South Adelaide vs Adelaide Blue Eagles
Venue: O’Sullivans Beach Sports & Community Centre
Date: 12/07/2019 07:00 PM
Bottom of the table South Adelaide Panthers faces Adelaide Blue Eagles at O’Sullivans Beach Sports & Community Centre on Friday night with both sides looking to end recent poor form with a much-needed win.
Panthers finds themselves six points below the relegation zone but will see this as a good opportunity to face a Blue Eagles side low on confidence.
The visitors come into the game on the back of two consecutive losses, just one win in five matches and has recently lost their top goalscorer with Testardi leaving the club with an injury.
Blue Eagles were hit for four at home last weekend against an in-form Olympic side at Marden, while Panthers were also faced with a drubbing away at Adelaide Comets.
Despite their recent dip in form though, Blue Eagles still find themselves second in the league, but only three points separate themselves and the rest of the top six.
Blue Eagles enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win against Panthers back in round six were the last time the sides met at Marden.
Match Official: Christian Verdicchio
Assistant Match Officials: Andrew Citti, Ian Crossing
South Adelaide: Michael Goode, 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 3. Christopher Reed, 5. Caden Yates, 6. Taiyo Izumi, 7. Nicholas Harpas, 8. Sam Carmichael (C), 9. David Thornton, 10. Donovan Pollock, 13. Jai Conroy, 14. Jeven Beck, 15. Christopher Ashwood, 16. Brayden Micallef, 17. Joel Smith, 19. Callum Nissen
Coaches: Benjamin Dale, Dave Lee, Matthew Huntley, Fraser Mc Lean
Team Staff: Kym Goode, Lucy Boseley, Connor Fagan
Adelaide Blue Eagles: 1. Benjamin Jackson, 5. Christopher Annicchiarico (C), 6. Brylon Nthoane, 7. Shekubah Hutton-Addy, 8. Damien Crettenden, 10. Evan Kounavelis, 12. Zac Vannucci, 13. Alemayo Kebede, 14. Stefan Gluscevic, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 16. Hamish Mccabe, 17. Liam Mccabe, 18. Lucas Candeloro, 19. Daniel Cockerline, 23. Antoni Panagoulias, 24. Adrian Barone, 26. Richard Goss
Coaches: Vojislav Gluscevic, Danny Barone
Team Staff: Remo Gagliardi, Bhavik Dadia, Jackson Howie, Cale Amos
MetroStars vs Campbelltown City
Venue: TK Shutter Reserve
Date: 13/07/2019 03:00 PM
Words by Jason Cavey | @JasonKVOfficial
MetroStars are coming off a humiliating 4-1 loss at home to Croydon Kings (match highlights here) last Saturday evening. MetroStars went ahead on six minutes to an Anthony Solagna header. Zade Heinicke equalised for Croydon 4 minutes later as he finished off a good team move. Croydon went ahead on 14 minutes after Martinello converted a penalty kick. Croydon were given another spot-kick in which Martinello's shot was well saved by Isaac Carmody. Luke Klimek stepped up when Croydon were given a third penalty and made no mistake from the spot. Croydon sealed a famous win when Carmody's save went straight to the feet of Skeffington who added a fourth.
Meanwhile, Campbelltown City are coming an enthralling 3-3 draw with Adelaide City. Campbelltown were 2-0 inside 10 minutes through goals from Matsumoto and Di Troia. City hit back through Ferreira soon after. City hit quickly after the break with Costa and Love giving City an unlikely lead. Di Troia added his second to draw the teams level and both teams had to settle for a share of the points. Campbelltown are currently top of the ladder and seven points ahead of second-placed Adelaide Blue Eagles. MetroStars have slid down the ladder to 5th place with 25 points.
MetroStars coach Rob Saraceno is expected to make some changes after a disappointing performance. Rocky Callisto will miss this game through suspension after receiving a red card against Croydon. Tom Strain is back in training from a hamstring injury and may make his comeback in the Reserves game.
Match Official: Daniel Cook
Assistant Match Officials: Cole Davy, Thomas Temby
MetroStars: Dylan Smith, 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 2. Nicholas Menechella, 3. Cohan Morris, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 7. Michael Daloisio (C), 10. Anthony Solagna, 11. Matthew Charalambous, 15. Liam Wooding, 16. Alexander Jakob, 17. Matthew Dawber, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O'Donnell, 20. Cameron O'Doherty, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Nahuel Bonada, 25. Jackson O'Donnell, 26. Stefan Cali
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Travis Dodd, Terry Frangakis
Team Staff: Giorgio Capoccia, Joseph Polisena, Peter Terminello, George Laoutaris
Campbelltown City: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey, 4. Iain Fyfe (C), 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Dion Kirk, 9. Marc Marino, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 11. Anthony Ture, 12. Jacob Williams, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 17. Brandon Centofanti, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 22. Christian Cardinale, 23. Jake Halliday
Coaches: Joseph Mullen, Philip Stubbins, Leslie Pogliacomi
Team Staff: Panfilo Ciccocioppo, David Cavaiuolo, Elio Bria
West Adelaide vs Para Hills Knights
Venue: Adelaide City Park
Date: 13/07/2019 03:00 PM
In a huge relegation classic six-pointer, Para Hills and West Adelaide face off at Oakden in what could be a pivotal day in the fight for NPL survival.
Para Hills could see themselves eight points clear of the drop zone with a win which would give them much-needed breathing space, however, a win for West Adelaide will bring the deficit back to just two points and make things spicy once again.
Adelaide City will be watching how this one plays out on their home patch and will be quietly hoping for a Para Hills victory which could see City have the opportunity to pull away from the drop zone also.
West Adelaide have not won a game in eight matches now which is proving dangerously relegation form, while Para Hills have picked up two vital wins in that time.
Match Official: Foti Massinis
Assistant Match Officials: Andrew Citti, Finley Drewniasksandery
West Adelaide: 3. Gatlat Tongyik, 5. Zachary Hristodoulopoulos, 6. Elias Vlassis, 7. Perry Mitris (C), 8. Jack Yull, 10. Kosta Mantis, 11. Ibrahima Kamara, 12. Matthew Bouraee, 14. Tzoi Tsarkani, 15. Alex Hristodoulopoulos, 16. Joshua Papasian, 17. Angelo Composto, 18. Tito Bontor, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Roan Gillam (GK), 23. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 25. Rian Del Nido
Coaches: Stavros Gelekis, Nicholas Bouzalas
Team Staff: Aaron Kaselouris, Charlie Larosa
Para Hills Knights: 1. Timothy Ramsey (GK), 3. Peter Eleftherakis, 4. Kieran Mcnally, 5. Tyson Herraman, 6. Matthew Marchioro, 9. Michael Ndjekompte, 10. Luke Colalancia, 11. Andrew Butler, 12. Ryan Hanson, 14. Thilo Wilke, 15. Pierce Stephens, 16. Todd Leahy, 17. Mohammed Sumaoro, 18. Pietro Piantedosi, 19. Kyle Crout, 20. Charlie Devereux, 21. Isaac Mullen, 22. Hirofumi Kochi, 23. Tyler Bailey
Coaches: Barney Smith, Paul Crout, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Geoff Sullivan, Jamie Ocego-Kingsley, Dwayne Hall
Croydon Kings vs Adelaide United FC
Venue: Polonia Reserve
Date: 13/07/2019 03:00 PM
Words by Gianluca Filosi | @GianlucaFilosi
Kusini Yengi believes scoring early goals and taking their chances has led to an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks for Adelaide United Youth.
The Young Reds have won their last two matches by a scoreline of 3-0 and are now five games unbeaten heading into a huge clash with Croydon Kings at Polonia Reserve on Saturday.
A mere goal separates the two sides on the table with the Kings (seventh) and United Youth (eighth) both accruing 22 points from 16 games.
A win would maintain the pressure on sixth-placed MetroStars.
“Croydon is a good team and I reckon it’ll be a tough game,” Yengi explained.
“We’re just going to have to work extremely hard and try and put the game to bed early.”
As intimated, Adelaide recorded a comfortable victory against Para Hills Knights last round, with Yengi stating they were able to control the game after taking the lead through Alhassan Toure.
“It was a good performance from the boys,” Yengi said.
“We kind of got an early goal which helped us moving forward and took a bit of the pressure off.
“So we were able to keep the ball and pass the ball around a bit more, so that early goal helped us a lot.
“And then when we got the second one the intensity kind of dropped off and we just kept the ball and kept the other team chasing.”
Yengi added that scoring early goals has been key to their recent success.
“We’ve been putting the games to bed, especially in the last two (games),” he believed.
“Getting that early goal and getting that second goal to give us a bit of reassurance, so then later on in the game we’re not fighting for that last-minute clearance or stuff like that. We’re just playing a lot more attacking football.”
The striker has also been a big contributor in the team’s resurgence and is beginning to find rhythm again after returning from a 10-month injury lay-off with osteitis pubis. Yengi has netted three goals in his last three matches, which has coincided with a call-up to train with the senior side.
“My confidence is high at the moment,” he said.
“Coming back from a long-term injury I was pretty happy to get a couple of goals in the back of the net.
“And I think it’s given me a chance to now train with the first-team, so that’s good and I just need to keep scoring goals.”
Match Official: Andrew Kite
Assistant Match Officials: Dion Turner, Denis Palushaj
Croydon Kings: 1. Sebastian Matosevic, 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 3. James Polli, 4. Alexander Sunasky, 5. James Skeffington, 6. Kerrin Stokes, 8. Andrew Maio, 9. Nathan Munro, 10. Luke Klimek (C), 11. Antoni Trimboli, 12. Christopher Vivian, 13. Eric Scardigno, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Jo Ichiguchi, 16. Adam Martinello, 17. Alex Demasi, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 19. Masahiro Haruoka, 20. Zade Heinicke, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. Patrick Caraccia
Coaches: Angelo Costanzo, Maurice Natale, Robert Matosevic
Team Staff: Mario Catalano, Joshua Avery, Latham Byfield
Adelaide United FC: Domenic Costanzo, 1. Cameron Cook (GK), 5. Noah Smith, 6. Ryan Yates, 7. Taras Gomulka, 8. Jai King, 9. Ninko Beric, 10. Kusini Yengi, 12. Yared Abetew, 17. Aladin Irabona, 19. Alhassan Toure, 33. Anthony Mavrolambados, 37. Keshav Shrestha, 44. Jared Clark, 50. Dakota Ochsenham (GK)
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Mario Karlovic, Joshua Smith
Team Staff: Robert Muscio, Julian Urlings
Adelaide Comets vs Raiders
Venue: SA Athletics Stadium
Date: 13/07/2019 03:00 PM
SA Athletics Stadium is our SportsPower Zorich Group Match of the Round for this weekend, as Comets and Raiders face off with both sides looking to maintain a push for finals football.
The table reads 6th vs 3rd for this game, however, there is just five points separating 2nd place Blue Eagles and 8th place Para Hills, so every single point is valuable as we head into the home stretch of this tightly contested NPL season.
Comets finally got their first win in seven games last weekend, hitting Panthers for six at home. Youngster Tete Yengi getting on the scoresheet to score his first goal for the seniors on his NPL debut.
Raiders also had a healthy 4-1 victory at home to struggling West Adelaide on Saturday, with Terence Carter hitting a hat-trick to send him to the top of the league's goalscoring table for 2019.
Comets enjoyed a 2-0 win the last time the sides met, with Weins and Welsh on the scoresheet.
Match Official: Eric Ford Sestilli
Assistant Match Officials: Ian Crossing, Riley Cowan
Adelaide Comets: 1. Alexander Woodlands, 2. Harry Keramidas, 4. Tom Dittmar, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Jack Bladen, 7. Thomas Cyganov, 8. Connor Gollan, 9. Andreas Wiens, 10. Lansana Smith, 11. Jayden Lobasso, 12. Tete Yengi, 13. Jon Aurtenetxe Borde, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 15. Philip Cash, 16. Stephan Travaglione, 17. Filimon Asefa, 18. Stefan Simic, 22. Allan Welsh, 23. Scott Nagel, 30. Julian Torresan, 31. Thanasi Doupolis
Coaches: Konstandinos Antoniou, Elias Demo, Antonios Galanopoulos, Chris Simpson
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Elsie Kenny, Bridget Siviour
Raiders: 1. Vasilios Tryfopoulos, 2. Michael Acton, 3. Kalilou Kamara, 4. Paul Blefari (C), 5. Adam Van Dommele, 6. Omari Didero, 7. Jackson Walls, 8. Rocco Visconte, 9. Scott Tunbridge, 10. Terence Carter, 13. Nicholas Munro (GK), 14. Oliver Zafiridis, 16. Ambesager Yosief, 18. Joshua Mori, 20. Aaron Acton, 21. Jake Monaco, 30. Giovanni Previtali, 91. Yasmin Sudic, 99. Emanuel Philip
Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Larry Piscioneri, Michael Paleka, Lindsay Paterson
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa, An-Phong Nguyen
Adelaide Olympic vs Adelaide City
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: 13/07/2019 07:00 PM
In a repeat of the FFA Cup SA Qualifying Final last month, Olympic and City face off but this time with league points at stake.
Olympic though have never beaten City in the league, but are in the best form in recent years and will be hungry to get another monkey off their backs.
The Cup holders come into this with three consecutive wins under their belts after last weekend's 4-0 win at Marden against Blue Eagles. Goalkeeper Daniel Vaughan told Ditts on the Triple M Real Football Show this week that his side are thriving after a tough pre-season.
This is the fittest squad I think I have ever played in. George [Tsonis] gave us a tough preseason and its paying off now. We're fit, really fit and feeling great. When you see players like Ricardo Da Silva completing 90 minutes week in week out at 35 it's a great sign"
While City will be tempted to keep an eye on the West Adelaide v Para Hills match, Michael Matricciani will want his side completely focused on the task at hand.
The Black and Whites are coming into some good form, without a loss in five games and come into this one on the back of a hard-working 3-3 draw at Campbelltown City last weekend.
Back in round six, City enjoyed a 3-1 win against Olympic at Oakden with goals from Bucco, Jo Costa, and Kostopoulos.
Match Official: Isabella Blaess
Assistant Match Officials: Angus Macdonald, Jack Jackson
Adelaide Olympic: Kristi Vangjeli, Ioannis Simosis, 1. Daniel Vaughan (GK), 2. Jacob Butler-Bowdon, 3. Matthew Halliday, 4. Thomas Brown, 5. David Makridis, 7. John Karatzas, 8. Manni Katopodis, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Ricardo DaSilva (C), 11. Alexandros Koutoulogenis, 12. Dimitri Toumazos, 13. Paul Espina, 14. Fausto Erba, 16. John Tsimopoulos, 21. Nikolas Harpas, 23. Michael Alexandrou
Coaches: George Tsonis, Tony Sacca, Ali Sadick
Team Staff: Caroline Riemelmoser, Carl Robinson, Alex Abela
Adelaide City: Stefan Casalbore, James Boffa, Austin Ayoubi, Haris Vuckic, Christopher Pepe, Dominic Matricciani, Yanni Delengas, Marcos Flores, Tomas Maricic, Fabio Ferreira, Zakariah Waters, 8. Joseph Costa, 9. Anthony Costa, 10. Evan Kostopoulos, 16. Thomas Love, 46. Joe Gauci
Coaches: Michael Matricciani, Geoff Hargreaves, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Fabian Garuccio, Oliver Totani, Kevin Doan, Mark Zito