Match of the Round for Round 15 will see the second-placed Kingborough Lions hosting third-placed South Hobart. It shapes as a tight contest, with just a point between the pair on the WSL table, although South do still maintain a game in hand on the Lions.
For South Hobart, it has been an extraordinarily long time between games, with a combination of scheduling and weather meaning that they haven’t played since a 2-0 defeat to Devonport all the way back on June 29. Despite the gap, South striker Josi Mamic felt the squad was raring to go on Saturday.
“We are feeling really good about the coming games," she said.
"We’ve now had 4 weeks off, as we had the bye, the WSL had a week off and then our game got cancelled, so we have had a very big break to say the least.
"Hopefully, that has got our players to rejuvenate and rest up and to get ready for the next half of the season.”
When asked if she was worried about such a long break stalling any momentum the side was building up, Mamic said she felt the group had grown closer through the shared frustrations.
“A little bit (worried); it rained a lot so we couldn’t actually train for about 2-3 of those weeks, so it felt weird touching a ball for the first time this week, but the girls have still got it and I feel like the bond maybe even became stronger during this period.”
In the period that South hasn’t been playing, the Strikers have now pulled 12 points clear on top, but Mamic refused to be drawn on title race speculation, suggesting they could only control winning the games they had to play.
“I'm not sure if we are in the title race or not, I just know that our girls will put out our best every week, and if that means we are still in the title race, then we are still in the title race, if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t," she said.
Mamic was expecting a tough battle at Lightwood Park on Saturday night and said her side needed to bring their best performance if they were to get the result they wanted.
“The Lions always bring their A-game, they are very strong and have performed well against us in the past, so it will be on us to bring our A-game, or even our A+ game, so that we can outplay them and out skill them and hopefully get those goals at the end,” she said.
Last time the sides met, the Lions were comfortable 4-1 victors but Mamic said the side was more interested in looking forward than backward to that result.
“I think there were a lot of factors in that result, so I personally I don’t focus on that, I focus on what we can do and should be doing," she said.
"Yes, we made some mistakes and they got the better of us, but looking forward now - we can't dwell on the past and past games, we just need to improve and bring what we do at training on the pitch.”
Mamic suggested her side would look to take the game to the Lions and press up the pitch.
"We support each other, we have each other's backs and we will relentlessly press because we have that passion and desire for the ball and we will look to play our football,” she said.
Mamic is having a superb season, leading the line for her side and currently leads the Golden Boot race, having scored 17 times this season. But ever the team player, she refuted suggestions it was a motivator for her.
“It’s definitely not at the forefront of my mind, every game is for me a grace to play, so it's just the opportunity to play and do the thing that I love each and every week that motivates me," she said.
"The Golden Boot is basically a team effort because it's not just one person scoring goals, it’s the whole team that builds that up and we celebrate everyone's goals on our side.”
Kingborough Lions coach Cam Heazlewood said his side would simply keep trying to win every game they could from here on out.
“Mathematically, we are still in the title race and we will keep trying to get maximum points for as long as possible until it's mathematically impossible," Heazlewood said.
“We want to finish as high possible and if second ends up being the highest we can do then I’d be happy with that, it's progress.
"Obviously going from second bottom to second would be a massive amount of progress, but at the same time we’ve got to focus on this weekend, without looking at the broader picture too much.”
Their hopes took a blow last weekend, falling 4-0 to Devonport, but with a raft of key players missing and no substitutes on the bench, Heazlewood was proud of his side’s effort.
“I think all things considered we were 30 seconds away from keeping it 0-0 heading into half-time; granted we were pretty lucky in that they hit the post a few times, but I think they had 2 world beater goals, so we are not too disappointed with the result, they all put in a good shift, so I am proud of the girls' efforts at Valley Road,” he said.
The Lions coach didn’t feel his side’s 4-1 win at D'arcy Street would have much bearing on the upcoming contest.
“Things change throughout the season, both teams have got players in and all that sort of stuff, so I think we are always trying to plan ahead and focus on what our strengths are, so I don’t think we will focus too much on what happened in the previous game, again, that’s been and gone now," he said.
"We just want to be as successful as possible and get maximum points from the games we do have.”
Heazlewood pinpointed South Hobart’s speed in attack as the biggest factor his side needed to plan for on Saturday.
"They have a lot of pace throughout their team; they obviously went through a stage where they hadn’t lost a game for umpteen amount of weeks, so they are obviously a very talented side," he said.
"Madi Chambers is a key player coming back from the US, Josi and their front three as a collective are fairly quick, technical players so we have to limit their opportunities if we want to have some success this weekend."
In the weekend's other clashes, the Devonport Strikers could pull further ahead on top as they travel down to KGV to take on Taroona FC.
At Birch Avenue, Launceston United takes on the Glenorchy Knights, with the pair having played out a thoroughly entertaining 4-2 scoreline the last time the pair met in Round 8.
Round 15
Saturday July 27
Launceston United v Glenorchy Knights, 12:00pm, Birch Avenue LIVE STREAM
Taroona FC v Devonport Strikers, 12:00pm, KGV LIVE STREAM
Kingborough Lions v South Hobart, 2:00pm, Lightwood Park LIVE STREAM