Adelaide City vs Campbelltown City
Semi-Final | First Leg
2:30 pm | Sunday 21 August | Adelaide City Park
Last Meeting: (27/5/22) Round 12 | Campbelltown City 0 v Adelaide City 2
It has been a season to remember for the 2022 RAA NPLSA Premiers Adelaide City, with the team ending the season with 15 wins, six draws and only one loss in 22 matches. Adelaide City secured the 2022 RAA NPLSA Premiership after a dominant performance in Round 22 as they demolished Adelaide Olympic, which saw a first-half Ayom Ayom Majok hattrick, a second-half Nicholas Bucco brace and a thunderous Daniel Bressan strike in a 6-0 victory. Although heading into their encounter against Campbelltown City in tremendous form, there will be a few tired legs in the Adelaide City dressing room after they were put through a gruelling 120-minute Australia Cup match with local rivals Adelaide United FC, which eventuated with the team losing on penalties.
Adelaide City has been dominant this season when faced against Campbelltown City, with the Premiers winning both encounters, including a 3-1 opening day victory and a 2-0 win in Round 12. Aladin Irabona was vital in both victories, with the attacker scoring from the penalty spot in both matchups.
Campbelltown City heads into the Final Series with the best form in the competition, which has seen the team experience an unbelievable run of nine consecutive victories, meaning the team has not dropped a point since the start of June. This tremendous run has seen the team win all the last nine by one goal, including a comfortable 2-1 victory over Cumberland United with an own goal and a tidy Marc Marino finish earning the team its second-place finish. Campbelltown City will be hoping to see star striker Marc Marino performing at his very best during this Finals Series run, with the striker historically being unplayable in most of the team's Championship-winning Final Series campaigns. Having not beaten Adelaide City since their 4-0 win in the 2020 Final Series, Campbelltown City will hope to quickly erase this run as they look to hold an advantage heading into their home Semi-Final clash next week.
Adelaide City line-up: 4. Matthew Halliday, 5. Zakariah Waters, 6. Bradley Corbo, 7. Daniel Bressan, 10. Nicholas Bucco, 14. Aladin Irabona, 15. Darcy Dawber, 17. Thomas Brown, 20. Charlie Devereux, 22. JUAN GUTIERREZ, 23. Jai King-Byrne, 25. Mohammad Mekawir, 33. Dakota Ochsenham (GK), 44. Henry Filsell, 92. Josch Muscio, 99. Ayom Ayom Majok
Coaches: Paul Pezos, George Tsonis, Lewis Vallelonga
Team Staff: Fabian Garuccio, Nik Hagicostas, Luis Fernandez Astudillo
Campbelltown City line-up: 1. Alexander Woodlands (GK), 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Mario Orrico, 4. Connor Centofanti, 5. James Boffa, 6. Adam D'Agostino, 7. Joel Allwright, 8. Alexander Mullen, 9. Marc Marino, 12. Nicholas Francese, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Nicholas Graves, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 19. Joshua Barresi, 21. Jordan Maricic, 23. Jake Halliday, 35. Luca Meggetto
Coaches: Michael Matricciani, Adrian DAloia, brenton hiern, Edward Scalzi
Team Staff: Agelo Kapnistis, Liam Oates, Corey Artone
Adelaide Comets vs Croydon FC
Elimination Final
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | ServiceFM Stadium
Last Meeting: (13/8/22) Round 22, Croydon FC 1 v Adelaide Comets 0
After securing the Premiership in their last two season, Adelaide Comets will be devasted with how their season ended although still securing third place. Fighting for the Premiership throughout the entirety of 2022, two losses in their final three games including a 3-2 loss to Campbelltown City and a 1-0 loss to Croydon FC saw Adelaide Comets fall out of the top two, with the team recording their lowest finish since 2018. In a season that has seen the team contribute to tremendous attacking and defensive performances, Adelaide Comets will be eager to take their season past the first round of the Finals Series as they search for Championship glory.
In the season two meetings between Adelaide Comets and Croydon FC, both teams tarded wins each, including an Adelaide Comets 2-0 win in Round 11, while Croydon FC holds the most recent win, with the team securing a 1-0 victory only last week against Adelaide Comets.
Following a difficult 2021 season, Croydon FC capped off an impressive 2022 season as they secured their return to the Finals Series. Entering Round 22 in seventh, Croydon FC’s faced a difficult challenge to guarantee a top six finish in 2022. However, a 48th-minute Sebastian Goode goal, saw Croydon FC secure a 1-0 win over third-place Adelaide Comets, while a loss to FK Beograd saw the team finish the season in sixth. Having contributed to tremendous Final Series runs of their own in the past, Croydon FC will hope to experience a memorable Final Series campaign as the lowest ranked team.
Adelaide Comets line-up: 4. Logan Marley-McFall, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Boris Glushkov, 7. Augustus Williams, 8. Ryan Yates, 9. Ryan Cook, 10. Anthony Mavrolambados, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 12. Lukas Ikonomopoulos, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 16. Stelios Zacharakis, 18. Thomas Giannakopoulos, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 21. Nikolas Ikonomopoulos, 22. Allan Welsh (C), 23. Scott Nagel, 24. Lachlan Stead, 31. Daniel Vaughan, 50. Harry Findlay, 66. Jayden LoBasso
Coaches: Barney Smith, John Falidis, Peter Eleftherakis
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Andrew Furner, Emma Gericke, Andreas Wiens, Ilias Tsakiris
Croydon FC line-up: 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 4. Lawand Hasan, 5. Luke Klimek (C), 7. Sebastian Goode, 8. Adam Martinello, 9. Dion Kirk, 10. Antoni Trimboli, 11. Luis Benedetti, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Froribert Niyonkuru, 16. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 17. Giuseppe Macheda, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 19. Benson Nsegetse, 20. Jared Clark, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. Patrick Caraccia
Coaches: Travis Dodd, Latham Byfield, Adam Vizzari
Team Staff: Giuseppe Catalano, Joshua Avery
MetroStars vs Adelaide United FC
Elimination Final
7:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | TK Shutter Reserve
Last Meeting: (23/7/22) Round 19, MetroStars 2 v Adelaide United FC 3
Finishing the season on a three-game winning streak, MetroStars will head into the Finals Series in great spirits as they look to secure their first RAA NPLSA Championship since 2012. Throughout the season, MetroStars fought vigorously to stay within the premiership race, however, a difficult period that saw them win one in five saw their hopes diminished. The team will be feeling positive after their 2-1 win over South Adelaide in Round 22, as leading goal scorer Ariath Piol secured his eighth of the season, while Hamish Gow scored one of his trademark freekicks. Being the only team to beat Adelaide City this season, MetroStars will look to produce a few more shocks in their race for Championship glory.
Goals are guaranteed when both teams have met throughout this season, with ten goals being scored between two games. Honours are even between MetroStars and Adelaide United FC this season, with both teams winning 3-2 in their respective away fixtures.
After their 7-0 loss in Round 21, Adelaide United FC showed great character to bounce back with a 4-1 win over WT Birkalla to secure their first appearance in the Finals Series since 2018. After a difficult start to the season, which saw the team stay amongst the bottom three for the opening nine matches of the season, Adelaide United FC was the team to fear throughout the second half of the season. A tremendous attacking outfit, Adelaide United FC will hope to see leading scorer Luka Jovanovic and prolific attacker Asad Kasumovic continue their incredible goal-scoring form into this weekend’s match.
MetroStars line-up: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 2. Connor O'rielly, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 6. Paul Blefari, 7. Hamish Gow, 8. Rocky Callisto, 9. Thomas Strain, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 14. Philip Cash, 15. Nicholas Pedicini, 16. Francesco Schimizzi, 17. Cameron Dix, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O'donnell, 20. Luke Ostbye, 21. Cameron Woodfin, 22. Jackson Walls, 23. Christian Esposito, 26. Ren Nagamatsu, 27. Jackson Fortunatow
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Nicholas Bouzalas, Adam Van Dommele, Michael Rende
Team Staff: Giorgio Capoccia, Joseph Polisena, Breanna Schultz, George Laoutaris
Adelaide United FC line-up: 37. Jonny Yull, 42. Fergus Lynch, 44. Arbi Mollas, 50. Ashton Rinaldo, 51. Panashe Madanha, 52. Giuseppe Bovalina, 53. Kane Vidmar, 54. Panagiotis Kikianis, 55. Ethan Alagich, 62. Fabian Talladira, 63. Patrick Mcgregor, 68. Jeanpaul Mbembe, 69. Musa Toure, 73. Harry Crawford, 77. Asad Kasumovic
Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Jonathan Norodom, Katrina Smith
State League One
West Adelaide vs Modbury Jets
Semi-Final | First leg
1:45 pm | Saturday 20 August | West Beach Parks Football Centre
Last Meeting: (2/7/22) Round 17, West Adelaide 1 v Modbury Jets 1
Following a season where they survived relegation to State League Two by only three points, 2022 has seen West Adelaide recapture glimpses of their very best as they look for promotion back into the RAA NPLSA. Only losing twice this season, a frustrating run of five consecutive draws towards the latter of the season resulted in West Adelaide missing out on the premiership and automatic promotion by only six points. A final day 4-1 win over Adelaide University broke the team's winless run and saw them obtain a second-place finish that will see them face Modbury Jets in a two-leg series for a place in the Grand Final.
There hasn’t been much to separate West Adelaide and Modbury Jets this season, with the teams playing out two 1-1 draws in the State League One season. Modbury Jets were able to get the better of West Adelaide once this season, with the Premiers securing a 2-0 win in the Australia Cup SA Preliminary Rounds Quarter Finals.
Already having secured the Premiership and promotion back into the RAA NPLSA, Modbury Jets' goals this season have been already achieved, with the team now putting their sights on the Championship. Modbury Jets have continued to impress this season as the entertainers of the league, with the team scoring 75 goals in only 22 matches. The team returned to their winning ways last week as they beat Eastern United 4-1, putting their tremendous attacking qualities on full display. Modbury Jets will be looking to utilise their attacking output in the team away leg of their semi-final fixture.
Adelaide Blue Eagles vs Fulham United FC
Elimination Final
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | Marden Sports Complex
Last Meeting: (4/6/22) Round 13, Fulham United FC 1 v Adelaide Blue Eagles 1
Sitting in second after Round 21, Adelaide Blue Eagles were in pole position to secure a top-two finish, however, a final day 2-1 loss to Adelaide Victory will now see the team fight Fulham United FC in an elimination final. Their defeat to Adelaide Victory not only marked their first loss since Round 17 and a missed opportunity at a top-two finish, but it also saw two of their experienced players Matthew Canny and Hayden Walter receive red cards, meaning they’ll miss this week’s clash.
In the two league meetings between Adelaide Blue Eagles and Fulham United FC this season, neither team have been able to get the better of the other this season, with both games ending in draws.
Although entering the Finals Series in sixth, Fulham United FC is currently the most informed team in the competition. Beating Port Adelaide 1-0 last week through a James Murray goal to secure their top six finish, that win marked the team's seventh win in their last nine, while taking their unbeaten run to ten games. Having not lost since Round 12, Fulham United FC’s form, could see them produce a few shocks in this season's Finals Series.
Para Hills Knights vs Adelaide Croatia Raiders
Elimination Final
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | The Paddocks
Last Meeting: (13/8/22) Round 22, Para Hills Knights 1 v Adelaide Croatia Raiders 2
We’re in store for an intense battle this weekend as Para Hills Knights host Adelaide Croatia Raiders for the second consecutive week. In their last meeting last week, Adelaide Croatia Raiders secured a 2-1 victory as James Odenwalder’s tidy finish secured the three points on the day. However, last week's intense clash has seen two players from each club receive suspensions, with Para Hills Knights Jaweed Muradi and Adelaide Croatia Raiders Mulongecha Machochi and Manley Barnett all receiving red cards, while Damien Crettenden accumulated his eighth yellow card of the season. Para Hills Knights are yet to beat Adelaide Croatia Raiders this season, with this week's away team securing a victory in their last outing, while both teams played out a 1-1 draw in their first meeting. Both teams experienced a strong end to the season, with Adelaide Croatia Raiders currently in better form after winning five of their last six games. With only three points separating both teams at the end of the State League One season, this matchup will be a highly contested encounter.
State League Two
Vipers FC vs Adelaide Cobras
Semi-Final | First leg
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | APEX Football Stadium
Last Meeting: (4/6/22) Round 13, Vipers FC 1 v Adelaide Cobras 1
After the devastation of missing out on promotion back into State League One after their penalty loss in the 2021 Grand Final, Vipers FC's promotion push in 2022 looks well and truly on. Sitting in second for most of the season, Vipers FC continuously put pressure on eventual Premiers Adelaide Cobras for the entirety of the season. However, one win in their last four games saw them miss out on automatic promotion as they finished eight points behind the league leaders. Drawing their last two, Vipers FC will be hoping to regain their winning form soon as they look for entry into the Grand Final after their two-leg series with Adelaide Cobras.
Vipers FC has been unable to get the better of Adelaide Cobras throughout the entirety of the season, with Adelaide Cobras securing a 2-0 win in their first encounter, while their last matchup finished in a 1-1 draw.
It’s been another season to remember for Adelaide Cobras as the talented squad dominated State League Two as they achieved promotion and won the premiership. Winning 15 and only losing twice this season, Adelaide Cobras enter the Finals Series as the team to fear, with the squad looking to back up their premiership success with the Championship. Adelaide Cobras experienced a convincible win in their last match as they secured a 6-3 win over Modbury Vista which was highlighted by an Andrew Panayi hattrick. Although already having secured promotion, Adelaide Cobras will be hoping to gain an advantage in their away leg as they search for the Championship.
Western Strikers vs Northern Demons
Elimination Final
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | Carnegie Reserve
Last Meeting: (28/5/22) Round 12, Northern Demons 0 v Western Strikers 2
Narrowly missing out on a top-two finish, Western Strikers must do it the difficult way to obtain the second promotion spot as they search to bring their one-year State League Two stay to an end. Starting the season with only one win in their opening five fixtures, Western Strikers have not looked back since, with the team only losing two of their next 17 matches. Beating Pontian Eagles SC 4-3 through a 94th-minute Jake Cianci winner in their last match, Western Strikers will aim to take that momentum into their Final Series clash with Northern Demons.
Western Strikers have been a thorn for Northern Demons this season, with this week’s home team winning both encounters, including an opening day 2-1 victory and a Round 12 2-0 win.
Heading into this clash on the back of four consecutive wins, Northern Demons definitely can cause an upset in this season's Finals Series. Entering Round 22 last week in seventh, a dominant 4-0 victory over Mount Barker United SC and a Salisbury United draw saw Northern Demons obtain the last place in the State League Two Finals Series. Having not beaten Western Strikers this season, Northern Demons will look to change their fortunes this week as they look to make it past the first week of the Finals Series since their semi-final appearance in 2017.
Cove FC vs Seaford Rangers
Elimination Final
3:00 pm | Saturday 20 August | Southern Soccer Facility
Last Meeting: (5/8/22) Round 21, Cove FC 0 v Seaford Rangers 0
Cove FC and Seaford Ranger's push for promotion begins this weekend, as they face off in a highly contested encounter. Cove FC has remained unbeaten in their last six matches, however a difficult end to the season which saw the team draw all their last three saw the team finish in fourth. Oscar Williams 87th minute goal in last week's 1-1 draw with Vipers FC saved Cove FC’s season, as a loss for Cove FC would have seen the team drop out of the top six and finish the season in seventh. Having not played in State League One since the 2018 season, Cove FC will be eager to achieve promotion back into the league, with a win this weekend taking them one step closer.
Cove FC experienced their biggest loss of the season to Seaford Rangers in their Round 10 meeting as they were beaten 5-0. In their last matchup only two weeks ago, Seaford Rangers and Cove FC played out a 0-0 draw.
Seaford Rangers put together a strong second half of the 2022 season, with the team only losing one of their final 11 matches, which included seven wins and three draws. The team secured their place in the Finals Series last week as they beat Noarlunga United 2-1 with two goals in the final 15 minutes. After facing relegation from State League One in 2020, Seaford Rangers will look to put an end to their two-year State League Two stay.