Lakoseljac Cup: Launceston defeated, Riverside and Northern Rangers progress to final eight

While the visitors might be seventh in the Southern Championship, they were top of the pile in Launceston as they out-played the home side over two halves.

United, decked out in a not dissimilar kit to Tasmania's adopted A-League side, found a way inside City's defensive area early with Will Fleming tasked with stopping the breach.

Fleming's pressure was enough to corner the United attack at an awkward angle with a shot ending up in the side-netting.

City did not go without their chances in the opening half as a speculative long-range attempt from Matthew Oh left the United goal-keeper Hammad Shabbir scrambling as the ball sailed wide.

For the most part, the two sides were left contesting a physical battle in midfield with a loose ball rarely left unchallenged and a player in possession rarely provided free space to create anything.

The physical contest was personified by Oh receiving the first caution of the game approaching half-time when he was left to stop the United foray down the wing.

The visitors looked set to be off to the races with acreage ahead but drew the foul off a closing Oh with half-time called minutes later.

The resumption of the second half brought a great chance for Hobart United. City struggled to clear their box in the 48th minute before Lachlan Clark's decision to come off the line helped him produce a great save.

Minutes later, Clark repeated the dose when United broke down the wing. The resulting shot was fired into the Launceston captain followed by a clearance off the line then a United header looped over the crossbar.

The action seemed drawn towards Clark as the Launceston keeper collided with John Buga as the former headed a loose ball clear from the box. The contact stopped Buga in his tracks and needed attention which halted the match for a few minutes.

City was hemmed into their defensive line as United's willingness to utilise their height and create a series of physical contests made it hard for the home side to clear the area.

When they did work the ball upfield, they found joy on the wide expanses of UTAS Stadium with Dan Smith being the beneficiary, only to fire his shot into Shabbir.

United had been the better side for most of the second half and eventually, all their possession in the attacking third was finally made to count in the final 15 minutes.

Clark, who had stood as the only thing between United and a far greater lead, was eventually beaten as Joseph Mwarabu found space and time to rifle in a shot from outside the box.

The scenes sparked rapturous celebrations as the players ran to their vocal supporters, with a chair on the sideline breaking in the process.

Buga almost doubled their ascendancy shortly after as his header went narrowly wide.

READ MORE: Launceston clinical in derby victory over Northern Bombers

He eventually added his name to the scoresheet as he sent the United supporters into euphoria by burying a penalty past a diving Clark.

United progress in the cup while City has to wait for the return of NPL action to bounce back.

Elsewhere, Riverside Olympic has chosen to withdraw from the Women's Statewide Cup due to COVID and a backlog of postponed games. South Hobart and Glenorchy's clash in the Women's Cup was not played due to COVID.

Northern Rangers were bested by Riverside 2-0 in the under-20s Cup at the NTCA ground.

Riverside put their tumultuous week behind them to deliver in the cup over Hobart City 1-0.

The club parted ways with former coach Alex Gaetani during the week after a winless start to their league campaign.

In front of their home fans at Windsor Park, Riverside dug deep for a winner which secured progression to the next round of the Lakoseljac Cup.

The Northern Rangers' cup run will continue after they put Somerset to the sword with a 6-0 win at the NTCA Ground.

It was hard to find a below-par performer for the Rangers as Daniel Wagner, Jesse Fulton, Jacob Burk and Wes Chugg found their way onto the scoresheet. Bryley Jordan netted twice for the home side in a superb display.

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