Match of the Round for Round 11 is headlined by a top of the table showdown that will see South Hobart FC hosting the Glenorchy Knights at D'arcy Street. The sides are separated by just a single point as they prepare to meet for the second time this season, having played out one of the games of the year in a 2-2 draw at D'arcy Street previously.
South Hobart boss Ken Morton was pleased to be sitting on top after 10 rounds, feeling his side had handled plenty of adversity with injuries.
“We are quite happy with where we are," he said
"It’s been a struggle, having been in a difficult place with injuries and sickness, but we’ve dealt with it well.
"I thought last weekend we scored some good goals and laid down a good marker.”
That performance was a 6-1 win over Launceston United, but Morton felt whilst it was good a confidence builder, the Knights would be a different beast on Sunday.
“I was quite pleased with the performance overall, we had good control and moved the ball well," he said.
"We are up against a very different team on Sunday, so we expect a different type of game, and we look forward to it.”
Morton admitted the Knights posed a significant challenge to counter, but it was one his side was relishing.
“The tougher the games the better, games between South Hobart and Glenorchy Knights have been special for a number of years and we look forward to the challenge," he said.
"They are a talented team, a strong defensive setup, they build from that setup and move it forward with confidence, so we look forward to the challenge.
"There will be a good crowd there, which tends to lift everybody; it will be an interesting day.”
South Hobart faces a potentially season-defining fortnight, which presents a major opportunity, according to Morton.
“Getting the three points this week would be huge, we have two huge games coming up with Knights and then Devonport next week, so if we could win those, it would build a gap between us," he said.
"But that certainly won’t be easy. For us it’s a really big fortnight, the biggest of the season.”
Knights boss James Sherman was pleased with how his side was building into the season.
“It's another big game for us," he said.
"It’s been a big month in the league over 5-6 weeks, really, given the Cup run we’ve had and the opposition that we’ve played either side of those fixtures have been tough, so we’ve done really well considering the level of competition we’ve faced in that period.”
Sherman suggested he was eager for the opportunity the fixture afforded.
“I think this is another opportunity away from home to test our resolve, and we look forward to the occasion," he said.
Sherman suggested the side was not going to be caught riding too high off the back of their recent Lakoseljac Cup triumph.
“Whether you take too much from those things I am not sure, sometimes having a short-term memory with these sorts of things can be beneficial," he said.
Sherman instead pointed to the wider body of work as a reason for his side to feel confident heading into the weekend.
“We can gather confidence from those performances over the past two months, defensively we have looked organised, we don’t give up too many chances and then going forwards we create a lot of opportunities," he said.
"I think we head into Sunday with plenty of confidence.”
In other action around the NPL Tasmania, Devonport Strikers will look to move temporarily to the top of the table when they host Riverside Olympic at Valley Road. The Strikers are starting to fire and beginning to loom large in their title defence.
At Birch Avenue, Launceston United will try and get off the mark against a Clarence Zebras outfit that sits in sixth but have taken care of the sides below them in prior meetings this year.
At Prospect Park, Launceston City will try to close the gap from fifth to fourth as they take on the Lions, but a Kingborough win would open up a chasm of 7 points and see City’s hopes of a top 4 finish take a critical blow.
Saturday 22 July
Devonport Strikers v Riverside Olympic, 4:30pm, Valley Road
Launceston United v Clarence Zebras, 4:30pm, Birch Avenue
Launceston City v Kingborough Lions, 4:45pm, Prospect Park
Sunday 23 July
South Hobart v Glenorchy Knights, 2:00pm, Darcy Street