Round 10 Match of the Round: Glenorchy Knights v Riverside Olympic
Match of the Round for Round 10 takes us to KGV in a battle of the competition newcomers, with the Glenorchy Knights taking on Riverside Olympic.
Speaking at Friday's press conference, Glenorchy Knights' coach Ivica Bolonja said his side was settling nicely into life in the top-flight competition.
"I think we’ve grown well," he said
"We are a young group, which presents its challenges, as far as consistency is concerned.
"I think in the main though, they’ve bought into the systems and the processes that we want to see happening and they’re doing the good things regularly, so I think we are on the right path, we’ve been really competitive so far."
Bolonja said he was pleasantly surprised by just how quickly the group had adapted to the WSL level.
"At the beginning of the year, I thought that we would have the opportunity to put some minutes into these girls and that we were building for next year, but some of the girls have come on this year far more quickly than I was expecting them to do, so that’s been a huge positive," he said.
A shifting of expectations has already occurred within the group, suggested Bolonja, as underlined by the reaction to their last match.
"Perhaps the biggest sign of maturity is that we lost our last game against Launceston United 4-2 and we were genuinely disappointed with that performance," he said.
"So we go into those games honestly believing that our best is good enough, so that’s a real step forward from the unknown of being a new team in the competition."
Last time that these sides met was back in Round 3 and the pair played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, a performance Bolonja felt they could improve on.
"Defensively in that game I thought we were loose and I thought that our connections between our backline, midfield and forward line weren’t as they could be," he said.
"We were playing the ball far too directly from back to the front which I don’t think suits the creativity that we have in midfield where we are able to progress the ball through our lines and use our strengths.
"So that’s what we need to do more of this time. We do have goals in us, we have a really good strong forward line, but we need to utilise that through creativity."
When asked the biggest things the side had learned this season, Bolonja pointed to the evenness of the competition and the punishments for switching off in games.
"From the competition itself, I think there is an evenness to the competition that there perhaps hasn’t been in previous seasons," he said.
"We do go into games with a genuine belief we can take points and win.
"We have also learned that we need to step up and be competitive in all minutes, where we have dropped off it has been due to lapses in concentration; 80 minutes of great stuff and 10 minutes of poor stuff doesn’t lead to wins.
"So reinforcing those messages is really important."
Riverside coach Chris Rademacher suggested his side could be up against it this weekend, with some injuries to attacking players limiting his options.
“We’re a little bit light this week coming down to Hobart this weekend, so are lacking in a little bit of firepower up the top there," he said.
"We’ve got a couple of outs in attack that we don’t generally have, so it's going to be a challenge for us to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Despite the absences, Rademacher said the side had prepared well for the contest.
"The sessions have been good, they’ve been appropriate, we’ve done our homework and looked at that Launceston United game the Knights last played in, so we’ve done our homework there."
Rademacher said whilst up against it, his side were in it if they could convert their chances.
"We will always be in it to win it, you never know," he said.
"It’s an unpredictable game, you never know what will happen.
"We will get our scoring chances - we've just got to take them."
He pointed to the artificial pitch as a unique factor for the match ahead.
“Any team is a challenge, Glenorchy at home on the plastic will be a challenge, that’s not a surface that we get to play on very often, though it should be a bit cooler than last time we played on it," he said.
"Last time around it was a good game.
"It's enjoyable going down there, and it’s a good environment to go down to."
With a narrow 3-2 defeat to Kingborough and a 2-2 draw with Taroona in their past two WSL outings, Rademacher felt a breakthrough victory was getting nearer for the group.
“I think we are getting closer and girls feel that way too, they can see the progression, which is important," he said.
"I think when it comes to the last five minutes, I am just going to go into the sheds though!
"I think it's now three times we’ve lost it in the last minute or two!"
In other Round 10 action, the Kingborough Lions will look to pick themselves up after Monday’s Cup Final disappointment with a home game against Taroona. Having come so close to hoisting the trophy, it will be a tough job mentally to rebound, and along with the fatigue factor, it could provide the Pirates with an avenue to an upset result.
At D'arcy Street, South Hobart takes on Launceson United in a battle of the two most recent Champions, with three points very much required to close the gap to the Devonport Strikers, who will get the week off to celebrate their Cup triumph with a scheduled bye.
Round 10
Glenorchy Knights v Riverside Olympic, KGV, 12:15pm, LIVE STREAM
South Hobart v Launceston United, D'arcy Street, 2:00pm LIVE STREAM
Kingborough Lions v Taroona FC, Lightwood Park, 2:00pm LIVE STREAM