Heavy Hitters All Remain In Lakoseljac Cup
In the Round of 16 of the Lakoseljac Cup, there were no games decided by less than 3-goal margins, as the favourites all took care of business in dominant fashion. It was devoid of the tension, drama and upsets that draw people to Cup football. The flip side of that is that we now have a final 8 loaded with the top sides and a thrilling slate of quarter-final clashes to come this weekend. What we lacked last round, we should have no shortage of this weekend.
The Quarter Final action will begin with Riverside Olympic hosting Hobart United at Windsor Park. After a favourable draw in the Round of 16, Olympic have again been fortunate, drawing both the only non-NPL side left in the competition and a home tie in this one. Having claimed a breakthrough win in the NPL over the weekend by downing Launceston United, they should be feeling confident heading into this tie that they can reach the final 4, and at that point, you can dare to dream. Concerningly for the visitors, United haven’t won in their past three Southern Championship outings, although to be fair, they have all been close games against some of the stronger sides in the division. We’ve seen this squad lift for the Cup in previous years and they must repeat that if they are any chance to cause the upset here as the lone lower division side remaining.
At Buckby Motors Park we will see a rematch from last weekend’s NPL action, as Launceston City take on the Clarence Zebras. The Zebras got the job done on Saturday to defeat City 2-1 thanks to a Riley Dillon stunner, but home-field advantage now flips to the Northerners. They will be hoping that provides them with the extra edge they need to advance after being outplayed in the second half of that NPL match. They had their chances to go 2-0 up in the first half before being overrun so there is plenty of cause for optimism in what looks as a tie that could easily go either way. Both sides have been impressive so far in the NPL, looking stronger than their 2022 versions and capable of a deep Cup run.
With Lightwood Park out of action, the Kingborough Lions don’t have the advantage of the Den to call upon but they will be hoping the travel factor can play in their favour as they take on the Devonport Strikers at KGV. A road trip will be nothing new for Devonport in this competition, famously they had a 4-year gap between home ties before last season’s Semi-Final against the Lions, playing 13 times on the road consecutively. Given they won the Cup twice and made the final in that period before going on to win again last season as well, it’s nothing they haven’t been able to overcome before. The Strikers have now won 4 of the last 7 Lakoseljac Cups and loom as the team to beat once again in 2023. This pair are yet to meet in the NPL this season, but with Devonport unbeaten on top and the Lions in sixth coming off consecutive defeats, the Strikers surely enter this one as warm favourites to continue their dominance of this competition.
On Sunday, in the tie of the round, South Hobart will play host to the Glenorchy Knights at Darcy Street. The sides met a fortnight earlier at KGV in the NPL with Knights claiming a 1-0 victory thanks in no small part to a masterclass from Canadian goalkeeper Jackson Gardner. With the Knights conceding just one goal in the league to date, finding a way to score will be South Hobart’s big challenge here. The form of Gardner is certainly papering over some cracks for the Knights and South will look at the chances generated against Knights in the past few weeks and believe if they can be a bit more clinical, this is a game well within their reach. Expect another tight, low-scoring grind here between two of only four clubs to have won the competition in the past 13 years.
WSL Front Runners Should Advance in Women's Statewide Cup
In the Women's Statewide Cup, the top three sides in the Women's Super League have all been given favourable draws and appear primed to advance barring any major boilovers. With fewer entries than the Lakoseljac Cup, we have four teams who will be playing in the Cup for the first time this year after they were drawn through automatically to this stage.
Presently sitting atop the Women’s Super League table and stamping themselves in the early rounds as the side to beat, South Hobart will be expected to advance through to the final four as they take on the New Town White Eagles. The White Eagles are flying in the Southern Championship, winning their first 4 games but this represents a significant step up in the calibre of opposition. They have some star power in the form of Kate Ollerhead, who would surely walk into any WSL starting line-up in the competition if she so desired and former Zebras striker Zoe Nichols, who previously pillaged goals in the top division for fun. But whether the supporting cast is quite enough for them to pull off an upset of this magnitude is somewhat more questionable. South are playing superb football at the moment and should be considered the favourites to win the Cup as it currently stands.
At the Ulverstone Showgrounds, there will be a coastal Derby as Ulverstone take on the Devonport Strikers. Given it was the Strikers who replaced the Reds in the WSL, expect some extra feeling here as Ulverstone look to prove a point in a grudge match. Prior to last weekend, this looked like an insurmountable task for the Northern Championship side, but after a shock 5-1 loss in the WSL on Saturday to the Zebras, Devonport may just be slightly vulnerable, even if they still enter this one as overwhelming favourites to advance. The Reds will need to improve on their league form if they are to cause the upset, where they have posted a middling 3-0-2 record through the opening five weeks of the season to sit in fourth place.
At Birch Avenue Launceston United will also be expected to advance, as the current holders take on Taroona. Having vanquished Taroona 8-0 with minimum fuss as recently as Sunday, it would take a remarkable turnaround to see anything but United progressing here. The Pirates had no answers to United’s attack on Sunday, with Courtney Marten running riot and scoring five times, leaving United well-positioned to defend their Cup crown from 2022. Like the other two sides in the WSL top three, this should be a straightforward assignment.
The last of the quarter-finals will also be a rematch of a game we saw recently as the Kingborough Lions and Clarence Zebras clash at KGV. This certainly projects as the tightest of the four quarter-final fixtures drawn out. It was the Lions who triumphed in their recent meeting at KGV, with Laura Davis scoring a match-winner in the 88th minute to see the Lions walk away with a 3-2 win. They were good value for the three points that day, outplaying the Zebras and fully deserving of victory. The Zebras will need to offer an improved performance if they’re to advance, however, that is exactly what they produced last week when they downed the Devonport Strikers 5-1. Sending them into this stage of the competition with their confidence surely soaring off the back of their best performance of the season.
Lakoseljac Cup
Saturday 29 April
Riverside Olympic v Hobart United, 12:00pm, Windsor Park
Kingborough Lions v Devonport Strikers, 3:00pm
Launceston City v Clarence Zebras, 5:30pm, Buckby Motors Park
Sunday 30 April
South Hobart v Glenorchy Knights, 2:00pm, Darcy Street
Women’s Statewide Cup
Saturday 29 April
New Town White Eagles v South Hobart, 12:00pm, Clare Street
Ulverstone v Devonport, 2:00pm, Ulverstone Showgrounds
Launceston United v Taroona, Birch Avenue
Kingborough Lions v Clarence Zebras, 6:00pm, KGV
Under 21’s Statewide Cup
Saturday 29 April
Kingborough Lions v South East United, 12:00pm, KGV
Burnie United v Devonport, 2:00pm, Montello
Launceston City v Glenorchy Knights, 2:30pm, Buckby Motors Park
Sunday 30 April
Clarence Zebras v Riverside Olympic, 12:30pm. Windsor Park
Under 17 Girls' Statewide Cup
Saturday 29 April
Launceston United v Clarence Zebras, 11:30am, Birch Avenue
Launceston City v Kingborough Lions, 12:00pm, Buckby Motors Park
Sunday 30 April
Taroona v South Hobart, 12:00pm, Kelvedon Park
Bye: Devonport
Under 17 Boys' Statewide Cup
Launceston City v Devonport Strikers, 9:30am, Buckby Motors Park
Kingborough Lions v South Hobart, 9:30am, KGV
Hobart City Beachside v Clarence Zebras, 10:00am, Sandown Park
Launceston United v Glenorchy Knights, 2:00pm, Birch Avenue