Hobart Jeep Zebras v Olympia FC Warriors – 8:00PM/ Friday 27 March 2015 (KGV Football Park, Glenorchy)

Round 2 of the Playstation 4 Victory League sees four interesting tussles across Tasmania.

Traditional rivals Hobart Jeep Zebras and Olympia FC Warriors kick off the action packed round underlights from 8:00PM on Friday night.

Zebras and Warriors have long hold a fierce rivalry that has blossomed with the advent of the PS4 Victory League. Both teams will come in confident into this week’s encounter after both downed their tightest competitor from 2014.

 

“It was a great result obviously because South won't lose too many points again,” said Zebras Coach Chris Hey. “A shaky start but having said that, South were shooting from distance and only tested our keeper once in the first half.

“Better possession game in the second, taking our chances well.”

The Warriors have had the wood on their traditional rivals in recent times, rolling them convincingly 4-0 in the Summer Cup Grand Final.

“Olympia have excellent individually skilled players, who combine well in a team environment,” said Hey.

“They gave us a lesson a few weeks back but hopefully we have learnt from that.

“Olympia are very strong in front third, love the work so far of Luke Eyles, very talented young man and with Wazza on the other flank, very dangerous feeding balls into haircut man (Manny).”

Zebras introduced two new players last week and both had great debuts, they will welcome back Jayden Hey from a back injury and only have one concern in Jordan Muller.

“Jordan Muller will be tested at training Thursday evening but other than that we should have no excuses come Friday night.”

Hey is not shying away from the significance of the occasion, with the result although early on in the season, important in both club’s tilt for the title.

“We need to play more football in the oppositions back third. If we can do that, we have a chance.

“This week’s meeting is massive. There will be one maybe two teams on six points at the end of this round, hopefully we will be one of those.

“The key this week is having respect for but not being intimidated by our opponents.”

Olympia were slow to get going against the Rangers last week but came home with a wet sail with four goals in the second half.

“We were constricted quite a lot for the first 60 minutes against Rangers, they made it difficult to get strikes on target and we were often caught in possession,” said Olympia Coach Glen McNeill.

“Improving in these areas are what we have been working on this week.

“The result was good for us considering we had been well held for a large part of the game,” said McNeill. Both Coaches have played in Olympia v Zebras games and McNeill acknowledges that the traditional rivalry always brings a little extra with it.

“Clashes with Zebras are always eagerly anticipated and are a highlight of our calendar, they are a formidable opponent and I am anticipating an enthralling encounter.

“Our squad is shaping up well, there were no injuries to speak of.

“Nick Meredith will come back into the squad and the pressure is on our players to work hard and retain their positions.”

This week’s encounter is a massive opportunity for one club to shoot to six points and head clear of reigning Champions South Hobart, a fact that is not lost on McNeill.

“Our meeting against Zebras will be a good indication of where we are currently at. “Points against quality teams like Zebras are invaluable.”

Devonport City v South Hobart – 2:00PM/Saturday 28 March 2015 (Valley Road, Devonport)

Reigning champions South Hobart will look to open their 2015 account when they encounter the toughest road trip in the PS4 Victory League, meeting Devonport at Valley Road.

 

“A difficult game against a very good opponent but Valley Road has a terrific surface and we will go with the intention of playing positive football to come home with three points,” said South Hobart Coach Ken Morton.

“We will need to defend well and finish the opportunities we create.

“I was very impressed with the Devonport Strikers, They looked very smart and had good structure.

“They look a very good young team, the front three were lively and bright and they pressed hard around the ground.” South Hobart suffered a rare PS4 Victory League loss in the opening round, falling to Hobart Jeep Zebras 2-0.

“We did well especially in the first half playing good possession football against a Zebras side which played with great spirit.

“They took their chances to make a win but unfortunately we were not clinical in the front third.”

South will be without their skipper Hugh Ludford through injury but welcome back some key cogs and firepower in Alex Leszczynski and Ben Hamlett.

“Captain Hugh Ludford will miss the match with a groin injury but we expect Ben to have recovered from the rib injury. “Albie returns after serving his suspension and we will also bring young left full back Liam Quaile into the squad.

“We need good organization, be prepared to play with courage, try and get our midfielders on the ball quickly to move us forward.

“We have a strong front man in Albie, who is an intelligent footballer with skill and power so we need to move the ball into him quickly so the partnership with Brayden and Benny can make a difference to how we play.

“Key this week is scoring goals and keeping the back door closed.” Devonport went down to Kingborough last week despite having the better of the opening half.

“Obviously a disappointing result against Kingborough in round one,” said Devonport Coach Bobby Eaves.

“I believe we were a better team in the first half and deserved to be more goals in front. Lack of finishing really cost us early on.

“A very obvious lack of match fitness was telling and injuries plagued on the boys a bit.

“In all for our very first serious hit out of the year we pulled some big positives and have things to adjust and learn from.”

Despite talk of change at the top in 2015, Eaves still sees South Hobart as the benchmark and as such is preparing his chargers for a tough tussle.

“Round 2 looms as a big learning experience.

“South Hobart in my eyes remain the benchmark even after their first round loss. They are a quality side that is well drilled and one of only two teams to ever take a win from Valley Road. And we welcome the challenge although it wont be easy.”

Playing Coach Bobby Eaves was stretchered off with a knee injury last week and will be on the sidelines for quite some time. “Our team has had to undergo a forced change with myself being out indefinitely, Luke Banfield will make his first start.

“A similar player that will need to warm his leadership skills up quickly.

“Majority of the squad remains the same with the second import likely to play a role.

“Kieran Mulraney to take the captaincy as he did last year and will lead strongly from defence.”

Devonport don’t surrender points easily at Valley Road but the Strikers have never beaten South Hobart in the PS4 Victory League, Eaves believes strong defence will give them the best shot.

“I think the upper hand will need to come from our defensive third.

“Can we hold out South’s firepower in Mann, Leszczynski, Hunt and in turn punish their less than experienced midfield mistakes?

“Having the added advantage of playing at home is a bonus for us as we know all to well how Hobartians don’t like to leave their southern bubble and travel north to paradise.

“The game has a bigger meaning to us than a standard second round clash as in two and a bit years, South Hobart is the only side we haven’t beaten in any competition.

“This would be a goal of our clubs and with the upcoming Lakoseljac cup fixture soon, would be good to have some momentum against them.

“Complacency will be a big thing for this game. South have an uncanny habit of scoring late in games against us and we need to be solid for 90+ minutes to hold out for a win.

“There is never a time to take the foot of the pedal against them.”

Kingborough Lions v Glenorchy Knights – 2:00PM/Saturday 28 March 2015 (Lightwood Park, Kingston)

Kingborough Lions will host Glenorchy Knights down at the Lion’s den in the club’s first home game for 2015.

The Lions got off to a flier last week, roaring home to a 4-1 win over Devonport with all four goals in a special second half.

“Great start to the PS4 Victory League season, the win galvanized our focus on our football conditioning program, we finished the fitter and stronger team,” said Kingborough Coach Colin Robbins.

The Lions started slow against the Strikers but lifted in the second half with Joel Schuth in particular on fire.

“We were fortunate not to be three goals down at half time but a combination of good goalkeeping, desperate defending and a bit of luck kept Devonport to one goal.

“Super second half by the players, after working through the problems at the half time break the whole team re-focused on the tasks that we needed to improve on and we had success in the second half.”

Glenorchy and Kingborough met in the Summer Cup and it was a comfortable victory to the Lions on that occasion, something that fills Robbins with confidence.

 

“Our team heads into this game knowing that we have already put in a dominating performance against a very young Knight’s team in the Summer Cup, winning that game 5-2.

“This places us tactically in a very good place to play them this weekend, we have watched footage of their game last weekend against Launceston City and have identified a number of weaknesses in their play and the players they used, our team will be well prepared to play them this weekend.

“They have lost a lot of experienced older aged players and this will place enormous pressure on the shoulders of their young players during the game.”

Lewis Verdouw has been super in the pre-season and looked great last week but the young gun will miss this week with an ankle injury.

“Into the squad comes Fionn Collins and goalkeeper Alex Tatnell for his first game for the club, Goalkeeper Lachlan Davey drops out of the squad and will play in the Reserves team this weekend, other than that squad remains the same.”

Robbins is keen to impress the Kingborough faithful in their first home game for 2015.

“Another three points up for grabs, it is that simple.

“Coming off a good win against Devonport last weekend, it's really important for the team to go out and secure them, also, first home game at the Den, a big day for the club.”

Glenorchy Knights were the surprise packet of the opening round, they went in as underdogs against Launceston City and recorded a big win as a result the Coach says his team is full of confidence.

“Great result last week, compliments the hard work on the training park and a good confidence lifter,” said Glenorchy Coach Mark Broadbent.

“Kingborough are an experienced outfit but we will go into the game with confidence.

“The squad is coming together well, no injuries and only the one change from last week with Daniel Thurley in for Noah Thorne.

“We can possibly get the upper hand in the midfield and the go forward.

“Every week is important, every game builds our character, confidence and the game environment experience is precious.

“Our aim is to score more goals than we concede.”

Launceston City v Northern Rangers – 7:00PM/Saturday 28 March 2015 (Mitsubishi Park, Prospect)

Cross town rivals collide as Launceston City and Northern Rangers meet for the first time in 2015.

“Our rivalry with City always ensures a tough contest,” said Rangers Coach Dane Hudson.

“I think they had four or five out last week, so I’m sure Lino will want those boys back in and we have two returning this week.”

The match is the first tie in the 2015 Launceston Mazda and Launceston Mitsubishi Derby Cup best of three series between the clubs and both teams will be eager to collect their first points for the 2015 seasons after both falling 4-1 last week.

 

“Each team will be all out to claim the three points and bragging rights. Both teams lost 4-1 last week so that would suggest a very tough and tight encounter,” said Hudson.

Rangers were understrength last week but Hudson was still unhappy with the outcome.

“Our performance against Olympia was way below our expectations.

“They did put us under early pressure but we still had enough opportunities to do more with it and we didn’t.

“The result, I think, reflected the game. We had chances to control the game for longer periods, but credit to Olympia their better players rediscovered the game and made it very difficult when we had the ball.”

“We need to keep possession for longer periods, not just this week, but every week.

“Completions compared to the Summer Cup last week were poor so we need to address that as well. Rangers welcome back Captain Nick Lanau-atkinson and talented midfielder Aidan Rigby from suspension and Hudson says it is key the Rangers capitalise and claw their way up from the foot of the table.

“This is a bottom of the table clash so the game is vitally important for both teams. I believe there will be some draws this week at the top of the table so if that turns out to be the case, three points may put either team one point off top.”

Launceston City went down in a game they were expected to win last week and will look to regroup up against their cross-town adversary.

“The guys started really well and we lost our way a little after conceding a couple of goals,” said City Coach Lino Sciulli.

“They toiled all day and it gave us a chance to see how a couple of younger players performed.

“I think that the occasion got to us a little but hopefully we will learn from the experience, me included.

“They (Northern Rangers) are a strong unit all over the ground I can’t go into weaknesses as I have not watched them yet,” said Sciulli.

City welcome in Captain Toby Omenihu and Andy Compagne to boost their squad, Sciulli is not ruling out tinkering with things ahead of a big round 2 encounter.

“I may change my structure a little as we were a little vulnerable out wide.

“Every week is important for us as we need to improve our standing but this early in the season we must try to get on the board and keep it tight as far as ladders go.

“Rangers are very well drilled in attack so we will need to work hard in that area and start playing more as a unit.

“We want to try and win as much as possible and make teams fear to play us.”