It's been a pretty remarkable week in the world of Football and ahead of our local Lakoseljac Cup Quarter Finals this weekend, its been a timely reminder of everything we love about Cup competitions.
In the most dramatic and astonishing fashion, we have all been shown just why it is that the Cup competitions hold such a special place in our game. It's because you just never know when they are going to throw up these truly improbable moments, the moments that nobody saw coming, the ones that stick with you and that will be talked about for years to come.
At 3-0 down without two of their best players, Liverpool were given little hope heading into the second leg against Barcelona. The same can be said for Spurs, who found themselves trailing 3-0 on aggregate to Ajax with just 45 minutes to play. Yet it's a Liverpool v Tottenham final we will see in Madrid in a few weeks time, such is the way of the Cup. Nothing is certain and the moment you start taking things for granted, things can flip pretty dramatically.
With Tasmanian teams now just 3 games away from the coveted FFA Cup Round of 32, the 8 remaining sides are daring to dream that it could be their year. And after a week like this, the underdogs remaining in the draw don't need to look too far for inspiration.
Southern Championship side Taroona will be one of those sides, as they host South Hobart at Kelvedon Park. On paper it would seem an almost impossible task for Taroona, coming up against a juggernaut of Tasmanian Football in South, who are currently pushing for yet another NPL title. But whilst over the long course of a league season the sample size tends to see the bigger sides win out, the nature of the knockout format of Cup Football ensures shock results each and every year.
Whilst Taroona don't enter the contest in the richest vein of form after falling 3-0 to New Town Eagles last weekend, they will be backing in home ground advantage to make life difficult for the visitors. Kelvedon Park may be the most picturesque ground in the State, but its certainly not the most hospitable, leading the Taroona side to label it, "The Graveyard." Some of the forecast rain might well make the pitch a bit of a leveller for the Championship side, but burying this South side will be a herculean task.
South will be desperate to avoid the Cupset having not won this coveted trophy in the past 3 seasons, after previously claiming 5 of them in an 8 year period. This is a game that should be regulation for them, but they will be well aware that an opponent with nothing to lose is often a dangerous one. That's the mentality Taroona can approach the game with, for them a liberating viewpoint,whilst for South its a potentially concerning one if they can't find the early goals.
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Solstice Photography[/caption]
At least one Championship side is guaranteed a place in the final four, with Somerset taking on University in a North v South battle at Cardigan Street. The home ground edge leaves the Sharks in a strong position to advance to the final four and match their efforts from the 2016 season. They don't enter this one in top form though, after they were stunned 3-0 by Burnie and 5-1 to Devonport over their past 2 league games. The Round of 16 victory over Beachside did come in between those games however, though the suspensions from that win have left them undermanned.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QztwOxn9PHk[/embedyt]
Their opponents in University have already defied the odds in this competition, eliminating Launceston City on the road in the Round of 16 to book their spot in the last eight. Now they have even further to travel, but having already beaten a side from the division above them, the 2006 Champions have shown they have the capacity to get the job done. Currently sitting on top of the Southern Championship with wins over the second and third placed sides in New Town and Hobart United, they are humming along right now and will provide a big test for the Sharks.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7lCHU-t4rw[/embedyt]
The other two Quarter Finals taking place are all NPL TAS affairs, with Riverside travelling down to take on Olympia at Warrior Park. Whilst these two sides are in the same division, it would still be quite the boilover if the Roos were to advance out of this match up. The Warriors may have missed a chance to go top on Sunday with their dramatic 3-3 draw with South Hobart, but they continue to look a prime contender for the title. Given their draw here, they are arguably the Cup favourites at this particular moment in time. They beat Riverside 5-0 at this venue back in late March despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men. The recent returns of Jarrod Hill and Luca Vigilante, will give them more of a fighting chance but it is going take quite the sprinkling of the "The magic of the cup" for Riverside to reverse their record against top four NPL sides in 2019, which has seen them ship 21 goals, and not score any.
[caption id="attachment_11260" align="alignnone" width="701"]
Solstice Photography[/caption]
Finally on the Sunday, the Hobart Zebras come up against the Devonport Strikers for the third time in three weeks. The Zebras have now beaten the Strikers and drawn with them and they remain the only side to have taken any points off them this season. So are the Zebras Devonport's Kryptonite? They certainly appear to be, although despite the final scorelines Devonport have been in the ascendancy or had the better of the game for the majority of both contests. Their sluggish starts, or conversely the Zebras lightning fast starts have been the difference, with both games following a similar pattern. Quick Zebra leads of 2-0 and 1-0 inside the opening 10 minutes have seen Devonport chasing the game, and both times despite them taking over the game, its only resulted in the solitary goal. Sam Whatman has been a big part of that, producing some top class saves in the Zebras net but it is also the one real area of weakness in the Strikers game. For all the possession they enjoy, goals have proved hard to come by in the big games for them. Just the one goal in each of their four games against top four opposition highlights that problem, though two clean sheets in those games give them a 2-1-1 record against the top four.
This has the makings of a Lakoseljac Cup classic, their two tight, previous matches have been tremendous entertainment and you can expect that again on Sunday. These sides are two of the big fancies to win the Cup, but come Sunday evening only one will be in the running to do so.
[caption id="attachment_11262" align="alignnone" width="537"]
Solstice Photography[/caption]
Lakoseljac Cup
Saturday 11 May
Taroona v South Hobart, Kelvedon Park, 12:00pm
Somerset v University, Cardigan Street 2:30pm
Olympia Warriors v Riverside, Warrior Park, 4:30pm LIVE STREAM
Sunday 12 May
Hobart Zebras v Devonport, KGV, 2:00pm LIVE STREAM
Solstice Photography[/caption]
At least one Championship side is guaranteed a place in the final four, with Somerset taking on University in a North v South battle at Cardigan Street. The home ground edge leaves the Sharks in a strong position to advance to the final four and match their efforts from the 2016 season. They don't enter this one in top form though, after they were stunned 3-0 by Burnie and 5-1 to Devonport over their past 2 league games. The Round of 16 victory over Beachside did come in between those games however, though the suspensions from that win have left them undermanned.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QztwOxn9PHk[/embedyt]
Their opponents in University have already defied the odds in this competition, eliminating Launceston City on the road in the Round of 16 to book their spot in the last eight. Now they have even further to travel, but having already beaten a side from the division above them, the 2006 Champions have shown they have the capacity to get the job done. Currently sitting on top of the Southern Championship with wins over the second and third placed sides in New Town and Hobart United, they are humming along right now and will provide a big test for the Sharks.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7lCHU-t4rw[/embedyt]
The other two Quarter Finals taking place are all NPL TAS affairs, with Riverside travelling down to take on Olympia at Warrior Park. Whilst these two sides are in the same division, it would still be quite the boilover if the Roos were to advance out of this match up. The Warriors may have missed a chance to go top on Sunday with their dramatic 3-3 draw with South Hobart, but they continue to look a prime contender for the title. Given their draw here, they are arguably the Cup favourites at this particular moment in time. They beat Riverside 5-0 at this venue back in late March despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men. The recent returns of Jarrod Hill and Luca Vigilante, will give them more of a fighting chance but it is going take quite the sprinkling of the "The magic of the cup" for Riverside to reverse their record against top four NPL sides in 2019, which has seen them ship 21 goals, and not score any.
[caption id="attachment_11260" align="alignnone" width="701"] Solstice Photography[/caption]
Finally on the Sunday, the Hobart Zebras come up against the Devonport Strikers for the third time in three weeks. The Zebras have now beaten the Strikers and drawn with them and they remain the only side to have taken any points off them this season. So are the Zebras Devonport's Kryptonite? They certainly appear to be, although despite the final scorelines Devonport have been in the ascendancy or had the better of the game for the majority of both contests. Their sluggish starts, or conversely the Zebras lightning fast starts have been the difference, with both games following a similar pattern. Quick Zebra leads of 2-0 and 1-0 inside the opening 10 minutes have seen Devonport chasing the game, and both times despite them taking over the game, its only resulted in the solitary goal. Sam Whatman has been a big part of that, producing some top class saves in the Zebras net but it is also the one real area of weakness in the Strikers game. For all the possession they enjoy, goals have proved hard to come by in the big games for them. Just the one goal in each of their four games against top four opposition highlights that problem, though two clean sheets in those games give them a 2-1-1 record against the top four.
This has the makings of a Lakoseljac Cup classic, their two tight, previous matches have been tremendous entertainment and you can expect that again on Sunday. These sides are two of the big fancies to win the Cup, but come Sunday evening only one will be in the running to do so.
[caption id="attachment_11262" align="alignnone" width="537"] Solstice Photography[/caption]
Lakoseljac Cup
Saturday 11 May
Taroona v South Hobart, Kelvedon Park, 12:00pm
Somerset v University, Cardigan Street 2:30pm
Olympia Warriors v Riverside, Warrior Park, 4:30pm LIVE STREAM
Sunday 12 May
Hobart Zebras v Devonport, KGV, 2:00pm LIVE STREAM