State League Preview
State League One
First versus Second, White City versus Birkalla – inevitably game of the round. The home side come into this affair off the back of two draws, two games Damien Mori certainly would have liked to have won. Alas, they still find themselves on top of the pile, and have a golden opportunity to supress Birkalla’s first-place aspirations.
Western Strikers woes continued over the weekend, suffering their third consecutive defeat. Cobras on the other hand, continued their turn around and took points over a strong Modbury side. Both sides share the same inconsistent narrative, but Cobras at least appear to be on the up. Strikers come into this affair in 7th, Cobras 11th. A Cobras upset could send them up to 8th, signifying a marvellous turnaround of results. If Strikers don’t show up and suffer a fourth straight defeat, their finals aspirations will look very bleak indeed.
Playford’s campaign has been impressive, especially as of late. They did what they had to do on the weekend against Fulham, and now look to push on against Hawks – who have also had some positive results. Hills did go down to Para Hills however, and a second straight loss could see them slide right down the table. It is ever so tight on both ends of the ladder, so in an untraditional sense; this is a six-pointer. Playford sit 3rd, a win could see them leapfrog the loser of White City v Birks – if those sides draw, Patriots will go into second place on goal difference.
In Modbury Jets v Adelaide Victory, we see two sides with genuine promotion aspirations. Many set this objective rather hopefully, but with the pedigree of Jets and the hunger of Victory; both sides are genuine contenders. They’ve both had solid starts to the season but have had their inconsistencies – they go into this affair 5th and 4th respectively.
West Adelaide’s decline is worsening and worst-case scenario looms for the former NPL juggernaut. The world would spin off its axis if Hellas were to find themselves in the third division, and their pursuit to stop that from happening must begin this weekend against 12th placed Fulham. West Adelaide should be favourites with the team they have. However, they currently sit in 9th place and anything is possible, both sides will inevitably endeavour to secure the win and put distance between themselves and the relegation spots.
Para Hills have had a positive two weeks of results and have sneakily climbed back into the six. Walking away from the Hawk’s Nest with three-points is no small feat, Knights should be encouraged to crack on and get another positive result against 10th placed Eastern United – who are also in good form recently.
State League Two
In State League Two’s game of the round, we have Salisbury versus Adelaide Uni, 2nd versus 3rd. Both sides have looked the goods so far this season, with this weekend’s blockbuster serving as a measure of where these two sides currently stand. Potentially a sneak-peak into one of this season’s finals matches; valuable points as well as bragging rights will both be on the line.
Port Adelaide will look to continue their dominance this weekend as they take on strugglers Vista, who sit in 11th. Modbury are coming off a 4-1 and a 2-1 loss to Pontian and Seaford respectively, and certainly have their work cut out for them if they wish to avoid three successive losses.
Noarlunga will be incredibly disappointed with their defeat to Northern Demons. The ill-disciplined defeat sees them slide into 4th, and now they must bounce back against Cove who sit in 9th. This Southern derby is huge for both sides of the table, a Noarlunga victory could land them as high as second, and a Cove victory opens the door for entry into the top six.
The battle of the eagles! Pontian and Gawler go toe to toe, or rather feather to feather this weekend in a match that has direct ramifications for the top six. Pontian must shake off the bitter taste of Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Vipers. The 7-6 thriller clearly shows they are a serious attacking threat but need to tighten up at the back – currently they’ve conceded the third most goals in the league. They currently sit in 5th, and Gawler are just outside the six in 8th.
Northern Demons have gotten their tails up in recent weeks and have a great chance against Mt Barker to make it two wins in a row and three weeks undefeated. They currently sit in tenth and are a few wins away from 9th, they simply must win this weekend.
Seaford and Vipers are coming into this game on a high, Rangers overcame Vista 2-1 away from home, and Vipers of course pulled off that miracle win against Pontian. However, Seaford present a different challenge for Vipers, and with this being an away fixture all the way down south – difficulty only increases. A win would put both sides into the top six (Currently 6thand 7th on goal difference).