Women's Super League Round 3 Preview

Olympia Warriors v Ulverstone

Date: Saturday 1 August

Venue: Warrior Park

Kick Off: 2:00 PM

Live Blog

2020 Record:

Olympia (2-0-0)

Ulverstone (0-1-1)

Top Scorers

Oly: (3) Bonnie Davies

Ulv: (1) Eli Cropp, Mikihala George, Amy Bissett

Recent Head to Head Record

2020: Statewide Cup: Olympia 4-0 Ulverstone

2019: Round 17: Olympia 0-2 Ulverstone

2019: Round 12: Ulverstone 2-0 Olympia

Match Primer 

The Warriors meet Ulverstone at Warrior Park on Saturday afternoon to kick off Round 3 of the Super League. These two sides met in the Women's Statewide Cup at this same venue 3 weeks ago and it ended with a resounding 4-0 win to the Warriors. It could well have been more had the Warriors taken their chances as they dominated the game from start to finish. Finishing has been the major area the Warriors will need to improve on if they are to push favourites Clarence Zebras for the League title, as their conversion rate hasn't been great through their first 3 games since the restart. They are shaping as the major challengers once again though and have now added some defensive reinforcement in the form of the returning Caitlin Roberts. Ulverstone had some success against the Warriors last season, taking a 2-1-1 record from their four WSL clashes and despite losing some important players from that side, do have a defensive unit capable of making life tough for Olympia led by star Captain Emily Nellis.

University v South Hobart

Date: Sunday 2 August

Venue: Olinda Grove

Kick Off: 2:15 PM

Live Blog/Stream

2020 Record:

University (0-1-1)

South Hobart (0-0-2)

Top Scorers

SH: N/A

Uni: (2) Sophie Young

Recent Head to Head Record

2018: Round 21: South Hobart 1-0 University

2018: Round 14: South Hobart 5-1 University

2018: Round 4: University 1-1 South Hobart

Match Primer 

University welcomes South Hobart to Olinda Grove on Sunday as both sides look to register their first victories of the season. The Bees nearly did just that on the road to Ulverstone last week, blowing a 2-0 lead in their eventual 2-2 draw which was nevertheless a positive result after their week one blowout against the Zebras. South were also outclassed by Clarence in their 4-0 loss last week and having played Olympia in week 1, they have played probably the competitions top two sides so far. The signs have been good for South so far, they have put in 2 honorable performances in their defeats but this is their real chance to show how far they have come and collect some points. The Bees meanwhile have got the pace in attack to cause some problems and a goalkeeper in Rhiannon Steele who looks capable of stealing them a result or two based on her showings in the opening rounds of the season.

Clarence Zebras v Kingborough Lions

Date: Sunday 2 August

Venue: Wentworth Park

Kick Off: 2:30 PM

Live Blog

2020 Record:

Clarence Zebras (2-0-0)

Kingborough Lions (1-0-1)

Top Scorers

CZ: (4) Zoe Nichols

KL: (2) Laura Davis

Recent Head to Head Record

First Meeting

Match Primer 

Technically this is the first time these sides will ever meet in a competitive fixture, as the Lions and Zebras clash in the new look Safari Derby though it's fair to say both sides are very familiar with each other. The Lions and the Hobart Zebras played out some absolute classic clashes last season, including a 4-3 thriller at Lightwood Park late in the season that reignited the Zebras title hopes and of course the epic Statewide Cup Final that was also won by the Zebras, 3-1. If we are to get another such game this time then the Lions will need to show drastic improvement from last week. Whilst the first half saw them competing fairly well with the Warriors, the youthful Lions were completely overrun in the second half as Olympia ran all over them and stormed to a 6-0 win that could've been even more. The Lions will need to play more like they did in their week one win on the road at Ulverstone but should be prepared to see a lot less of the ball against a side who have utterly monopolized possession through their opening fortnight wins over University and South Hobart. When your starting bench consists of Mady O'Brien, Danielle Kannegiesser and Rachel Gill, you know your depth is seriously impressive and right now the biggest challenge for Adam Powell and Chris Hey appears to be keeping all the players happy given some of the names that are going to be left on the bench in any given week.