A bumper Saturday of Cup fixtures is set to the relaunch the 2020 local footballing season, as action resumes with the Round of 16 in the various Statewide Cup competitions.
Some four and a half months after the Qualifying Round of the Lakoseljac Cup was initially played, we are now finally set to have competitive games taking place. After such a lengthy layoff, this weekend represents a real venture into the unknown. The term 'unprecedented times' has been bandied about all too frequently over the past few months and yet it's certainly applicable to the resumption of play here. Who really knows where any of these sides are truly at? Whilst most sides have been playing practice games in the weeks leading up to the resumption, a lack of full contact training combined with a long period where fitness may well have lapsed might just leave us primed for a few more cupsets than usual.
In the Lakoseljac Cup, five of the eight fixtures feature the always intriguing clashes between sides who compete in different leagues, whilst there is one all Southern Championship showdown and two games between NPL Tasmania sides. Whilst there is no carrot of the FFA Cup being dangled this year which was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19, the Cup will remain a hotly contested competition and should provide a thrilling end to the year with the Semi and Final stages being played after the league seasons conclude.
One of those NPL v NPL matches should provide a fiery resumption at Buckby Landrover Park, with Devonport and Launceston City set to resume hostilities. There is a strong rivalry between the two sides that has boiled over in recent meetings and so you would expect a physical battle between the 2016 & 2018 Cup Champion Strikers, and a Launceston City side who may well loom as the NPL dark horses this year, after some shrewd off season recruiting.
The other all NPL affair pits the Kingborough Lions up against the Clarence Zebras in the new look Safari Derby. The Zebras have struggled a little in their recent warm up games, though how much you can really read into such results is debatable. They met all the way back in February in Summer Cup action where Luke Huigsloot bossed them in a 4-1 win for the Zebras, but that game now seems an eternity ago.
In the early kick offs, familiar foes in Metro and Taroona will meet at North Chigwell in an all Championship game, whilst it will be Southern Championship v Northern Championship affair at Cardigan Street when the Somerset Sharks take on a Hobart United side set to boast a number of new faces after last seasons title triumph. United thumped South East United 8-0 in the qualifying round. The other victors from that stage were Northern Rangers, who edged out Ulverstone 1-0 but will now face a difficult road trip to take on the Glenorchy Knights at KGV. Expectations are high for a talented Knights squad and a deep run in the cup could be on the cards this year.
Perhaps the most interesting of the games will be up at Olinda Grove, where University host Riverside Olympic. The Students made a run to the Semi Final stage of the competition last year and are a side who have routinely shown their ability to mix it with NPL opponents when given the chance. Their home draw here will make for a tough opening road trip for a Riverside team being tipped to improve on last seasons debut year in the top flight.
In another North v South battle, defending champions South Hobart will venture up the highway to take on Launceston United. Back in 2017 this same fixture saw Ben Hamlett scoring a remarkable 10 goals in a single game in a 12-0 demolition job. Expect a closer game this year, but South will be expecting their young brigade to get the job done. Hamlett's new club, Olympia will then round out the day when they take on Beachside at Warrior Park in a 6:00pm kick off. The Warriors looked the team to beat back in March after claiming the Summer Cup and they will undoubtedly be eager to pick up right where they left off.
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The Warriors beat South Hobart in a thrilling Summer Cup Decider- Solstice Photography[/caption]
In the Women's Statewide Cup all eyes will be on Wentworth Park where the WSL favourites, Clarence Zebras face a potentially tough first up challenge against the Devonport Strikers. The Strikers may well be playing in the Northern Championship this season, but after putting 19 goals past defending Northern Championship Champions Riverside in a hit out last weekend, its clear they represent a significant threat. With former Ulverstone Coach Mal Gorrie bringing a number of his former chargers across to the Portress, this looms as a real banana skin of a game for the newly merged Zebras.
Beaten finalists from last years cup, the Kingborough Lions, will face a long road trip to take on the Somerset Sharks who will be hoping home field advantage can push them to cause an upset, but they will start contest as big underdogs against their WSL opposition. Another coastal side will face southern opposition at Warrior Park, when the Olympia Warriors take on Ulverstone. The Reds have suffered some major departures since they last took the field in the 2019 WSL competition and could hardly have a tougher first up test than an Olympia team who came desperately close to clinching the 2019 league title.
At Olinda Grove, a University side who make their return to the Women's Super League in 2020 will take on Taroona, who were the only side who managed to take a point off them for the entire 2019 Championship season. Outside of that 2-2 draw, it was 20 wins from their other 20 games for the Students, but this is their chance for payback for playing spoiler on their perfect season.
At Windsor Park, history will be made when Riverside Olympic and Metro make their competitive bows in the Statewide Cup. Both clubs have put plenty of work into their Women's programs in recent years and it's fantastic to see new blood in the tournament. Nearby, another team will be making their return to the competition with Launceston City taking on a Northern Rangers side that made it through to the Semi Final stage of the competition last year. It promises to be a big day of female football in the North of the state.
Beachside FC and South Hobart FC were drawn straight through to the Quarter Final stage at the draw held back in March and so they won't be in action this weekend.
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Olivia Bomford will make her return for the Warriors- Solstice Photography[/caption]
The Warriors beat South Hobart in a thrilling Summer Cup Decider- Solstice Photography[/caption]
In the Women's Statewide Cup all eyes will be on Wentworth Park where the WSL favourites, Clarence Zebras face a potentially tough first up challenge against the Devonport Strikers. The Strikers may well be playing in the Northern Championship this season, but after putting 19 goals past defending Northern Championship Champions Riverside in a hit out last weekend, its clear they represent a significant threat. With former Ulverstone Coach Mal Gorrie bringing a number of his former chargers across to the Portress, this looms as a real banana skin of a game for the newly merged Zebras.
Beaten finalists from last years cup, the Kingborough Lions, will face a long road trip to take on the Somerset Sharks who will be hoping home field advantage can push them to cause an upset, but they will start contest as big underdogs against their WSL opposition. Another coastal side will face southern opposition at Warrior Park, when the Olympia Warriors take on Ulverstone. The Reds have suffered some major departures since they last took the field in the 2019 WSL competition and could hardly have a tougher first up test than an Olympia team who came desperately close to clinching the 2019 league title.
At Olinda Grove, a University side who make their return to the Women's Super League in 2020 will take on Taroona, who were the only side who managed to take a point off them for the entire 2019 Championship season. Outside of that 2-2 draw, it was 20 wins from their other 20 games for the Students, but this is their chance for payback for playing spoiler on their perfect season.
At Windsor Park, history will be made when Riverside Olympic and Metro make their competitive bows in the Statewide Cup. Both clubs have put plenty of work into their Women's programs in recent years and it's fantastic to see new blood in the tournament. Nearby, another team will be making their return to the competition with Launceston City taking on a Northern Rangers side that made it through to the Semi Final stage of the competition last year. It promises to be a big day of female football in the North of the state.
Beachside FC and South Hobart FC were drawn straight through to the Quarter Final stage at the draw held back in March and so they won't be in action this weekend.
[caption id="attachment_13268" align="alignnone" width="849"] Olivia Bomford will make her return for the Warriors- Solstice Photography[/caption]