Raiders vs Adelaide Comets
Venue: Croatian Sports Centre
Date: Friday 7 August 8:15PM
Friday night’s match between second and third could have massive ramifications at the top of the table depending on any kind of result.
Raiders, off the back of a 1-1 draw with Cumberland United, currently sit in third on 15 points having remained unbeaten since the resumption of the season, just one point adrift of the top of the table.
Comets sit between the home side and MetroStars in second, with their 3-1 win at Para Hills allowing them to leapfrog both Raiders and Olympic and continue their turnaround in form after a string of disappointing results.
A win could mean claiming top spot with the ladder as close as it is currently, while a slip up could see the lengthy chasing pack gain crucial ground in the race for a finals berth.
Raiders: Thomas Brown, Paul Blefari (C), Craig Shearer, Jake Monaco, Nicholas Munro (GK), Adam Van Dommele, Sallu Kamara, David Carosi, Ibrahima Soumah, Mohammed Sumaoro, Vianne Kurikwimana, Noah Holmes, Emanuel Philip, Oliver Zafiridis, Alun Webb, Nicholas Basile, Vasilios Tryfopoulos, Lucas Cuschieri, James Odenwalder, Jacob Lever, Joseph Costa
Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Terry Westwood, Larry Piscioneri
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa
Adelaide Comets: 1. Julian Torresan (GK), 3. Manley Barnett, 4. Tom Dittmar, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Jack Bladen, 7. Tete Yengi, 8. Ryan Yates, 9. Andreas Wiens, 10. Anthony Mavrolambados, 11. Jayden LoBasso, 12. Lansana Smith, 13. Stelios Zacharakis, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 15. Konstandinos Tsalamangos, 16. Ninko Beric, 18. Nathan Dimou, 21. Thomas Giannakopoulos, 22. Allan Welsh (C), 31. Daniel Vaughan, 77. Chris Christofilos
Coaches: Barney Smith, Konstandinos Antoniou, Antonios Galanopoulos, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Emma Gericke, Elsie Kenny
Croydon Kings vs MetroStars
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Saturday 8 August 2:30PM
Late drama in the Kings’ last match saw them snatch an important victory and prevent a further slide down the table and they will be hoping for a similar effort this week against the ladder leaders.
The consistently inconsistent hosts have racked up three wins, three draws and three losses this season but remarkably, despite sitting in eighth, are only four points behind first after nine rounds.
MetroStars were unable to break down the league’s bottom side last weekend in a 2-2 draw, marking their third in four matches, but still cling onto top by the skin of their teeth.
The Kings will be looking to capitalise on their opponents’ slightly vulnerable recent form and push clear of the drop zone, while MetroStars are desperate to hold off the cluster of sides gunning for their place on the ladder.
Croydon Kings: 1. Sebastian Matosevic, 2. John Panagaris, 5. Luke Klimek (C), 6. Domenic Costanzo, 8. Adam Martinello, 9. Nathan Munro, 10. Rocco Visconte, 11. Antoni Trimboli, 12. Christopher Vivian, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Joseph Macheda, 16. Paul Pavlou, 17. Kelvin Kamburu, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 19. Raymond Muhoma, 20. Jared Clark, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. patrick caraccia
Coaches: Angelo Costanzo, Maurice Natale, Latham Byfield
Team Staff: Mario Catalano, Joshua Avery
MetroStars: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 3. Cohan Morris, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 7. Michael Daloisio (C), 8. Rocky Callisto, 9. Thomas Strain, 10. Anthony Solagna, 11. Luis Benedetti, 14. Dylan Smith, 16. Kyle Crout, 17. Matthew Dawber, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O'Donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 21`. Alessio Melisi, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Nahuel Bonada, 26. Stefan Cali, 45. Jayden Spruyt
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Travis Dodd, Nicholas Bouzalas
Team Staff: Giorgio Capoccia, Joseph Polisena, Peter Terminello, George Laoutaris
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs Adelaide United FC
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: Saturday 8 August 3:00PM
Blue Eagles are one of the teams to beat at the moment after a run of three straight wins and face up against a United side struggling to find wins at the wrong end of the table.
Having only collected one point in the four rounds before the season suspension, the home side haven’t looked back and remain undefeated in their last five.
United moved off the bottom after their 2-2 draw with MetroStars and still hold a game in hand over their immediate rivals but will be disappointed to have conceded late to deny them a rare victory.
Form lines suggest Blue Eagles will go into the match confident of claiming a fourth win on the trot, and amazingly throw their names into the ring for finals contention, but United know that a win will keep them within touching distance of those around them.
Adelaide Blue Eagles: 1. Richard Goss (GK), 3. Paul Espina, 4. Christian Sotira, 5. Christopher Annicchiarico, 6. Brylon Nthoane, 7. Shekubah Hutton-Addy, 8. Damien Crettenden, 9. Dante Isla Cacciavillani, 10. Hamish McCabe, 11. Evan Kounavelis, 12. Liam McCabe, 13. Alemayo Kebede, 14. Stefan Gluscevic, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 23. Hirofumi Kochi, 25. Paul Reilly
Coaches: Vojislav Gluscevic, Steven Melling
Team Staff: James Keating, Josh Smith, Lewis Hutcheson, Nunzio Giurastante
Adelaide United FC: Daniel Bressan, 33. Cooper Nunn, 44. Alexandar Popovic, 45. Michael Cittadini, 52. Calum Campbell, 54. Noah Mcnamara, 55. Keshav Shrestha, 56. Ethan Alagich, 57. Terence Lynch, 58. Jonny Yull, 63. Arbi Mollas, 68. Kane Vidmar, 69. Musa Toure, 70. Ethan Cox (GK)
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Stavros Gelekis
Team Staff: Emily Thorn
Modbury Jets vs Adelaide City
Venue: Smith Partners Stadium
Date: Saturday 8 August 3:00PM
Saturday’s fixture at Smith Partners Stadium sees two sides looking to kick-start their season face off against one another in a crucial six-pointer.
The home side have hit a massive form slump since the season restart, losing all five matches in that time and sliding from the top of the table to tenth.
City have not fared as poorly but still came up empty handed in their last two encounters, most recently a 2-0 defeat to Campbelltown, and sit one place and one point ahead of the Jets.
A win for either side will keep them firmly in contention for higher honours, while a loss could pull them further towards the bottom.
Modbury Jets: 1. Kieran Griffiths (GK), 3. Thomas Veart, 5. Daniel Pritchard, 6. Nathan Farrell (C), 8. Zac Miller, 9. Harrison Conant, 10. Jesse Francesca, 13. Daniel Ditroia, 14. Donovan Pollock, 16. Peter Terminello, 20. Declan Burchell, 26. Shaun Mcgreevy, 29. Paul Radice
Coaches: Nigel Gill, Raymond Coull, Michael Doyle
Team Staff: Damien Burchell, Ric Wojciechowski
Adelaide City: Anthony Ture, 1. Alexander Woodlands, 4. Jordan Maricic, 5. Zakariah Waters, 7. Perry Mitris, 8. Bradley Corbo, 9. Terence Christopher Carter, 11. Nicholas Bucco, 14. Aladin Irabona, 15. Jackson Stephens, 16. Thomas Love, 19. James Boffa, 21. Adriano Pellegrino, 22. Austin Ayoubi
Coaches: Michael Matricciani, Angelo Paul
Team Staff: Liam Oates
Campbelltown City vs Para Hills Knights
Venue: Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Date: Saturday 8 August 3:00PM
Fourth-placed City host the Knights, who prop up the table after nine rounds, and bring will bring in confidence from the recent impressive run of form that has seen them scale the table.
The hosts handled Adelaide City last time out to register their third win in four matches and have gone some way to banish the demons that plagued their early season.
The Knights, meanwhile, have claimed just four points in their last eight games and boast the league’s leanest goal tally of nine, with their relatively sound defensive record counting for nought as a result.
The away side will have to play out of their skins if they hope to turn around their dismal form and topple one of the competition’s top sides.
Campbelltown City: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Tom van der Hoeven, 4. Connor Centofanti, 5. Matthew Mullen, 7. Joel Allwright, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 11. Joshua Barresi, 12. Nicholas Francese, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Blake Carpenter, 19. Lachlan Barr, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 23. Jake Halliday
Coaches: Philip Stubbins, Iain Fyfe, Leslie Pogliacomi
Team Staff: Panfilo Ciccocioppo, David Cavaiuolo, Elio Bria
Para Hills Knights: Victor Anyimba, Ryan Hanson, Paul Wilson, 2. Will Hendon, 3. James Wilson, 4. Kieran McNally, 5. Tyson Herraman, 7. Ali Rayez Muradi, 8. Luka Chikwuba, 9. Jagajeet Shrestha, 10. Isaac Mullen, 11. Andrew Maio, 14. Lochlan Czapla, 16. Tito Bontor, 18. Franz Pjetri, 19. Logan Marley-McFall, 21. Jordan Findlay
Coaches: Theodoros Tsiounis, Jamie Ocego-Kingsley, Chris Simpson
Team Staff: Geoff Sullivan, Shailesh Godhani, John Vu
Adelaide Olympic vs Cumberland United
Venue: Valo Football Centre
Date: Saturday 8 August 6:00PM
Olympic and United round out the weekend of fixtures with their match under lights at Valo Football Centre serving as another exciting top-half clash.
The home side have been wobbly since the season restart, with their solitary victory in their last four coming against the league’s most out of form team in the Jets, which has seen them slide to fifth and within a win of the bottom half.
United have impressed in the same period, registering three wins and a draw against Raiders to now sit level on points with tomorrow’s opponents.
With the table as it is, the result for Olympic or United could be the difference between a significant boost upwards or a dramatic drop in the opposite direction.
Adelaide Olympic: 1. Nikolas Harpas (GK), 2. Jacob Butler-Bowdon, 3. Paul Koutsampasis, 4. Benkert Abdija, 5. Julian Ionni, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Nicholas Harpas, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis (C), 10. Charlie Devereux, 11. Ioannis Simosis, 12. Dimitri Toumazos, 14. Fausto Erba, 15. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 21. Gianni Tramontin, 24. Panagiotis Manidakis
Coaches: George Tsonis, Peter Mihalopoulos, Ali Sadick
Team Staff: Caroline Riemelmoser, Sumin Kim
Cumberland United: Antoni Panagoulias, Hamish Lewis, 1. Luke Schoen (GK), 2. Jack Schoen (C), 3. Joshua Harvey, 4. Declan Gray, 6. Christopher Skull, 8. Harry Thannhauser, 9. Juan Gutierrez, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 12. David Signore, 15. Ryan Wood, 16. Matthew Charalambous, 17. Callum Elms, 32. Aristomenios Haralampopoulos, 37. Ayom Ayom Majok
Coaches: Neil Young
Team Staff: Jody Loomes, Ruth Neeves
Words by Thomas Perrotta