It was the second season running that the competition had kicked off with a Friday-night Northern derby and the evidence suggests locals are big fans of the concept.

Windsor Park had not been so busy in years with parking spaces at such a premium off the West Tamar Highway that many were forced to park near the footy ground entrance of the precinct.

Supporters flooded to the venue long before the main fixture and were lining the fence on all four sides by the time it kicked off. It was a similar story for the same fixture at Prospect Park a year ago.

Windsor Park unveiled a flash new scoreboard for the occasion but it made grim reading for City's under-21s.

The first match to officially grace the big screen finished 7-0 to Riverside which included five goals in the first 22 minutes of the second half.

Olympic's Gedi Krusa was the first senior player to make the contraption flash "GOAL!" when he converted a sixth-minute penalty in the main game - not that Krusa would have noticed as he was too busy celebrating with coach Helder Dos Santos Silva.

Before the abandonment, the senior contest had produced a perfectly balanced scenario of both teams scoring from penalties converted by former players of the opposition.

Eighteen minutes after Krusa had dispatched his effort past former teammate Lachie Clark, Olympic old boy Will Humphrey did exactly the same against Dan Nash.

Completing the perfect symmetry, both players went bottom left with their successful spot-kicks giving the opposing keepers no chance.

Even more uncanny was the Northern Championship match between the same two teams a day later which, at one stage, stood at 1-1 with both goals coming from the penalty spot.

As is often the case between these two neighbours, the match featured a host of players lining up against their former team.

And it was no surprise that they were all pivotal performers in the half hour that was played.

Goalscorers Krusa and Humphrey plus Fleming and Nash were among those facing plenty of familiar faces with more opposition old boys on the bench.

Both coaches used the match to unveil new signings.

James Trevis (Queensland), James Pelletier and Chilean Emanuel Ponce (both NSW) all made senior debuts for Riverside while City welcomed Akwasi Agyekum (universally known as "Junior"), Thierry Swaby and Cameron Jeffery from Canada, England and the US respectively.

The contest also witnessed an on-field reunion for brothers Zac and Max Reissig following the latter's return to Riverside from Devonport Strikers - prompting a proud smile from dad Chris who could be found stationed on his assigned stool in the bar, not unlike Norm in 1990s US sitcom Cheers.

In July 2020, Launceston soccer followers watched in horror as an ambulance took 90 minutes to reach Jack Dance as he lay in the middle of a frozen Prospect Park with a suspected broken leg.

It was an appalling and agonising wait, not only for the unfortunate Devonport defender but also those spectators watching his plight.

Four years later another Launceston City match - this time at Windsor Park - witnessed a similar scenario involving Riverside winger Will Fleming.

The travel time from Launceston General Hospital to the former venue is six minutes and the latter is 10.

Whoever is elected to govern Tasmania this week really needs to show the health service a lot more attention.