Round Two of the WNPLSA gets underway on Friday, with both Metro United and Adelaide City completing double-headers with NPL sides.
Metro United vs Fulham United
Venue: TK Shutter Reserve
Date: Friday 16 April, 6:15 PM
The reigning champions kick off tonight’s WNPL triple header under lights at TK Shutter Reserve, where they play host to Fulham United.
Metro got their title defence off to the perfect start last weekend with a resounding 3-1 away victory over Comets. New signing Victoria Mansueto returned to haunt her former club with two goals.
Fulham, on the other hand, wasn’t able to start as brightly as their opponents tonight, falling short of one of last season’s best sides in West Adelaide 2-1.
The hosts will be keen to maintain the strong form that took them to the league championship last season and has continued into this season, but Fulham won’t want the season to get away from them early on.
Football SA NTC vs Adelaide Comets
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: Friday 16 April, 6:15 PM
In the second 6:15 pm kick-off, two sides who were defeated in the opening round face-off to atone for last week, as Comets pay a visit to NTC.
The visitors suffered a disappointing home loss to Metro last week, as their raft of new signings were unable to fire them to victory and former skipper Victoria Mansueto bagged a brace against them.
NTC were soundly beaten in their first match, a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Inter ensuring they finished the round as the first team to prop up the ladder in last place.
With designs fairly and squarely on shooting up the table, Comets will desperately want to avoid a second consecutive defeat, but the young talent of the NTC squad stands in their way of a first win for 2021.
Adelaide University vs Salisbury Inter
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: Friday 16 April, 8:15 PM
Uni announced themselves as one of the teams to beat in last weekend’s season opener and will aim to keep up that pace tonight against another strong opponent in Inter.
The hosts’ 3-1 victory over runaway minor premier and perennial WNPL powerhouse City put the rest of the competition on notice that this season wouldn’t be a repeat of 2020, where they won just two matches and finished two points off the foot of the table.
Inter, meanwhile, kicked off their season with a powerful display as they took apart NTC 4-0 with new signings Khal Adam Khan and Dragana Kljajić both notching goals.
This is set up to be one of the matches of the round, as two sides who kicked off their respective campaigns in electric style face-off in the late kick-off tonight.
Adelaide City vs West Adelaide
Venue: Adelaide City Park
Date: Saturday 17 April, 3:00 PM
Round 2’s sole Saturday fixture pits two of last season’s top clubs up against one another as City host West in what promises to be a tantalising match-up.
The home side found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline against Uni last week, although City’s players will remember that their Round 1 loss last season was the only one they experienced prior to the Grand Final.
West, meanwhile, edged past Fulham in their opening game, with a strike by signing Mawa Sumaoro putting the result just beyond their opponents’ reach in a 2-1 win.
City will be raring to go again and stamp their credentials as a side to be feared in 2021, a desire that will most certainly be shared by their opponents as they take the field tomorrow afternoon.
Adelaide City will be celebrating the life of Charlie Di Bartolo at the conclusion of their match at Adelaide City Park on Saturday and will wear black armbands in memory of the City legend who sadly passed away last year.