State League One
Birkalla overcame Strikers 1-0 in Friday’s top-six clash, and in doing so they hold onto second position – just a point off White City. D Makridis’ strike in the 69th minute split the game open, and from there it was simply a matter of holding on for the home side. This result was yet another setback for Strikers, whose poor form sees them slip outside of the six.
Eastern continued their resurgence in form over the weekend, claiming a point against league leaders White City in a 2-2 draw at Athelstone. Considering the context of the opponent, Eastern will be greatly encouraged by their performance. As for the context of the result, it sees them stay above Cobras in the relegation zone and keep within distance of Hawks and West Adelaide. White City will consider this another slip up, and will need to find some answers as to how they aren’t capitalising on these teams down towards the bottom of the ladder.
Cobras also secured a vital point against a top side, drawing 1-1 with Modbury Jets. A. Orphanou put the home side ahead in the 58th but was cancelled out by H. Conant’s strike in the 69th. Cobras still find themselves in the relegation zone but can be encouraged by the momentum brought about by recent results. Jets will evidently be disappointed; however, they still sit comfortably in 5th.
It was imperative that Victory bounced back this week, as a third successive loss would have severely dented their promotion aspirations. With their 3-0 demolition of West Adelaide, they put the league back on notice and themselves back into 4th. Y Ueda, who has been finding the back of the net frequently, helped himself to a brace that spearheaded the win for the home side. Captain Mason-Stephens also found the net in the second half, and from there Victory were able to hold off Hellas, who are really struggling.
Playford are marching on, coming away from Fulham’s ground with the 3 points and further momentum - courtesy of J. Kurtz in the 28th. The 1-0 win for Playford puts them into third place, and sends Fulham tumbling down to dead last.
Adelaide Hills’ climb of the ladder was stopped in its tracks by Para Hills on the weekend, losing out 1-0. The Albanian Maldini, Franz Pjetri, got himself a goal in the 7th minute. The away side were able to hold on for the remaining 83 minutes, and in the process, put themselves back into the six and shook off the cobwebs of a few poor results.
State League Two
Gawler and Salisbury played out a 1-1 draw in this weekend’s Northern derby. Both sides would have loved to of taken home all three points, as Salisbury now fall further behind Pirates, and Gawler could have found themselves as high as fourth. T. Martyn got the away side up and running in the 33rd, and it wasn’t until the 55th that Gawler had a response. The stalemate keeps Salisbury in 2nd, as Gawler fall to 8th.
Modbury Vista’s struggles continued as they fell 2-1 to Seaford at home. J. Watson started Seaford off just after half-time, which was cancelled out by Vista’s J. Negus two minutes later in the 47th. H. Aplin scored the winner for Seaford, maintaining his team’s good fortunes and seeing them only miss out on a top-six spot by goal difference.
Adelaide University’s excellent season continued with a 3-1 win over Cove. S. Bowman scored an illustrious 20-minute hat-trick at the start of the game and set his team up for an impressive win that sees them go into third.
Northern Demons ignored their troubles and secured a hugely important 1-0 win against an ill-disciplined Noarlunga side – who acquired two red cards over the weekend. J. Capurso scored for the home-side in the 41st, from there the Demons held on and sent Noarlunga home on a presumably silent bus journey.
Mt Barker got pumped 5-1 at home to Port Adelaide, but at least managed to score a goal. Pirates hold onto top spot and maintain momentum, whilst Mt Barker continually and utterly struggle to make an impact on the league – they still sit last.
0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 7-6. Insane. No this wasn’t FIFA21, it was Vipers v Pontian Eagles in State League Two. This game for the ages was already poised to be an important fixture between two promotion hopefuls, but nobody expected the attacking frenzy that was to come.
Try saying this fast *inhale*: Koutoulogenis scored in the 4th, which was immediately cancelled out by Karagiannis in the 8th, Anthony Dimas then scored in the 12th, which was responded to by Torres in the 42nd. Karagiannis then scores again in the 44th to make it 3-2. Half-time, 3-2. Papapetros makes it 4-2 in the 51st, to which Anthony Dimas again responds; 4-3. Karagiannis scores AGAIN in the 59th, 5-3, and then AGAIN in the 72nd, 6-3. This time it’s the other Dimas, Alex, who scores and makes it 6-4, four minutes later in the 78th minute, Deng scores to make it 6-5. As Anthony Dimas sealed his hattrick in the 83rd, it seemed as if Pontian had mounted a historic comeback. Torres had other ideas, and in the 94th minute of stoppage time; scored a winner that will be remembered for a very, very long time. 7-6, Vipers win. *exhale*
This pendulum swing of a game was yet another showcase of the craziness of football. Credit to both teams for never giving in and committing themselves to a win at all costs attacking mindset.