WOMEN'S SUPER LEAGUE
HAVING begun their maiden season with a win against Clarence, LAUNCESTON UNITED finished it with another against fellow powerhouse Olympia to edge closer to a deserved second place finish.
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After blowing chances against Warriors on the big stages of UTAS Stadium and a statewide cup final, United did not let another slip as they wrapped up a 3-1 victory.
But co-coach Lynden Prince said a dressing room dressing down was necessary after what he called "a lazy first half".
"I'm rapt with that but I had to raise my voice a bit," he said. "We talked about the need for communication, trust, team effort or they would be training again next week and they gradually worked it out. It all comes down to hard work and good pressure got those breaks to put the ball in the net."
The clash brought together perhaps the best two midfielders in the league as Jess Robinson and Innocent Michael squared up although the undoubted star of the first half was Karla Jones for being able to dominate a match from left-back.
Switching to 4-3-3 after Prince's half-time rant had instant reward as young striker Jade Freeman poached her first senior goal.
Robinson doubled the advantage on the hour, heading in after her initial shot had been saved by keeper Meghan Goscombe.
The nerves threatened to creep in when Michael set up Katherine Ollerhead to halve the deficit and the coach made his team's intentions abundantly clear with the order: "Just go long. Stop trying to play."
Having missed a great chance on 86 minutes and hit the crossbar from a direct free-kick on 89, Annie Reitsema sealed the win two minutes into stoppage time after being set up by the hard-working Dani Gunton.
The win sees United leapfrog Olympia, aided by bottom-placed Taroona's 2-0 win over Devonport, although final positions will be determined after catch-up games next weekend.
NPL TASMANIA
RIVERSIDE'S miserable season reached its lowest point with a 10-2 loss at South Hobart.
Down 3-0 at half-time, Olympic produced a delightful goal when Fletcher Fulton turned in Will Humphrey's excellent pass.
Fulton struck again when Mitch Jones' shot was parried but Ken Morton's men hit six in the final half hour to complete the demolition.
Glenorchy Knights kept the title race wide open with a scrambled 57th-minute goal to beat Devonport 1-0 and although Gedi Krusa returned for LAUNCESTON CITY he could not prevent a 4-1 loss at Clarence.
NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP
A Margaret White header and long-range Chelsea Wing chip saw RIVERSIDE to a 2-0 win at LAUNCESTON UNITED.
"When you look at improved individual performances, it is something that makes me proud to coach this team," said Olympic coach Jo Haezebrouck. "We overcame every obstacle that was thrown at us and are having a well-deserved rest."
LAUNCESTON CITY went down 3-1 at Burnie United, scoring through an own goal, but coach Barry Baker said: "It was a good, solid game but we did not play our best."
Champions Ulverstone underlined their title credential with a 2-0 win at NORTHERN RANGERS while Devonport won 1-0 at Somerset.
In the men's comp, a lovely Sebastian Gardner strike, own goal and Sam Lowe penalty saw LAUNCESTON UNITED to a 3-1 win over RIVERSIDE, who replied through Aaron Campbell.
"I'm happy because this is an important win," said United coach Fernando Munoz.
"I'm happy for the boys because in many games we lost points for inexperience but we work very well for next season."
NORTHERN RANGERS won 1-0 against Ulverstone thanks to a Lochie Dean goal.
LAUNCESTON CITY lost 4-2 at Burnie as Tito Brown scored twice on debut. "We played well again, we just can't do it for 90 minutes," said City coach Justin Dyer.
Somerset beat Devonport 2-1.