South Hobart v Clarence, Darcy St, Saturday 6 August, 2:00PM

South Hobart host Clarence United in their final home game for the season as they look to wind up their Darcy St fixtures in style. They comfortably accounted for Clarence last time the two sides met here but were pushed by them at Wentworth Park a month ago. With Zebras now in their sights in second place South will be expecting to win this game to keep up the pressure ahead of their clash next week, Clarence will be hoping to keep things tight and to offer more resistance than they did last time they visited Darcy St.

Ben Hamlett has been a welcome sight in recent weeks, finally fit to play and having an impact by scoring goals and with Alex Walter putting in consecutive best on ground performances Morton is now left with some selection headaches as to how to accommodate them.  Hall, Leszczynski and Hess has been his preferred starting three but with the embarrassment of attacking riches at his disposal he has no shortage of flexibility in how he lines up and who he keeps in reserve from the bench.

For Clarence this will be a good test of how far they have come this season, they should be fielding a strong line up with Aldridge and Bremner returning and George Hallard looms as a likely target man up top to replace the suspended Wild. Finding a reliable striker has been a problem all year for Clarence, midfielder Nick Naden remains their best avenue to goal scored in another strong performance against the Warriors last week. The youngster has been a shining light for Clarence this season and although at times he seemed to lack the confidence to take games by the scruff of the neck, when he has looked to run at defenders and take them on he has helped produce goals and create chances.  He will need to be at his best if they are any chance here.

 What the Coaches Said

Ken Morton

“We put in a good performance away to Launceston City.  We had to work hard to secure the three points against a stubborn and competitive opponent.  We showed good character and secured the three points.”

“Darcy Hall has a tight hamstring.  Daniel Brown and Kobe Kemp have been unwell but everyone else seems to be in good shape.”

“This week we play Clarence in our last home game of season 2016 and we want to finish with an exciting performance. It has been a tough season for them but they work hard for each other and are always capable of getting a result.  We will concentrate on our game rather than single out players from Clarence.”

“I think we will need to be patient, control possession, play in attack, play with courage and take our opportunities when they arrive.  We certainly want to finish convincingly in our last home match of the season."

Alan Jablonski

“It was a positive performance last week at home.  We should have iced the game in the first 30 min but we failed to capitalize on the chances we created.”

“I felt we were still looking at getting the three points until going down to ten men.  Straight after that we conceded two quick goals and it was going to be tough from that point.  But to the lads credit we got one back and unluckily hit the under side of the crossbar which would have seen us get a deserved point.”

“We are really looking forward to Saturday at Darcy Street.  South embarrassed us last time up there so we definitely have a point to prove both to ourselves and our supporters.”

“The squad is getting stronger at the wrong end of the season which is frustrating but augurs well for next season.”

“Aldridge and Bremner have trained this week and are up for selection.  Hallard has rested his ankle and will also be wanting a start along with Robb.”

“We will be looking to take it to South and put pressure on their back four, obviously easier said than done but realistically our season has three games left so we will use this time to test players and begin planning for 2017.”

Devonport v Kingborough Lions, Saturday 6 August, Valley Road, 2:00PM

The Devonport Strikers are on the precipice of the title, they need just four points from their final three games to guarantee it. Three here against the Lions will be expected and pending the result of Olympia v Zebras, could even see them crowned as Premiers as early as Sunday. The last time the two teams met it was the Brayden Mann show, as he hit a spectacular second half hat-trick and one would expect the Lions to be paying him particularly close attention this time around.

The biggest danger for the Strikers is that this could be a classic let down game for the Strikers, coming off the high of holding out the Zebras and with Wednesday night's FFA cup tie against the Lambton Jaffas looming large, it would be easy for them to take their eye's off this game or to not quite be playing their best. If they were to be below par, we saw in the first half the last time they met that the Lions can cause them problems, but whether they can stick with this relentless Strikers side for a full 90 minutes is another matter.

The Lions have responded in a positive manner to the departure of their former coach Ian Shaw, winning consecutive games and jumping up into fifth place on the table. Nick Cuthbertson returns to the line up but they will be without their powerful striker Danny Cowen for this one. Moving Cartwright to Striker is one possible option to fill the void, but given the physical strength of the Devonport defence, he may be best served staying in midfield with a more mobile option up front. They will want to avoid conceding early and make the Strikers have to attack them and commit men forwards, if they are left chasing the game it will be tough given their strength at set pieces something Devonport defend so well.

 What the Coaches Said

Nick Owen

“Zebras threw everything at us last week and they couldn't hit the back of the net, so it was a very satisfying win. Every one of our players did their defensive job and again we kept a clean sheet.”

“We don't have any injury concerns at this stage. All our squad are ready to go.”

“Kingborough will be on a high after last week's win over Rangers following their big win over Olympia. The last time we played them the first half was an even battle, which showed that they are more than capable of beating us on their day. Shane Cartwright has been their standout player this year and we will need to curb his influence on the game to come out victorious.”

“We will have to put in another tight defensive performance and be clinical in front of goal to get the job done. We can't slack off for a second.”

David Cooper

“Last week’s performance was a bit of a letdown after coming off such a high from the previous week. We had a couple of players not perform with the required intensity that we have come to expect and demand of each other. The boys will need to learn to control this to ensure we can perform well against teams at both ends of the ladder."

"We’ll have Nick Cuthbertson back from suspension this week which will see debutant Jai McKay moved to the bench to provide cover, Jai performed excellent last week and it was great to see him come in and fit into the squad so seamlessly. The only other change will see Nate Taylor come in for Danny Cowen who is away, Danny had a great physical presence for us last week which will be something that the boys will need to address as we know what a physical side the Strikers are throughout the whole squad.”

“We are excited about the chance to test ourselves against the bench mark team in the comp and we certainly believe we can come away with points. Our last encounter at the Den showed we can certainly match it and in the first half even out play them for long periods, but for us to have any chance of coming away with anything from the game, we’ll need to be switched on for the whole 90 minutes as they are too good at creating chances out of nothing to let our concentration lapse for even a minute. We’ll obviously need to watch Brayden and the key to that is to track his movement and also stifle the supply he is getting from his midfield and defence.”

 

Launceston City v Northern Rangers, Saturday 6 August, Mitsubishi Park 4:30PM

Northern rivals Launceston City and Northern Rangers are set to renew their rivalry when the pair meet for the third and final time this season in Round 19 of the NPL TAS at Mitsubishi Park on Saturday. As well as the three points on offer, the game represents the final leg of the Derby Cup that is played for between the two sides over the course of their three league meetings during the season. Northern Rangers are the current holders, having won it on goal difference in 2015. The first meeting between the two teams in 2016 was a 1-1 draw and Launceston City won the second game, 1-0 leaving the 2016 Cup firmly in the balance and giving both sides something to play for in addition to the local bragging rights heading into this game.

With both sides having endured difficult seasons this offers both a shot at silverware. Launceston City fell back into sixth place following last week’s defeat to South Hobart and having lost to Devonport the week prior will be looking forward to taking on a more beatable opponent to try and climb back into fifth. A ten minute lapse, cost them dearly against South but the Rangers lack the firepower to produce such a burst and if they peform as they did for the majority of the game, they should be good enough to take the points.

Rangers are still winless for the season, with just three draws to their name and they are running out of chances to avoid playing out a winless year. This looms as one of their better chances to get a victory and to secure a trophy in the process. Last week saw Baker experimenting with Thannhauser used in an advanced, attacking role and Monticchio dropped back into midfield. Whether this is a permanent move or was simply a way of trying to stifle Cartwright by matching him physically in midfield remains to be see, but with just the 2 goals in their last 7 outings, they clearly need to find a way to score more often.

 What the Coaches Said

Des Baker

“We were very pleased with our performance , we kept the ball well in good areas and passed it well with quick transition going forward. We just fell short with our finishing once again so this is something we have paid a lot of attention to at this week’s training sessions.”

“It will be a hard slog at City’s home pitch, which tends to bog up during winter so doesn’t lend to a high level game."

“We have a good balanced team for this weeks game, so we will be looking to keep the Derby Cup, as well as trying to get our first win for the season and finish on a bit of a high with only two games to go afer this.”

Lino Sciulli

“We performed well against a very good team, we had a lot of ball and pressured South but had a 15 minute spell in first half where we dropped off and lost the game.”

“Toby Omenihu is interstate, Aaron Mattarozzi has broken his ankle but Alex Sciulli should be ready after his game in the other team.”

“It will be a tough game we have played them twice and played poorly and should have lost on both occasions so will be tough. They are good up front and in the middle.”

“Still a heavy ground so will be tough slog again but we have been doing well with youth just hope we are on.”

Olympia v Hobart JEEP Zebras, Sunday 7 August, Warrior Park, 3:00PM

One side's title hopes evaporated long ago, and the other's may have all but disappeared last week but there will still be plenty at stake when traditional rivals Hobart JEEP Zebras and Olympia Warriors clash at Warrior Park on Sunday. The two long standing rivals always produce games with plenty of feeling between them, with both sets of supporters always looking to claim the bragging rights over each other.

The two sides have met twice this year with Zebras claiming both games, winning 4-0 when they played at Warrior Park and more recently 1-0 at KGV. A win here would give them a rare clean sweep over the Warriors and at least put the pressure back on Devonport, in the hope that the FFA cup provides enough of a distraction for them to drop points. Whilst that notion seems unlikely, they also need to watch out for South Hobart nipping at their heels and will be desperate to win to avoid falling back into third place.

The Warriors continue to look to use this season to plan for the future, playing a very youthful line up and seeing what the kids can do. The form of young winger Jacob Leaman in recent weeks would please them and they will be looking at this game as a chance for he and other prospects  to prove themselves up against one of the best teams in the competition. To lose all three games in the season to their fiercest rivals would be a significant blow and on their home pitch they should be up for the game to try and avoid that.

 What the Coaches Said

Glen Mcneill

“This week we welcome Zebras to Warrior Park. It is always one of the highlights of our calendar when we play Zebras.”

“I thought that we played good football in patches last week. The development of our younger players has been impressive.”

“The line up suffered no injuries last week and we welcome Nick Meredith back into the squad.”

“Matches against our traditional rivals are always tense affairs and this will be the same.”

Chris Hey

“As disappointing as the result was, I thought it was a game which could have gone either way but it was not to be our day.  We had a fairly light session on Tuesday with a few players having some knocks, but we will crank things up tonight.”

“Few players had some niggles but I don’t believe anything to be too concerned about.”

“Some of Olympia’s younger NTC players will be a huge threat on their home ground. We need to keep our heads up and continue to play to our strengths and keep winning to hold out South Hobart from 2^nd place.”

“I’m confident we can bounce back from last week’s disappointment.”