Campbelltown City vs Adelaide City
Venue: Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Date: Friday 4 September 7:30PM
The first of the NPL’s Friday double-header sees Campbelltown square up against City in a blockbuster fixture under lights at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre.
Despite a near spotless record over the last five rounds, including a tight 1-0 victory over Cumberland United last weekend, Campbelltown are still only just clinging onto second place by a point and sit within the striking distance of fifth-placed Raiders.
City stand in the middle of that logjam, occupying fourth but holding a valuable game in hand on their nearest rivals, and edged Adelaide United 2-1 in their last match.
Campbelltown represent City’s biggest test since the two sides faced off a month ago, a fixture the hosts won 2-0, and both sides will be desperate to claim all three points in the pursuit of Comets.
Match Officials: Christian Verdicchio (Referee), Daniel Goodwin & Jack Robinson (Assistant Referees)
Campbelltown City: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Blake Carpenter, 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Dion Kirk, 7. Joel Allwright, 8. Alexander Mullen, 9. Marc Marino, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 11. Joshua Barresi, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Tom van der Hoeven, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 23. Jake Halliday
Coaches: philip stubbins, Iain Fyfe, Leslie Pogliacomi
Team Staff: Panfilo Ciccocioppo, David Cavaiuolo, Elio Bria
Adelaide City: Lachlan Barr, Fabian Garuccio, 1. Alexander Woodlands (GK), 4. Jordan Maricic, 5. Zakariah Waters, 6. Adam D'Agostino, 7. Perry Mitris, 8. Bradley Corbo, 9. Terence Christopher Carter, 10. Evan Kostopoulos, 11. Nicholas Bucco, 13. Matthew Jones, 14. Aladin Irabona, 15. Jackson Stephens, 16. Thomas Love, 18. Anthony Ture, 19. James Boffa, 21. Adriano Pellegrino, 22. Austin Ayoubi, 23. Markus Orchard, 26. Yanni Delengas (GK), 34. Noah Benouzekri
Coaches: Michael Matricciani, Brenton Hiern
Team Staff: Liam Oates
Raiders vs Cumberland United
Venue: Croatian Sports Centre
Date: Friday 4 September 8:15PM
Raiders have begun to falter in recent weeks, with just one win in their past five encounters, and face another test in a United side keen to rebound from a loss last week.
The home side were frustratingly held to a 4-4 draw at Olympic, with their opponents salvaging a point thanks to a 93rd minute equaliser, but are still well and truly in the mix for higher honours.
United were hardly disgraced in a 1-0 defeat to a Campbelltown City side in strong form but still missed an opportunity to add to their points tally, sliding to eighth in the process.
The clubs finished locked at 1-1 in their last contest but with both sides struggling to find form this contest will be a key one in their respective seasons.
Match Officials: Andrew Kite (Referee), Nick Elagin & Paula Orlandi (Assistant Referees)
Raiders: Vasilios Tryfopoulos, Craig Shearer, James Odenwalder, Noah Holmes, 3. Jacob Lever, 4. Paul Blefari (C), 5. Adam Van Dommele, 6. Ibrahima Soumah, 7. Mohammed Sumaoro, 9. Alun Webb, 10. Jake Monaco, 11. David Carosi, 13. Nicholas Munro (GK), 14. Oliver Zafiridis, 16. Sallu Kamara, 17. Thomas Brown, 99. Emanuel Philip
Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Terry Westwood
Team Staff: Lisa Feleppa
Cumberland United: Antoni Panagoulias, 1. Luke Schoen (GK), 2. Jack Schoen, 3. Joshua Harvey, 4. Declan Gray, 5. Sam Carmichael, 6. Christopher Skull, 8. Harry Thannhauser, 9. JUAN GUTIERREZ, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 12. David Signore, 15. Ryan Wood, 16. Matthew Charalambous, 37. Ayom Ayom Majok
Croydon Kings vs Adelaide Olympic
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Saturday 5 September 2:30PM
The early kick-off on Saturday sees two sides separated by just two goals face off to determine who will keep their place fighting in the top half.
The Kings rebounded from some indifferent recent form by easily navigating their visit to Modbury, coming away with a 3-1 win and keeping them in touch with the top six.
Olympic were the league’s entertainers last week, rescuing a point in dramatic fashion as they played out an exhilarating 4-4 draw with near rivals Raiders, but they lost ground on Campbelltown, City and MetroStars at the top.
Their contest a month ago saw the Kings run out 4-2 victors, which they will be hoping to recreate tomorrow, but with both sides failing to consistently find themselves on the winners’ board this match looks to be crucial.
Match Officials: Daniel Elder (Referee), Dion Turner & Jackie Megson (Assistant Referees)
Croydon Kings: 1. Sebastian Matosevic, 2. John Panagaris, 3. Filimon Asefa, 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, 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
Adelaide Olympic: 1. Nikolas Harpas (GK), 2. Kosta Styladis, 3. Matthew Halliday, 4. Benkert Abdija, 5. Julian Ionni, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Nicholas Harpas, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis (C), 10. Charlie devereux, 11. Emile Damey, 12. Dimitri Toumazos, 13. Cristian Aloisi, 14. Melad Ahmad, 21. Gianni Tramontin, 24. Panagiotis Manidakis, Ochieng, Mark
Coaches: George Tsonis, Peter Mihalopoulos, Ali Sadick
Team Staff: Caroline Riemelmoser, Sumin Kim
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs Modbury Jets
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: Saturday 5 September 3:00PM
Blue Eagles were brought crashing back down to Earth last week by the league leaders and will be seeking to atone for their loss when they face the fading Jets.
Comets ended Blue Eagles’ eight-match unbeaten run in emphatic fashion with a 4-0 thrashing, a result that saw them slide to ninth and sent their goal difference into the negative.
The visitors are still searching for that elusive first post-break victory after the Kings had their measure in a 3-1 loss, which meant that the Jets are now closer to the bottom of the table than ninth.
The home side have a point to prove and will be keen to push their case as a bona fide finals contender, while the Jets need results to start going their way to keep their heads above water.
Match Officials: Daniel Cook (Referee), Andrew Citti & Thomas Temby (Assistant Referees)
Adelaide Blue Eagles: Bol Mapor, 1. Richard Goss, 3. Paul Espina, 4. Christian Sotira, 5. Christopher Annicchiarico, 6. Brylon Nthoane, 8. Damien Crettenden, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 11. Evan Kounavelis, 12. Liam Mccabe, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 16. Tatenda Nyaruwe, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 19. Stanisa Velinov, 22. Stefan Valentini, 23. Hirofumi Kochi, 25. Paul Reilly
Coaches: Steven Melling
Team Staff: james keating, Josh Smith, Lewis Hutcheson
Modbury Jets: 5. Daniel Pritchard, 6. Nathan Farrell, 8. Zac Miller, 9. Rhys Turner, 10. Jesse Francesca, 11. Dylan Tripodi, 12. Cameron O'Doherty, 13. Daniel Ditroia, 14. Donovan Pollock, 20. Declan Burchell (GK), 26. Shaun Mcgreevy, 27. Michael Doyle, 29. Paul Radice, 31. Luke Luongo
Coaches: Michael Doyle, Raymond Coull
Team Staff: Damien Burchell, Ric Wojciechowski
Adelaide Comets vs Para Hills Knights
Venue: SA Athletics Stadium
Date: Saturday 5 September 3:00PM
Comets have really hit their straps over the past few weeks and will be hoping that form continues as they welcome the competition’s bottom side to SA Athletics Stadium.
A 4-0 win that snapped Blue Eagles’ unbeaten run was another signal of intent from Comets, who have now won six matches on the spin to sit pretty at the top of the ladder.
It has been a very different story for the Knights, whose gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to MetroStars condemned them to a sixth straight defeat and tenth in 13 matches this season.
Things have to change quickly for the Knights if they are to hold any hope of survival and their result last week, despite being a loss, will show them that they are capable of matching it with the top sides on their day.
Match Officials: Gary Mooney (Referee), Angus MacDonald & Denis Palushaj (Assistant Referees)
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, 13. Ari Karapetsas, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 15. Konstandinos Tsalamangos, 16. Ninko Beric, 17. Lansana Smith, 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
Para Hills Knights: rgk. Ryan Hanson, 2. Will Hendon, 3. James Wilson, 4. Kieran Mcnally, 5. Paul Wilson, 6. Mohamed Donzo, 7. Ali Rayez Muradi, 8. Luka Chikwuba, 9. Ramzi Him, 10. Isaac Mullen, 11. Andrew Maio, 13. Jagajeet shrestha Shrestha, 14. Lochlan Czapla, 15. Thilo Wilke, 16. Tito Bontor, 17. victor anyimba, 18. Franz Pjetri, 18. Pietro Piantedosi, 19. Logan Marley-Mcfall, 21. Jordan Findlay, 24. Stephan Travaglione
Coaches: Theodoros Tsiounis, Kosta Dimopoulos, Jamie Ocego-Kingsley, Chris Simpson
Team Staff: Geoff Sullivan, Shailesh Godhani, John Vu
Adelaide United FC vs MetroStars
Venue: Valo Football Centre
Date: Saturday 5 September 3:00PM
MetroStars narrowly escaped from a humiliating defeat last week and will be eager to see their good fortunes continue into their contest with United.
Two injury time goals rescued MetroStars against the Knights and gave them a crucial three-point boost in the race for the finals, keeping them one point behind Campbelltown City with a superior goal difference.
The progress United showed in draws with tomorrow’s opponents and Blue Eagles has eroded with three consecutive losses, albeit against strong clubs in Cambelltown, Cumberland United and Adelaide City, and they still sit in 11th on the table.
MetroStars were unable to grab all three points in their last encounter with United, one of the results that saw them relinquish top spot, but they will be extra motivated tomorrow as part of the chasing pack.
Match Officials: Garry Powers (Referee), Cole Davy & Harold Spanner (Assistant Referees)
Adelaide United FC: Michael Cittadini, 14. Binyam Kebede, 33. Cooper Nunn, 43. Daniel Bressan, 52. Massimo Falco, 54. Noah Mcnamara, 55. Keshav Shrestha, 57. Terence Lynch, 58. Jonny Yull, 62. Jaxson Bullen, 63. Arbi Mollas, 68. Kane Vidmar, 90. Steven Hall
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Joshua Smith
Team Staff: Emily Thorn
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, 12. Benjamin Head, 14. Dylan Smith, 15. Ariath Piol, 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, 45. Jayden Spruyt
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Travis Dodd, Nicholas Bouzalas
Team Staff: Giorgio Capoccia, Joseph Polisena, Peter Terminello, George Laoutaris
Words by Thomas Perrotta
Image: Adam Butler