Northern Rangers v Olympia, Saturday 16 July, NTCA Ground, 12.30PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 12, Olympia 3-0 Northern Rangers, Warrior Park

League Form: Northern Rangers: LLLLL                   Olympia: WWLLL

Another early kick off at the NTCA ground to begin the round as Northern Rangers continue their search for a first win of the season with a game against the Olympia Warriors. Last time the two teams met at this venue Rangers came close to causing a boil over before a hat-trick from Nick Mearns secured the Warriors the three points. Mearns has looked a little underdone in the past couple of weeks and the Warriors goal threat has subsided without him at his best. The big news heading into this game was Glen Mcneill announcing he is standing down at seasons end as the coach of the Warriors. It will be interesting to see how it affects the playing group, will they lift to see their coach out on a high? or will it see the Warriors players struggle for motivation knowing he is not the man who will be picking them next season?

The Rangers continued their blooding of young players against Hobart Zebras by handing a debut to Wes Chugg in goals who looked comfortable at this level and will give Luigi Cordova stiff competition to regain his starting place. Pat Lanau-Atkinson scored a brace and has been playing well in advanced areas, offering the goal threat that his side has lacked in 2016. This year continues to be about building for the future but there is no doubt the Rangers would love to grab that breakthrough victory in front of their home Supporters. This is their penultimate home match for the season and with the the last one coming up against Devonport, it may be their final real chance to do so.

Last week the Warriors started brightly against South Hobart before falling away and struggling to create chances in a 3-1 loss. Following consecutive games against top three sides, they will be looking forward to playing a side below them, having taken 21 from a possible 24 points from those games in 2016. The 3-5-2 formation left them susceptible in wide areas against the pace of South Hobart’s wide men and it would not surprise to see them revering to a back four for this clash against Rangers. Graham Glynn injured his hamstring against South and it will leave them with a familar problem of who to play at #9, they lack an obvious replacement meaning Mcneill may need to get creative.

What the Coaches Said 

Des Baker

The team is looking solid as we prepare to take on the Warriors, we have no injuries from last week so should have the same squad to pick from.

“We will need to watch all opposition players when they are on the ball , especially in our defensive half.”

“We are still looking for our first result for the year and are working hard to obtain this."

“The younger players are playing well in their given positions with good leadership coming from Jorge Palacio and Luigi Cordova.”

Glen Mcneill

 

“I have announced that I will be standing down as Head Coach of Olympia FC Warriors at the end of the 2016 season. I have reflected a lot over the last six weeks and am fully satisfied that now is the right time to make this decision.

The last four years have been a very positive journey for both myself and the Olympia FC Warriors. We have won every trophy on offer in my time here and the club now sits as a powerhouse of Tasmanian football.  The Club is in a great position for whoever succeeds me. Its facilities, environment, backroom staff and players are excellent and I believe the club is well positioned for further success in future years.

There have been many highlights over the course of the last four years. Of particular note was our League title win last year, as well as winning the Victory Cup, but the greatest experience I enjoyed was the win against South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium in the NPL Finales Series Quarter Final. It was an emotional experience for many of us and there were many tears and hugs after the game.

Getting the opportunity to coach the State Team with Tim Lunnon and Spencer Prior against the Melbourne Victory Youth team was also a highlight. Having around 6,000 spectators giving the players a standing ovation as they walked off the ground was something special that I will never forget.

It has been a privilege coaching the club that I have enjoyed a 30 year association with and will always cherish leading them to a Premiership. I especially want to thank Rob Clarke and Greg Hickey, as they have been with me from the very start and joined me on this journey. I also want to thank the FFT Technical staff as they assisted me with what was a steep learning curve.

Last but not least, to my wife and kids, they have had to put up with the late nights, me not talking for 24 hours after a loss or just drifting off in mid conversation when an idea about the upcoming game enters my head, I simply couldn’t have done it without their support.”

South Hobart V Devonport, Saturday 16 July, Darcy St, 2:00PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 12, Devonport 2-0 South Hobart, Valley Road

League Form: South Hobart: WLLWW                    Devonport: WWWWW

South Hobart and Devonport are set to meet for the fourth time this season in what looms as one of the last major hurdles standing between the Strikers and the coveted league title. If Devonport were to win this game, then an upset would be required from a side lower down the table in the final weeks to make it possible for the second placed Zebras to catch the Strikers, with the gap currently sitting at four points. This means that even if Zebras were able to defeat Devonport at Valley Road in two weeks’ time, then they would still need another team to do them a favour by taking points from Devonport. That is why this game looms as such a key, South Hobart are the only other side in the league that has looked like getting close to Devonport this year and capable of taking points from them. If Devonport win this game, it would be a massive step towards securing the title. They will enter this game on an NPL record 11 match winning streak and having beaten South Hobart all three times they have met in 2016.

South Hobart are already relying on an upset to occur for their own, albeit slim league title chances and know anything other than a win in this game and their title bid is over. To win they will need to find a way to solve the Devonport defence which they have failed to score against in 270 minutes of football this season. In the last meeting between the two sides, South Hobart were dominant yet could not find a way through the Strikers uncompromising back four and the league’s best goalkeeper in Niko Giantsopoulos. That was at least an improvement on the Lakoseljac Cup final when they scarcely created a chance and they can draw confidence from the performance, they simply need to find more of a cutting edge this time around. They will be able to welcome back some major firepower to assist with the task, with attackers Alex Leszczynski and Darcy Hall plus defender Dan Brown all available again for selection after serving their suspensions but will it be enough to overcome a defence that has conceded just three goals since Round 4?

What the Coaches Said

Ken Morton

“I thought we did enough to win.  It was a well-earned three points.  I was especially pleased for Jake Brennan who had a good day scoring two goals.”

“We have three back from suspension, Albie, Daniel and Darcy and they are all available for selection but we are still missing Hugh and Kobe through injury.  At this stage goal keeper James Wilson is 50/50 so a much better situation than the last couple of weeks.”

“Devonport are a formidable team. They lead the league because they score more goals than their opponent.  They have a terrific goal keeper, a brilliant striker and nine others who are not bad.  To sum up they have a strong team with a strong playing ethic. “

“Well it’s up to us  We need three points so we will go and try and win the game.  We will need to be positive but sensible.  We must try and play in attack, control possession but also be defensively set up to cancel the counterattack and we need to be very disciplined."

“Our aim is to play winning football with the major aim being to win the next match one game at a time.”

Nick Owen

“It was a comfortable performance last week. We went in to the break 2 up and felt we had the game well in hand and we pretty much controlled the game after that.”

“We won't be changing anything again this week. We have all the usual suspects available so it's business as usual.”

“We normally know what to expect from South but that isn't the case this week. They have 3 first team regulars back from suspension but we aren't sure how many will come back in. Oscar Thomas is in fine form and would be hard done by if he loses his spot to Daniel Brown. The same could be said for Jacob Brennan if he loses his spot to Darcy Hall after Brennan scored two vital goals against Olympia. It will also be interesting to see if young Kieran Brown holds his spot. He is talented, but it is usually the young keepers that are prone to mistakes in the big games. We have kept Albie Lesczcynski quiet in our previous encounters but he is a proven goal scorer and someone we can't give an inch to.”

“It is a huge game for both teams so it will be another tense and tight tussle.”

“Our only target is to win this game. There is nothing to be gained by thinking of anything else.”

Clarence United v Launceston City, Saturday 16 July, Wentworth Park, 4:30pm

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 12, Clarence 2-0 Launceston City

League Form: Clarence: LWLLL         Launceston City: LLWWL

The Reds and Launceston City prepare to meet at the same venue they played against each other at just a month ago. On that occasion it was Clarence who took the points, winning 2-0 in a physical contest that could have gone either way. Since that game they have lost all three of their games whilst City responded with a pair of wins before falling to Kingborough last weekend.

Clarence have continued to struggle to put out a consistent starting eleven on a weekly basis due to a combination of injuries, suspensions and player availability but on their day they have proven themselves to be a tough side to break down and on their home pitch at Wentworth Park they will fancy themselves having beaten City just a month ago. Stout, organised defending and trying to impose themselves physically on a younger City side was the recipe for that win and is surely the blue print again for how they approach this game. Dyson has returned to goals and played exceptionally well over the past fortnight and they did a reasonable job of containing a red hot Strikers side last week, so they should be able to keep the goals down but scoring them remains the issue.

It’s a similar problem for City. The score line was ugly for them last week but in truth they had plenty of chances to make for a much closer game, unfortunately as has been the issue for City all season, they simply couldn’t convert those chances into goals. They have not scored multiple goals in a game since Round 5, which was against Clarence, so perhaps they can look at this game as their best chance to stop that streak and rediscover their goal scoring form.

Alan Jablonski

“If you took five starting players out of any starting XI they would struggle, so if you’re a bottom side and lose the players, then it compounds the problems. So with all things that we’ve had to face over the past weeks, we’re  still doing pretty well.”

“We’re looking forward to having a number of players back this week.”

“I think the feeling around the club is positive, the players around the club are positive and want success at any chance they can get. It would be easy for players at a club in our position to drop the bundle but that’s not happening at all.”

“We haven’t got the size or strength yet to compete week in week out, the level Devonport are at, that’s what we need to get to.”

Lino Sciulli

“Last week we started poorly and we're punished. We had a more determined , second half but damage done.”

“Alex Sciulli is out with hamstring, Toby Omenihu is in doubt with leg injury but this provides a good opportunity for others.”

“Clarence defeated us last time but we had a good game which could have gone either way but they have been playing well especially at Wentworth Park.”

“How we go depends on how we travel.  I always feel good at starts but dealing with young people you don't know what you are getting time, so it’s time for our older guys to stand up.”

“We continue to aim to win as many games as we can but at the least we must be competitive

Hobart JEEP Zebras v Kingborough Lions, Sunday 17 July, KGV, 2:30pm

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 12, Kingborough Lions 2-3 Hobart Zebras, Lightwood Park

League Form: Hobart Zebras:  LWWWW     Kingborough Lions: WLWLW

The Hobart JEEP Zebras will be hoping that South Hobart can do them a favour on the Saturday and that they enter this clash on Sunday with a chance to make up some ground on the Strikers. Regardless of Saturday’s results, this looms as a massive game against a much improved Lions team that will be confident, coming off a 4-1 win over Launceston City. It looms as a danger game for the Zebras who got out of jail the last time they met, overturning a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in a controversial game. Another slow start could spell an end to their title hopes and despite a storming second 45 against Rangers; these slow starts must be of concern to Chris Hey. The Lions meanwhile will be looking to string 2 consecutive win’s together for the first time in 2016. It won’t be easy up against a strong Zebras team and it would be an upset should they do it, but at their best they certainly appear capable of it.

The Lions back four is susceptible to pace, so the likes of McKeown and Walsh loom as key to this contest. Walsh has been superb over the past fortnight whilst McKeown responded to being left on the bench with a timely brace. Jayden Hey’s ability to bomb forward could also play a role in stretching them with pace but he will need to remain diligent himself as Taylor and Mcdonald are both in fine form down the flanks for the Lions. With Cowen and Cartwright forming a solid partnership up top to get on the end of the good service from wide areas, Stevens and Harrison will face a real physical battle this week to contain them but they showed against Leszczysnki recently they can hold their own in such a duel. In midfield the Zebras should have an advantage with the likes of Sherman, Muller and Undy starting to click as midfield trio and if they can control proceedings then they should take the points and maintain their title challenge.

What the Coaches Said

Chris Hey

“Slow start but we controlled the game for long periods.  We woke up when Rangers scored and maintained good pressure through the second half, making better opportunities of our scoring opportunities.”

“Weather this week will prevent clubs getting on the pitches but we are lucky enough to have KGV at our disposal, although we had a good number of players away last night, for various reasons.  We will train again Thursday and Saturday morning before finalising our starting 11.  At this stage we should have a full squad to select from.”

“ Kingborough are the big improvers since Ian Shaw’s arrival and we rode our luck a little, last time we met.  Kingborough are playing with purpose and for one another so this will be another huge test for our players. Shane Cartwright has been an excellent finding for Kingborough, his strength on the ball and vision is very good.  Chris Downes is very potent with set pieces, so we need to be focussed when he is close to goals.”

“It should be a hard fought close contest with nothing between the two sides.”

“We aim to win our remaining matches. If we can achieve this, we gives ourselves a good chance for the title, any slip ups would be extremely damaging to those title aspirations.”

Ian Shaw

“Very happy with the development of the squad. We are scoring goals and look more dangerous. As a group the squad is hapy to compete against the best teams in the competition.”

“We are looking ok for the game v Zebras, some players are unavialble due to work commitments but that will not deter our application to compete for points on Sunday.”

“The Zebras have had a great season, with 12 wins from 15 games to sit just four points behind Devonport. They have gone about their work with no fuss and are looking good to take the competition down to the wire.”

“Since my arrival I have stated we should aim for a top four spot, it’s mathematically possible but our priority is to improve what we do on the park and hopefully play a role in the end of season cup.”