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Devonport Strikers will be cock-a-hoop when they come to Hobart tomorrow to take on South Hobart in the NPL Tasmania competition at 2pm at South Hobart Oval.
They are having a magnificent season.
They have won the Lakoseljac Cup and are in pole position to make it a league and cup double as they sit in first place on the NPL standings, 10 points ahead of their fourth-placed opponents tomorrow.
Devonport are 8 points in front of second-placed Glenorchy Knights and third-ranked Kingborough Lions United.
The candles on the Devonport cake were lit on Wednesday night when they were drawn at home at Valley Road against A-League outfit Wellington Phoenix in the Round-of-32 of the Australia Cup.
The game is scheduled for late July or early August and, if it is played at Valley Road, as scheduled, there won’t be room for everyone who wants to attend. Expect some fans to be watching from the branches of the trees that border a part of the ground.
I just hope Football Australia does not intervene and order the game to be played at UTAS Stadium in Launceston.
They may do just that. One only has to think back to when South Hobart played Marconi at Blundstone Arena.
It’s not exactly the same situation because there was no way that game could have been played at South Hobart Oval as there is no lighting, and KGV Park was ruled out because of the artificial surface.
But, Valley Road has its own deficiencies, the chief of which is the floodlighting, which is not up to the standard required for telecasts.
Devonport president Drew Smith said during the week that the club was addressing the issues about the ground being suitable, but he is confronted by the fact that there is little time to correct things.
Devonport goalkeeper Keegan Smith has played with Wellington Phoenix in the A-League and will have vital intel about Devonport’s opponents.
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Devonport are also match fit and in mid-season, while the Phoenix only start pre-season training next week.
They announced this week they have added Lucas Mauragis to their squad. The left-fullback will be on loan from the Newcastle Jets.
Now, back to tomorrow.
Devonport will be without ace striker Roberto Fernandez Garrido, who is suspended for three weeks following his dismissal last week in the 201 win over Launceston City.
His absence is a serious blow, but it shouldn’t be fatal given South Hobart’s lacklustre showing and defeat last week against Kingborough Lions United.
It will even things up a bit, but Devonport’s self-belief and confidence is sky high at the moment and it will take a mighty effort on the part of the home side to get anything out of this game.
This weekend’s round of matches begins tonight [Friday] when second-last Olympia Warriors host third-ranked Lions at Empire Couriers Park at 8pm.
It should be plain sailing for the visitors as the only side Olympia seem to be able to beat is the one below them, namely, last-placed Riverside Olympic.
Second-placed Glenorchy Knights face Launceston City at 4.30pm tomorrow [Saturday] at Buckby Motors Park in Launceston and there are banana skins everywhere in this clash so the Knights will need to tread carefully.
They cannot afford to lose if they are to keep alive their slim hopes of retaining the title, while City considered themselves desperately unlucky not to get at least a draw against Devonport last week and so will be u for this one.
Clarence Zebras travel to Windsor Park to take on Riverside Olympic tomorrow at 2.30pm and this is a fixture that the southerners should win.
Riverside tend to be the whipping boys in the NPL Tasmania competition and Clarence Zebras should be able to earn the 3 points, which has proven to be a rare achievement for them this season.
NPL Tasmania Standings (As at 25 June 2022)
|
TEAM |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Devonport Strikers |
11 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
40 |
5 |
30 |
|
Glenorchy Knights |
11 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
28 |
9 |
22 |
|
Kingborough Lions |
11 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
31 |
19 |
22 |
|
South Hobart |
10 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
34 |
7 |
20 |
|
Launceston City |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
21 |
22 |
16 |
|
Clarence Zebras |
11 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
10 |
27 |
8 |
|
Olympia Warriors |
11 |
2 |
0 |
9 |
13 |
44 |
6 |
|
Riverside Olympic |
11 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
4 |
48 |
1 |
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