City look to end derby drought

Shane Brassington and Tim Lunnon of Northern Rangers speak to the
media regarding Friday Nights Victory League Derby.

The Victory League’s northern rivalry will heat up again this Friday night, with the second match of the 2014 Launceston Mitsubishi and Launceston Mazda Derby Cup between Northern Rangers and Launceston City.

Northern Rangers host Launceston City in the second match of their best of three Derby Cup series, to kick off Round 8 of the Victory League. City must win the match to keep the Derby Cup alive, after falling 4-1 to the Rangers in game one of the series earlier this year.

Since the Victory League’s inception, while there has been a competitive rivalry between the clubs, the Northern Rangers have held a strong winning record up against their northern counterparts, defeating them 5-0, 7-0, 6-0 and 4-1 in their four meetings. 

This weekend, Launceston City will look to end the derby drought and down the Rangers for the first time in the Victory League.

Launceston City went winless in the competition last season but the club have made significant in-roads this season with four points to their name after the first round of fixtures, including their historic first Victory League win over Tilford Zebras in round five. This week they will be looking to create further club history and clinch their first win up against their bitter rivals, to keep the battle for the Derby Cup alive going into their last meeting in July later this year.

City struck first against South Hobart last week, opening scoring inside a minute through Mark Cristy and although they eventually went down Kurt Reynolds' squad will draw confidence from netting two past last season’s champions.

City welcome back skipper Nathan Bartlett from suspension for the derby, as well as Chris Hill who was also out with a red card from their round six loss to Glenorchy Knights.

Northern Rangers are second on the Victory League table and are five points behind South Hobart, meaning every result could prove critical to their tilt for the 2014 title. A win for the Rangers would also secure them the inaugural Launceston Mitsubishi and Launceston Mazda Derby Cup.

The match kicks off this Friday night from 7:00PM at Northern Rangers home ground NTCA.