LAUNCESTON HUNGRY TO CRACK NPL TOP FOUR
LAUNCESTON City will look to continue their charge towards the NPL Tasmania top four when they take on the Clarence Zebras this afternoon.
Launceston sits five points behind fourth-placed South Hobart heading into today’s clash at Wentworth Park, but after back-to-back wins defender Matthew Oh says they are still in the fight.
“It’s pretty big for the club because we haven’t really had that top four positioning in quite a few years … I think it’s definitely achievable for us,” Oh said.
Launceston and Clarence have been evenly matched in their prior matchups this season, playing out a 1-1 draw in their most recent meeting.
“The two rounds that we’ve played against them have been very hardfought, very tight affairs,” Oh said. “I think it just depends on who turns up on the day and who fights more.”
Oh is certainly aware of the threat that the Zebras pose in attack and the challenge that he and his fellow defenders will face this afternoon.
“Each time we’ve played them they’ve been a threat up top – Riley Dillon is always bagging goals and Matt Pace has got some speed on him,” Oh said.
While Clarence has suffered backto-back losses in the past fortnight, they pushed league leaders Devonport and top-four side South Hobart to the brink in both games.
Despite taking plenty of positives from those performances, Technical Director Brett Pullen says they are looking for more. “We didn’t come away with any points in those two games, so that’s what we’ve got to change, and we’d like to say we can start that this week,” Pullen said.
He’s also hoping his side can be more clinical after sharing the points the last time they faced City. “I’d like to say we probably dominated the game and ended up with a draw, but it was the way it was,” Pullen said.
Elsewhere in today’s NPL action, Devonport could further extend their lead atop the table when they host the third-placed Kingborough Lions.
Glenorchy will take on Riverside Olympic at KGV, while Olympia and South Hobart will clash at Empire Couriers Park.