The Kingborough Lions will meet the Hobart Zebras tonight under the lights of Lightwood Park to kick off Round 24 of the NPL Tasmania season, a round that won't quite see the title mathematically sealed with a Devonport victory, but it will be about as good as done should they win.
Both sides will be eager to claim the three points tonight at the Den as they look to finish off the season in style with the league now into its final month. Locked in a tight 3 way battle to finish in fifth place, just one point separates the Lions, Launceston City and Glenorchy Knights. Having been left frustrated by Riverside in a 1-1 draw last weekend, the Lions will be hoping the return of key players like Jack Turner and Nick Cuthbertson will be enough to see them secure the points. They defeated the Zebras 2-1 in their most recent meeting, though they did lose 3-0 earlier in the season. The Hobart Zebras meanwhile will be keen to avenge that defeat they suffered mid season, having done just that to Olympia in their most recent game a fortnight ago. They should be well rested coming off the bye, and their 4-2 win over the Warriors in their last outing was one of their best performances of the year. They will be hoping that result can spark a final month push to catch third placed South Hobart should results fall their way. After a lull midway through the campaign the Zebras have picked back up and are playing some good football at the present, which should give them confidence in this game, though will leave them ruing what might have been, when they reflect on the season.
On Saturday, the Devonport Strikers are looking to take a step closer to mathematically sealing the title when they take on Riverside. A win would take them to 56 points, which Olympia, who are on the bye this week, could also reach should their upcoming appeal be successful, but they would also have to haul in a goal difference of 15. Nonetheless, that means the Strikers will need to take 4 points from their pair of games with Riverside (they meet again on Wednesday night), to be in a position where they can officially be presented with the trophy in front of their Valley Road faithful. The Roos are a much improved side since their first and so far only meeting of the year, where they put up a solid defensive display in a 2-0 defeat and a similar scoreline from this would be deemed a success. This game will be interesting for goalie nerds, with a match up between the two standout keepers in the competition in Nathan Pitchford and Jarrod Hill sure to entertain.
At KGV, the Glenorchy Knights and Launceston City meet for the third time in a game that will go a long way to settling fifth place on the table. Their two prior encounters have been very closely fought games, with City claiming a 1-0 win in their clash at KGV and the shares spoiled in a 2-2 draw at Buckby Landrover Park. City will feel they missed a big opportunity in throwing away a 2-0 lead at home to South Hobart last week but it was a good bounce back performance after their Derby disappointment. Knights meanwhile competed well in their eventual defeat to Devonport and whilst they will be disappointed to have once again fallen short against a top four side, their overall form has been pretty solid over the past month.
Finally on Sunday at Wentworth Park it will South Hobart playing host to Clarence at Darcy Street. With heavy wins of 6-0 and 13-0 in the previous meetings this year, South will look to make it a comfortable sweep as they maintain their pursuit of Olympia. After all, second place is very much there for South Hobart if they're good enough. If Olympia are unsuccessful in their appeal then instead of a 10 point gap between the sides it becomes just four, and South would still have two games in hand. So they still have plenty to play for and they will be expecting to take care of business here as Clarence look to find a second positive result to hang their hats on.