A massive weekend ahead in the penultimate round of the season. Strap yourselves in!
Adelaide Croatia Raiders vs Campbelltown City
Venue: Croatian Sports Centre
Date: Friday 10 September, 7:00 PM
Round 21 starts tonight with a Raiders side in danger of being relegated to the second tier taking on a Campbelltown outfit not guaranteed of their spot in the top six.
Raiders fell to yet another defeat on the weekend, this by two goals to nil against Olympic, to leave them stranded in the bottom two with a three-point deficit on Cumberland (the only side they can conceivably catch with their negative goal difference.
Campbelltown were also beaten for the second successive match in mid-week, losing 1-0 to Sturt at home in a result that saw them slide to fifth and effectively ended any hopes of finishing in the top two this season.
The hosts must win and hope for Cumberland to lose to move out of the drop zone, while the visitors are still well-placed to earn a home final with their game in hand so they’ll need to make it count.
Adelaide Croatia Raiders line-up: 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 (GK), 17. Harley Gepp, 18. Julian Vella, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Jaxson Bullen, 22. Kelvin Kamburu, 28. Nathan Hancock
Coaches: Terry Westwood, Steven Hughes, Steven Johnstone, Michael Paleka
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Phoebe Hunt, Lisa Feleppa, Luke Harris
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 United vs Adelaide Comets
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Saturday 11 September, 2:30 PM
Comets and United kick off Saturday afternoon football (slightly) early tomorrow with the two sides looking to advance their positions on the ladder in the closing stages of the season.
Nestor Irankunda was a busy man for United, scoring a delightful chip over the keeper and playing a major role in the other two goals as the Young Reds all but secured their status in the NPL for 2022 with a 3-2 win over MetroStars.
A smart Jayden LoBasso finish with the outside of his boot and a piledriver from outside the box by Ryan Yates were amongst the highlights on a busy day at the office for Comets, as they netted four unanswered goals to move within two points of the league summit.
It’s not impossible for United to finish in the top six, so they’ll want to do all they can to give themselves the best chance to do so, while a win to Comets will lock in the top two and allow them to shift their focus solely on top spot.
Adelaide United FC line-up: Giuseppe Bovalina, 2. Arbi Mollas, 4. Noah Mcnamara, 5. Adam Leombruno, 8. Jonny Yull, 9. Panashe Madanha, 10. Bernardo Oliveira, 11. Nestor Irankunda, 12. Ethan Alagich, 14. Binyam Kebede, 21. Fergus Lynch, 25. Keshav Shrestha, 27. Joseph Macheda, 35. Alhassan Toure, 46. Joe Gauci, 80. Steven Hall
Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Vlado Blazeka, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Justin Graetz, Katrina Smith
Adelaide Comets line-up: 1. Julian Torresan, 4. Nathan Dimou, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Habtamu Horne, 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 City vs South Adelaide
Venue: Adelaide City Park
Date: Saturday 11 September, 3:00 PM
This match firms as a fascinating one between two sides who have struggled for consistency of late, yet both appear to be firmly in contention for finals football.
City will have been disappointed to give up ground to Comets at the top of the table as they were pegged back late by a Cumberland equaliser in their 2-2 draw, although Asad Kasumovic produced a textbook clinical finish by sending the keeper the wrong way from close range.
The Panthers gave their finals hopes a massive boost in their 3-2 win over Blue Eagles, recovering from two goals down early on thanks in large part to a pair of Masaya Sasaki penalties and an unbelievable goal direct from the corner by Alex Rideout.
Should City win and Comets lose or draw, the Black and Whites will seal the minor premiership for 2021, but South’s situation is more delicately balanced and must win to continue to hold off Olympic and the other sides below.
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
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
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs Croydon FC
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: Saturday 11 September, 3:00 PM
Blue Eagles became the first casualty of the 2021 season as they were consigned to the bottom two thanks to their result, but they still have pride to play for as they take on Croydon.
The home side’s fate was sealed on the weekend, as they surrendered a two-goal lead to eventually slump to a 3-2 defeat to South, although Frederick Ankumah-Sey gave the support something to cheer about as he danced through the opposition defence and slotted home.
Croydon’s four-match winning run was brought to an end in mid-week by MetroStars, who dealt their finals hopes a significant blow by keeping them three points and goal difference behind sixth.
Although Blue Eagles have little chance of moving themselves, they can still have a meaningful impact on the table by winning tomorrow, and Croydon know that anything less than a win will likely see their finals charge fizzle out.
Adelaide Blue Eagles line-up: Caleb Evans, 1. Richard Goss, 4. Christian Sotira, 5. Chol Wel, 6. Kurt Kouakou, 7. Liam Mccabe, 9. Agar Mawan, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 11. Frederick Ankumah-Sey, 13. Ryan Wood, 14. Stanisa Velinov, 16. Raffaele De Lucia, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 20. Isaac Mullen, 22. Matthew Mccormack, 24. Lucas D'Argenio, 25. Nikolas Harpas
Coaches: Jonathon Mccormack, Steven Melling
Team Staff: james keating, VOJISLAV GLUSCEVIC, Henry Lambert
Croydon Kings line-up: 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 3. Filimon Asefa, 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, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 19. Chikondi NYIRENDA, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. patrick caraccia
Coaches: Travis Dodd, Latham Byfield, Adam Vizzari
Team Staff: Mario Catalano, Joshua Avery
Sturt Lions vs Cumberland United
Venue: West Beach Parks Football Centre
Date: Saturday 11 September, 3:00 PM
Another crunch match between a side battling to keep their place in the top six and one battling to keep their place in the division, Sturt take on Cumberland tomorrow afternoon.
The hosts picked up a crucial 1-0 away win over top six rivals Campbelltown, with Gonzalo Rodriguez’s first-half strike allowing them to leapfrog their opponents into fourth on the table and boost their hopes of playing finals.
Cumberland took another small step closer to survival as they came from a goal down to snatch a point at the home of the ladder leaders, with Thomas Briscoe’s sumptuous first-time strike from the edge of the area pushing them three points above the bottom two.
A win to Sturt would go a long way towards entrenching them in the top half, while Cumberland need only to better Raiders’ result to secure their survival and end the relegation battle with a week to play.
Sturt Lions line-up: Jonathan Fusco (C), Michael Gravas, Toby Nelson, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Brandon Centofanti, Jacob Atkinson, Romeo Kemsley, Samed Altundag, Daniel Solari, Michael Marrone, Daniel Guastella, Valentino Esposito, Caden Yates, Bradley Davey, Taine Harding, Cale Nagle, Samuel Voigt, Akira Kobaishi, Cooper Mullins, James Klappers (GK), Jasper Donovan, Alexander Sortini, Luke Fusco, Ben Woollard
Coaches: Lino Fusco, Frank Tibaldi, Gregory Videon
Team Staff: Ivan Piovesan, Jakson Messent, Andrew Ross
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, 14. Cohan Morris, 16. Brayden Micallef, 17. Tom Dittmar, 19. Rocco Visconte, 23. Matthew Charalambous, 25. Charlie Ince, 30. Wesley Weetra, 111. Marijan Kolar
Coaches: Neil Young, Mathew Balopitos, Matthew Prodanovski
Team Staff: Jody Loomes, Sean Bushby, Steven O'Donnell
Adelaide Olympic vs MetroStars
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: Saturday 11 September, 6:00 PM
Tomorrow night pits Olympic, who are battling hard to earn their place in the finals, take on a MetroStars side back on the winners list after a lean stretch.
Olympic did the damage early in their match against Raiders, with two goals in the opening 12 minutes from skipper Fausto Erba and Damian Ljujic sealing a 2-0 victory to keep them thoroughly in contention for finals football.
MetroStars managed to overcome a red-hot Croydon outfit and breakthrough for their first win in four games, with a first-half Hamish Gow double and Joshua Mori’s goal sealing a 3-1 win to keep them in third place on the table.
The home team know that a win tomorrow night will put them in a strong position to finish in the top six, and the visitors can lock up third place with a win and other results going their way.
Adelaide Olympic line-up: Benson Nsegetse, 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 2. Jacob Jones, 3. Paul Wilson, 4. George Katsigiannis, 5. Michael Cittadini, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Kody Maude, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 10. Hirofumi Kochi, 11. Tito Bontor, 12. Damian Ljujic, 14. Fausto Erba, 22. Joshua Kavenagh, 24. Panagiotis Manidakis, 25. Alexander Tsimopoulos, 44. Ioannis Simosis
Coaches: Yianni Stamatelopoulos, Carl Robinson, Lansana Conneh, Pal Prengaj
Team Staff: Konstandinos Dimas, Sumin Kim
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, 9. Jackson Fortunatow, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 15. Francesco Schimizzi, 17. Matthew Dawber, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O’donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Theo Doufos, 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