Olympia host the freshly crowned Victory League Champions South Hobart while Glenorchy Knights can ensure they avoid the wooden spoon with victory over current bottom placed team Launceston City.
Tilford Zebras vs Kingborough Lions – 8:00PM/Friday 22 August 2014 (KGV Football Park)
Tilford Zebras and Kingborough Lions kick off Round 20 under lights at KGV on Friday night.
Zebras and Kingborough are both coming off promising results, with Zebras winning 2-0 and Kingborough continuing their growth with a slender 2-1 loss at the hands of Northern Rangers.
The Victory League shield has been handed to South Hobart but Zebras are not taking the foot off the pedal anytime soon, with their eyes firmly set on the Victory Cup.
Zebras continue into the clash with a settled squad.
Kingborough are on the up, with some positive signs against quality opposition in recent weeks, they face another stern challenge against a top team in the Zebras this week.
Kingborough went down 3-0 to the Zebras in their last meeting and troubled them at stages in that meeting and will be looking for improvement on that result.
Launceston City vs Glenorchy Knights – 2:00PM/Saturday 23 August 2014 (Mitsubishi Park 1)
The cellar dwellers meet at Mitsubishi Park in the second last match of the season, Launceston City have made significant improvement in 2014 but can still avoid the wooden spoon with a strong finish to the season.
Launceston City have been in bright form recently and despite three straight defeats, the northern outfit have been defiant in defence and have tested teams much higher then themselves on the table, Knights Coach Chris Hey is not taking the northerners lightly, instead, expecting a tight and tense clash up at Mitsubishi Park.
A win this week would put Glenorchy beyond the wooden spoon and Hey will be seeking three points, in the hope his Knights can finish the season with a wet sail.
Without Captain Shae Hickey and three other key players, the Knights shocked many last week by claiming a point in a battle with third placed Olympia.
Hickey returns this week for the battle and the Glenorchy coach is looking for his side to replicate last week’s effort.
Launceston City have drawn confidence from recent fighting performances and see an opportunity to collect three points on Saturday, as they fight to avoid slumping to a second last position finish in as many years.
City have some significant team changes with the return of their Captain and a forced change due to a red card last week.
Devonport City vs Northern Rangers – 2:00PM/Saturday 23 August 2014 (Valley Road)
Devonport will look to continue their strong home form, when they host Northern Rangers for a Northern derby in their final match at Valley Road for the 2014 season.
Wins at Valley Road have been hard to find for the Rangers, who secured their spot in the Victory Cup with a win last week.
The Rangers are tuning up for the Victory Cup and will be hoping for a fine performance in their pursuit of third spot, which is still up for grabs after Olympia's slip up last week.
Rangers go in unchanged and have several players lifting their output at the business end of the season.
Devonport will await their Captain’s fitness, who was busy in a bruising affair versus South Hobart last week, Nick Owen will also continue to blood youth with an eye on 2015.
Olympia FC Warriors vs South Hobart – 7:00PM/Saturday 23 August 2014 (Warrior Park)
For Olympia, it may be a case of ‘what could have been’ when they face South Hobart, a match that could have been a title play-off if the Warriors were able to stick with the ladder leaders for longer this season.
Olympia will also be looking to get the monkey off their back and claim their first Victory League win over South Hobart.
South Hobart will come into the clash full of confidence, after finishing the job last week, to lift the Victory League Shield.
South Hobart and Olympia clashes have in recent times been exciting clashes and Morton is expecting further excitement at Warrior Park.
Despite the final two Victory League matches meaning little for the club, South Hobart is looking to use the matches to fine tune things for further competition.
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Image courtesy of Football Federation Tasmania