A late equaliser saw ten-man Adelaide Olympic come from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw in their match against South Adelaide on a blustery afternoon of NPL action. After a goalless opening 45 minutes, the contest exploded to life in the 54th minute when a long throw-in bobbed up in the box that both Jonathon Rideout and Masaya Sasaki attempted to smash home, with Sasaki getting the final contact to open the scoring for the hosts.
It took only seven minutes for the Panthers to double their lead, as Alexander Rideout completed a mazy run down the right-wing and passing off before running onto Kegan Osborne’s tee-up to side-foot his shot across the keeper to make it 2-0. Olympic hit back in the 67th minute, as a rapid counterattack culminated in a perfectly weighted ball into the box by Ioannis Simosis, which was tapped home by skipper Fausto Erba to reduce the deficit to one.
Their chances of a comeback appeared dashed when Paul Wilson was shown a second yellow ten minutes from time, but Panagiotis Manidakis’ free kick on 88 minutes forced a sharp save that bounced out and was bundled home by Kristin Konstandopoulos to salvage a point. High-flyers Adelaide Comets and MetroStars both earned 3-0 wins, over Adelaide Croatia Raiders and Cumberland United respectively, while ladder leaders Adelaide City were held to a scoreless draw by last-placed Adelaide Blue Eagles.
Croydon FC also scored late to secure a 2-2 draw against Adelaide United, while a waterlogged pitch prevented Campbelltown City and Sturt Lions from taking the field on Friday night.
2021 RAA NPLSA - Round 13
Adelaide Comets 3-0 Adelaide Croatia Raiders
Croydon FC 2-2 Adelaide United Youth
South Adelaide 2-2 Adelaide Olympic
Adelaide Blue Eagles 0-0 Adelaide City
Cumberland United 0-1 North Eastern MetroStars
Campbelltown City P-P Sturt Lions
Image: 80kms