Riverside and City Set To Renew The Rivalry
An old rivalry is set to be renewed at Buckby Landrover Park tonight as the first Launceston Derby of the NPL Tasmania season takes place. With Riverside's promotion to the NPL this season comes a return of their cross town rivalry with Launceston City and with Northern Rangers departure from the league, this game now becomes the biggest clash in Launceston Football. The action kicks off at 6:30pm at Buckby Landrover Park.
Both teams will have extra motivation for this one, with both sides still searching for their first win of the season having lost their opening two games to date. That extra desperation will add spice to what should already be a hard fought affair.
Riverside had a tough initiation, falling 5-1 to Glenorchy Knights in their league debut, stumbling out of the blocks, but they then showed improvement in their second outing, pushing the Kingborough Lions before losing 2-1. They took the lead early in that game but couldn't hold it and will need to build on that second result and play in a similar manner if they are to claim their first points of the season tonight.
Those results are mirrored by City, albeit against different opponents. They began with a 2-1 loss to defending Champions Devonport, similarly, coughing up an early 1-0 lead, before then losing comfortably to South Hobart, 5-1 in their second outing on Saturday. They will be favourites for this game as the home side, but need to be wary in a Derby game where getting those first 3 points of the season will mean so much to both sides.
Riverside should be well aware of what to expect from City, with Aaron Campbell returning to Windsor Park after spending the past several seasons playing NPL with City. His return to the club where he is the games record holder at NPL level will just be one further angle in what looms as an intriguing first Derby of the 2019 season.
Clarence and Knights Look To Get Back on Track
The other game, kicking off at KGV at 8:00pm features the other new side to the league this season in Glenorchy Knights as they take on a struggling Clarence team.
After Knights began with a big 5-1 win over Riverside, the past two games have been reality checks. They started brightly against the Warriors before ultimately fizzing out to a 3-1 loss, but were outplayed from start to finish by Devonport in a 4-0 loss on Saturday. The last 150 minutes of football haven't been to the quality they showed in their first 120, but a raft of injuries has certainly contributed to that. Tonight represents a great chance for them to get back on track and they will be out to prove a point against the side that replaced them in the top division. Former Reds, Nicholas Naden, Jake Stuart and George Hallard will all likely start for the Knights, and there is no doubt Clarence would love to still be able to call upon their services.
Clarence desperately need a positive performance tonight to act as a circuit breaker. A raft of heavy defeats in the preseason has since been followed up by 9-0 and 8-0 defeats in their first two games. With no game over the weekend, they have had a full week to lick their wounds and prepare for this game. They should be fresher than the Knights, coming off that road trip from Valley Road and simply have to lift for this. They need to develop that siege mentality, that they can then harness that into making themselves hard to play against. Clarence were previously an opponent you knew would give you no quarter, and any result would take a physical battle to achieve. They have lost that in recent times and need to find a way to get it back, lest this season slips away from them.