2023 soccer season review: Launceston United in NPL Tasmania

Four 6-1 defeats, a 7-0 and 9-1 were harsh lessons but Fernando Munoz's men improved and began to find their feet as the campaign went on and finished with two dramatic derby draws plus a bizarre 8-4 loss in their last three games.

David Owusu. Arrived with experience in England and Gibraltar and wasted little time justifying the hype with an eye-catching round-three brace to put United ahead against South Hobart..

Aidan Piper. Despite a 'goals against' column approaching three figures, the former Ulverstone keeper frequently kept his side in contests as the under-siege backline wobbled.

Jaeden Mercure. Tricky winger with Canadian and Haitian heritage who arrived mid-season and provided an outlet for United's backline and equally-welcome goal threat to complement Owusu.

Aidan Rigby. Established himself as the link between under-pressure defenders and ball-hungry strikers and wasn't averse to supporting both, most notably with the 96^th minute equaliser against Riverside which secured the side's long-awaited first point of the campaign.

Connor Reading. The son of club stalwart 'Otis' was the captain, centre-back and defensive rock for United's statewide return and was rewarded for his role in a testing season with the late free-kick equaliser which stunned City in the penultimate fixture.

Brazilian Walter Martins and Chilean Filipe Carrasco provided some South American flair but it was Owusu, who has Guinean heritage, and Mercure who most caught the eye, especially when they linked up, often to devastating effect.

After 18 consecutive 'L's to start the season, back-to-back 'D's were warmly welcomed around Birch Avenue as a pointless season loomed. To make them even sweeter, both draws came in Northern derbies and were secured by late free-kick equalisers. Reading's strike against City was cathartic for both captain and club.

That -73 goal difference and the 9-1 reverse at Clarence are hard to top, but perhaps even more devastating was blowing a two-goal lead in the last match at Kingborough which could have seen United end the season with three games undefeated.

Scoring two goals within the first five minutes of each half, they managed to go from 2-0 to 2-4, back to 4-4 and then lose 8-4 in a ridiculous roller-coaster encounter.

With such a tough statewide initiation behind them and more time to prepare properly, United should be a far stronger proposition in 2024.

Having the strongest junior numbers in the state can only bode well for future top-flight playing stocks.

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