Karlovic: We're flying the flag for SA in final

MetroStars coach Ivan Karlovic believes South Australian football is now starting to get the respect it deserves with his side on the cusp of winning a PS4 NPL final this Saturday in Sydney.

The South Australian side take on NSW PS4 NPL1 champions Bonnyrigg White Eagles in Saturday’s final at the newly refurbished Lambert Park in Leichhardt. 

“South Australia probably doesn’t get the respect it deserves in terms of its competition,” Karlovic told www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au

“There’s a lot of very good players and some good sides in our league over here. Hopefully we can fly the flag and people will stand up and take notice of our league and the quality that’s in it.

“It’s been a great couple of months for South Australian football. We’ve got two sides (Adelaide City and Adelaide United) left in the latter stages of the FFA Cup and we’ll do our best to keep SA on the map.”

The MetroStars have qualified for the decider the hard way, travelling to Perth in week one and beating Bayswater City on penalties before a hard-earned 2-1 road win over South Melbourne last weekend.

“It’s been a fantastic effort from the players. We’ve had our backs against the wall having to travel two weeks in a row but the boys were outstanding and deserved to get the results,” Karlovic said.

“We’ve had to try and freshen the boys up. It’s not as if we’re professional players…we had to fly back from Melbourne on the Monday and go to work.

“We’ll do our best, prepare as best as we possibly can and go over (to Sydney) and give it our best shot.”

Matthew Deegan is the only player unavailable for the MetroStars, still not 100 percent after picking up a quad injury in the South Australian NPL decider last month.

Kick-Off is at 4pm AEST and the match will also be streamed online at www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au

*And there is even more reason to attend Saturday’s final with a chance to win a PS4 and a host of other cool prizes.

All you have to do is get to the PS4 Zone at the venue, register your name and mobile number and you go into the running.

There will also be a Bubble Football match at half-time with a PS4 as the prize while a designated area has been set aside to play the new FIFA 15 game.