The Devonport Strikers hit the ground running after their week off from NPL action, notching up a 4-0 win over Northern rivals Launceston City. The win sees the Strikers return to the top of the NPL Tasmania table after Olympia claimed the top spot for less than 24 hours. Dominic Smith was handed the captain's armband in what was his 100th NPL Tas appearance and he made no mistake in helping his side keep a clean sheet.
Devonport remained in control for the entirety of the match but struggled to translate that control into goals in the first half. Apart from an unfortunate own goal from City, the Strikers could not find the net for the opening 45 minutes.
The own goal came from an otherwise faultless Charlie Dyer who had just returned from suspension and put in a good shift at left-back marking Eddie Bidwell. In the 6th minute, Max Fitzgerald broke away from his man on the left and hit a low, hard cross which was met by Dyer and accidentally cleared into the back of his own net.
The Strikers would have to wait until the 51st minute for their second, which came through Raph Reynolds. After Joel Stone crossed from a free-kick, Reynolds brought the ball down, steadied it, and then blasted the ball past the keeper to double his side's lead.
Reynolds' work wasn't done there, as he had a part to play in his side's third goal. After driving forward from the centre of defence, he played a near-perfect through ball to Fitzgerald. The winger used some fancy footwork to beat his defender and then beat the keeper to send his side 3-0 up.
Despite making some crucial saves for his side and therefore potentially limiting the damage on the scoreline, Lachlan Clark fumbled a cross from Bidwell which Miles Barnard made no mistake of putting home to finish the game off.
This win puts the Strikers in a good position for their match against the Hobart Zebras next week. The Zebras remain the only side to record a win against Devonport this season in the NPL Tas.
Meanwhile, City travels to Lightwood Park to face the Kingborough Lions for the final time this season in what could be a crucial game for the race for fifth place.