Launceston neighbours United and City have had contrasting starts to the McDonald’s NPL Tasmania season, but will square up with the shared goal of moving on from hugely disappointing Lakoseljac Cup exits.
United host the Friday-night derby still chasing their first win with defeats to South Hobart, Devonport and Clarence surrounding the side’s solitary point from a 1-1 draw at league newcomers Ulverstone.
City meanwhile will be looking for a fourth victory after seeing off Glenorchy, Ulverstone and South East United, with their only league blemish coming in a thrilling 3-2 derby defeat to Riverside.
However, the cross-town rivals had similarly devastating exits from the Statewide Cup last weekend,with City hit by a first-minute red card and last-minute winner by Clarence, before United blew a two-goal lead as South East stormed into round three.
Influential Japanese playmaker Yoshi Okawa has already struck six times for City, which enjoy a remarkable record in this fixture, winning eight of the nine encounters since United joined the NPL by an aggregate scoreline of 41-5, including margins of 5-0, 6-1 and 11-0 last season.
But coach Daniel Syson will not be mentioning those stats to his players.
“We don't talk about records,” he said. “I think if you get ahead of yourself, or you look at what you've done in the past, it really does affect the game. So you just have to approach it game by game, and opponent by opponent, the records don't really mean too much.”
Conversely, United have struggled to find the net under new player-coach Gedi Krusa, scoring just twice in their four league games so far.
The Lithuanian is all too familiar with the Northern football landscape, having previously played for City, Olympic and Devonport, and is ready for the quick turnaround from Monday’s cup loss.
“We know what to expect, a young team, a lot of young players, I know most of the players over there, I coached most of them before,” he said.
“Our team is a little bit different. I've been at United only four months now, so, it's new things for all the players. We had a lot of new players coming in, so it's always tricky to get to know each other.”
Krusa should return to central midfield, having sat out the Lakoseljac Cup tie, but keeper Dan Nash won’t be facing his former team after picking up a bad wrist injury.
City will be without suspended defender Drew Sammut following his dismissal at Clarence, but have enjoyed fielding 11 academy graduates in each of the last two games and should welcome back another Prospect product in Max Reissig.
“He called me on the last hour of the transfer deadline day, and we managed to get him registered,” Syson explained. “He's been recovering from quite a serious hamstring injury, but he will be in the squad so hopefully he'll look to get some minutes, so I'm really excited to see him play for us.”
The McDonald’s Women’s Super League will also bring together neighbouring teams at opposite ends of the ladder, as undefeated Kingborough host a Taroona side chasing their first point and goal.
With two wins and a draw so far, the Lions sit two points off top spot and the perfect record of Devonport, but coach Simon Edwards is guarding against any hint of complacency.
“No games are given and that's part of the DNA we're trying to build this year,” he said.
“We know with Taroona, when they come to the Den it's like a grand final for them every time. We're always in their targets and so we're pretty keen to make sure that we're on point.
“Fundamental to everything we do is staying present and controlling what we can control. We always focus on the next game, and the one after that's irrelevant.”
Taroona have started their campaign with three 5-0 losses but coach Jason Hay said his young squad remain upbeat ahead of the Derwent’s Channel Classico.
“They've got a bit of a close connection,” he said. “We sort of live next door to each other, so it's always fun playing each other. So the players are really excited about going there and seeing what we can do.”
Hay said the squad had impressed him with how well they had avoided getting bogged down by scorelines.
“They do put their arms around each other very well. They're probably one of the better groups I've been involved in at just keeping themselves very positive. It has been on my mind: will they start to look at the results more than the wins they're getting on the park from what we're trying to do? But not yet.”
The WSL fourth-round derby between Launceston United and Launceston City has been moved to the evening of Wednesday, May 6.
McDonald's NPL Tasmania, Round 5
Friday, April 10
8.15pm Launceston United v Launceston City, Birch Avenue Kemlec Park
Saturday, April 11
2.30pm Kingborough v Ulverstone, Lightwood Park Kitchen Centre Park
2.30pm Clarence v Glenorchy, Wentworth Park
4.45pm Riverside v Devonport, Windsor Park
Sunday, April 12
2pm South Hobart v South East United, D’Arcy Street
McDonald's Women's Super League, Round 4
Saturday, April 11
2pm South Hobart v Glenorchy, D’Arcy Street
2.30pm Riverside v Devonport, Windsor Park
4.45pm Kingborough v Taroona, Lightwood Park Kitchen Centre Park
Wednesday, May 6
6.30pm Launceston United v Launceston City, Birch Avenue Kemlec Park