Adelaide United vs Adelaide Croatia Raiders
Venue: Jack Smith Park
Date: Friday 20 August, 8:15 PM
Round 18 kicks off tonight under lights at Jack Smith Park as United seek to rebound from their recent struggles against a Raiders side that has been haemorrhaging goals.
United was unable to get past an in-form Sturt outfit last weekend as they fell to a 2-1 defeat, marking their third consecutive loss and losing important ground on the top six which they’ve called home for much of the season.
Raiders, meanwhile, have endured a torrid past seven days, first conceding three goals in added time to draw with South and then being hammered by ladder leaders City 5-1 in mid-week.
While the hosts are only sitting three points outside the top half and remain well and truly in the hunt for finals football, Raiders have slipped into the bottom two and will be desperate to claw their way out.
Adelaide United FC line-up: Calum Campbell, 2. Arbi Mollas, 3. Joseph Macheda, 4. Noah Mcnamara, 5. Adam Leombruno, 7. Musa Toure, 8. Jonny Yull, 10. Bernardo Oliveira, 11. Nestor Irankunda, 13. Keshav Shrestha, 14. Binyam Kebede, 21. Fergus Lynch, 29. Ethan Alagich, 40. Ethan Cox (GK)
Coaches: Airton Andrioli, Elvis Markov, Vlado Blazeka, Joe Verringer
Team Staff: Will Mockridge, Justin Graetz, Katrina Smith
Adelaide Croatia Raiders line-up: 1. Vincent Barbaro, 2. Jackson Walls, 5. Matthew Mullen, 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, 19. Vianne Kurikwimana, 20. Thanasis Lesi, 21. Jaxson Bullen, 22. Kelvin Kamburu, 23. Mark Ulaj, 28. Nathan Hancock
Coaches: Terry Westwood, Steven Hughes, Michael Paleka
Team Staff: Antonio Vella, Lisa Feleppa
Cumberland United vs Campbelltown City
Venue: A. A. Bailey Reserve
Date: Saturday 21 August, 3:00PM
Each week is a final now for Cumberland as they teeter ever so close to the relegation zone with six games remaining, with Campbelltown presenting as tough a test as any tomorrow.
The hosts halted a run of three straight comfortable losses with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Comets thanks to Jumar Oakley’s thumping equaliser in the 86th minute, a point which saw them leapfrog Croydon and Raiders out of the drop zone.
A sumptuous curling effort from outside the box by Luigi Ditroia and a close-range finish from Marc Marino got Campbelltown over the line against Comets last weekend and enabled them to move up to fifth on the table.
Cumberland know that they need to start turning losses and draws into wins to avoid being sucked into a relegation scrap, but the visitors are still a decent chance of finishing even higher on the table if they can keep up their strong form.
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, 14. Cohan Morris, 17. Tom Dittmar, 19. Rocco Visconte, 23. Matthew Charalambous, 25. Charlie Ince, 29. Sam Styles, 30. Wesley Weetra, 111. Marijan Kolar (GK)
Coaches: Neil Young, Mathew Balopitos, Matthew Prodanovski, Marijan Kolar
Team Staff: Jody Loomes, Sean Bushby, Steven O'Donnell
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
South Adelaide vs Croydon FC
Venue: O’Sullivan Beach Sports and Community Centre
Date: Saturday 21 August, 3:00PM
Two sides go head-to-head buoyed by fantastic recent results as South host Croydon at O’Sullivan Beach Sports and Community Centre tomorrow afternoon.
South remarkably backed up their incredible 4-4 draw with Raiders last weekend with a 1-0 away win over MetroStars, with Alexander Rideout’s mazy run down the right and goal after cutting in on his left sealing all three points and a spot in the top half.
Croydon picked up a much-needed victory, their first in seven matches, with a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Cumberland, with Sebastian Goode’s sizzling strike from a tight angle the first of a fine brace that sealed all three points for his side.
With a top-six spot in their hands, South now must hold off the challengers from below and Croydon need points to get clear of the bottom two.
South Adelaide line-up: 1. Ryan Veitch (GK), 2. Michael Goode, 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 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
Adelaide Comets vs Adelaide Blue Eagles
Venue: SA Athletics Stadium
Date: Saturday 21 August, 3:00PM
Comets will be raring to go tomorrow afternoon after two disappointing results in the past week but come up against a revitalised Blue Eagles on a mission to beat the drop.
Their loss last weekend to Campbelltown was compounded by a late equaliser that saw them drop two points against Cumberland, keeping them in third but within striking distance of Sturt and Campbelltown below.
Blue Eagles, meanwhile, backed up their drought-breaking win over MetroStars with a 1-1 draw against Sturt, as Christian Sotira’s low strike into the bottom corner sealed their fourth point against top-four opposition in the past seven days.
The hosts are suddenly not quite as safe in their top three spots but are still closer to second than fourth, while Blue Eagles will feel emboldened by their recent form to continue their push to safety.
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, Andreas Wiens, Matthew Bates
Team Staff: Evangelo Katsambis, Andrew Furner, Emma Gericke
Adelaide Blue Eagles line-up: Caleb Evans, Frederick Ankumah-Sey, Chol Wel, Ryan Wood, 1. Richard Goss, 2. Anik Warnakulasuriya, 4. Christian Sotira, 7. Liam Mccabe, 8. Stefan Gluscevic, 9. Agar Mawan, 10. Hamish Mccabe, 14. Stanisa Velinov, 15. Christian D'Angelo, 16. Raffaele De Lucia, 18. Yohei Matsumoto, 20. Isaac Mullen, 21. Alex Tsavalas, 25. Nikolas Harpas (GK)
Coaches: Nikica Kuzman, Larry Piscioneri
Team Staff: James Keating, Vojislav Gluscevic, Henry Lambert
MetroStars vs Adelaide City
Venue: TK Shutter Reserve
Date: Saturday 21 August, 3:00PM
It’s first versus second in what shapes as the match of the round between two powerhouse sides, although the hosts have hit a snag in the past week.
Back-to-back losses, including a 1-0 defeat to South in midweek after playing with 10 men for almost the whole match has seen MetroStars keep their place in second on the table, albeit now vulnerable to the chasing pack beneath them.
Their results have allowed City to open their gap at the top to seven points, with Asad Kasumovic’s thunderous strike into the top corner the highlight in a crushing 5-1 win over Raiders.
A win to MetroStars would go some way to turning around their recent woes, but victory to City could put them as many as ten points clear of third to further entrench them in the crucial double-chance position.
MetroStars line-up: 1. Isaac Carmody (GK), 2. Connor O'rielly, 3. Luke Frangakis, 4. Justin Davis, 5. Timothy Henderson, 7. Michael Daloisio, 9. Thomas Strain, 10. Anthony Solagna (C), 11. Ariath Piol, 12. Alessio Melisi, 14. Dylan Smith, 15. Francesco Schimizzi, 16. Kyle Crout, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19. Cooper O’donnell, 20. Joshua Mori, 22. Hamish Gow, 23. Christian Esposito, 24. Gusmao Naidoo, 26. Stefan Cali, 45. Jackson O'Donnell
Coaches: Robert Saraceno, Nicholas Bouzalas, Adam Van Dommele, Michael Rende
Team Staff: Joseph Polisena, Patrick Pike, George Laoutaris
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 vs Sturt Lions
Venue: VALO Football Centre
Date: Saturday 21 August, 6:00PM
The final match of the round takes place tomorrow night between two of the competition’s most exciting sides in recent weeks who both remain in great positions to play finals football this season.
Olympic, who sit two points outside the top six, were unable to take anything from their match with City last weekend, falling to a 2-0 defeat to break a string of positive results that took them into the top half.
Sturt, meanwhile, now boast a seven-match unbeaten run, although failed to take three points from their match against Blue Eagles that could’ve seen them rise to third with a game in hand on the sides around them.
If Olympic win tomorrow night, they will leapfrog Sturt and reclaim their finals spot, but three points to the Lions will give them further breathing room on the bottom half.
Adelaide Olympic line-up: Kosta Styladis, Will Hendon, Ioannis Simosis, 1. Lewis Moss (GK), 2. Jacob Jones, 4. Benkert Abdija, 5. Michael Cittadini, 6. Kristin Konstandopoulos, 7. Kody Maude, 8. Jason Konstandopoulos, 9. Christos Pounendis, 10. Hirofumi Kochi, 11. Tito Bontor, 12. Damian Ljujic, 14. Fausto Erba (C), 24. Panagiotis Manidakis, 25. Alexander Tsimopoulos
Coaches: Yianni Stamatelopoulos, George Konstandopoulos, Lansana Conneh, Pal Prengaj
Team Staff: Konstandinos Dimas, Sumin Kim
Sturt Lions line-up: Oliver Sigley, Toby Nelson, Cooper Mullins, Michael Marrone, Jacob Atkinson, Alexander Sortini, Caden Yates, Daniel Solari, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Daniel Guastella, Cale Nagle, Valentino Esposito, Daniel Snobl, Bradley Davey, Brandon Centofanti, Jasper Donovan, Samuel Voigt, Samed Altundag, Ben Woollard, James Klappers (GK), Taine Harding, Anthony Taylor, Michael Gravas, Luke Fusco, Akira Kobaishi, Jonathan Fusco (C)
Coaches: Lino Fusco, Frank Tibaldi, Gregory Videon, Michael Harkness
Team Staff: Ivan Piovesan, Jakson Messent, Andrew Ross
Image: 80kms Photography