National Premier League SA
Round 21
MATCH OF THE ROUND: Croydon Kings vs Raiders
Venue: Polonia Reserve
Date: 10/08/2019 03:00 PM
Match Officials: Nicholas Quirk. Assistant Referee: Liam Miller, Thomas Temby
FAREWELL POLONIA RESERVE. As Croydon Kings bid farewell to their home of 70 years, it will all be on the line for these two clubs as the ladder takes shape heading into the 2019 Finals Series.
Currently sitting in second place, a win for Raiders will put them in the box seat for a 2nd place finish and a finals double chance, an astonishing effort considering they only returned to the top-flight this season.
2019 surprise packet Croydon find themselves in a remarkable situation. Pending other results, a win on Saturday could see them leapfrog from 5th place into 2nd and really shake things up ahead of the final round. A loss, on the other hand, puts them in danger of missing the finals series completely!
When the sides met back in Round 10 Raiders turned out a dominant display, thumping Costanzo’s boys 5-1. Current equal Golden Boot leader Terrence Carter slotted two on that day and he’ll be looking to add to his tally of 16 goals for the season.
There is sure to be the same added emotion in this one given the significance of the day, and that’s not limited to the Polonia faithful. Long-time servants Rocky Visconte and Nick Munro made the switch to Raiders from Croydon at the start of the year, winning numerous trophies during a successful period for the club.
A full day of celebrations at Polonia Reserve will feature a past players parade at 2 pm and a live band from 7 pm following the game.
Croydon Kings: 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 4. Alexander Sunasky, 5. James Skeffington, 6. Kerrin Stokes, 8. Andrew Maio, 9. Nathan Munro, 10. Luke Klimek (C), 11. Antoni Trimboli, 14. Peter Mercurio, 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: Vittorio Bragagnolo, Joshua Avery, Latham Byfield
Raiders: 1. Vasilios Tryfopoulos, 2. Michael Acton, 4. Paul Blefari (C), 5. Adam Van Dommele, 6. Omari Didero, 7. Jackson Walls, 8. Rocco Visconte, 9. Scott Tunbridge, 10. Terence Carter, 11. David Carosi, 13. Nicholas Munro (GK), 14. Oliver Zafiridis, 16. Ambesager Yosief, 18. Joshua Mori, 20. Aaron Acton, 21. Jake Monaco, 30. Giovanni Previtali, 33. Mark Ulaj, 91. Yasmin Sudic
Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Larry Piscioneri, Michael Paleka, Lindsay Paterson
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa, An-Phong Nguyen
South Adelaide vs Para Hills Knights
Venue: O’Sullivans Beach Sports & Community Centre
Date: 10/08/2019 03:00 PM
Match Official: Eric Ford Sestili. Assistant Referee: Andrew Citti, Denis Palushaj
With Panthers officially relegated to State League 1 and Knights now out of the finals race, nothing but pride will be on the line this Saturday at O’Sullivans Beach.
The final nail was hammered into South Adelaide’s coffin last week, suffering a 1-0 defeat and the hands of fellow cellar dwellers Adelaide City, as both sides made a last-minute clutch for survival.
Barney Smith’s side suffered a narrow defeat to second-placed Raiders in Round 20, conceding an 88th minute goal to end their slim hopes of playing a part in the 2019 Finals Series.
In what can be describes as a “dead rubber” in terms of the regular season, both sides may take the opportunity to blood some youth as they cast their eyes to season 2020.
South Adelaide: 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 2. Michael Goode, 4. Robert Parker, 5. Jordan Watson, 6. Jeven Beck, 7. Nicholas Harpas, 8. Sam Carmichael (C), 9. Thomas Parks, 11. Taiyo Izumi, 13. Jai Conroy, 14. Christian Tinnion, 15. Christopher Ashwood, 16. Brayden Micallef, 17. Joel Smith
Coaches: Brenton Hiern, Matthew Huntley, Fraser McLean
Team Staff: Kym Goode, Lucy Boseley, Connor Fagan
Para Hills Knights: 1. Timothy Ramsey (GK), 3. Peter Eleftherakis, 4. Kieran McNally, 5. Tyson Herraman, 6. Matthew Marchioro, 8. Logan Mcfall, 10. Luke Colalancia, 11. Andrew Butler, 12. Jordan Findlay, 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
Coaches: Barney Smith, Paul Crout, Jamie Ocego-Kingsley, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Geoff Sullivan, Emma Gericke, Dwayne Hall
Adelaide Comets vs Campbelltown City
Venue: SA Athletics Stadium
Date: 10/08/2019 03:00 PM
Match Official: Isabella Blaess. Assistant Referee: Dion Turner, Finely Drewniaksandery
In another match of the round contender, league leaders Campbelltown City have the chance to claim back to back league titles this Saturday at SA Athletics Stadium.
A solitary point will be enough for Joe Mullen’s side to lift the trophy, currently holding a five-point gap between themselves and the only other mathematical chance to claim the title in Raiders.
Last weekend Campbelltown had to back up their mid-week battle with A-League side Melbourne City in the FFA Cup with a clash against relegation prospects West Adelaide. It took a goal of the year contender from Adam Piscioneri to seal the points for the Red Devils in a cagey affair.
Comets have been in solid form since the mid-point of the season, securing three wins and three draws following their Round 14 defeat to Adelaide Olympic. Two of their wins coming in the form of back to back 6-0 thrashings of Raiders and Panthers respectively.
Last time they met it was a comfortable 3-0 triumph for Campbelltown at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre in a relatively one-sided encounter. The SA Athletics Stadium pitch however presents a different test for both sides.
A win for Campbelltown means another trophy in the cabinet, while a win for Comets means a top-two finish is not out of the question.
Adelaide Comets: 1. Julian Torresan (GK), 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, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 15. Philip Cash, 16. Stephan Travaglione, 18. Stefan Simic, 22. Allan Welsh (C), 23. Scott Nagel, 30. Alexander Woodlands
Coaches: Konstandinos Antoniou, Elias Demo, Antonios Galanopoulos, Chris Simpson
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Elsie Kenny, Bridget Siviour
Campbelltown City: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Dion Kirk, 7. Joel Allwright, 8. Alexander Mullen, 9. Marc Marino, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 11. Anthony Ture, 12. Jacob Williams, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Brandon Centofanti, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 23. Jake Halliday
Coaches: Joseph Mullen, Philip Stubbins, Leslie Pogliacomi
Team Staff: Panfilo Ciccocioppo, David Cavaiuolo, Elio Bria
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs Adelaide United FC
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: 10/08/2019 03:00 PM
Match Official: Daniel Elder Assistant Referee: Daniel Goodwin, Cole Davy
Words by Gianluca Filosi | @GianlucaFilosi
Adelaide United Youth left-back, Noah Smith, has labelled his side’s clash with Adelaide Blue Eagles as “basically a final”, knowing anything less than a win will likely see their top-six aspirations dashed.
Eighth place United trail sixth-ranked Blue Eagles by three points after the Young Reds closed the gap on the Marden-based club.
Smith stated the enormity of the match, highlighting the need to collect the victory or risk relying on other results to have any chance of reaching their finals target.
“This is basically a final for us,” Smith said.
“If we don’t win this we know we won’t be playing finals football so if we want to play it’s all up to this week.
“We really need to win both our games but this week is so important that we’ve to win if we want to play finals.”
Adelaide played themselves into good form with a solid 2-0 win over Adelaide Olympic to snap their 11-game unbeaten streak.
“It was a real good team performance,” he said.
“We scored early, took most of our chances early and got a good lead and then we defended really well, kept a clean sheet which is always positive.
“And it was good to get three points against a finals side leading up to the finals.”
Blue Eagles are winless in their preceding three matches and have tasted success just once in their previous seven outings.
Despite their form waning in the second half of the campaign, Smith expected Saturday’s opponents to provide a stern test as they seek to remain in finals contention.
“They’re a good team,” he insisted.
“We played them earlier in the year and we lost 1-0.
“But we just know that if we play our game and play to the best of our ability we can beat any team on their day as you saw a couple of weeks ago against Campbelltown.
“We just know that if we play our game and stick to our tactics that Pez (Paul Pezos) has us playing we know we’re a good chance to win.”
Adelaide Blue Eagles: Damian Najar, Anthony D'Onofrio, Christopher Mercorella, Tyson Linsenmeier, 3. Raffaele De Lucia, 5. Christopher Annicchiarico (C), 7. Shekubah Hutton-Addy, 9. Daniel Cockerline, 13. Alemayo Kebede, 14. Stefan Gluscevic, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 16. Hamish Mccabe, 17. Liam Mccabe, 18. Lucas Candeloro, 23. Antoni Panagoulias, 24. Adrian Barone, 26. Richard Goss (GK)
Coaches: Vojislav Gluscevic, Danny Barone
Team Staff: Zlatko Belanic, Bhavik Dadia, Cale Amos, Zac Bastick
Adelaide United FC: Daniel Bressan, 5. Noah Smith, 6. Ryan Yates, 7. Taras Gomulka, 9. Ninko Beric, 11. Carlo Armiento, 12. Yared Abetew, 17. Aladin Irabona, 24. Pacifique Niyongabire, 28. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 33. Anthony Mavrolambados, 34. Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio, 44. Jared Clark, 50. Dakota Ochsenham (GK)
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Mario Karlovic, Joshua Smith
Team Staff: Robert Muscio, Julian Urlings
MetroStars vs Adelaide City
Venue: TK Shutter Reserve
Date: 10/08/2019 05:00 PM
Match Official: Gary Mooney. Assistant Referee: Riley Cowan, Paula Orlandi
Words by Jason Cavey | @JasonKVOfficial
MetroStars are coming off a 2-0 win away to Adelaide Blue Eagles (match highlights here) last Saturday. MetroStars almost took the lead inside the fist minute when Christian Epsosito head his header cleared off the line from a Fabian Barbiero corner kick. It only took 30 seconds more when Nahuel Bonada headed home Barbiero's corner to get his first goal in the National Premier Leagues. Blue Eagles went down to 10 men in the 20th minuter after Nthoane given a straight red card for a horrendous challenge on Esposito. MetroStars had two strong penalties shouts turned down themselves before Isaac Carmody was harshly adjudged to have fouled Hutton-Addy in the box. Perhaps justice was restored when Carmody brilliantly saved Liam McCabe's spot kick which sent Metro ahead at the half time break. Substitute Hamish Gow sealed the win with a classy goal, combining superbly with Wooding and Bonada.
Meanwhile Adelaide City are coming off a 1-0 win at home to South Adelaide to get their first win in five games. City took the lead in the first minute with a goal from Evan Kostopoulous and held on for a crucial win that means they need just one point from their next two games to avoid relegation. Adelaide City currently sit tenth on the ladder with 18 points. MetroStars are still chasing a finals spot currently sitting in seventh place, 3 points off sixth placed Blue Eagles.
Rob Saraceno coached in his 100th game in charge of the club last Saturday and will be firing up his squad as they push towards a finals spot. Dylan Smith, Lachlan Barr, Tom Strain and Michael D'Aloisio will face late fitness tests this week. Justin Davis and Nick Menechella are both out with season ending injuries.
MetroStars: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 3. Cohan Morris, 5. Timothy Henderson, 6. Lachlan Barr, 7. Michael Daloisio (C), 8. Rocky Callisto, 9. Thomas Strain, 10. Anthony Solagna, 11. Matthew Charalambous, 12. Benjamin Head, 14. Dylan Smith, 15. Liam Wooding, 17. Matthew Dawber, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O'Donnell, 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
Adelaide City: Zakariah Waters, 4. Elliot Green, 6. Dominic Matricciani, 7. Christopher Pepe, 8. Joseph Costa, 9. Anthony Costa, 17. Stefan Casalbore, 20. Fabio Ferreira, 26. Sadegh Heidari, 45. Tomas Maricic, 46. Joe Gauci (GK), 48. Marcos Flores
Coaches: Michael Matricciani, Geoff Hargreaves, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Peter Romeo, Oliver Totani, Kevin Doan, Mark Zito
Adelaide Olympic vs West Adelaide
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: 10/08/2019 07:00 PM
Match Official: Daniel Cook. Assistant Referee: Ian Crossing, Alexander Diamond
The stakes don’t get much higher than this! In what presents itself as a crunch game at both ends of the table, a win for Olympic will ensure they feature prominently in the 2019 Finals Series, while a win for West Adelaide is a MUST to ensure they have any chance of avoiding relegation heading into Round 22.
Up until last weekend, Olympic had been the inform side of the competition, undefeated in 11 consecutive matches, to compliment a mid-week FFA Cup come from behind win for the ages, against Perth based side Floreat Athena.
Their first defeat since Round 8 came from a resurgent Adelaide United Youth Team who showed they’re not done for the season just yet despite top 6 looking increasingly unlikely.
West Adelaide will take pride from their performance last week, going down 1-0 to league leaders Campbelltown City. Their fate is in their own hands and with a later kick-off time than their fellow relegation contender in Adelaide City, they’ll as they enter the field of play just how vital three points could be to their future in the NPL.
Adelaide Olympic: 1. Daniel Vaughan (GK), 2. Jacob Butler-Bowdon, 3. Matthew Halliday, 4. Thomas Brown, 5. David Makridis, 6. Elias Vlassis, 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, 15. Jack Chivers, 16. John Tsimopoulos, 17. Paul Koutsampasis, 21. Nikolas Harpas, 23. Michael Alexandrou
Coaches: George Tsonis, Tony Sacca, Ali Sadick
Team Staff: Caroline Riemelmoser, Carl Robinson, Alex Abela
West Adelaide: 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 3. Gatlat Tongyik, 5. Zachary Hristodoulopoulos, 6. Elias Vlassis, 7. Perry Mitris (C), 8. Jack Yull, 11. Ibrahima Kamara, 12. Matthew Bouraee, 14. Matthew Di Matteo, 15. Asad Kasumovic, 16. Jordan Maricic, 17. Tzoi Tsarkani, 18. Tito Bontor, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Roan Gillam, 23. Kristos Stefanopoulos
Coaches: Stavros Gelekis, Nicholas Bouzalas
Team Staff: Aaron Kaselouris, Charlie Larosa