals in one game was disastrous. For a team that had scored 39 goals in 11 games not to score at all set the alarm bells ringing.
Coach James Sherman will have to come up with something inspirational to counter the threat that the Lions will pose tomorrow.
Kingborough won 2-1 away at Warrior Park last weekend and that will have given them confidence as they prepare to face the Knights.
Nick Mearns is the Knights leading scorer with 8 goals, while Eli Luttmer and Nick Naden have each scored 5 goals.
Sherman will need to organise this trio so that they can do the damage against the Lions.
Luttmer is basically a defender or holding midfielder and some of his goals have come from penalties, so it will be largely down to attackers Mearns and Naden to find their goalscoring touch against the Lions.
Anything but a win for the visitors will put a huge dent in their title hopes.
The game is of great importance to Kingborough, too, as they seek to stabilise their ship and strive for a top-four finish.
Adam McKeown is their leading marksman with 9 goals and he is certainly capable of making life difficult for the Knights defenders.
If Ben Hamlett plays and can get his act together, he and McKeown could win the game for their side.
Third-placed South Hobart should beat the visiting Launceston City at South Hobart Oval and stay in touch with Devonport and Knights.
South could even move up a place to second if they win and if the Knights falter against the Lions.
South have the talent to win against a City outfit that is probably more comfortable at home than away.
Second-last Clarence Zebras host third-last Olympia Warriors at Wentworth Park in what is but a shadow of the intense rivalry that once existed between these two ethnic-based clubs.
The heat has gone out of this contest as both sides are now languishing in the bottom half of the table.
They will both be desperate to win, but there seems to be none of that fervour amongst the supporters that once characterised the meetings between these clubs.
“I think we’ve had the edge over Olympia [since our club merger between Clarence and Zebras] and I think we’ve won the last four encounters, which puts us in good stead for the game,” said Clarence Zebras winger James Ackerley.
“It’s an eastern shore derby so it’ll still be a tough one.
“Hopefully, we’ll get a few spectators through the gates and a bit of a crowd there.
“I think our consistency in the way we’ve played has been quite positive throughout the year. We’ve played at a high level to push teams such as Devonport, who are in the FFA Cup, but not so much the Knights, but the other teams in the comp.
“Losing 2-0 to Launceston City last week is quite a negative, but the team and the whole club have been focussing on the positives of our team.
“We’re a pretty young squad so there’s heaps of room for improvement, but we’re looking pretty good for the years to come.
“I feel that our squad has been super young this year and the season has been an experience breaker for them and leading towards next season.
“It’ll be a good experience for us to come up against Olympia, who are such a well-known club and who have featured on the national stage. It’ll be a good experience for us, especially at our home ground as well.”
NPL Tasmania schedule for Saturday, 17 July 2021:
South Hobart v Launceston City (South Hobart Oval, 2pm)
Clarence Zebras v Olympia Warriors (Wentworth Park, 4.30pm)
Kingborough Lions United v Glenorchy Knights (Lightwood Park, 6.30pm)
Riverside Olympic v Devonport Strikers (Windsor
Park, 4.30pm) [Postponed because of water-logged ground.]
NPL Tasmania (As at 10 July 2021)
|
TEAM |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Devonport City |
13 |
10 |
1 |
2 |
29 |
10 |
31 |
|
Glenorchy Knights |
12 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
39 |
15 |
27 |
|
South Hobart |
12 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
30 |
13 |
25 |
|
Kingborough Lions |
13 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
24 |
24 |
20 |
|
Launceston City |
12 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
27 |
13 |
|
Olympia Warriors |
12 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
19 |
30 |
11 |
|
Clarence Zebras |
12 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
20 |
32 |
10 |
|
Riverside Olympic |
12 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
17 |
43 |
2 |
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