The Match of the Round for Round 12 in the Women’s Super League will see a potentially decisive battle in the title race between the current ladder leaders Devonport and the defending champions South Hobart. With the Strikers currently sitting a game clear on top of the table, and also boasting a game in hand, they could put themselves almost out of reach if they take the three points on Saturday.
Speaking at a Friday press conference on behalf of the club, Ken Morton admitted it was vital South ensured they didn’t fall any further behind in the title race.
“I think there is already a gap and if that widens it could become insurmountable, so it’s a game we don’t want to lose, that would be the first option," he said.
"Then let's see if we can build some momentum and attack Devonport in some weak spots if we can find those and capitalise on them.
"It’s going to be a tough game; they are a well-oiled side and top of the table for a reason.”
The last time the two sides met, the Strikers stunned South at D'arcy Street, registering a thumping 5-0 victory in the Statewide Cup Semi Final. Morton suggested they had learned from that outing, and that inexperience had played a role in the result.
“I think after that game, it made Alistair look at things a little differently and the work that you do for the remainder of the season to try and strengthen the weaker areas," he said.
"The injuries for the women’s squad this year have been immense, but the young players who have stepped in there have done extremely well, but they probably don’t have the experience just yet to tighten games up when they need to, or to put the foot on the ball and slow things up.
"It takes time to get all those things happening, but I know that the girls have been working very, very hard over the past few weeks to address those areas.”
Morton was pleased the side was able to sneak a 2-1 victory over Knights last week, to see them enter this clash off the back of 3 consecutive league wins.
“I thought we played well in that first half and controlled the flow of the game, but the goal came late, just about the last touch of the game, so I will take that again on Saturday against Devonport!“
Strikers coach Tom Ballantyne said his side wouldn’t be focusing too much on the last time the sides met, expecting a different game this time around.
“We take lots and nothing [from that game] all at the same time," he said.
"It's in the past, it's gone, those same circumstance won’t happen again - South will go out and do something different.
"We’ve changed every time we’ve played South and done something different ourselves, so we will do that this time around again.
"I am expecting a different approach from them as well and we will just have to adjust as the game goes.”
The Strikers boss didn’t shy away from the enormity of the fixture and the chance it offered his side.
“We’ve spoken about it with the group this week, that this could be a massive opportunity for us to get within touching distance of a title," he said.
Ballantyne felt that last week’s 10-0 thumping of Riverside was the result of getting his best XI out on the park.
“The previous couple of weeks we’ve had a slightly disjointed group, we’ve had quite a few players missing, so last week was the first time we’ve been able to put a complete group out on the park and that massively helped," he said.
As well as getting the influential Whitney Knight back in action, the Strikers have settled on a replacement for their injured goalkeeper Michaela Mitchell, with Georgia Anderson set to occupy the Strikers' net for the rest of the season - a development that Ballantyne was satisfied with.
“We’ve had Ando in goal for 3-4 games now, we’ve had a few players in goals in that period whilst we tried to find a replacement for Michaela," he said.
"Sam Hardy was in goals last time we played against South, but we are happy with where we now are."
In Round 12’s other pair of matches, the Kingborough Lions will be out to make it 5 wins from their past 5 WSL outings when they take on the continually-improving Glenorchy Knights, a side that defeated them the last time they met and came within moments of holding South Hobart last weekend.
Meanwhile, Launceston United will look to string consecutive wins together against a Riverside outfit who had their colours lowered last weekend, but were only denied a point in the previous meeting of the two teams by a 93rd minute Dani Gunton stunner back in Round 5.
Round 12
Saturday 29 June
South Hobart v Devonport Strikers, 2:00pm, Darcy Street LIVE STREAM
Kingborough Lions v Glenorchy Knights, 2:00pm, Lightwood Park, LIVE STREAM
Launceston United v Riverside Olympic, 4:30pm, Riverside Olympic LIVE STREAM