Welcome to the Friday Forecast ahead of Round 13 of the MyState Bank Women’s Super League. In a packed Saturday afternoon, we have a double-header at Kelvedon Park as the Lions meet the Strikers and Taroona takes on South Hobart. In the North, Launceston United face off with the Clarence Zebras.
Lions Looking To String Big Wins
The Round will begin at Kelvedon Park, though not with Taroona, but with the Kingborough Lions taking on the Devonport Strikers. It makes for a double-header at the venue, with Taroona taking on South Hobart immediately after this one and a big day of Super League football at the picturesque ground.
Fresh off downing the defending Champions, the Lions will look to make it two big victories in a row as they take on a Strikers outfit who were brought back down to earth last weekend by South Hobart.
Kingborough’s 3-2 win over Launceston United was an impressive result for the Lions, who had lost their past 8 outings consecutively against the Northerners, including a 0-3 record against them this season. They mastered the tricky wind conditions to get the result, which should boost their confidence for this one, though they should be feeling good about this matchup given what happened last time around.
The two sides have played twice already this year with wildly differing results. At Valley Road, it was all Devonport as they scored a comfortable 3-0 win, but in the more recent meeting played at the Twin Ovals, the Lions scored a thumping 6-2 win, which probably ranks as their finest display in recent years.
Before last weekend, the Strikers appeared to be surging back into the title race with a pair of huge wins over Launceston United and the Clarence Zebras, but they came up short against South Hobart and are surely now too far back to be a threat. Catching Launceston United who sits 2 points ahead of them appears very doable though and a win here will aid them in that endeavour.
They will need to improve on their road form though, which has been an issue of late for the Strikers. Their last 2 road trips South resulted in that 6-2 demolition at the hands of the Lions and a pretty flat display against Taroona where they drew 1-1.
Complacency Only Threat to South Hobart Now
The action then continues at Kelvedon Park with Taroona taking on South Hobart at 2:30 pm as the second leg of the double-header.
Having opened up a ten-point lead atop the table, it would seem complacency is the only real threat to South Hobart’s march towards the title now. It’s something they need to avoid in the coming weeks and indeed on Saturday as they take on an improved Taroona FC side. If they relax and think the job is done, then that could leave the door open for their rivals. Keep playing in the manner they have all season and the title is almost certainly going to be theirs. The 3-0 victory over Devonport last week has moved them into such a strong position - it was a huge result in a huge game, and they did it without conceding once again. They have now posted five straight clean sheets and continue to exercise masterful control over games, monopolizing possession thanks in no small part to their defensive wall at the back in Bridie Cooling and midfield metronome Lucy Roberts.
Taroona suffered a bit of a setback last week, bucking the trend of defensive stability they had demonstrated in the month prior by shipping five goals in the opening hour to the Clarence Zebras as they were cut apart. They showed some good fight though and managed to work their way back to a 5-3 final scoreline. The defence is going to need to be much more secure against this South Hobart attack if they are any chance, which does open the question of how to best deploy Maeve Dunbabin? She has been in brilliant form the past couple of weeks in attack, but her form at the back before that was also strong and I feel like they missed her presence back there in the first half last week. Short of discovering cloning technology, against such a strong South Hobart attack, she may be required back in defence this week, posing a tough call for the coaching staff.
United Tries to Reset At Home
Launceston United will look to revive their faltering season when they play host to the Clarence Zebras at Floorworld Park.
After a scoreless draw at Darcy Street in Round 9, things have gone downhill for the defending champions, leaving them firmly on the ropes as they head into this one. Defeat in the Cup final has been followed by losses to Devonport and the Lions, with a last-minute winner required to beat Taroona in between those games. It leaves them 10 points back and seemingly drifting out of a title race they appeared to be up to their eyes in just a month ago. If they are any chance of getting back into it, they simply cannot afford to drop points here.
They have beaten the Zebras both times they’ve met this season, with a 3-0 win at home the most recent of those results, though the 4-2 win at Wentworth Park earlier in the year was the more memorable. That featured one of the more insane collection of goals scored in a single game in WSL history and was a brilliant showcase of what the league can offer.
The Zebras faded late on last week, but they had the game well and truly wrapped up before some late sloppiness saw them cede their dominance on the scoreboard. For 80 minutes it was a brilliant performance, bouncing back from a couple of heavy defeats to the Strikers and South Hobart. Young players like Millie Baric and Graciella Baez are coming on strong and it will be good to see them tested here against a more battle-hardened and experienced side like United.
Round 13
Saturday 8 July
Kingborough Lions v Devonport Strikers, 12:30pm, Kelvedon Park
Launceston United v Clarence Zebras, 1:30pm, Birch Avenue
Taroona FC v South Hobart, 2:30pm, Kelvedon Park