Lakoseljac Cup Round of 16 Preview

The Easter Weekend is upon us and it brings with it its usual bevy of local footballing action, with the Round of 16 of the Lakoseljac Cup set to play out. This year will see two games played on Good Friday with the remainder to take place on the Saturday. The Hobart Zebras have already booked their passage through to the next round, courtesy of their 6-0 win over Clarence. and now seven more teams will join them in the Quarter Finals. On the Friday night the tie of the round pits old rivals Olympia and Glenorchy Knights against each other. This will now be the third season in a row the two have met in the Cup, with Olympia downing the Knights in the 2017 decider, whilst last season they met at this very same stage of the competition. That night they produced arguably the most entertaining game of the entire 2018 Lakoseljac Cup as the game ended 3-3 after regulation before the Warriors took out the shootout 5-3. So here is hoping we get a similar type of encounter this time around. The sides have met once in the NPL this season, with the Warriors fighting back from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win. For the first 30 minutes of that game the Knights were firmly in the ascendancy so they have shown they are well capable of matching it with the Warriors. Yet on exposed form so far this year, combined with that home ground advantage, Olympia have to head into this hotly anticipated game as the favourites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0_1qGqu3nI& The other tie being played on the Friday will feature the Kingborough Lions taking on the defending champion Devonport Strikers. The sides met just a week ago in the NPL and it was all one way traffic as the Strikers claimed a comfortable 6-0 win. That was up at Valley Road and this game will take place at Lightwood, which should even things up a little, but home ground certainly isn't a six goal advantage so it will take a pretty remarkable turn around for the Lions to advance. The Strikers have won this Cup twice in the past 3 seasons, have conceded just the one goal in seven games this year and now have the talents of Raphael Reynolds to call upon. It'd be a brave man to bet against them going on a deep cup run once more in 2019. On the Saturday we have five games, and four of them have the type of match ups that are exactly what makes this stage of the competition so interesting. When you have sides who don't normally play against each other, who come from different leagues going head to head, its hard to know what to expect. That kind of unpredictability is just what you want as a fan, that sense of the unknown just adds to the theatre of it all and there in lies the beauty of the cup competition. Well that, along with its sudden death nature and propensity to throw out the occasional Cupset. Take Nelson v Riverside for instance, now realistically a side like Nelson aren't going to win the Lakoseljac Cup this year. But they might just spring a surprise on an NPL opponent in Riverside, and if they were to head up North and roll a team from a higher division; well, those memories will last a lifetime. Their victory over Northern Rangers in 2017 certainly lives on in the club folklore, for most it's a footnote on the competition for that year, but for those involved, they will be talking about it for years to come. Certainly not every team is a realistic shot at running the gauntlet, winning it all and reaching the National Stage in the FFA Cup Round of 32; but if some of these smaller sides were to claim a Cupset this week, it'd probably feel just as good for the players involved. So whilst the FFA Cup qualifying spot has led to increased importance being placed upon the Cup and ensured the big teams will approach it with a laser focus, there is a lot more to the Cup than who hoists at the end. [caption id="attachment_5736" align="alignnone" width="640"] The Miraculous often happens in Cup games over the Easter Weekend-Solstice Photography[/caption] To hoist it you will need to get there and five more teams will be packing their bags after Saturday is done. On the coast Somerset and Beachside will face each other at Cardigan Street. The two sides have been respective powerhouses in the Southern and Northern Championship competitions and will be expecting to be there when the whips are cracking once again in the 2019 title races. With home ground advantage in favour of the Sharks, they are well positioned to advance to the quarters, but Beachside will give them a stern test. At Kelvedon Park, Taroona FC will be favoured against an improved Metro outfit in a rematch of their game from just a couple of weeks ago in the Southern Championship. That ended 2-2 and indicates the potential for a closely fought cup tie though their most recent results from the weekend prior, for Taroona an 8-0 win over South East United and for Metro a 5-1 loss to New Town paints a more optimistic picture for the Pirates. The other 3 games on the Saturday will pit NPL clubs against Championship opposition. Launceston City, came within about 60 seconds of being bounced out of the Cup by University in 2017, eventually winning in extra time, but they will have the benefit of home ground advantage this time around. University have emerged as big contenders in the South this year and they will be a tough out, but the travel factor does lessen the chance of the upset considerably. City will surely be targeting a deep Cup run, given they won't be pushing for the league title in the NPL. Ultimately they will probably go as far as the talented Noah Mies can carry them. [caption id="attachment_5019" align="alignnone" width="548"] Noah Mies has been the key man for City- Solstice Photography[/caption] Elsewhere in the North, the aforementioned Riverside v Nelson game will take place at Windsor Park. Both teams haven't had a particularly good run in their respective leagues so far and will probably welcome the break the Cup brings. Alex Gaetaini has flagged Riverside are likely to rest a few players ahead of their Monday NPL game against Clarence, which is their priority. Nelson have hardly been setting the world on fire in the Championship though, so this would arguably be an even bigger upset than 2017 if they pulled it off. In the day's final game, Hobart United take on South Hobart at Gunn Oval. Out of all the sides in the second tier competitions, Hobart United are the team that on their day I feel could pose the biggest threat to an NPL opponent. Whilst consistency has plagued them, their absolute best is the type of high octane, fire-wagon football that can cause issues for any defence. Unfortunately they have drawn South Hobart, who along with Devonport are the most disciplined team in the State. United have the pace to trouble to their defence, and I can see them scoring, but sustaining such a furious tempo over a whole game is simply not possible. A lack of pragmatism probably cost United in the Summer Cup final, and that is something the 2018 runner's up in South Hobart certainly won't be lacking in. South run games out strong and know how to shift between the gears, picking their moments in games like few others. [caption id="attachment_10036" align="alignnone" width="538"] United's best is breathtaking, but the tempo is tough to maintain- Solstice Photography[/caption] Round of 16 Schedule Friday 19 April Kingborough v Devonport, Lightwood Park, 4:00pm LIVE STREAM GAME Olympia v Glenorchy Knights, Warrior Park, 7:00pm LIVE STREAM GAME Saturday 20 April Taroona v Metro FC, Kelvedon Park, 2:00pm Hobart United United v South Hobart, Gunn Oval, 2:00pm Riverside v Nelson, Windsor Park, 2:30pm Somerset v Beachside, Cardigan Street, 2:30pm Launceston City v University, Buckby Landrover Park, 2:30pm