WARRIORS FORFEIT UNITED GAME
THE Women’s Super League will play a shortened fixture in round seven after Olympia Warriors’ forfeit for Saturday’s game against Launceston United.
On Friday, Football Tasmania announced Launceston would be awarded a 3-0 win in line with competition rules.
In a statement on the club’s Facebook page, Olympia’s board said its women’s squad had “a maximum of 10 players available” for the game in Launceston.
“Our injury list has taken its toll along with other players being mainly critical care workers that are unable to change their work commitments,” the statement read.
The win by forfeit continues Launceston’s undefeated run and extends its lead atop the WSL table.
In the weekend’s two remaining fixtures, third-placed Clarence Zebras will travel to Devonport, while Kingborough will host Taroona.
In the NPL Tasmania, Olympia’s men’s side will travel north to face Launceston City at Buckby Motors Park on Saturday night.
The Warriors have just one win in the NPL, but they continued their Lakoseljac Cup run with a 3-0 win over Northern Rangers in last week’s quarter-final.
With some players from that cup tie not eligible for NPL selection and injuries still prominent, Warriors coach Rob Clarke said his side’s “up and down” form is tough to remedy.
“We’d love to have the same 11 on the pitch for a few weeks in a row, but given the current climate it’s just not possible,” Clarke (pictured) said.
After losing to the league’s top three teams by a combined 13-goal margin, Clarke senses an opportunity to bounce back. “This is a game we can win and it’s the same for (Launceston), so we need to take advantage of that and play well,” Clarke said.
While Launceston City sits fourth on the table, president Danny Linger said his team also has had its ups and downs.
“We’ve had mixed results, too, we’ve had games where we felt we certainly should have performed better,” he said. “We’ve also had games like Glenorchy Knights a couple of weeks ago where I was thinking, ‘if we walk away with one point, I’d be happy’ … and we went away with three points.”
Elsewhere in NPL Tasmania, topthree teams Kingborough and Glenorchy face off at Lightwood Park on Saturday night. League leader Devonport will host Clarence Zebras at Valley Road, while South Hobart will travel to face Riverside Olympic.