RAA NPLSA Round 17 Preview

Adelaide Croatia Raiders vs South Adelaide
Venue: Croatian Sports Centre
Date: Friday, 13 August 7:30 PM

Round 17 kicks off with Friday night football under lights at the Croatian Sports Centre tonight as Raiders go head-to-head with South.

There wasn’t much to cheer about for Raiders in their last match as they slumped to a 4-1 defeat against Sturt, a result which prevented them from putting further space between themselves and Croydon in 11th.

South enter this game off the back of a confidence-boosting 4-0 victory away from home over Cumberland, as fine headers by Declan Gray and Daniel Evans and a superb finish from a tight angle from Liam Wooding eased them to victory.

With Raiders sitting two points above the drop zone and South just one outside the top six, both sides will be eager to get a win under their belts and stay in the hunt.

Adelaide Croatia Raiders line-up: 1. Vincent Barbaro, 2. Jackson Walls, 5. Matthew Mullen, 6. Omari Didero, 7. Dylan Pickert, 8. Jagajeet Shrestha Shrestha, 9. Massimo Falco, 10. Dion Kirk, 11. David Carosi, 12. Jacob Williams, 13. Nicholas Munro (GK), 17. Harley Gepp, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Jaxson Bullen, 23. Mark Ulaj, 28. Nathan Hancock, 38. James Temelkovski

Coaches: Terry Westwood, Steven Hughes, Michael Paleka

Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa

South Adelaide line-up: 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 4. Robert Parker (C), 5. Declan Gray, 6. Liam Wooding, 8. Daniel Hosking, 9. Brett Rayner, 10. Jonathon Rideout, 11. Alexander Rideout, 13. Jai Conroy, 15. Jackson Stephens, 18. Blake Lindsay, 20. Jack Walker, 21. Jack Ellis, 24. Daniel Evans, 25. Callum Nissen, 31. Masaya Sasaki, 39. Awal Dut

Coaches: Andrew Calderbank, Anthony Rideout, Mitchell Daly, Fraser McLean

Team Staff: Wayne Harrington, Jacqueline Wingate, Aniket Dhabade

Croydon FC vs Cumberland United
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Saturday, 14 August 2:30 PM

Two sides who have struggled to string wins together this season occupy tomorrow’s early kick-off as Croydon and Cumberland duke it out for an important three points

Croydon have endured a rough past seven days of fixtures, going down to a late Comets winner on the weekend before being blown away by three goals in the final 20 minutes in their 4-1 loss to Olympic in mid-week.

Cumberland suffered yet another heavy defeat last weekend, the 4-0 score line marking their fifth loss by three or more goals in their past eight matches, and now sit just three points clear of the bottom two with an inferior goal difference.

This match presents a huge opportunity for both teams as they’re separated by just three points: three points to Croydon would see them move out of the bottom two, while a win to Cumberland will give them more breathing room at the bottom.

Croydon Kings line-up: 1. Gianni Tramontin, 2. John Panagaris, 3. Filimon Asefa, 5. Luke Klimek (C), 6. Christopher Vivian, 7. Sebastian Goode, 8. Adam Martinello, 9. Nathan Munro, 10. Antoni Trimboli, 11. Luis Benedetti, 13. Foribert Niyonkuru, 14. Peter Mercurio, 15. Domenic Costanzo, 16. Kristos Stefanopoulos, 18. Jarrod Brazzale, 21. John Hall (GK), 23. Patrick Caraccia

Coaches: Travis Dodd, Latham Byfield, Adam Vizzari

Team Staff: Mario Catalano, Joshua Avery

Cumberland United line-up: 1. Luke Schoen (GK), 2. Jack Schoen (C), 3. Joshua Harvey, 5. Sam Carmichael, 6. David Signore, 8. Harry Thannhauser, 9. Juan Gutierrez, 10. Jumar Oakley, 11. Thomas Briscoe, 16. Brayden Micallef, 17. Tom Dittmar, 19. Rocco Visconte, 20. Stavros Bakopanos, 23. Matthew Charalambous, 25. Charlie Ince

Coaches: Neil Young, Mathew Balopitos, Matthew Prodanovski, Marijan Kolar

Team Staff: Jody Loomes, Sean Bushby, Steven O'Donnell

Adelaide Blue Eagles vs MetroStars
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Date: Saturday, 14 August 3:00 PM

Our 3:00pm triple-header starts with the league’s bottom side, who have shown promising signs in recent weeks, go up against a rampaging MetroStars outfit with six wins in their last seven.

A fine Hamish McCabe opener and a late penalty converted by Isaac Mullen weren’t enough to earn Blue Eagles their first win of the season as they were blown away by a late Olympic burst in their match that finished 4-2.

MetroStars kept the heat on City at the top of the table as three goals in six second-half minutes sealed a big win over Campbelltown, with Christian Esposito’s thumping long-range opener stealing the show for the home side.

Blue Eagles aren’t out of it with eight games left to play so a win here could prove the catalyst for their form to continue upwards, but they know that they’re facing the league’s most in-form side.

Adelaide Blue Eagles line-up: Jai Esposito, Chol Wel, 1. Nikolas Harpas (GK), 2. Anik Warnakulasuriya, 4. Christian Sotira, 6. Agar Mawan, 7. Liam Mccabe, 8. Stefan Gluscevic, 9. Ryan Wood, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 13. Kurt Kouakou, 14. Stanisa Velinov, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 16. Raffaele De Lucia, 17. Frederick Ankumah-Sey, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 20. Isaac Mullen, 21. Alex Tsavalas, 26. Richard Goss

Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Larry Piscioneri

Team Staff: James Keating, Vojislav Gluscevic, Henry Lambert

MetroStars line-up: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 2. Connor O'rielly, 3. Luke Frangakis, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 7. Michael Daloisio, 8. Rocky Callisto, 9. Thomas Strain, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 14. Dylan Smith, 15. Francesco Schimizzi, 16. Kyle Crout, 17. Matthew Dawber, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O’donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 26. Stefan Cali, 35. Jackson O'Donnell, 68. Kalilou Kamara

Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Nicholas Bouzalas, Adam Van Dommele, Michael Rende

Team Staff: Joseph Polisena, Patrick Pike, George Laoutaris

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Campbelltown City vs Adelaide Comets
Venue: Steve Woodcock Sports Centre
Date: Saturday, 14 August 3:00 PM

The match of the round tomorrow gives us the second Grand Final rematch of the season, as fourth-placed Campbelltown take on third-placed Comets.

The hosts cancelled out their 3-0 loss to MetroStars last weekend with a victory by the same margin over United in mid-week, as goals by Marc Marino and Luigi Ditroia pushed them up into fourth entering this weekend’s fixtures.

A thumping Jaiden Diamantis strike from the edge of the area on 86 minutes proved the difference as Comets ground out a 1-0 win over Croydon, keeping within two points of first-placed City.

Victory to the reigning champions would see them close the gap on the league’s current runaway top three, but three points going the way of Comets will open up an eight-point buffer on Campbelltown.

Campbelltown City line-up: 1. Jamie Signorello, 2. Shaun Harvey (C), 3. Liam Miller, 5. Julian Oscar Ionni, 6. Adam D'Agostino, 7. Joel Allwright, 8. Alexander Mullen, 9. Marc Marino, 10. Luigi Ditroia, 12. Nicholas Francese, 14. Adam Piscioneri, 15. Antony Piscioneri, 16. Daniel Mullen, 17. Adam De Ieso, 18. Trey Williams, 20. Nicholas Harpas (GK), 23. Jake Halliday

Coaches: Iain Fyfe, Leslie  Pogliacomi, Corey Artone, Ali Sadick

Team Staff: Agelo Kapnistis, Ryan Hanlon

Adelaide Comets line-up: 1. Julian Torresan, 3. Manley Barnett, 4. Nathan Dimou, 5. Adam Le Cornu, 6. Jack Bladen, 7. John Karatzas, 8. Ryan Yates, 10. Anthony Mavrolambados, 11. Jayden LoBasso, 12. Lukas Ikonomopoulos, 14. Nathan Andijanto, 16. Ninko Beric, 18. Thomas Giannakopoulos, 19. Jaiden Diamantis, 21. Nikolas Ikonomopoulos, 22. Allan Welsh (C), 23. Scott Nagel, 24. Lachlan Stead, 31. Daniel Vaughan, 77. Chris Christofilos

Coaches: Barney Smith, James Guffogg, Dimitri Panagis, Matthew Bates

Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Andrew Furner, Emma Gericke

Sturt Lions vs Adelaide United
Venue: West Beach Parks Football Centre
Date: Saturday, 14 August 3:00 PM

Sturt have started to regain their early season form at the right time and find themselves inside the top six, level on points with tomorrow’s opponents United.

Michael Marrone celebrated his Sturt debut with a fine solo goal from 20 yards as Sturt routed Raiders 4-1 to move further up the table, an excellent Alexander Sortini brace sealing all three points in the second half.

The Young Reds have endured a tough past week, with a 4-2 defeat to City preceding their 3-0 loss to Campbelltown in mid-week and seeing them lose their relatively tight grip on a spot in the top six.

Three points in Sturt’s pocket could be crucial to their finals aspirations, still with a game in hand on the sides around them, while a United triumph would help them hold onto their top-six spot.

Sturt Lions line-up: 1. James Klappers (GK), 2. Michael Marrone, 3. Daniel Guastella, 4. Jacob Atkinson, 7. Ben Woollard, 8. Jasper Donovan, 9. Gonzalo Rodriguez, 10. Alexander Sortini, 12. Michael Gravas, 13. Cooper Mullins, 15. Akira Kobaishi, 16. Samuel Voigt, 17. Jonathan Fusco (C), 19. Luke Fusco, 20. Brandon Centofanti

Coaches: Lino Fusco, Frank Tibaldi, Gregory Videon, Michael Harkness

Team Staff: Ivan Piovesan, Jakson Messent, Andrew Ross

Adelaide United FC line-up: Musa Toure, 14. Binyam Kebede, 15. Kane Vidmar, 24. Fergus Lynch, 37. Jonny Yull, 40. Ethan Cox (GK), 44. Arbi Mollas, 48. Bernardo Oliveira, 49. Keshav Shrestha, 53. Noah Mcnamara, 54. Joseph Macheda, 55. Ethan Alagich, 57. Adam Leombruno, 65. Mohamed Toure, 66. Nestor Irankunda, 80. Steven Hall

Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Vlado Blazeka, Joe Verringer

Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Justin Graetz, Katrina Smith

Adelaide City vs Adelaide Olympic
Venue: Adelaide City Park
Date: Saturday, 14 August 5:00 PM

The final match of the round should be an interesting one between two sides in good form, both of whom have proven to be experts in avoiding defeat throughout 2021.

City kept their six-match unbeaten streak alive with a 4-2 win over United, highlighted by a tricky Kur Kur dribble and finish and an incredible curling effort into the top corner by Asad Kasumovic.

Olympic moved up to fourth on the table off the back of a big week that saw them put four past both Blue Eagles (4-2) on the weekend and Croydon (4-1) on Wednesday night, albeit with an extra game played.

Both sides have enjoyed big wins in their past few games, so this promises to be a high-scoring affair between two clubs with a penchant for goals.

Adelaide City line-up: 1. Alexander Woodlands (GK), 4. Matthew Halliday, 7. Daniel Bressan, 8. Joseph Costa, 9. Luka Chikwuba, 10. Nicholas Bucco, 11. Charlie devereux, 13. Lachlan Barr, 14. Aladin Irabona, 17. Thomas Brown, 20. Kur Kur, 23. Jai King-Byrne, 42. Austin Ayoubi, 45. Markus Orchard, 77. Asad Kasumovic

Coaches: Paul Pezos, Stavros Gelekis, Angelo Paul, Edward Scalzi

Team Staff: Fabian Garuccio, Luis Fernandez Astudillo

Adelaide Olympic line-up: Michael Cittadini, 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 2. Jacob Jones, 3. Paul Wilson, 4. Benkert Abdija, 7. Kody Maude, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Hirofumi Kochi, 11. Tito Bontor, 12. Damian Ljujic, 13. Kosta Styladis, 14. Fausto Erba (C), 22. Joshua Kavenagh, 24. Panagiotis Manidakis, 25. Alexander Tsimopoulos, 44. Ioannis Simosis

Coaches: Yianni Stamatelopoulos, George Konstandopoulos, Lansana Conneh, Pal Prengaj

Team Staff: Konstandinos Dimas, Sumin Kim

Image: 80kms Photography