Extra fuel is set to be added to Saturday's first Launceston Derby of the NPL Tasmania season with the inception of the Guardian Pharmacies Challenge Cup, with the new sponsor on board to provide an extra incentive in the form of silverware.
The Cup will be played for each time Riverside Olympic and Launceston City play in the NPL Tasmania from now on and it promises to add an extra element to an already burgeoning rivalry between the two sides that has developed nicely since Riverside's promotion to the NPL in 2019.
A similar concept was used previously to great success when Northern Rangers were in the NPL competition, when the Launceston sides would play for the Launceston Mitsubishi Mazda Derby Cup.
The winner of the Derby each time it is played will retain the Guardian Pharmacies Challenge Cup and in the event of a draw the current holder will retain it. As well as the trophy, there will be a $250 prize for the winner of the game and also a $50 voucher for the Player of the Match This will be in place for both games this year.
All three editions of the Launceston Derby were extremely closely fought out in 2019, with Riverside winning the first and third games and City winning the second. All three games were won with a scoreline of 2-1 and were games that could easily have gone either way.
Both sides will be chasing a first victory of the season with Launceston City, who will host the game at Buckby Landrover Park having played well but found themselves losing twice. A 3-2 loss away to South Hobart was followed by a 2-1 loss to Devonport, as they pushed hard but ultimately came up short against competition heavyweights. The signs have been good for City though who proved with their Lakoseljac Cup win over Devonport prior to Round 1 that they are much improved and dangerous side in 2020.
Riverside have also been close in their first two games, pushing Devonport in a narrow 1-0 loss that could well have been a draw if not for Nathan Pitchford's late heroics, before last weekend claiming a 3-3 draw away at Kingborough. That draw could so easily have been all three points however having led the game 3-2 after 85 minutes and you'd expect it to provide even more motivation for the Derby on Saturday.
