A fierce relegation dogfight will again dominate proceedings in McDonald's NPL Tasmania this weekend.
With two teams facing the drop into regional competition at the end of the season, the scenario has been radically altered by several eye-catching results.
The sides which have occupied the bottom three positions for most of the campaign have all picked up wins in the last fortnight with league newcomers Ulverstone and South East United doing so in dramatic fashion against the top two.
Fellow strugglers Launceston United have also collected their first victory of the season and will host cross-town rivals Riverside Olympic in a Friday-night derby with Statewide survival at stake.
A couple of recent postponements give United the advantage of having games in hand, but they would have to win both to close the six-point gap between the relegation places and eighth-placed Glenorchy.
“Every game matters now,” said United player-coach Gedi Krusa.
“I believe we’ve had ups and downs throughout the year. We dropped a lot due to injuries and other things. So now we're getting back on the right track and we got some transfer window new players coming in. They look a bit different, we look sharper and we’ve had a good week.”
Krusa is delighted to have experienced keeper Dan Nash back to face his former team on his birthday while also fielding new recruits from such diverse locations as Korea, USA and Ulverstone.
Riverside (20 points) and Clarence (21) are both enjoying their best ever NPL campaigns and find themselves in a tight scrap for fourth with Launceston City (24).
Like Zebras, Olympic have six wins, including recent routs against South East United (5-0) and Ulverstone (6-0), and will be keen to keep up that record against the league’s other relegation-threatened outfit.
“The Lonnie derbies are always very intense,” said coach Helder Dos Santos Silva.
“I think Gedi's been doing an excellent job. I think the results don't show how well he's doing. It's going to be a very interesting game.”
Boosted by the arrivals of Bright Owusu, who was playing park football in Sydney, and Aser Hailu, from Western United’s under-23s, Olympic are targeting unchartered waters.
“We are in a position that we've never been before on the ladder and we're going to try to win to get to our objectives this season,” added the Portuguese boss. “It's been a really good season so far. We got to a 20-points tally that we have never got before. We are thriving every week.”
The McDonald's Women's Super League fifth-versus-sixth encounter offers both Launceston United and Taroona the chance to leap up to fourth.
Both teams sit on 13 points along with Launceston City, all targeting Kingborough, just a couple of points away, who face the daunting task of trying to stop the relentless Devonport juggernaut.
United’s defender Liz Fogarty is over the moon with the return of her fellow American and housemate Olivia De Moraes, whose hat-trick in her first game back against Riverside took her season’s goal tally to 22 in all competitions.
“She is my partner in crime, and I'm so happy to have her here,” Fogarty said. “She has that flair when she plays that you just can't take your eyes off and it's so much fun just watching it from a talent perspective, but then also you respect it from a game perspective. Our goal is to get the ball to our nine and just let her do what she does.
“And in the house, we're back watching Ted Lasso and having our ice cream nights, and I am a very, very happy girl.”
Having begun their campaign with six losses in which they scored just once, the Pirates have won half of their last eight fixtures including against Saturday’s opponents (3-1) and high-flying South Hobart (4-2).
Coach Jason Hay said: “We did jump Launceston United last time a bit unawares, which I'm sure won't happen again, but it's just come on in strides every week and been a real pleasure.”
Taroona also have a couple of Americans in their ranks in Emily Funseth, from Montana, and Ohio’s Olivia Bekeleski, who has scored in all of their wins.
“They get on pretty well with the Launceston girls,” Hay added.
“Olivia's got a cracking left foot and she's quite aggressive. She's a little bit like Liv on the other team when she gets going. They're good to watch.”
McDonald's NPL Tasmania, Round 15
Friday, July 10
8.15pm Glenorchy v Kingborough, KGV
8.15pm Launceston United v Riverside Olympic, Birch Avenue Kemlec Park
Saturday, July 11
2pm South Hobart v Ulverstone, D’Arcy Street
2.30pm Devonport v South East United, Tassie Care Valley Road
2.30pm Clarence v Launceston City, Wentworth Park
McDonald's Women's Super League, Round 14
Saturday, July 11
12.15pm Devonport v Kingborough, Tassie Care Valley Road
2.30pm Glenorchy v Launceston City, KGV
4.45pm Launceston United v Taroona, Birch Avenue Kemlec Park
Sunday, July 12
2pm South Hobart v Riverside Olympic, D’Arcy Street