Adelaide United vs MetroStars
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Saturday 19 June 2:30 PM
Third-placed United and eighth-placed MetroStars kick off Round 9 at 2:30 pm today in a match that may not appear much on paper, but in reality the two sides are separated by just three points.
The Young Reds were held to a 1-1 draw against Adelaide Olympic last weekend but, despite not being able to claim all three points from their contest, are still only one point off first place after eight rounds.
MetroStars have continued to struggle for consistency this season but broke through for their biggest win of the season in a 3-0 victory over Sturt Lions that pushed them further from the bottom two.
United have faltered in the last two weeks with draws after four straight wins, so they’ll be aiming to get back to winning ways, but MetroStars will want to claim back to back wins for the first time this season.
Adelaide United FC line-up: 17. Mohamed Toure, 19. Yaya Dukuly, 37. Jonny Yull, 42. Fergus Lynch, 44. Arbi Mollas, 48. Bernardo Oliveira, 51. Binyam Kebede, 53. Noah Mcnamara, 55. Ethan Alagich, 57. Adam Leombruno, 66. Nestor Irankunda, 80. Steven Hall
Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Vlado Blazeka, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Justin Graetz, Katrina Smith
MetroStars line-up: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 2. Connor O'rielly, 3. Luke Frangakis, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 8. Rocky Callisto, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 14. Dylan Smith, 16. Francesco Schimizzi, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O’donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Theo Doufos, 26. Stefan Cali, 45. Jackson O'Donnell, 68. Kalilou Kamara
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Nicholas Bouzalas, Adam Van Dommele, Michael Rende
Team Staff: Joseph Polisena, Patrick Pike, George Laoutaris
Adelaide Croatia Raiders vs Adelaide Olympic
Venue: Croatian Sports Centre
Date: Saturday 19 June 3:00 PM
The first of a quadruple-header at 3:00 pm this afternoon sees Raiders host Olympic in a contest between sides separated by just one point and two goals at this stage.
Raiders claimed an impressive 3-1 victory after trailing Croydon Kings away from home to register their third win of the season and move to just one point outside the top six.
Olympic held on for a 1-1 draw against high-flying United to extend their unbeaten run to six matches, the equal-longest current streak in the NPL, and push further up the table into ninth position.
A win for either side would go a long way towards moving further up the table and into a coveted top-half spot and that any points picked up early could prove vital come the end of the season amongst the fight for finals football.
Adelaide Croatia Raiders line-up: Lansana Smith, Harley Gepp, Kelvin Kamburu, Massimo Falco, Vincent Barbaro, Julian Vella, 2. Jackson Walls, 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Omari Didero, 7. Dylan Pickert, 8. Jagajeet shrestha Shrestha, 10. Dion Kirk, 11. David Carosi, 12. Jacob Williams, 13. Nicholas Munro (C) (GK), 19. Vianne Kurikwimana, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 23. Mark Ulaj, 26. James Temelkovski, 28. Nathan Hancock
Coaches: Terry Westwood, Steven Hughes, Michael Paleka
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa, Luke Harris
Adelaide Olympic line-up: 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 2. chol wel, 3. Paul Wilson, 4. Benkert Abdija, 5. Michael Cittadini, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Jacob Jones, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Hirofumi Kochi, 11. Tito Bontor, 12. Damian Ljujic, 13. Rastko Ljujic, 14. Fausto Erba, 20. Clifford Maina, 22. Joshua Kavenagh, 24. Panagiotis Manidakis, 44. Ioannis Simosis
Coaches: Yianni Stamatelopoulos, George Konstandopoulos, Lansana Conneh, Pal Prengaj
Team Staff: Konstandinos Dimas, Sumin Kim
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs South Adelaide
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: Saturday 19 June 3:00 PM
Blue Eagles and South face off today having experienced vastly different fortunes so far this season, but with no less desire from either club to claim victory today.
With just one point from their eight matches, Blue Eagles are now nine points and goal difference from safety, with their most recent defeat coming at the hands of Cumberland United 2-1.
South, meanwhile, were unlucky not to claim all three points in their contest against a resurgent Campbelltown City, conceding a late goal from the penalty spot which secured a 2-2 draw that kept the Panthers above their opponents.
The wins need to start coming very soon if Blue Eagles hope to salvage their season, while victory to their opponents today could, in theory, see them move into the top two.
Adelaide Blue Eagles line-up: Hamish Anderson, 1. Nikolas Harpas (GK), 2. Caleb Evans, 3. Aaron Bannister, 4. Christian Sotira, 6. Anik Warnakulasuriya, 7. Liam Mccabe, 8. Stefan Gluscevic, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 12. Kody Maude, 14. Stanisa Velinov, 16. Beau Ieraci, 16. Raffaele De Lucia, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 19. Jake Tatarelli, 20. Isaac Mullen, 21. Alex Tsavalas, 25. Elias Mimidas
Coaches: VOJISLAV GLUSCEVIC, John Herlihy
Team Staff: James Keating, Josh Smith, Henry Lambert
South Adelaide line-up: Masaya Sasaki, 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 4. Robert Parker (C), 5. Declan Gray, 6. Liam Wooding, 9. Brett Rayner, 10. Jonathon Rideout, 11. Alexander Rideout, 13. Jai Conroy, 14. Jack Rudge, 15. Jackson Stephens, 18. Blake Lindsay, 20. Jack Walker, 21. Jack Ellis, 24. Daniel Evans, 25. Callum Nissen, 39. Awal Dut
Coaches: Andrew Calderbank, Anthony Rideout, Mitchell Daly, Fraser McLean
Team Staff: Wayne Harrington, Aniket Dhabade
Campbelltown City vs Croydon Kings
Venue: Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Date: Saturday 19 June 3:00 PM
This afternoon’s match at Steve Woodcock Sports Centre pits arguably the league’s most in-form side against one of its bigger strugglers as Campbelltown host the Kings.
A 2-2 draw against South halted Campbelltown’s three-match winning run, but 11 points and 14 goals in their last five is an impressive return from a side who started the season with just one point in the opening three rounds.
After a start that yielded one win and three draws in five matches, three consecutive defeats have dented the Kings’ finals aspirations and now leave them four points behind tenth-placed Sturt in the relegation zone.
With Campbelltown finding their shooting boots and stringing together results, there are few sights more intimidating for opposition clubs, particularly those who need wins like the Kings, so they face a very tough assignment today.
Campbelltown City line-up: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Liam Miller, 5. Julian Oscar Ionni, 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
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, 11. Luis Benedetti, 12. Tatenda Nyaruwe, 13. Foribert Niyonkuru, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Domenic Costanzo, 16. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 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
Sturt Lions vs Adelaide Comets
Venue: West Beach Parks Football Centre
Date: Saturday 19 June 3:00 PM
Sturt’s early season form has wavered in their last few weeks, and they face another difficult test as Comets pay a visit to West Beach Parks Football Centre after reclaiming top spot.
A 3-0 defeat to MetroStars last weekend consigned the hosts to their third defeat in a row, and fourth in their last five fixtures, and leaves them just one position above the bottom two after mixing it with the top sides a matter of weeks ago.
Comets have hardly been at their sparkling best in 2021, with three matches without victory prior to last week, but their impressive 2-0 win over City catapulted them back first place.
The reality is that Sturt are only two points behind sixth-placed Campbelltown, but they’ll need to arrest their disappointing form and overcome a Comets side also gunning to maintain their position atop the table.
Sturt Lions line-up: Anthony Taylor, Luke Fusco, Michael Gravas, Jonathan Fusco (C), Gonzalo Rodriguez, Tom van der Hoeven, Toby Nelson, Daniel Snobl, Cooper Mullins, Jacob Atkinson, Jasper Donovan, Alexander Sortini, Daniel Solari, Caden Yates, Daniel Guastella, Taine Harding, Valentino Esposito, Cale Nagle, Bradley Davey, Akira Kobaishi, Brandon Centofanti, Samuel Voigt, Oliver Sigley, Samed Altundag, James Klappers (GK), Ben Woollard
Coaches: Lino Fusco, Frank Tibaldi, Gregory Videon, Michael Harkness
Team Staff: Ivan Piovesan, Jakson Messent, Andrew Ross
Adelaide Comets line-up: 3. Manley Barnett, 4. Nathan Dimou, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Jack Bladen, 7. John Karatzas, 8. Ryan Yates, 9. Andreas Wiens, 10. Anthony Mavrolambados, 11. Jayden LoBasso, 12. Lukas Ikonomopoulos, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 16. Ninko Beric, 18. Thomas Giannakopoulos, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 21. Nikolas Ikonomopoulos, 22. Allan Welsh, 23. Scott Nagel, 31. Daniel Vaughan (GK), 77. Chris Christofilos
Coaches: Konstandinos Antoniou, James Guffogg, Dimitri Panagis, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Emma Gericke, Elsie Kenny
Adelaide City vs Cumberland United
Venue: Adelaide City Park
Date: Saturday 19 June 5:00 PM
The late kick-off is arguably the match of the round between two of the league’s best teams so far, as City welcome Cumberland to Adelaide City Park under lights tonight.
A 2-0 defeat to Comets ensured that City’s time at the top of the league was brief as they tumbled to fourth but, crucially, they remain just one point off the league leaders and remain a genuine threat.
Last weekend’s nervy 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Blue Eagles was enough for Cumberland to stay level on points with Comets and move into second place on the table, now boasting the most league wins of any side with five.
Tonight’s match presents an opportunity for both sides to claim a big scalp in the race for the top two, with both Cumberland and City hoping to return to the first position that they’ve held at various points this year.
Adelaide City line-up: 1. Alexander Woodlands (GK), 4. Matthew Halliday, 5. Thomas Brown, 6. Bradley Corbo, 9. Luka Chikwuba, 10. Nicholas Bucco, 11. Charlie devereux, 13. Lachlan Barr, 14. Aladin Irabona, 20. Kur Kur, 33. Darcy Dawber, 45. Markus Orchard, 77. Asad Kasumovic
Coaches: Paul Pezos, Stavros Gelekis, Angelo Paul, Edward Scalzi
Team Staff: Fabian Garuccio
Cumberland United line-up: Antoni Panagoulias, 1. Luke Schoen (GK), 2. Jack Schoen, 3. Joshua Harvey, 5. Sam Carmichael, 6. David Signore, 8. Harry Thannhauser, 9. JUAN GUTIERREZ, 10. Jumar Oakley, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 15. Ryan Wood, 17. Tom Dittmar, 19. Rocco Visconte, 20. Stavros Bakopanos, 23. Matthew Charalambous, 25. Charlie Ince
Coaches: Neil Young, Mathew Balopitos, Matthew Prodanovski, Marijan Kolar
Team Staff: Jody Loomes, Sean Bushby, Steven O'Donnell