Steve udson Cup Week 3

Pre-game interview of Mark :

“Thors Niemly will come back into the squad after a week off following a knock on the ankle, but other than that, the squad will remain the same,” said Launceston United coach, Mark Egan.

“We are still awaiting the return of a number of players, who will add more depth to the group, but for now it’s more or less the same group that played against South Hobart, Knights and Ulverstone.

“We are expecting a gruelling game against Olympia as they are a well-organised, well-coached side.

“Add to those ingredients their physical approach, and those on the side lines should be in for an entertaining game.”

Olympia won 2-0 against United in a very close game.

United finished last of the Group B and will play against Launceston City in a hot derby for the first play-off to decide who is going to play the 5/6th places of the Steve Hudson Cup.

Group B Table

Team	Pld	Won	Draw	Lost	+	-	Dif	Pts
Prospect Knights	2	2	1	-	4	2	+2	7
Olympia FC Warriors	3	2	-	1	3	1	+2	6
Ulverstone	3	1	1	1	7	6	+1	4
Launceston United	3	-	-	3	5	10	-5	0

The Under 18's loosed against South Hobart 8-1. And will play City for the semi-finals.

Steve Hudson Cup Week 2

Big day for United last Saturday (12-02-11), the under 18's played against Rangers, the women team against FFT under 15's and the senior team against Ulverstone.
The under 18's reinforced their 1st place winning 2-1, with a goal by Liam Jarvis and a penalty by Tyler "Totti" Bonde for his eighteen's birthday.

The senior team had an hard game and loose 6-4 after. 2 goals by Aiden Rigby, one by Pape Kamara and the last one by Rohan Murray.

The interview of Mark by Walter Pless :

“It was a frantic game,” said Launceston United coach, Mark Egan.

“Both sides threw everything at it.

“Towards the end, when it was 5-4, we basically threw everyone forward and left two defenders and tried to get that goal, but we got caught.

“All credit to Ulverstone.  They played a very speedy young lad up front.  He was very fast and he caught us on the counter and scored a goal and made it 6-4

“The boys fought very bravely and there was plenty of niggle in the game.  It was a very physical game and they backed each other up and stuck together well, which was good to see.

“But, unfortunately, we didn’t come away with the chocolates.”

Steve Hudson Cup Week 1

In the 2011 Steve Hudson Cup the Senior Team is in the group B with Prospect Knights, Hobart Olympia and Ulverstone. The first game was against Knights.

After a first goal by Thors Niemly for United, Knights scored one before half-time. After a very harsh second half Knights scored at the 92 min.

And sometime we had to make sacrifice hadn't we Dobbo ?

 

 Just before the senior game, the under 18's had a great game against City and won 4-1.

The interview of Mark by Walter Pless : 

“We started the game well and put them under pressure early and scored after twelve minutes - a deft touch inside the six-yard box to slot the ball home by Thors Niemly,"

“The game was well balanced and Knights pulled one back on the twenty-six minute mark, and at half time the score line reflected the contest at that stage of the game.

“The second half was a more scrappy affair. The quality football that was on show in the first half evaporated in the midday sun and the game evolved into a more physical encounter with a number of yellow cards being shown.

“As the second half wore on, the Knights mounted some serious pressure on our goal and we lost our shape, but we still managed to look dangerous on the counter.

“And then, Knights scored in ‘Fergie time’, in the 92nd minute. They found the back of the net and that was the winner.

“The lads worked very hard today. Our French import, Alex Rubel, in particular, worked very hard.

“For the last ten minutes, the lads put up a brick wall on the edge of our eighteen-yard box and, unfortunately for us, Knights found a way through.

“The lads are disappointed, but we need to learn from our mistakes, work hard to correct them, and prepare for Ulverstone next Saturday.”

Pre-Season

Teams (Senior, under 18,s, women) trained together since mid-November. The first game of the senior team was against South Hobart.
The squad and some nice supporter went to Hobart by bus.

 

South Hobart is definitely the best team of these last years in Tassie.
After a hard and good game the team lost 3-1. Agele Luate scored for United.

The supporters :

Here is the interview of Mark by Walter Pless

I was very impressed with my boys.

“Obviously, we were under the cosh for quite a bit of the game, but you expect that against South Hobart.

“Last year, we just haemorrhaged goals, but today we restricted them to two and an own-goal and I’m pleased with that.

“This was our first hit-out for the season. Now it’s straight into the Hudson Cup. Our first game is next week.

“Mr Morton has been involved with Launceston United before and there’s a connection there, and so we’re trying to build on that and develop a good rapport.

“South Hobart have always been good to Launceston United with the Hudson Cup. They’ve always supported that, so as a gesture of friendship, I suppose, we came down here.

“We’ve brought in a few new players and the players that have been there have worked very, very hard.

“We mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. On paper it wasn’t a bad result, but South Hobart had a lot of the ball, a lot of the ball. So, I’m not getting too excited.”