2022 State League One Grand Final | Match Report
West Adelaide secured their return to the RAA NPLSA in 2023 with a historic 4-3 victory over Para Hills Knights.
Following a fantastic State League Two match on the same night, West Adelaide and Para Hills Knights both entered the ServiceFM Stadium with a ton of weight on their shoulders, with both teams looking to cap off what has been a fantastic season and ultimately put an end on their State League One Stay.
West Adelaide broke the deadlock in the 18th minute, as former Para Hills Knights striker Joe Gatting secured his first of the match as his incredible instincts in front of goals saw him force the ball into the back of the net after his initial shot was saved, with Gatting beginning what would be a dominant display against his old team.
Omid Musawi was close to restoring the deficit for Para Hills Knights only minutes later as his thunderous long-range effort forced West Adelaide keeper Jackson O'Donnell into an impressive save to keep his side into the lead.
Para Hills Knights found their equaliser only minutes before the half-time break as Keshav Shrestha was gifted the ball from a perfectly weighted through-ball by one of his team-mates, which saw him produce an excellent turn and control, ultimately beating O'Donnell in goals.
After restoring the deficit, Para Hills Knights were left frustrated only minutes later, with the team missing a treamendous opportunity to take the lead, as they saw their header cleared off the line by a West Adelaide defender, preventing the game from going 2-1 in the favour of Para Hills Knights heading into the break.
Coming out from the half-time break, West Adelaide looked to utilise their experience and their height inside the box from set-pieces to cause problems for the Para Hills Knights defence. This culminated with West Adelaide taking the lead in the 57th minute as Gatting secured his second of the night as he turned the ball into the net after the ball landed perfectly at his feet in the six-yard box.
Falling behind once again, Para Hills Knights looked to produce a quick response to tie the game once more. Committing numerous players forward, Para Hills Knights created a number of great chances, however, couldn't find an answer for O'Donnell in the West Adelaide net who was prepared to keep his team's lead.
Para Hills Knights promotion hopes looked to have faded away in the 76th minute as West Adelaide captain and forward Ricardo Da Silva, pounced on a ball into the box, turning in his first of the night and his team's third.
Holding a two-goal lead, West Adelaide's promotion and championship dreams were almost made a reality in the 81st minute as Gatting rubbed more salt in the wounds of his former team as he secured his hat-trick, with his goal increasing the scoreline to 4-1.
Although being three goals down with only nine minutes remaining, Para Hills Knights looked to produce an epic comeback as they looked to keep their promotion dreams alive. Para Hills Knights' fight for a comeback began in the 89th minute with Omid Musawi's finish taking the score to 4-2, while the team was awarded a penalty which saw William Mitev convert to take took the scoreline to 4-3 in the third minute of injury time.
With seconds remaining on the clock, Para Hills Knight was provided one final chance to secure their fourth and take the game into extra-time as they saw themselves gifted with a free-kick just outside the box. Throwing all players forward, a perfectly delivered ball inside the box landed at the feet of a Para Hills Knights player who was unable to capitalise as he blazed the ball over the bar, with the full-time whistle being blown straight after.
With that victory, West Adelaide ended their three-year stay in State league One which saw the club experience numerous highs and lows, ulatimelty securing their return into the RAA NPLSA in season 2023.
2022 State League Two Grand Final | Match Report
Vipers FC secured their return to State League One with a memorable 4-3 Extra-Time victory over Western Strikers.
On a tremendous Saturday afternoon, Vipers FC and Western Strikers both saw themselves entering ServiceFM Stadium with the goal of gaining the last promotion spot into State League One for season 2023 and being crowned the 2022 State League Two Champions.
The 2022 Australia Cup SA Qualifying Finalists Vipers FC took an early lead in the encounter as inform attacker Matheus Borges Rodrigues found his team's first of the night, as the winger was gifted a golden opportunity to go one-on-one with the Western Strikers keeper after Vipers FC defender Jordan Mugford beautifully delivered ball behind his oppositions defence, with Matheus placing it around the goalkeeper.
However, Vipers FC's lead barely lasted 20 minutes as Western Strikers player Sebastian Mazzarino silenced the always vocal Vipers FC crowd as his left foot rocket from outside the box found the bottom corner after Vipers FC were unable to clear the oncoming free-kick from danger.
After an evenly contested opening 45 minutes, it was Western Strikers who entered the half-time break with the lead as captain Adrian D'Alfonso found the back of the net as his long-range free-kick bounced in front of the Vipers FC goals, with their keeper being unable to prevent it heading into his goals.
Things couldn't have gone much worse for Vipers FC after the half-time break as they fell two goals behind only minutes after the restart. Stefan Didone found Western Strikers third only two minutes after the beginning of the second half as Sebastian Mazzarino provided him with a perfect opportunity outside the box following a great piece of skill, with Didone's bullet of a shot from outside the 18-yard box beating the Vipers FC keeper.
Although the devastation of falling further behind, Vipers FC were not prepared to give up on their promotion dreams, with the team finding their second of the night only four minutes later, as Alexi Georgakopoulos met a perfectly delivered Matheus Borges Rodrigues cross into the six-yard box, with Georgakopoulos volleying it past the Western Strikers goalkeeper.
With Vipers FC looking down and out, and Western Strikers destined for promotion to State League One, the game took a turn in the favour of Vipers FC in the 90th minute. Holding a 3-2 lead, the game took a significant turn with only minutes remaining as Vipers FC found the equaliser as a Mark Tolba cross found the back of the net as Western Strikers player Tariq Eltahir was unable to deal with the incoming ball, turning it into his own net, sending the game into extra-time.
After the heartbreak of conceding a last-minute equaliser, Western Strikers night became much worse just after the start of extra-time, as Vipers FC star player Matheus Borges Rodrigues scored directly from the corner, giving his team a 4-3 lead, with promotion and the championship looking likely to be heading to the home of Vipers FC.
Attempting to find an equaliser and send the game into penalties, life got much harder for Western Strikers at the end of extra-time as Giorgio Karakitsios was shown a red card after an incident involving himself and the Vipers FC goalkeeper, while Jake Cianci was also shown a red card as he brought down Vipers FC player Gergis Ibrahim who was heading towards goal in a great counter-attack.
Vipers FC's 4-3 win over Western Strikers marked their return to State League One after facing relegation in 2020, erasing the heartache of their 2021 Grand Final loss to Adelaide University.
Under 18's and Reserves Results and Champions
RAA NPLSA Reserves Grand Final
Champions: Campbelltown City
Result: Adelaide Comets 2 v Campbelltown City 2 | 4-5 Penalty Win
Goal Scorers:
Adelaide Comets: Zacharakis 9', Glushkov 33'
Campbelltown City: Scarpantoni 19', (OG) 45'
RAA NPLSA Under 18's Grand Final
Champions: WT Birkalla
Result: WT Birkalla 2 v Campbelltown City 1
Goal Scorers:
WT Birkalla: Klaassen Thomas 29', Ayoubi 44'
Campbelltown City: Malatesta 66'
State League One Reserves Grand Final
Champions: Adelaide Victory
Result: Adelaide Blue Eagles 0 v Adelaide Victory 3
Goal Scorers:
Adelaide Victory: Doufos 2', Frangakis 58', Balikubiri 90+3'
State League One Under 18's Grand Final
Champions: West Adelaide
Result: West Adelaide 1 v Modbury Jets 0
Goal Scorers:
West Adelaide: Cocca 63'
State League Two Reserves Grand Final
Champions: Cove FC
Result: Western Strikers 2 v Cove FC 3
Goal Scorers:
Western Strikers: Kouimtzis 17', Kushnir 27'
Cove FC: Hamdorf 40', 57', Thrussell 47'
State League Two Under 18's Grand Final
Champions: Adelaide Cobras
Result: Adelaide Cobras 4 v Cove FC 3
Goal Scorers:
Adelaide Cobras: Livingstone 18', 38', Botsos 47', Nyerukayi 50'
Cove FC: Herbut 9', 44', Heaven 23'