Match of the Round for Round 11 sees South Hobart taking on the Glenorchy Knights at D'arcy Street. With South currently sitting a game behind Devonport, who have a game in hand, the Champions can ill afford a slip up, but the Knights have been the surprise packets of the season and are eager to spring another one on Saturday, despite a heavy defeat the last time the sides met.
South Hobart Striker Josi Mamic said the side was relishing the upcoming contest.
“We’re excited as a team, Knights are always a great team to play against, they are always tough on the ball and put up a good challenge, which is something we love," she said.
"So we just can’t wait to come out and put on a game.”
Mamic pointed to the home fixture as being potentially advantageous.
“Having a home game is always exciting, being a bit more familiar with the ground and with a home crowd and hopefully we can use it to our advantage," she said.
Whilst their title defence has not been smooth sailing so far, Mamic praised the group's resilience.
“We’ve overcome some adversity lately, we have had a lot of injuries so we have just been trying to find that spark back to our game," she said.
"We’ve changed game plans a few times, but the girls just step up and get it done, because we want to win.”
Mamic said the team camaraderie was as strong as ever.
“We always support each other and have bonded well, it's great that we are able to support each other on the pitch as we do," she said.
They will be facing the match without their Captain Sophie Westwood who is injured, which Mamic said was a major blow
“It’s devastating. Sophie is very experienced and a very strong player. As our captain it’s a big loss, but hopefully we can just bring the game that we know and play to our best.”
Mamic admitted the 3 points were crucial, but said this week was just like any other
“It’s an important game but every game is important is the mindset we try to bring to all our games. Its just important that we bring our A-game to this one.”
Knights coach Ivica Bolonja said his side would need to be at their best to get a result, due to the strength of the opposition.
“We are coming up against a very good side, South Hobart were the Champions last year, they’ve had some change in personnel and had to deal with injuries but they’ve got quality right across the park," he said.
“We need to bring our A+ game this weekend.
"They are a very good team, they play out beautifully from the backline and get their fullbacks engaged with their attack, they are very capable of scoring goals. The midfield with Pishon Choi in it is a very strong midfield so there are challenges right across the park.”
Bolonja continued to be impressed with the speed at which his young side had risen to the challenge of the WSL.
“It's about improvement, it's about bringing the right game plan, the culture to this young group," he said.
"We wanted to see improvement and I think we have seen that.
"We’ve had to change and adapt as we have gone; much of that has come about due to our surprise at just how quickly our young players have developed.
"They were thrown in the deep end and they have swum.”
Bolonja said he wanted more of what he had seen from his side in recent weeks at D'arcy Street on Saturday.
“I want us to be playing creative football, I want us to be playing through our lines, to be compact when we don’t have the ball," he said.
"The messages haven’t really changed throughout the year, there will just be a bit more pressure on the ball this week.”
In other Round 11 action, the round begins with Devonport Strikers, looking to extend their lead on top of the table as they take on Riverside, who continue to search for a first WSL victory, with late moments in games haunting them over the last month.
Whilst at Birch Avenue Launceston United will try to close the gap to the competition’s top four when they host a Taroona side also searching for a breakthrough win, with the Pirates having shown some encouraging improvements in recent weeks.
Round 11
Saturday 22 June
Devonport Strikers v Riverside Olympic, 12:00pm, Valley Road
Launceston United v Taroona, 12:00pm, Birch Avenue
South Hobart v Glenorchy Knights, 2:00pm, Darcy Street