Well, that wraps it up. The regular season finished in typical state-league fashion, with some dramatic results across the board.
State League One
Western Strikers had the odds stacked against them before their fixture with Seaford. The resounding 4-1 was enough to hold up their end of the bargain, to the joy of the Strikers faithful; Hawks slipped up, cementing sixth spot for Strikers.
M.Sasaki proved he can stand up in the big moments, with his memorable hattrick spearheading the win. George Katsigiannis also helped himself to one.
Strikers enter their first finals game with momentum but have a tough challenge ahead of them in West Adelaide.
Birkalla ended their season on a high, comparatively, Hawks ended theirs on a bitter low. The 4-2-win saw Hawks lose their spot in the six and will have the Hills outfit asking some serious questions this short-off season.
Daniel Crossing was firing, helping himself to two important goals. Plush and Williams also contributed. Markham and Bowman scored two consolations for Hawks, but it just wasn’t enough. Both sides missed out on finals and will be hoping to both have a more prosperous 2021 season.
The 1-1 draw between Playford and White City is a taste of things to come, as both sides play each other once again this week. Stefan Simic got Beograd up and running in the 61st, however J. Ajak responded for the Patriots ten-minutes later.
For the finals, its White City’s turn to host as they finished in fourth. Both sides have been amazing all year, may the best team win.
West Adelaide’s 2-1 win was enough to condemn Vipers to relegation and save Adelaide Victory. In doing so, Hellas pick up some crucial momentum prior to their clash with Strikers. Contrarily, Vipers will be bitterly disappointed as they only managed to last one season in the second division.
Stefanopoulos got things going in the 11th and has been an exceptional player for West Adelaide all year. Composto got the crucial second, 60 minutes later.
Sturt Lions failed to do their part in their bid for automatic promotion. An M. Mittiga brace saw Fulham run out 2-1 winners over Lions, which is a nice way for United to finish their season.
Sturt have to dust themselves off and face up to Panthers, with the winner being sent straight to the GF.
Finally, it seemed destined to be South Adelaide’s year for quite some time. They finished the regular season strongly, smashing Victory 5-2.
The result was fitting, as were the goal scorers. Rideout has been simply staggering all year, his 34 goals DOUBLING the next-closest in the golden boot race. He banged four and will be a new nightmare for NPL defenders in 2021.
Victory will feel they have underperformed this year and may feel fortunate lucky that Vipers and Seaford managed to have worse seasons.
Congratulations to South Adelaide Panthers FC.
State League Two
At the absolute death, Cobras snatched it, and are Premiers. Barely sitting in top-spot all season, their 1-0 win over Vista put them two points ahead of Eastern.
It was raw drama, as the goal came through J.Corbo with only two minutes to go, breaking Eastern United hearts.
The hard work has only just begun, as Cobras must prove their top-dog status, coming up against Eastern in the first round of finals. Finals results aside, State League One awaits for the mighty Cobras.
Gawler booked their place in the finals, with a simply astonishing 10-0 win over Mt Barker. This result is the nail in the coffin for United’s season; they have been poor from start to finish.
Gawler could possibly be the dark horse in this year’s finals race, as ten goals will surely create some momentum.
Eagles have Modbury Vista in their first round of finals.
Northern Demons finished the season on a high, beating Salisbury 1-0 away from home. Both teams failed to make finals this year and will be looking to bounce back and make an impact next season.
Noarlunga were impressive in their 2-0 away win over pirates, but sadly it wasn’t enough to make finals. A goal each to Edmonds and Ebert secured the victory, and showed some worrying signs for Pirates as they prepare to face Adelaide Uni.
Uni secured a famous 3-1 win, meaning they hold onto their spot in the finals. A Y.Ahmed brace was the difference, and Uni will be looking to build on this as they look to get past Pirates this week.
Pontian’s 1-1 draw with Eastern was massive, as United miss out on automatic promotion. Eastern have been on top for most of the year, but this slip up will mean they have to do things the hard way. Pontian have had a promising inaugural year and will be looking to make a run at finals next year.
Eastern are down but not out, as they face Cobras in the first round of finals.