Adelaide Blue Eagles v Adelaide City
PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia round 8

When: Saturday, April 23 2016 at 3.00PM
Where: Marden Sports Complex, Lower Portrush Road, Marden

Form:

Adelaide City:  W W W

Adelaide Blue Eagles: W L D

Preview:

Adelaide City will look to maintain their three point lead at the top of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia ladder with a win over Adelaide Blue Eagles.

City are on a three game winning streak after they last lost to Adelaide Comets in Round 4.

Since then, City have hit the back of the net an impressive 14 times over the three game period in the PlayStation 4 NPL competition.

City marksman Anthony Costa has been a big part of the black and whites being clinical in front of goal.

After putting six past Adelaide United, Costa believes City are in good stead heading into this

weekend.

“If you look at the table we have the most goals scored in the league which is a pleasing sign, and something that we will look to carry on throughout the season.

“We have been creating a lot of chances in our games and we want to focus on being a little bit more clinical in front of goal.

“I think we were (more clinical) in our most recent performance against Adelaide United.”

On the flip side, their opponents on the weekend in Adelaide Blue Eagles have struggled with inconsistencies.

Over their last three games, Blue Eagles have had a win, a draw and a loss.

Blue Eagles’ Damien Cretteden said some disruptions to the playing group made for an unsettled squad.

“We’re in a tough group of matches at the moment, and we have had a few injuries,” he said.

“We’ve had to shuffle the squad around a bit but the players coming are doing their job well.

“When you are playing the like of Croydon, Adelaide City or West Adelaide you can’t afford to let chances slip; a few lapses of concentration have cost us some goals in the last few weeks.”

After holding West Adelaide, a team known for being dangerous in the final third, to only two goals last week, Cretteden believes that has lay some good foundations for their clash with a potent City side.

“I thought we defended really well (against West), we were compact and didn’t give them a lot of space to play, and then we were able to turn defence into offense really quickly.

“If we bring that this weekend for 90 minutes and can consolidate more of the chances we’re creating we’ll be a damaging side.

“Adelaide City are always tough, they’re very strong offensively and they’ve shown that with their results in the past month; we’ve just got to concentrate on executing our game plan first.”

Despite some up and down results for the Marden based club, Costa still expects the match to be hotly contested.

“Of course we are expecting a tough game, Blue Eagles are a great team and have some fantastic players in their squad,” he said.

“Perhaps their start has been a little more inconsistent than what they would have liked, but by no means will we be taking them lightly.

“We have had some great encounters with them in the past and I’m sure this will be no different.”

Saturday won’t be the only time the two sides do battle over this long weekend, as they will lock horns on Monday in the second qualifying round of the Westfield FFA Cup.

When asked if City would keep one eye on Monday’s fixture, Costa said the black and whites would continue to take it one game at a time.

“No, we won’t keep one on eye on Monday,” he said.

“I guess it’s that old cliché, you focus on one game at a time, and that is what we are going to do this weekend.

“We will first and foremost put all our attention in to Saturday’s game.”

Those sentiments were reiterated by Cretteden, who said that Cup games would always be at the back of their minds.

“The double header is always tough.

“The second game is always in the back of your mind, but we’ve got a good squad and plenty of good, young talent who can run all day.

“We’ve just got to play a little smarter and manage the substitutions.”

Written by Brendan Simpkins