Photos (Top to Bottom): Chris Jones...provided a physical presence for Eagles; Taroona's Toby Dove gets in a cross; Taroona on the attack against Clarence through Garry Hamilton; South Hobart's Elliott Lovell (right) battles with Eagles' Michael Snape in the reserves fixture; South Hobart's Brazilian import Mizael Linhares Caires...scored two brilliant goals against Eagles in the reserves; Caires scores South Hobart's fifth goal; Caires wheels away after scoring as Eagles pick the ball out of the back of the net [PlessPix]
Premier League Section Summer Cup
Group A
South Hobart 1 (Lo 60) b New Town Eagles 0
[South Hobart qualify for final]
Group B:
Clarence United 3 (Hamlet 10, S McIntyre 37, Nandan 42) b Taroona 0
Reserves Summer Cup
Group A
South Hobart 8 (A Brennan 2, Yeong-Su 2, Mizael Linhares Caires 2, S Otte, W Ross) b New Town Eagles 0
Group B
Clarence 1 (L Wilcock) b Taroona 0
Division One Summer Cup
Metro 4 (J Dawes 2, A Marney, J Morris) b TIS 1
Nelson 7-1 Huon Valley
Social League
Hobart United 1-0 Northern Suburbs DOSA
New Town Eagles 3 (R Ketchell 2, R Leszczynski) b Beachside 0
Metro will have former Hobart United goalkeeper Nathan Grandin in goal for Saturday’s Division One Summer Cup match against the Tasmanian Institute of Sport at Wellesley Park at 2.30pm.
He replaces Mikael Porter.
Nathan Daniels also comes in to the side in place of Darrin Chaffey, who has a calf injury.
The TIS started this tournament in impressive fashion last weekend with a 10-0 thrashing of Huon Valley, so Metro will have to be on their toes.
The 11.30am match at Wellesley Park on Saturday is between Nelson Eastern Suburbs and Huon Valley and the former should win at a canter.
Nelson will miss Craig Stockdale, who has work commitments, but Bill Hanley should return at last after a back injury kept him out last weekend.
Youngster Joel Dredge is doubtful because of a leg injury but may be on the bench.
“It was generally a poor performance by us last week,” said Nelson coach, Michael Roach.“Some of the defending, in particular, was awful.
“Everyone will be the better for the match, though, and some of the young defenders will have learned a lot from it.
“I’d rather have that performance in the Summer Cup than in a few weeks’ time in the league.
“We now have two matches left to play and we need to play good football, tighten up defensively and move the ball quicker going in to the front third.
“Winning our remaining games might get us the bonus of another match in the Cup, the semi-final, which is what this is all about, namely getting competitive matches under our belt to prepare for the regular season.”
On Sunday, Beachside play University at North Chigwell at 2.30pm and Hobart United meet Northern Suburbs DOSA at 11.30am.
Beachside will have Damien Lowe, Pat Dunne and Sam Howarth in the side, but Tony Ortuso is unavailable.
“We’re looking forward to playing against Uni, who had a terrific result last week,” said Beachside coach, Nathan Robinson.
“Their coach, Kevan Wright, is very experienced and will have the side set up well for this competition.”
In the northern Steve Hudson Cup competition in Launceston, Taroona play northern league champions Northern Rangers at 2.30pm, while South Hobart are up against Launceston City at 12.30pm in two north-south clashes that are a litmus test of the comparative strengths of the two leagues.
“A draw, or better, will see us through to the semi-finals the following week, but Rangers beat us twice in last year’s competition so it won’t be easy,” said Taroona coach, Ben Horgan.
“We looked a bit flat last weekend against Ulverstone and a few guys looked a bit tired after two games in two days, so we’ll have a stronger bench and try and rotate players a bit more.
“It is all good preparation for the league, though, and the players will be fit and ready to go for our first game on the 13th March.”
South Hobart will probably use youngster Andy Brennan and possible a new young Korean left-winger against a Launceston City outfit that may introduce their two new English imports.
City may be on the verge of becoming a force again in northern football under new coach Kurt Reynolds, the former Australian youth international, and this match should be an exciting affair.
In other matches on Sunday, Riverside Olympic take on Prospect Knights at 10.30am and Launceston United host Ulverstone at 2.30pm.
In the North-West Summer Cup at Cardigan Street, Ulverstone play Burnie United and Somerset host Devonport City in what should be intriguing encounters.
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.”
