Weclome to the Friday Forecast ahead of Round 12 of the McDonalds NPL Tasmania season.
The massive news of the week is of course the Australia Cup Draw. At long last it has finally happened; a Tasmanian side has drawn A-League opposition. In the ninth edition of the Competition (Formerly called the FFA Cup) we will finally get the scenario that has existed only in the realm of hypotheticals up till this point, with the Devonport Strikers drawn at home to take on the Wellington Phoenix. What’s more, unlike in previous years where that would’ve meant playing at a venue ill-suited to hosting the fixture, such as UTAS stadium, the Strikers have confirmed their intent to get the ground lighting up to broadcast standard and play it at Valley Road. An A-League team at Valley Road, it’s going to be quite the occasion and you can just look at the video below to see what it means to them.
And the Valley Road faithful erupt as @DevStrikers draw a home game against @aleaguemen opponents @WgtnPhoenixFC in the @AustraliaCup Round of 32. #MagicOfTheCup #AustraliaCup pic.twitter.com/tyRqtPWA5G
— Brad Cole (@BJCole10) June 29, 2022
This is what the cup is all about, it’s what it was designed to produce when the competition was initially conceived. The move to make it an open draw rather than having most the A-League sides being drawn against each other was a move long overdue. Sure, that old format meant an NPL side was guaranteed to go deeper in the tournament, but it severely limited the opportunity for these type of fixtures. And this is what we want for the Magic of the Cup! It’s no surprise that we finally get such a game now that the move has finally been made. Hopefully this is the first of many.
This promises to be a magical night, I will never forget those nights at Valley Road in 2016 the last time the Strikers were drawn at home. 2500 people in utterly monsoonal weather, going absolutely off their heads. It was a throwback to the halcyon days of yore with local sports crowds packed to the rafters. It’s the type of scene you just don’t see anymore, but I suspect that crowd number will obliterated this time around as every man and his dog tries to clamber into the venue. This will be a truly historic match. I have no doubt this will be another special occasion and I’d urge everyone to start making plans to get to the game once the date is confirmed.
The only question is, when will that date actually be? Well that, and can Peter Savill can get his tractor out there to “stop them coming with a passing game”? Anyway, that’s all for the coming weeks, for now let’s move onto the more immediate games this weekend, which also involves an enormous clash featuring the Strikers.
Lions and Warriors Looking to String Wins Together
The Round will begin on Friday night at Empire Couriers Park as the Olympia Warriors take on the Kingborough Lions.
Both sides will enter this one coming off victories so should have their confidence flowing. Olympia claimed their second win of the year over Riverside, winning 4-0 and rarely looking troubled as they created some separation between them and the foot of the table. This will be a significant step up in opposition however against a side coming off one of their more impressive scalps after downing South Hobart 1-0 last weekend. That brought to an end a wretched record of 0 wins from 27 NPL Tasmania games against South and it showed once again the Lions are very much on the upswing as a club.
The Lions best finish in an NPL season came last year when they finished fourth with 36 points. Whether they can improve on that position remains to be seen, it’s mighty tight between 2nd-4th, but right now they are on track to eclipse that points tally which would be another big step in the right direction for a club than continues to make strides each season under Jez Kenth. The first half of the season has been a massive tick for them, but the job is only half done. A record points tally and best ever league finish is in reach if they can continue on with their form. To do that, they can’t have slip ups in games like this, that they should be taking three points from.
South’s Last Stand?
The game of the Round will be at Darcy Street as South Hobart take on the Devonport Strikers in a blockbuster showdown. There is still plenty of time left in the season, but there is a real feel of this being a last stand for South Hobart given the gap the Strikers continue to widen out in front. I believe that if South Hobart are any chance of winning the NPL Tas title in 2022, then they simply must win this match. The gap between the pair currently sits at 10 points, which would be cut to 7 presuming South win their game in hand against Launceston City. With 10-11 games, there is still a lot of football left to play out, but this is a chance to cut the gap directly and not rely on Devonport dropping points elsewhere, something which they’ve not done since Round 2. So South must seize this chance to make a dent in the lead, or otherwise I don’t know if there will be enough games left on the Strikers schedule for them to drop enough points for them to be caught in.
The most recent clash between the sides was the Lakoseljac Cup final and Devonport were the much stronger side in that match and fully deserving of their 3-0 victory. The only league meeting between the pair was a much closer affair, with Devonport winning 1-0 at Valley Road but on balance of play I felt like South probably had the better of the contest. Now all eyes turn to Darcy Street for the third clash between the sides for the year. The Strikers have answered all challenges so far this season and just keep finding a way to win even if they aren’t at their best, but they will likely need to be near their best to win this time around. South at home are always a very tough proposition and they have the quality to get the win. The time is now if they are to make a move, so will Devonport answer the bell once more? Or Can South inject some life into this title race? We are about to find out Saturday afternoon at the Theatre of Dreams.
Reeling Riverside Hosting Zebras
Riverside Olympic’s struggles continued last weekend as they lost 4-0 to the side nearest to them on the table in Olympia and they’re now odds on to be consigned to the wooden spoon barring a dramatic reversal of form. If they are to avoid that, then taking points this weekend is a must as they entertain the Clarence Zebras at Windsor Park.
The last clash against the Zebras was the only time the Roos have taken a point this season, earning a 1-1 draw in a closely fought game at Wentworth Park so this is an opponent they know they can get at. Looking at their remaining schedule this is probably the second most winnable game they have left to play. They host Olympia in Round 18 in the only game that they would probably be given more of a chance in, but that’s disputable given they’ve lost heavily both times they’ve played the Warriors. So this is an enormous match for the Roos if they want to avoid the indignity of a winless season. They are running out of chances to get a win.
The Zebras past fortnight hasn’t been great as they’ve fallen 4-0 to Knights and Kingborough following a few weeks where it seemed they were on the ascendancy. In a season where wins have been hard to come by, a match against a winless opposition is their big chance and with South Hobart and Devonport their next 2 after this, it’s one they won’t wan to miss out on.
City Aiming For Repeat Result Over Knights
Having moved back into second place on the table following their victory last weekend, the Glenorchy Knights now face a tricky road trip to take on Launceston City at Buckby Motors Park.
With the exception of their game against South Hobart, City have been an incredibly difficult opponent on their home patch this season and they came oh so close to taking points from Devonport at the venue last weekend. It was an encouraging performance from City, albeit one they will feel hard done by to have not got points from. Having already produced one of the upsets of the season against Knights earlier this year. When they struck in stoppage time to win a dramatic game 1-0, they will be full of belief they can do it again here. Doing so will deal an enormous blow to any remaining title hopes the Knights have and it would also move City within striking distance of the top 4 if they can put together a strong back half of the season.
The Knights weren’t at their best last week against the Zebras but they still found a way to win 4-0 which is the mark of a good side and the longer it wore on the better they looked. It will be much tougher to knock ball around away from the plastic pitch of KGV and will require a different approach from them to get points this weekend. With a month long homestand coming up after this game, if they can find a way get three points here and stay second on the table, then they will be well positioned to make some noise. But this looms as a difficult trip for them and one where they will come unstuck if they aren’t somewhere near their best level.