Photo: Roberto Fernandez Garrido will be missing for Devonport against South Hobart tomorrow. [PlessPix] 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.
Photo: Devonport keeper Keegan Smith is a former Wellington Phoenix player. [PlessPix] 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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