Final Four Set In Lakoseljac Cup
The quarter final stage of the Lakoseljac Cup was played out over the weekend, leaving four sides left in the running for the coveted trophy and the accompanying place in the Australia Cup Round of 32.
In the pick of the quarter finals, the Kingborough Lions advanced to the semis with a 2-1 win over Launceston City. The game played out in a nearly identical fashion to their NPL Tasmania clash a fortnight prior at the same venue. Once again, City took the lead into the half-time break, only to find themselves overrun in the second 45 minutes. Lions' star man Kobe Kemp once again delivered in a big game, scoring both of his side's goals after Will Humphrey had earlier handed City the lead from the penalty spot.
The result will certainly sting for City, given that they once again had a lead and were looking comfortable in the match before the brilliant Kemp struck. Once the Lions drew level, they motored on and were good value for their victory by the final whistle, leaving them just a game away from a first Cup Final appearance since 2015.
There were no shocks in the two Championship v NPL Tasmania Cup ties, with both the Glenorchy Knights and the Devonport Strikers taking care of business comfortably.
The Knights simply had too much firepower for South East United, as Joshua Redfearn scored four times in a comprehensive 7-0 victory, whilst the Strikers were workmanlike as they downed Hobart City 4-0, scoring a pair of goals in each half. Denehey, Bidwell, Zasadny and Ichimura all hit the scoresheet as they shared the scoring around. The Strikers are aiming for a historic fourth Lakoseljac Cup triumph in a row, having won every edition held since 2020 when the Knights broke through.
The only real surprise from the weekend’s action came at Wentworth Park, where Riverside Olympic downed the Clarence Zebras 5-2 in a game that had a manic final 20 minutes. Goals from Henry Cook and Emanuel Ponce had Riverside seemingly in command with a 2-0 lead after 74 minutes, before Clarence struck back and knotted it up as Cook and Cummins found the back of the net. The Roos were not going to let the opportunity slip though, and they responded within a minute via Austin Marshall and a minute after that their 2-goal buffer was restored via Ponce’s second of the contest. Gedi Krusa then iced the match to seal a 5-2 win and book the Roos' place in the final four.
No Shocks in Women’s Statewide Cup
In the Women’s Statewide Cup, there were no surprises as the top four sides in the Women’s Super League all advanced to the final four, setting up a massive pair of semi finals.
On Saturday, the Kingborough Lions bounced back to their best - a week after being thumped by the Glenorchy Knights - as they accounted for Riverside Olympic 7-2. The tone was set for the contest when two goals were scored in the opening four minutes of the match, as both sides struck early in a sign of what was to come. Meg Connolly continued her red-hot goal-scoring form for the Roos by scoring twice, but the Lions simply had too much firepower for the WSL newcomers. Cara Lashmar and Hannah Walsh both scored braces as the Lions ran out big winners, as they aim to return to the Cup Final for a fourth time in the last seven seasons.
At Birch Avenue, University gave a good account of themselves against a higher league opponent, but were ultimately brought undone by United’s propensity to fire in back post headers.
Bianca Anderson was given a start upfront and she chimed with two of those headed goals, whilst Dani Gunton also thumped one home in between to secure a comfortable 3-0 win. University battled well and provided some challenge to United, but they couldn’t breach the home side’s defence. That leaves United one game away from reaching their fourth successive Statewide Cup Final, having won the competition in 2022 and finishing as runners-up in 2023 and 2021.
At KGV, the Glenorchy Knights ran South Hobart far closer than they managed in their recent WSL clash as they demonstrated their ongoing improvement, but the defending Cup Champions were too strong, as Aaliyah Browning and Samantha Watkins both chimed in with braces en route to a 4-1 victory. Charlotte Butler pulled one back for the Knights after South led 3-0 after 27 minutes, but Watkins made sure of her side’s progression shortly after half-time and from there they saw things out professionally.
Current WSL leaders the Devonport Strikers will be the fourth and final side into the Semi Finals, progressing after Burnie forfeited to them, leaving them with a weekend to rest the legs.
The draws for the Semi Final stages of the Statewide Cups will be held on Wednesday 1 May at 12:30pm. You can view the draw live on the Football Tasmania Facebook page.
Lakoseljac Cup
Kingborough Lions United 2 (K.Kemp 53’ 66’)
Launceston City 1 (W.Humphrey 28’)
Hobart City 0
Devonport Strikers 4 (B.Denehey 8’ C.Bidwell 28’ D.Zasadny 51’ R.Ichimura 81’)
Glenorchy Knights 7 (J.Redfearn 11’ 47’ 80’ 84’ R.Dillon 29’ S.Cordwell 35’ T.Walpole 41’)
South East United 0
Clarence Zebras 2 (R.Cook 74’, S.Cummins 81’)
Riverside Olympic 5 (E.Farias 17’ 84’, H.Cook 46’ A.Marshall 82’ G.Krusa 90+3’)
Women’s Statewide Cup
Launceston United 2 (B.Anderson 11’ 86’ , D.Gunton 29’)
University FC 0
Kingborough Lions 7 (H.Walsh 4’ 55’, C.Moore 27’ C.Lashmar 30’ 84’, D.Kannegiesser 39’, L.Davis 70’)
Riverside Olympic 2 (M.Connolly 1’ 49’)
Glenorchy Knights 1 (C.Butler 32’)
South Hobart 4 (A.Browning 2’ 24’ S.Watkins 27’ 52’)