By Fin Dunford
State League One
Sturt’s flawless form since the restart finally hit a roadblock with a tightly contested 1-1 draw with Adelaide Victory. With neither team really landing a blow in the first half, the home side appeared to be back in business with Anthony Taylor grabbing a goal in the 61st. However, Phillip Cash grabbed himself yet another goal in the 81st which continues a nice run of form from Victory. Sturt will consider this as two points dropped, as Hellas reasserted themselves at the top once again. Nonetheless, the Lions still find themselves in a strong position in terms of the league; and will look to make things right this week against Hills Hawks.
Playford’s formidable home form must not be slept on. Beating strugglers Fulham 2-0, the Patriots secured not only another win at Ramsay Park; but another clean sheet. This sees them slot into fourth, setting the scene for a cracking game against Victory this coming weekend.
Death, taxes and Jonathon Rideout banging goals for South Adelaide. Panthers earned themselves a 3-0 away win against Strikers in a well put together performance. Pegoraro and young Joel Smith also contributed. This result highlights the credentials of South Adelaide, as well as the inconsistency of Strikers; who on their day, should be able to cause trouble for any team in this league.
West Adelaide evidently had to do some soul-searching midweek after a slip-up against Sturt. Their worries appeared to be set to continue when Birkalla went 1-0 up in the 57th minute through Trey Williams. However, Hellas responded as they usually do in the 65th and then again in the 87th, earning themselves a 2-1 win. As one of the state’s biggest clubs, few would question their ability coming from the Premier League. Nonetheless, late-winners, comebacks and hard-fought scraps are quintessential features of a successful State League campaign; and Hellas showed they can do all of those things this weekend.
Seaford’s woes continued with a 0-2 home loss to Hawks. This abysmal run of form looks set to continue with White City and West Adelaide up next for the Rangers. Hawks put together a contrasting performance. Gun Lewis Farquhar popped up in the 36th to put the away side ahead, and Hosking finished things off in the latter stages with a nicely executed penalty.
Vipers had the almighty task of stopping a rampant White city. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t their day at Jack Smith Park, as Beograd secured a 2-0 win to make it four on the trot.
White City still sit in 5th by the barest of margins, and Vipers are just out of the relegation zone.
State League Two
Adelaide Uni will be ruing Saturday’s affair as a chance wasted to climb the ladder, as they drew 1-1 with Northern Demons. Dom Matricianni kicked things off in the 23rd and Uni looked as if they were in cruise-control. However, the old adage suggesting you are at your most vulnerable after scoring came to fruition, as Jacob Sakoulidis responded with a goal of his own two minutes later.
Pontian recorded yet another draw with a 1-1 stalemate with Cove. Mavromatis scored for the home side and then Tobin for Cove. Both teams certainly would’ve liked to have secured the points as it would’ve meant pressure on the top six, alas both sides now sit in 7th and 9th respectively.
Salisbury experienced more heartache with a 0-2 home loss to ever-improving pirates. The sides seemed destined to share the points, however Skeffington put the away side in front in the 87th, and then put the nail in the coffin in the 93rd; quintessential state league!
Gawler are experiencing a dip in form as they fell 0-2 to Cobras, who are on the up. Panayi put Cobras ahead in the 32nd, and Mangafakis finished things off in the 96th.
Eastern got the job done with a strong 4-0 win against Mt Barker. Kirill Gretchko grabbed a brace and cemented his side’s place at the top.
Noarlunga lost again, rounding up a strange round as not one home team managed to win. Falling 0-3 to a strong Vista side, who got up through goals from Kaye, Marchioro and then finally McConnell.
