Round 6 Match of the Round: Kingborough Lions v Devonport Strikers
The Kingborough Lions will welcome the undefeated Devonport Strikers to Lightwood Park in our Match of the Round for Round 6 of the Women's Super League.
It's a game that will be a tough test for a Lions outfit who have looked an improved outfit in 2024, but a shock 6-2 loss to Knights in their last WSL outing means the ladder-leading Strikers enter this one as the favourites as they prepare to meet on Saturday.
Lions' midfielder Christabelle Moore said the side had moved past the league defeat and were glad to have bounced back strongly in the Cup last weekend, as they comprehensively downed Riverside 7-2.
"We had quite a few out for the Knights game and that obviously had an impact<" she said.
"But we also had some lapses in that game, we didn’t focus for the full 90 minutes and struggled to get back into it.
"We bounced back really well last week though and it was good to get lots of goals on the board, to get our confidence back up ready for a tough week ahead."
Moore said they had worked hard on the defensive side of the game post the Knights defeat.
"We definitely had a big focus on getting our defence tighter, and making sure we are getting pressure on quickly when the other team has the ball, winning it back quickly and not allowing those easy runs through, to get those opportunities on goal," she said.
"We came into the season as a pretty new to each other group, we had a lot of signings and new individuals coming into the environment, so we’ve been working on gelling everyone together and I think we are getting there.”
Moore admitted it was a tough fixture that her side was facing, but said the squad believed they could get a positive result if they stuck to what they had been working on.
"We are at full strength and should be able to put our best team out on the pitch. Every week is a big challenge, but Devonport are obviously a great team; we head into it knowing it will be a tough game, but we’ve definitely got it in us to push through and get the win," she said.
"We need to keep our defence tight, they’ve got some big threats in attack and we need to stay calm, we can’t let one goal throw our entire game, we’ve got to push through and keep that attacking pressure on and keep scoring goals.
"We know we’ve got the ability to score goals - we’ve got heaps of goalscorers on this team at the moment, so it's making sure they get those opportunities to have shots on goal and making sure we are blocking Devonport out at the other end."
Strikers boss Tom Ballantyne said his side had opted for an additional training session last Saturday to get some extra work in, following Burnie's forfeit in the Statewide Cup that left his side with a week off.
One key to the Striker's early success this season has been the form of Whitney Knight, formerly the youngest player in the history of what was then the W-League. Ballantyne admitted they had been fortunate to secure her services and said she had fitted in well with the group.
"[Knight] messaged me out the blue saying she had relocated to Tasmania, having previously played A-League," he said.
"So we had a look at her and obviously she is a hell of a player. She’s played at the highest level of women’s football in the country, so she comes with great technical ability, she’s still working a little bit on fitness, but her technical ability and understanding of the game and what we are trying to do is first rate."
The Strikers are riding high at the moment, having beaten South Hobart 2-0 last start to sit with a perfect record atop the table. It's a strong start to a title push, but the Strikers boss denied it made them the team to beat just yet.
"I think it probably makes us joint-favourites at this point, obviously they’ve had an exceptional couple of years," he said.
"We wanted to make sure we got over them and put ourselves in pole position ahead of the next couple of games. We’ve got ourselves in a nice spot ahead of the next phase of the season, so at the moment I would say very much still joint-favourites."
Ballantyne suggested the win over South was an important victory for building belief within the group.
“I think it does (build belief), we’ve struggled to get that result against South in the past, they’ve been a bit of a bogey team," he said.
"So to now have that belief that they can get a result like that, especially with Georgia going off in the first 15 minutes, it proves the depth that we have at the minute.”
Looking forward to this weekend, the Strikers boss was expecting the Lions to come at them aggressively.
“It will be good to coach against Cam. They’ll play attacking football, Cam is all about attack and trying to get his team moving forward. They’ve been working on the defensive side of the game but it should be an interesting game.”
Sunday Double Header Concludes Round 6
The two other Round 6 clashes will take place on Sunday. At D'arcy Street, South Hobart will be eager to bounce back and look to claw back some ground on the Strikers when they take on Riverside Olympic. South have scored 10 goals on both occasions in their past two WSL games at home this season and so it presents as an ominous road trip for the competition newcomers.
Still unable to access Kelevedon Park, Taroona FC will once again use Lightwood Park as their home base as they take on the Glenorchy Knights. With Taroona yet to get off the mark, they now face a huge fortnight against the competition's two new sides, presenting them an ideal chance to claim their first points of the season after playing the top four in their opening four games.
The Knights have played some lovely patches of football since coming up, but have looked vulnerable at the back and so plenty of goals could be on the cards in this one.
Saturday 4 May
Kingborough Lions v Devonport Strikers, 12:00pm, Lightwood Park LIVE STREAM
Sunday 5 May
South Hobart v Riverside Olympic 2:30pm, Darcy St LIVE STREAM
Taroona v Glenorchy Knights 2:30pm, Lightwood Park LIVE STREAM