With 21 rounds of RAA NPL action in the books, it all comes down to this. There’s still plenty at stake for almost every club when all six matches kick off at 7:30pm on Saturday night: silverware, finals football and relegation drama are all on the agenda. Strap yourselves in for what’s set to be a cracking Round 22 and see all the permutations for each team entering the final round.
Croydon Kings vs Adelaide City
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
Adelaide City
Position: 1st (40 points, +20 GD)
Having been perched atop the league ladder for much of the season, City have never looked in doubt when it comes to playing finals football. However, with just one win in their last five, they’re now in danger of losing out on the minor premiership.
While collecting silverware is always a priority for football clubs (and rightly so), City can take comfort in the fact that, regardless of what happens tomorrow night, they’ll be playing in a two-legged semi-final against Comets first up.
Still, they’ll be very keen to get the premiership under their belts to give them a boost heading into the finals and know that a win (or matching Comets’ result) will be enough given their seven-goal advantage over their nearest rivals.
IF CITY…
- WIN:
- Will finish the season in first place to claim the minor premiership and contest a two-legged semi-final against Comets
- DRAW:
- Will finish first if Comets draw or lose
- Will finish second if Comets win and contest a two-legged semi-final against Comets
- LOSE:
- Will finish first if Comets lose
- Will finish second if Comets draw or win
Croydon FC
Position: 8th (28 points, -1 GD)
After having been locked in the bottom two for over half the season, Croydon sprung to life in the latter stages and have incredibly willed themselves into contention for the finals with five wins out of their last six matches, including the scalps of South and Campbelltown.
What their late run means is that, should they sneak into the top six come the end of tomorrow night, they enter the finals series as one of the form sides in the league and will undoubtedly cause some headaches for opponents.
They’ll have to get there first, though, and that means relying on Olympic and South to stumble at the final hurdle and beating a side entering the contest fighting for first place. It’ll be tough, but Croydon will be backing themselves in this weekend.
IF CROYDON…
- WIN:
- Will finish sixth if Olympic AND South draw or lose and play an away elimination final against the team in third
- Will finish seventh if Olympic OR South win and miss out on finals football
- Will finish eighth if Olympic AND South win
- DRAW:
- Will finish seventh if South lose
- Will finish eighth if South win or draw
- LOSE:
- Will finish eighth if they lose by fewer than three goals AND United win by three goals or fewer (or vice versa)
- Will finish ninth if they lose by three or more goals AND United win by three or more goals
Croydon Kings line-up: 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 3. Filimon Asefa, 4. Lawand Hasan, 5. Luke Klimek (C), 6. Christopher Vivian, 7. Sebastian Goode, 8. Adam Martinello, 9. Nathan Munro, 10. Antoni Trimboli, 11. Luis Benedetti, 12. Tatenda Nyaruwe, 13. Foribert Niyonkuru, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Domenic Costanzo, 16. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 17. Manni Katopodis, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 19. Chikondi NYIRENDA, 20. Jared Clark, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. patrick caraccia
Coaches: Travis Dodd, Latham Byfield, Adam Vizzari
Team Staff: Mario Catalano, Joshua Avery
Adelaide City line-up: Daniel Bressan, 4. Matthew Halliday, 5. Zakariah Waters, 6. Bradley Corbo, 8. Joseph Costa, 9. Luka Chikwuba, 10. Nicholas Bucco, 13. Lachlan Barr, 14. Aladin Irabona, 21. Cristian Aloisi, 23. Jai King-Byrne, 40. Jed Gauci (GK), 45. Markus Orchard, 77. Asad Kasumovic
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Stavros Gelekis, Angelo Paul, Edward Scalzi
Team Staff: Fabian Garuccio, Luis Fernandez Astudillo
Adelaide Comets vs Adelaide Olympic
Venue: SA Athletics Stadium
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
Adelaide Comets
Position: 2nd (40 points, +13 GD)
Comets have effectively come from the clouds to give themselves a fighting chance of claiming back-to-back premierships thanks to a run of 13 points from a possible 15 entering the final round of matches.
They’ve oscillated between second and third for most of the season, but their scintillating form, which has included wins over fellow top six sides City and Sturt, has seen them slash their deficit on top spot from seven points to goal difference and guarantee a top two berth.
The minor premiership is out of their hands thanks to that goal difference buffer likely being too significant to overturn if both sides win, but bettering City’s result will see them rise to the league summit and add to their trophy cabinet.
IF COMETS…
- WIN:
- Will finish first if City lose or draw to claim the minor premiership and contest a two-legged semi-final against City
- Will finish second if City win and contest a two-legged semi-final against Comets
- DRAW:
- Will finish first if City lose
- Will finish second if City draw or win
- LOSE:
- Will finish second
Adelaide Olympic
Position: 6th (29 points, +5 GD)
It’s been an unusual season for Olympic: while they’ve struggled to get wins on the board throughout (Raiders and Blue Eagles are the two sides with fewer wins), only City and Comets have been defeated less often this season, proving that they’re a tough side to break down.
Of course, their record of 11 draws is a league-high by some distance and is part of the reason why they’ve remained in contention for top-half spots across the year while other sides only pick up points sporadically.
While finals are far from assured, their destiny is in their own hands thanks to their healthy goal difference advantage over the two sides that can overtake them, albeit with an away fixture against a Comets outfit vying for the minor premiership.
IF OLYMPIC…
- WIN:
- Will finish fifth if they win by at least three goals AND Campbelltown lose by at least two goals (or vice versa) and play an away elimination final against the team in fourth
- Will finish sixth if Campbelltown win or draw and play an away elimination final against the team in third
- DRAW:
- Will finish sixth if South AND Croydon draw or lose
- Will finish seventh if South OR Croydon win and miss out on finals football
- Will finish eighth if South AND Croydon win
- LOSE:
- Will finish sixth if South lose AND Croydon draw or lose
- Will finish seventh if South win or draw OR Croydon win
- Will finish eighth if South win or draw AND Croydon win
Adelaide Comets line-up: 1. Julian Torresan (GK), 3. Manley Barnett, 4. Nathan Dimou, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 7. John Karatzas, 8. Ryan Yates, 10. Anthony Mavrolambados, 11. Jayden LoBasso, 12. Lukas Ikonomopoulos, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 15. Ryan Cook, 16. Ninko Beric, 18. Thomas Giannakopoulos, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 21. Nikolas Ikonomopoulos, 22. Allan Welsh (C), 23. Scott Nagel, 24. Lachlan Stead, 31. Daniel Vaughan, 77. Chris Christofilos
Coaches: Barney Smith, James Guffogg, Andreas Wiens, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Andrew Furner, Emma Gericke
Adelaide Olympic line-up: Benson Nsegetse, Michael Cittadini, 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 2. Jacob Jones, 3. Paul Wilson, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Kody Maude, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Hirofumi Kochi, 11. Tito Bontor, 12. Damian Ljujic, 13. George Katsigiannis, 14. Fausto Erba, 22. Joshua Kavenagh, 25. Alexander Tsimopoulos, 44. Ioannis Simosis
Coaches: Yianni Stamatelopoulos, Carl Robinson, Lansana Conneh, Pal Prengaj
Team Staff: Konstandinos Dimas, Sumin Kim
MetroStars vs Adelaide Croatia Raiders
Venue: TK Shutter Reserve
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
MetroStars
Position: 3rd (33 points, +11 GD)
After staying hot on the heels of City and Comets for much of 2021, MetroStars’ form has hit a bit of a snag as they enter the finals: after a run of six wins in seven matches from Round 8, they’ve only managed one win in their subsequent seven.
It’s not the sort of form that they’d want to carry into the finals, but their breakthrough win over an in-form Croydon outfit and a 1-1 draw with Olympic cemented their status as a top six side with one match to play.
MetroStars can finish anywhere between third and fifth depending on the results around them, which is the difference between hosting a final and a cut-throat knockout away from home, so this weekend will prove pivotal and potentially define their finals series.
IF METROSTARS…
- WIN:
- Will finish third and host an elimination final against the team in sixth
- DRAW:
- Will finish third if Sturt AND Campbelltown draw or lose
- Will finish fourth if one of Sturt OR Campbelltown win and host an elimination final against the team in fifth
- Will finish fifth if Sturt AND Campbelltown win and play an away elimination final against the team in fourth
- LOSE:
- Will finish third if Sturt lose AND Campbelltown draw or lose
- Will finish fourth if Sturt win or draw OR Campbelltown win
- Will finish fifth if Sturt win or draw AND Campbelltown win
- Will finish fifth if they lose by two or more goals AND Sturt AND Campbelltown win or draw
Adelaide Croatia Raiders
Position: 11th (19 points, -16 GD)
Raiders never really got going in 2021, occupying a position in the bottom six for the majority of the season, but became the unlucky recipient of a place in the drop zone at the wrong time when Croydon and Cumberland leapfrogged them on the ladder.
There are many “maybe” moments for them in the latter half of the season, with the three goals they conceded in injury time against South (4-4) and two late strikes against Cumberland (1-2) costing them five invaluable points.
Still, they’re far from out of contention to survive another NPL season. Their five-goal cushion over Cumberland means that victory would automatically catapult them to safety should their nearest rivals fail to pick up a point against United, but it’s easier said than done against MetroStars.
IF RAIDERS…
- WIN:
- Will finish tenth and secure NPL survival if Cumberland lose
- Will finish 11th and be relegated to State League One if Cumberland win or draw
- DRAW OR LOSE:
- Will finish 11th
MetroStars line-up: 1. Isaac Carmody, 2. Connor O'rielly, 3. Luke Frangakis, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 7. Michael Daloisio, 8. Rocky Callisto, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 15. Francesco Schimizzi, 17. Theo Doufos, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O’donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Gusmao Naidoo, 25. Jayden Spruyt, 45. Jackson O'Donnell (GK), 68. Kalilou Kamara
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Nicholas Bouzalas, Adam Van Dommele, Michael Rende
Team Staff: Joseph Polisena, Patrick Pike, George Laoutaris
Adelaide Croatia Raiders line-up: Kelvin Kamburu, 1. Vincent Barbaro, 2. Jackson Walls, 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Omari Didero, 7. Dylan Pickert, 8. Callum Martin, 9. Massimo Falco, 10. Dion Kirk, 11. David Carosi, 12. Noah Blazeka, 13. Nicholas Munro (C) (GK), 17. Harley Gepp, 18. Julian Vella, 19. Vianne Kurikwimana, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Jaxson Bullen, 26. James Temelkovski, 28. Nathan Hancock
Coaches: Terry Westwood, Steven Hughes, Steven Johnstone, Michael Paleka
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa
South Adelaide vs Sturt Lions
Venue: OSullivans Beach Sports and Community Centre
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
South Adelaide
Position: 7th (29 points, -1 GD)
The other promoted side for 2021, South bounced back up into the top tier at the first time of asking and have fared far better that their last NPL campaign, entering the final round with more than a chance of progressing to the coveted finals series.
The Panthers have flirted with the top six for most of the season, rarely losing too many matches in a row to see them fall down the table, and avoided defeat with draws against Comets and City in their last three matches to enter on a high.
They’ll be confident of taking something from their match against another strong side in Sturt but know that they ultimately will need to better Olympic’s result to have any chance of finishing sixth.
IF SOUTH…
- WIN:
- Will finish sixth if Olympic draw or lose and play an away elimination final against the team in third
- Will finish seventh if Olympic win and miss out on finals football
- DRAW:
- Will finish sixth if Olympic lose AND Croydon draw or lose
- Will finish seventh if Olympic win or draw OR Croydon win
- Will finish eighth if Olympic win or draw AND Croydon win
- LOSE:
- Will finish seventh if Croydon lose
- Will finish eighth if Croydon win or draw
Sturt Lions
Position: 4th (33 points, +3 GD)
Final fixture: South Adelaide (A), O’Sullivan Beach Sports and Community Centre
Sturt have excelled this season as a promoted club, occupying a top six spot for much of the season before finally booking their place in the finals last weekend with a thumping 4-0 victory over Cumberland.
After comfortable defeats to the league’s top two in City (0-2) and Comets (0-4), Sturt bounced back with a crucial 1-0 victory over Campbelltown that propelled them into fourth and put them out of the reach of Olympic, South and Croydon.
The hard work is far from done, though; they’ll be keen to pencil in a home knockout final for next weekend and to do so will need to come away with a result against a South side themselves desperate to claw their way back into the top half.
IF STURT…
- WIN:
- Will finish third if MetroStars draw or lose and host an elimination final against the team in sixth
- Will finish fourth if MetroStars win and host an elimination final against the team in fifth
- DRAW:
- Will finish third if MetroStars lose AND Campbelltown draw or lose
- Will finish fourth if MetroStars win or draw OR Campbelltown win
- Will finish fifth if MetroStars win or draw AND Campbelltown win and play an away elimination final against the team in fourth
- LOSE:
- Will finish fourth if Campbelltown lose
- Will finish fifth if Campbelltown win or draw
South Adelaide line-up: Michael Goode, 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 4. Robert Parker (C), 5. Declan Gray, 6. Liam Wooding, 8. Daniel Hosking, 9. Brett Rayner, 10. Jonathon Rideout, 11. Alexander Rideout, 13. Jai Conroy, 15. Jackson Stephens, 20. Jack Walker, 21. Jack Ellis, 24. Daniel Evans, 25. Callum Nissen, 31. Masaya Sasaki, 39. Awal Dut
Coaches: Andrew Calderbank, Anthony Rideout, Mitchell Daly, Fraser McLean
Team Staff: Wayne Harrington, Jacqueline Wingate, Aniket Dhabade
Sturt Lions line-up: Bradley Davey, Romeo Kemsley, Jacob Atkinson, Michael Marrone, Cale Nagle, Toby Nelson, Daniel Snobl, Michael Gravas, Valentino Esposito, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Cooper Mullins, Ben Woollard, Oliver Sigley, Alexander Sortini, James Klappers (GK), Taine Harding, Jonathan Fusco (C), Samuel Voigt, Samed Altundag, Caden Yates, Jasper Donovan, Brandon Centofanti, Luke Fusco, Daniel Guastella, Akira Kobaishi, Daniel Solari
Coaches: Lino Fusco, Frank Tibaldi, Gregory Videon, Michael Harkness
Team Staff: Ivan Piovesan, Jakson Messent, Andrew Ross
Campbelltown City vs Adelaide Blue Eagles
Venue: Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
Campbelltown City
Position: 5th (32 points, +9 GD)
The reigning champions’ title defence hasn’t quite panned out the way they might’ve hoped, with a failure to consistently string wins together leaving them in mid-table for much of the year rather than challenging for the minor premiership.
That’s not to say that the season has been a failure by any means, though; their place in the finals was confirmed on Tuesday night with their 0-0 draw against Olympic which meant that neither South (barring a ten-goal swing) or Croydon could finish above them.
Fortunately for them, though, their final round fixture is the simplest to navigate on paper of all their finals rivals, as they host the already relegated Blue Eagles. Stranger things have happened, but they’ll be eager to get a win on the board and potentially snatch a home final.
IF CAMPBELLTOWN…
- WIN:
- Will finish third if MetroStars AND Sturt lose and host an elimination final against the team in sixth
- Will finish fourth if MetroStars OR Sturt win and host an elimination final against the team in fifth
- Will finish fifth if MetroStars AND Sturt win and play an away elimination final against the team in fourth
- DRAW:
- Will finish third if Sturt loses AND MetroStars lose by two or more goals
- Will finish fourth if MetroStars win, draw or lose by one goal OR Sturt win or draw
- Will finish fifth if MetroStars AND Sturt win or draw
- LOSE:
- Will finish fifth if Olympic draw or lose
- Will finish sixth if they lose by at least two goals AND Olympic win by at least three goals (or vice versa) and play an away elimination final against the team in third
Adelaide Blue Eagles
Position: 12th (13 points, -15 GD)
Blue Eagles’ season was effectively over before it really began; it took until Round 7 for them to pick up a single point, while they only had three points to their name by the time they won their first match on the 14th attempt.
They established some promising form and have picked up two further wins and a draw following their drought-breaking victory, but it was too little, too late as their demotion to State League One was confirmed after their defeat to South in Round 20.
While Blue Eagles will be playing for pride tomorrow night as they bow out of the RAA NPL, they know that they can also leave a meaningful impact on the makeup of the finals should they take points off Campbelltown on their own turf.
IF BLUE EAGLES…
- WIN, DRAW OR LOSE:
- Will finish 12th and be relegated to State League One
Campbelltown City line-up: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Liam Miller, 5. Julian Oscar Ionni, 6. Adam D'Agostino, 7. Joel Allwright, 8. Alexander Mullen, 9. Marc Marino, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 12. Nicholas Francese, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Adam De Ieso, 18. Trey Williams, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 23. Jake Halliday
Coaches: Iain Fyfe, Leslie Pogliacomi, Corey Artone, Ali Sadick
Team Staff: Agelo Kapnistis, Ryan Hanlon
Adelaide Blue Eagles line-up: Anik Warnakulasuriya, Caleb Evans, 1. Nikolas Harpas, 3. Francesco Pangallo, 4. Christian Sotira, 5. Chol Wel, 6. Kurt Kouakou, 7. Liam Mccabe, 8. Yohei Matsumoto, 9. Agar Mawan, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 11. Frederick Ankumah-Sey, 13. Ryan Wood, 14. Stanisa Velinov, 16. Raffaele De Lucia, 20. Isaac Mullen, 21. Alex Tsavalas, 25. Richard Goss
Coaches: Jonathon Mccormack, Steven Melling
Team Staff: james keating, VOJISLAV GLUSCEVIC, Henry Lambert
Cumberland United vs Adelaide United FC
Venue: A.A Bailey Reserve
Date: 18/09/2021 07:30 PM
Cumberland United
Position: 10th (22 points, -22 GD)
Cumberland shot out of the blocks at the start of the season as a surprise early contender, but a wretched run of form has left them teetering perilously above the relegation zone with one match to play.
They dropped into the bottom two just a few weeks ago but were able to scramble back out of it thanks in large part to a crucial 2-1 win over Raiders and draws with Campbelltown and City.
Encouragingly, Cumberland’s fate is in their own hands: they hold a three-point advantage over their relegation rivals, so any points will be enough to secure survival, while a loss would mean they’d be vulnerable to dropping down into State League One.
IF CUMBERLAND…
- WIN OR DRAW:
- Will finish tenth and secure NPL survival
- LOSE:
- Will finish tenth if Raiders draw or lose
- Will finish 11th and be relegated to State League One if Raiders win
Adelaide United
Position: 9th (25 points, -7 GD)
Final fixture: Cumberland United (A), A. A. Bailey Reserve
One of only two sides with nothing really riding on the final match, the Young Reds will get the opportunity to end their season on a high note and play with the peace of mind that relegation is not a threat to them.
United were one of the better sides in the first half of the season and occupied a spot in the top six for a decent portion of the year but the young side fell away, recording a solitary win (over MetroStars, no less) since the pandemic-enforced break.
With results going their way tomorrow night, United can rise to eighth on the table, while they’ll also be thinking about the impact that they can have on the relegation battle as they face up against relegation battlers Cumberland.
IF UNITED…
- WIN:
- Will finish eighth if they win by three or more goals AND Croydon lose by three or more goals
- Will finish ninth if Croydon win or draw
- DRAW OR LOSE:
- Will finish ninth
- Will finish ninth
Cumberland United line-up: Jack Schoen, 1. Luke Schoen (GK), 3. Joshua Harvey, 5. Sam Carmichael, 6. David Signore, 8. Harry Thannhauser, 9. JUAN GUTIERREZ, 10. Jumar Oakley, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 16. Brayden Micallef, 17. Tom Dittmar, 19. Rocco Visconte, 23. Matthew Charalambous, 25. Charlie Ince, 35. Thomas Visser, 111. Marijan Kolar
Adelaide United FC line-up: George Zacharias, Arbi Mollas, Musa Toure, 14. Binyam Kebede, 15. Kane Vidmar, 24. Fergus Lynch, 37. Jonny Yull, 48. Bernardo Oliveira, 49. Keshav Shrestha, 53. Noah Mcnamara, 54. Joseph Macheda, 55. Ethan Alagich, 57. Adam Leombruno, 58. Giuseppe Bovalina, 59. Panashe Madanha, 66. Nestor Irankunda, 80. Steven Hall
Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Vlado Blazeka, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Justin Graetz, Katrina Smith